Working From My iPad
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been MacBook-free. The M1 Macs that came out at the end of last year blew my socks off (I’m far from alone here, I know) and I knew that when the new MacBook Pros came out with the Apple Silicon updates inside that I would immediately want to get one. The 16” machine that I had been using for the year prior was really good, but I knew that its resale value would crater immediately when the new models came out.
So I did something fairly rash. I sold it, and all this year I’ve been doing any “real work” from my 11” iPad Pro.
Honestly the whole thing has gone pretty well. Better than I had expected it to. I did get an M1 Mac mini for my office desk (which is outside of my house) and I access it remotely using the wonderful Screens apps by Edovia. I’ve been working on a new cross-platform Mac & iOS app and the lion’s share of that work has happened from my iPad connected to that Mac mini.
None of this would have been possible without last year’s introduction of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Having a very good keyboard coupled with the fantastic pointer support on the iPad is a game changer. I really do love this accessory. The only thing that I wish was different about this setup would be the front camera. Why is it still on the “top” side, when we all know that these iPads are used in landscape nowadays. The camera should be on the top side when docked in the Magic Keyboard. Oh well.
This is definitely an experiment that I’m happy to have undertaken. I’m excited for new Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros (and I’m actually considering getting the much-rumored 14” model instead of another 16” after experiencing the 11” iPad) and this little iPad has been a great companion along the way of that transition.
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been MacBook-free. The M1 Macs that came out at the end of last year blew my socks off (I’m far from alone here, I know) and I knew that when the new MacBook Pros came out with the Apple Silicon updates inside that I would immediately want to get one. The 16” machine that I had been using for the year prior was really good, but I knew that its resale value would crater immediately when the new models came out.
So I did something fairly rash. I sold it, and all this year I’ve been doing any “real work” from my 11” iPad Pro.
Honestly the whole thing has gone pretty well. Better than I had expected it to. I did get an M1 Mac mini for my office desk (which is outside of my house) and I access it remotely using the wonderful Screens apps by Edovia. I’ve been working on a new cross-platform Mac & iOS app and the lion’s share of that work has happened from my iPad connected to that Mac mini.
None of this would have been possible without last year’s introduction of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Having a very good keyboard coupled with the fantastic pointer support on the iPad is a game changer. I really do love this accessory. The only thing that I wish was different about this setup would be the front camera. Why is it still on the “top” side, when we all know that these iPads are used in landscape nowadays. The camera should be on the top side when docked in the Magic Keyboard. Oh well.
This is definitely an experiment that I’m happy to have undertaken. I’m excited for new Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros (and I’m actually considering getting the much-rumored 14” model instead of another 16” after experiencing the 11” iPad) and this little iPad has been a great companion along the way of that transition.