Dumping The Desktop/Laptop For An iPad...

M

Murphy Slaw

Joined
Sep 22, 2023
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I've had a computer since the Tandy days. But, as this old "all in one" is getting up in years, and the price of things keeps going up, I wonder if I even need one anymore. My main uses besides every day life are music videos (acoustic musician/songwriter) and such. I do like a mouse for scrolling around. I have an old iPad mini that might still be worth a trade in. It's been very dependable.

Anybody gone all in with just a tablet? Any disadvantages?
 
I tried it a while back before you could connect to such things with a bluetooth keyboard still. I couldn't get used to tap typing like it was a giant phone. Today you can probably set it on a stand like a monitor and use a keyboard and mouse if you wanted.
 
Software availability would be my biggest worry. I'd rather have something like a Microsoft Surface tablet that's essentially a tablet that runs Windows, but can be connected to peripherals like a keyboard, and with USB ports or at least some sort of USB docking station so I could hook up everything like my external harddrives, card reader, monitor/TV, etc. Regardless, I'd want something with a less restricted ecosystem, like iPads and even Androids are. You have the convenience and portability of a tablet (just unplug everything and take it with you), but you can also set it up like a laptop or desktop. You can do that with iPads and some Samsung Galaxy Tabs, but again, you're limited by what those ecosystems have to offer, and with specific "niche" applications, what's available for the iPad/Android might be limited or even nonexistent.
 
Tablets except for the iPad and maybe Samsung and some really off-brand ones are pretty much dead. I mean I'm not even sure Samsung still makes tablets. Are you making videos or just watching them because honestly Chrome OS get a Chromebook or something that's kind of I mean that's what I use that's really all I need is a web browser. I mean if you really need a Windows computer thing just go to Best Buy and buy a Windows laptop anything of those will work everything's going USB C so just get a dock for that.
 
Murphy Slaw said:
I've had a computer since the Tandy days. But, as this old "all in one" is getting up in years, and the price of things keeps going up, I wonder if I even need one anymore. My main uses besides every day life are music videos (acoustic musician/songwriter) and such. I do like a mouse for scrolling around. I have an old iPad mini that might still be worth a trade in. It's been very dependable.

Anybody gone all in with just a tablet? Any disadvantages?
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Depends on what you expect to do with it. Fine if all you do is surf and don't care who's watching you watch. It has about the same level of security as a phone. (limited.)
 
knarfeng said:
Depends on what you expect to do with it. Fine if all you do is surf and don't care who's watching you watch. It has about the same level of security as a phone. (limited.)
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And you can do better security than what any company does? You have better security than Microsoft? Cuz I mean Microsoft is definitely listening.
 
I've tried the tablet route but my 13" MacBook pro is so light, powerful and easy to carry it ends up going everywhere with me. The tablet is gone replaced by a iPhone MaxPro.
 
Murphy Slaw said:
I've had a computer since the Tandy days. But, as this old "all in one" is getting up in years, and the price of things keeps going up, I wonder if I even need one anymore. My main uses besides every day life are music videos (acoustic musician/songwriter) and such. I do like a mouse for scrolling around. I have an old iPad mini that might still be worth a trade in. It's been very dependable.

Anybody gone all in with just a tablet? Any disadvantages?
Click to expand...
If you have an ipad mini you could try using it instead of your computer and see how it goes. I've had an ipad for a long time and I like it but just for consuming information. I use it for watching movies when I travel, as a photo album with a big screen when I want to show photos to people, and I use it for some internet surfing. I much prefer a 15" laptop for anytime I'm away from my desk. I've never been satisfied trying to do real computer stuff with a tablet. Partly because I don't have a real keyboard and mouse, partly because the OS is too limiting, and partly because I've not found a decent web browser for the tablet.
 
Really all depends on what you want/need to do with a tablet or computer.

At home, all o use is my iPad anymore. There’s an app for almost any task you need to accomplish. And most productivity software has some sort of companion app. Microsoft 365 allows me to connect into any of the Office Suite apps. The Adobe suite allows me to work on my Photoshop or Illustrator projects right from my couch. And I can upload, download everything to my team members right from the couch.

The reality is though, I also have a work laptop, and the CAD and 3D software I use has no companions on the iPad. I also have terabytes worth of music, photos, video, and art that I keep on a few separate hard drives that my iPad alone can’t access.

But after work, I’m just surfing the web, scheduling personal email, scrolling social media, on Amazon, or streaming Netflix or Spotify. I’m not doing any heavy lifting that I need a computer for, and am not storing large files that I can’t use a cloud service for. I’ve got a BT keyboard for it that works just fine, and I can access all of Google’s Office-like apps for free if I need a word processor, spreadsheet, mail, or whatever. And like I said before, almost anything you want or need to do in your personal life… there’s an app for that, so there’s really not too much the average home user can’t do on a tablet (Apple or Android)

Someone above mentioned Chromebooks and ChromeOS, and honestly, this is a very valid alternative for someone who wants a more ‘traditional’ computer experience. My kid uses one almost exclusively for high school instead of his $1200 laptop. If you’re so inclined, there a little easier to dock into a desk set-up for hooking up wired peripherals like drives or printers. They boot up much quicker than traditional laptops, but don't have the processing power of either a laptop or higher end tablet, because for the most part, it’s just a port to the cloud/internet where everything lives these days.

