Some reasons why my iPad Pro is a more useful laptop than my MacBook Pro

I’m definitely in the top 0.1% of privilege because I am not only a white middle-aged man, I also own the smaller of the two iPad Pros as well as the 2017 MacBook Pro (with TouchBar). But enough about me, let’s talk about things I like.

Most of the time, I find the iPad Pro is a more useful laptop than the MacBook Pro. If you aren’t a member of the 0.1% and have to choose between one or the other, I would encourage you to consider whether the iPad Pro will make a better laptop for your needs too.

What I use a laptop for

80-90% of my use for both devices is email, messaging, writing, reading, video calls/conferences. I travel interstate at least once a month, overseas 2–3 times per year, and spend 40mins most days of the week on a train. Your mileage (and use) may vary.

How the iPad Pro is a better laptop

Smaller and lighter

Carry the iPad in my messenger bag for a day, and next time I slip the MacBook Pro in the bag, it feels like I just dropped a sand bag in there. Not only does it take up less room, even the charger takes up less room and weighs much less.

Always online

I got my iPad Pro with a mobile SIM included which means I’m not always hunting for wifi, and if the wifi is slow, I just go to mobile data. I can pair my MacBook Pro with my iPhone but that drains the battery of both devices quite quickly. You can get an external mobile device to use instead but it’s one more thing to remember to pack and it’s always going to have 10% battery remaining when you pull it out. My iPad Pro has it built-in and tidily integrated.

It’s easier to charge

It draws less power, so it charges fast. I can charge it (albeit quite slowly) off an iPhone power plug or 12v car adaptor. I can even charge it off the external battery I originally bought for my iPhone. If my hotel room has built-in USB ports, I can charge off those too.

Apple Pen

On the rare occasion my Apple Pen is charged when I take it out of my bag, it’s a really handy tool for sketching ideas, taking notes and leaving a signature on a term sheet that doesn’t look like it was signed by someone with the penmanship of Donald Trump. I do wish it had a longer standby time and had a female Lightning connector not a male connector, but hey.

Airport security-friendly

Most airports outside the US don’t require you to remove your iPad for the security x-ray. When the security person asks if I have a laptop with me, and I say no, I can sense all the other business travellers around me seethe with envy because they assume I’m on holiday. An iPad Pro can make every business trip feel like a vacation… for a moment or two, at least.

Airplane friendly

Most airlines are OK with iPad users watching/working during take-off and landing as long as you can keep it on your lap and don’t fold down the tray table. On most planes, the tray table is just big enough to hold my iPad (in a Logitech keyboard case), a coffee/beer, and snack. Any actual laptop overhangs the tray table and means I’ll bump elbows with whoever’s sitting next to me.

Logitech keyboard case

The Logitech CREATE keyboard case for the iPad Pro is crazy-good. Big-enough keys, great keyboard action, adjustable backlight so you can type at night on a plane. It uses the Apple Smart Connector on the side of the iPad instead of Bluetooth so it’s always ready to go, fast and responsive and doesn’t drain too much power. It has all the function keys you’ll need from your laptop’s top row and also some handy iPad-specific keys, like one to minimise and return to the desktop and one to lock and sleep the iPad (except I wish that one were someplace else because I sometimes hit it instead of the Delete key, which is directly below it).

What is an iPad Pro not good for?

Was a time I’d have said “connecting things” because it’s only got one Lightning connector, but these days, I rarely connect more than one thing, and Apple’s move to USB-C means it’s just as challenging to find a MacBook-compatible connection as an iPad-compatible connection most of the time.

I haven’t used a DSLR since I got an iPhone 7 and will probably never do so again, but when it comes to working with images, I find working with the Photos app on my iPad to be much quicker and easier than bloated, slow iPhoto on OSX. That said, if you’re a pro-am-or-greater photographer or videographer, you’ll be hamstrung on an iPad Pro.

If you’re a serious gamer you shouldn’t be on iOS or OSX at all so let’s ignore the argument that you can’t be a gamer on an iPad Pro.

Obviously if you’re a developer there’s no way you’re going to be seen dead without a sticker-covered MacBook Pro but it probably won’t be anything newer than 2015 because we all know Apple stopped making good high-end laptops several years ago and Touch Bar makes you want to hurl chunks.