I Didn't Mean to Become an iPad Person

In 2011, I bought the then new 2011 MacBook Air and I used it as my main computer for years. It was the first great MacBook Air from Apple - it was small, light, capable with fantastic battery life. I also bought an Apple Thunderbolt Display alongside it which gave me a place to dock it and connect all my peripherals, networking and charge with a single multi-ended cable. It was the perfect laptop as a desktop setup. For the first five years, I was using it, it was rock solid and allowed me to carry my primary computer with me to work, where I lived away in the week.

During this period, I had various iPads, upgrading to the new hotness as Apple released them. During this period, the iPad was just a toy, a device to play games on, casually read news, watch some TV, but it was not stellar at any of them. There would be long period where I solely used my iPhones and MacBook Air for all my computing needs and my iPad sat dormant.

As my MacBook Air aged, its battery degraded and the demands of modern apps and website took its toll. I found it was less useful as a laptop - it would over heat and struggle to do basic tasks. This naturally led it to it staying docked more and more and my computing needs when away from my desk starting being fulfilled by my iPhone and iPads. This was a period where I got married and we bought our first house, so I didnt not have a few thousand pound spare to buy a new MacBook, so this transition was more out of necessity that preference.

I do not recall how I got this set up, but I got to the point where I had an iPad Air with a Smart Keyboard, as my “away from my desk” computer. The addition of the keyboard really helps transition the iPad from a toy to a computer for me.

Years passed and in 2019, I was still using the MacBook Air as my computer and an iPad and Smart Keyboard and it was working ok, but the computer performance was getting so poor that I needed to upgrade. At this point I was of the mindset that I was a power user and power users have laptops, so I should shop for a MacBook. They still continued to be astronomically expensive and I had not had a laptop for years, so I didn’t need one, I just wanted one. I ended up getting a Certified Refurbished Mac Mini (6-Core Intel Core i5 with 64GB memory), which I am typing this post on today.

The following year, Apple released the Magic Keyboard for iPad, which I instantly bought alongside an 11" iPad Pro. I was taken aback by its heft compared with the aforementioned Smart Keyboard and I considered seriously returning it, but the lure of the trackpad was too great so I kept it. I had to add a Smart Folio to the mix too for when I wanted to prop it up in smaller spaces or use it handheld.

When buying this iPad Pro, I was debating between the 11" and 13" models and I struggled to decide which was for me. Deep down, I still strived to get a MacBook again one day so this was just an accessory to my Macs. I also recalled once Myke Hurley saying on one of his many podcasts that you should always get an 11" unless you know why you should get a 13" - I didn’t have a reason so I decided to go 11", which I was pleased with.

This grew into my laptop naturally over next few years. iPadOS was almost as good as macOS for most web browsing, it was much better for media consumption and it was portable, lightweight, huge battery. A huge benefit of the keyboard was the ability to quickly use a terminal; Terminus has been my SSH Client of choice for years and it enables me to fully manage my Homelab from my iPad. There were a few areas were the iPad could not do what my Mac could mainly creating software (MATLAB, Xcode, Visual  Studio), but I rarely found that I wanted to do that away from my desk - now I am conditioned not to do it.

In 2024, my first 11" iPad Pro was failing me, the USB-C socket only worked in 1 orientation, there was a highlight crack in the screen (from stuffing it into a overfull bag) and the battery no longer held much charge. So I had a decision to make between the M2 iPad Pro and the M4 iPad Pro. The M2 was fully backward compatible with my existing accessories (Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil). The M4 was the thinnest Apple product ever and had a Tandem OLED display, but it would mean I would need to get a new Apple Pencil and new Magic Keyboard. I followed my head and went with the 11" M2 Pro and forfeited the infinite contrast of the OLED screen. 💔

I wasn’t expecting to notice any real improvement in performance, but I sure did - everything was snappier even rendering webpages. All the time I was using it I knew deep down I was disappointed with the muddy black and always illuminated letter box bars, especially when watching TV in a dark room. I just could not justify the extra expense of buying the M4 iPad, Pencil Pro and Smart Keyboard (2nd gen), so I stuck with it.

In September 2025, iOS 26 was released with its proper full floating window multi-tasking and I was ready for it, I had been using an iPad as my away from desk computer for years, I had the Magic Keyboard with trackpad and it was AMAZING. It has been the biggest change ever in how I use my iPad. I now had the flexibility I needed to achieve several thing at once on my iPad across different apps in various windows. The problem was that the screen was feeling a little constrained at only 11"…

I had a realisation: laptops are behind me and now my iPad is my mobile computer¹. I was now an iPad power user, and this is my reason to buy a 13" iPad. I loaded up my favourite used electronics retailer and prices up trading my M2 and all accessories (plus a few other bits of old electronics I no longer needed) for an M4 13" iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard and they price was acceptable. So I pulled the trigger and my word was it worth it.

I have never used an iPad so much as I currently do. The size, contrast and colour reproduction from the screen is absolutely fantastic. I love the new keyboard with the Aluminium top plate and media keys. I use it for everything all the time.

What strikes me most looking back is that this was never a decision I made - it happened to me. A deteriorating MacBook Air, a tight budget, a keyboard that made the iPad feel real. I did not set out to become an iPad person. But here I am, and I would not swap it.

If you are sitting on the fence about whether an iPad can replace a laptop for you, my honest answer is: it depends entirely on what you do. For me, someone who lives in a browser, a terminal and a handful of apps - it has been perfect. If you know you need Xcode on the go, get a MacBook. But if you are like me and you keep finding reasons not to need one, maybe you already have your answer.