More iPad And Less MacBook

For the past week, I’ve been using my M1 iPad Air 5 much more than my MacBook— almost exclusively — but I’m not trying to replace a laptop. I’m simply using it as originally intended: something between a laptop and a smartphone that’s much better at some key tasks. And it’s splendid.

When I refreshed my iPad last week, I listed three potential outcomes. Would I stick to using my iPad Air, trade it for an iPad mini, or revert back to my MacBook? It looks like the iPad Air is becoming my main device once again.

My M1 MacBook Air lets my iPad be “just a tablet.” Yet there’s more.

Tapping into the tablet

Most of the time, my iPad is case-less, bare aluminum and glass, held in my hands like a giant smartphone. I’d forgotten how nice a modern tablet experience is — so easy to casually browse the web, check email, manage to-dos, scroll social media, watch YouTube…

Using my 11” iPad Air as tablet-only, I considered trading it for an iPad mini with its ideal handheld size — best for eReading. But for now, I’m sticking with what I’ve got. The 11” Air is a great middle size, small enough to hold and use as a tablet and also big enough to use as a modular desktop computer, like when I’m typing a blog post or journal entry.

Typing on iPad

When I need to type a lot, I enter "desktop-mode,” placing my iPad on a stand and connecting a bluetooth keyboard on my desk. It’s almost as simple as pecking the on-screen keyboard but with real keys. Yet using iPad like a modular desktop computer pushes beyond its simple tablet identity.

Things get more involved, for example, when it comes to text-manipulation. Typing is simple enough by itself, but selecting text to look up its definition, edit it, or copy/paste requires more interaction. I’ve got three options for that: my fingers, a bluetooth mouse, and the Apple Pencil. I’m discovering ways the Pencil directly works with text. But otherwise, I’m eschewing the mouse for now and instead relying on my fingers, the iPad’s native input “device.”

About the Pencil 2, I love it. It’s the one accessory I keep with my otherwise naked iPad because I enjoy handwriting journal entries (though I still mostly type them). I’m a lefty and can rest my hand on the glass naturally and just write. Paperlike might be something I add later.

Pushing iPad further

Something keeps happening to my brain when using my iPad as a tablet. Because it excels at basic tasks so effortlessly with direct-touch interaction, it feels really nice and capable. So I find myself wanting to do more with it, pushing it further. And I think this is a strong reason why many people ask if an iPad (or any tablet) can replace a laptop.

iPad starts off simply and innocently — it’s just a big iPhone. Then it grows complex when adding peripherals for desktop-mode — now it’s trying to be a MacBook. Since iPad is made to do light tasks well, how well can it work for heavy tasks? The answer depends on the person and the task(s).

For me, I ask how set in my traditional desktop-computing ways am I? The iPad’s touch-first model and app-centric paradigm require one to “think different.” The touch part is easy enough thanks to the smartphone; tablet-mode is a natural extension.

But desktop-mode means switching my brain to focus on apps instead of files, and I notice the operating system fades away. The window chrome and desktop metaphor of my Mac are gone — no Menu bar here. iPad’s “desktop” isn’t a place for files or skeuomorphic folders, it’s just a grid of apps. These differences are liberating to some folks but limiting to others.

As for the task(s), I’m fortunate that my needs are simple. I mostly do light personal productivity and work with text. So email, spreadsheets, to-dos, notes, journaling, and blogging for example. Basic photo editing is probably the most complicated task I do, though I hand-coded an HTML blog before, using Textastic and a Safari extension for webpage source code.

Another task is gaming. While there are many good games for iPad, I recently have been leaning more on my MacBook for gaming. I’m not sure what I’ll do in this regard. Plus I still enjoy my Nintendo Switch…

iPad’s next step

I keep reminding myself that the iPad is a terrific tablet and it’s not a laptop, so don’t push it too hard. Every time I’ve been iPad-only, it turns out iPad-mostly or iPad-first. I want to avoid laying on my iPad the burden of fully living up to the role of my MacBook Air, hitting that one thing I can’t get done on it, and then in frustration abandoning iPad for my Mac instead.

I’d say I can comfortably accomplish 9 out of 10 tasks with just my iPad. It can be my daily driver while my MacBook is available for the rare occasions I need it. So I’m enjoying my iPad for its simplicity (just a “couch computer”), its modularity (now it’s a desktop computer), and its versatility (now it's a handwriting notepad and sketchbook).

Maybe in a few weeks at WWDC24, Apple will reveal new functions in iPadOS that dramatically change the iPad’s positioning and potential. Maybe its app-centric paradigm will evolve more to a file-centric hybrid one. Or maybe not. Either way, the iPad is already a wonderful tablet. Yet I wonder how much more capable it can be.