Running My Business From an iPad (2024 Update)
In 2021, I first tried to do all my work from an iPad. Back then, iPadOS didn’t have as many native apps, stage manager, or webcam and external display support, so I only made it a week.
While I was able to do a fair bit of my day-to-day work on my 2020 iPad Air, there were enough limitations that I decided it wasn’t practical as my daily driver. The poor machine was relegated to my media shelf as a fun toy and movie player for the kids.
But, a lot has changed in the past 3 years. So, when the 2024 iPad Pro came out, I decided I would pick one up and try it again.
Can an iPad be Used as a Laptop Replacement?
I’ve now been using an iPad exclusively for over a month. I’m running both of my businesses from it: sales calls, presentations, spreadsheets, writing, team chats, emails, file downloads, and more. The process has some quirks, but it’s working well overall, and unlike my experiment in 2021, this time, I’m not planning to go back to using my Macbook again.
So, if you’re wondering if an iPad can replace your laptop in 2024, the answer is, yes, but it still depends a bit on what you’re using it for.
In this post, I’ll outline my experience in more detail and share some of the killer apps and features that have allowed me to switch to using the iPad as a Macbook replacement.
What I Do
Several years ago, I left my job as a startup CTO to start a technical content agency. Now, I own two marketing agencies with separate teams of full-time and contract employees, so my role is primarily business development, management, and delegation.
While I don’t have a “maker’s schedule” with long stints of focus time, I try to do some deep work every day for my mental health. But, my typical day-to-day is a mix of calls, emails, hiring, writing, and planning or overseeing projects. I don’t write code anymore, and rarely need specialized software since I’m not involved in the audio or video production work we do at The Podcast Consultant.
In 2021, it was nearly impossible to use an iPad, even for my light days of calls and emails due to the limitations of iPadOS and the software available at the time. That said, a lot has changed, so let’s take a look at the state of things.
What Has Improved Since 2021?
Here are a few of the things new to iPad that make using it as a daily driver more viable than before:
- Stage Manager - While Apple’s arbitrary limitations on the number of windows you can open at once and the layout of those windows can be annoying, Stage Manager makes using a large external display with an iPad significantly better. I set my iPad Pro’s screen to use the traditional single-app layout while my external display uses Stage Manager to better utilize the space.
- Extended Display Support - On that note, my 2020 iPad Air couldn’t even extend the display to an external monitor; it could only mirror it. Having support for widescreen, high definition external displays makes a huge difference when looking at multiple windows or multitasking.
- Peripheral Support - My iPad can now simultaneously support an external mouse, keyboard, webcam, and microphone via a combination of USB and Bluetooth. Having a good USB hub is a must, but that’s true with all of Apple’s hardware now.
- More Native iPad Apps - It’s taken a while, but more developers are releasing Native iPad applications that are closer to full-featured apps than their mobile counterparts. Even Google Sheets (which remains a weak point for iPadOS) is much more usable today than it was four years ago. That said, there are a few apps where it’s still easier to use the website than the iPad app (more on that later).
- Replit (and other browser-based IDEs) - While I don’t write code daily, this blog and some websites I manage don’t have a true CMS, so I still need a way to edit and write code occasionally. Replit is amazing for this use case, and they’re continually adding features that make light code editing easier on mobile devices.
- FaceID - One of the more annoying thing about the previous generation of iPads was the fingerprint sensor requirement. When using an external keyboard and mouse, I found that I constantly had to lean into the iPad to press my finger on the sensor. FaceID is obviously much easier to use.
- Widgets - Finally, I’m a big fan of iOS’s widgets. This might be one of the only places where iOS wins over MacOS, because Mac’s widgets are really not very useful at this point.
All of this adds up to a fully-functional iPad work experience. I can now share my screen on sales calls, effectively work in spreadsheets, view multiple windows side-by-side, and plug in any number of USB devices. Better still, I can unplug my USB hub, toss the ipad in a case, and take the whole thing on the go. I know, a Macbook Air can do the same thing, but my 11” iPad is significantly smaller and lighter, which makes working on a plane or crowded coffee shop more enjoyable.
So, What Could Still be Better?
The line between Mac and iPad software is getting blurrier every year, but there are a few things that the iPad still doesn’t do as well as my Macbook Pro. So, in fairness, here’s what I miss after moving my entire workflow over to my iPad:
- Google Sheets and Slides - They technically have iPad apps, but they’re not nearly as good as the desktop browser versions. Things like swapping between tabs, viewing multiple spreadsheets, or dragging images around a slideshow are all harder on the mobile app, and because Google is Google, they’ve completely shut off the ability to use these apps in the iPad version of Google Chrome.
- Airtable - This is one of the iPad apps which is basically just a larger version of the mobile app. It’s missing a ton of features and nearly useless. Fortunately, you can trick Airtable by using Desktop mode in Chrome, allowing you to use the web application, which works surprisingly well on an iPad.
- Riverside FM - I’m a guest on a lot of podcasts, and most use Riverside. While they have an iPad app, it doesn’t seem to work with my external USB mic and webcam, so until they release a fix, I have to pull my Macbook back out occasionally.
- File Management - The iPad Files app has come a long way, but it still has a lot of problems. It’s very clunky (especially compared with Finder on Mac), so simple tasks like downloading a file from Chrome are a 4 or 5 step process. Similarly, getting files out of or onto external media is much more cumbersome than on Mac. That said, most of my serious file management happens in the cloud now, so it’s less of a problem than it used to be.
- Chrome Extensions - I do miss my Chrome extensions. It is nice that password managers can now be layered onto iPad keyboards, but I wish I could have my writing and bookmarking Chrome extensions.
- Battery Life - My M1 Macbook Pro spoiled me in this regard. In four years, I don’t think I was ever able to drop the battery below 10% because it just lasts so darn long. The M4 iPad Pro is powerful and lightweight, but they had to sacrifice something to get all this tech into such a small package. If I’m working away from the office, I definitely have to charge up midway through the day.
I am confident that using an iPad will only get better as the software develops. I find myself doing a lot more dictation instead of typing now, so I’m excited about Siri’s integration with GPT4. Siri is laughably bad compared with the LLM-based chat tools out there. Finally, Stage Manager and iPadOS are getting better every year, and I expect the line between iPadOS and MacOS will continue to blur.
Is iPad the Work Machine of the Future?
For someone like me who’s primarily doing sales and management, it’s possible to do all of my work on an iPad. While it’s not perfect, the device and software have come a long way since 2021, and I am planning to continue using it exclusively for the foreseeable future.
It will take a lot more work for software developers or specialized software users to ditch their laptops for an iPad, but I think it could be good enough for those of us who work a managers schedule and want an ultra-portable work station.
Have you switched to iPad full-time? Or tried it? Let me hear about your experience on X.