Finally, there’s the Microsoft Surface tablets, and the like. They run a tablet version of Windows (some may actually run full blown windows). Honestly, as a Mac guy, I don’t know a whole lot about them. Unfortunately, at least in my understanding,in Tablet mode, Windows just isn’t nearly as good of an OS as iPadOS, and in standard mode, the hardware specs are really subpar for compared to even baseline laptops. But if all your doing is email, web surfing, and othe menial things, you may not really notice or care.

As for ecosystems, this is all really a personal matter and what works best for you. As a designer, I’ve been embedded in Apple stuff since the mid-90s - before tablets, smartphones, the cloud, or even truly capable laptops. So the ecosystem works for me, because I can seamlessly connect all my devises at will, hand-off files from one to the other, sync reminders, or whatever. But what works for me and my situation may not work for you. And honestly, with a little work, you can devices in multiple systems to all play nice together.

Really, once you figure out what you use the device for on a daily basis, you can go from there. All the options have some pros and cons. But all can absolutely work as the only devise with some few minor workarounds based on your individual needs.
 
Murphy Slaw said:
Anybody gone all in with just a tablet? Any disadvantages?
Click to expand...

Yeah. No keyboard. Can't stand it. I'm fine with no mouse, but I need a keyboard. Wireless/bluetooth keyboards don't cut it either, because they're not secure. Too vulnerable to anyone with half a brain. I don't like having to deal with the batteries on those either.

Plus there are times when you can really feel the low power cpu and lack of memory compared to a desktop, even if you primarily use the tablet for browsing.

A decent laptop can be a good compromise.
 
altweaponguy57 said:
And you can do better security than what any company does? You have better security than Microsoft? Cuz I mean Microsoft is definitely listening.
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I use Linux and a VPN. So, yeah. I can.

My point is that actual tablets are just glorified phones. They have limited protection as to what gets tracked.
And Microsoft is definitely tracking you with its Windows software unless you reach in and turn most of it off. The defaults for Windows 11 are pretty invasive.
 
jaseman said:
Really all depends on what you want/need to do with a tablet or computer.

At home, all o use is my iPad anymore. There’s an app for almost any task you need to accomplish. And most productivity software has some sort of companion app. Microsoft 365 allows me to connect into any of the Office Suite apps. The Adobe suite allows me to work on my Photoshop or Illustrator projects right from my couch. And I can upload, download everything to my team members right from the couch.


But after work, I’m just surfing the web, scheduling personal email, scrolling social media, on Amazon, or streaming Netflix or Spotify. I’m not doing any heavy lifting that I need a computer for, and am not storing large files that I can’t use a cloud service for. I’ve got a BT keyboard for it that works just fine, and I can access all of Google’s Office-like apps for free if I need a word processor, spreadsheet, mail, or whatever. And like I said before, almost anything you want or need to do in your personal life… there’s an app for that, so there’s really not too much the average home user can’t do on a tablet (Apple or Android)

As for ecosystems, this is all really a personal matter and what works best for you. As a designer, I’ve been embedded in Apple stuff since the mid-90s - before tablets, smartphones, the cloud, or even truly capable laptops. So the ecosystem works for me, because I can seamlessly connect all my devises at will, hand-off files from one to the other, sync reminders, or whatever. But what works for me and my situation may not work for you. And honestly, with a little work, you can devices in multiple systems to all play nice together.

Really, once you figure out what you use the device for on a daily basis, you can go from there. All the options have some pros and cons. But all can absolutely work as the only devise with some few minor workarounds based on your individual needs.
Click to expand...

I will occasionally multi-track a song, playing multiple instruments, but Garageband has that covered. Pages is a good enough word processor installed.

Some of you are freaking me out about security. Hell, I thought everybody used their phones for money and paying bills nowadays anyhow?
 
I haven't had an ipad so maybe they're better than others, but to me it seems like tablets run out computing power faster and become obsolete faster as software outpaces the device.

I also hate having touch screen only, and even just the touch screen seems to add a failure point. I've had 2 touch screen computers stop working effectively because of the touch screens getting ghost touches and killing the speed and on of the stupid yoga comps that would kill itself trying to figure out which way was up despite the "auto-rotate" being turned off.

Apple is supposed to have the best security on devices, maybe on comps as well, at least compared to just Microsoft (no other security programs and such installed).

I also find multi-tasking with a mobile device a lot harder, so having open multiple browser tabs, multiple programs, etc. while doing research, reading or shopping, etc. I prefer multiple monitors/screens whenever I can. Being able to cast to a TV or something can be convenient as you can run split screen and use it like a dual-monitor setup if you already have the big screen.
 
bikerector said:
I haven't had an ipad so maybe they're better than others, but to me it seems like tablets run out computing power faster and become obsolete faster as software outpaces the device.
Click to expand...
That brings up a valid point - hardware capability aside, tablets are at the mercy of the manufacturer when it comes to updates. Laptops are too, to some extent (my older laptop can't run 11, for example, but it is fairly old), but not nearly as much as mobile devices. Outside of custom ROMs, which may or may not be available (Android only), eventually every manufacturer will give up on older models and stop providing updates. My Galaxy Tab 6 will forever be stuck on Android 12. Eventually there will be app updates that no longer support that version of Android and the tablet will be obsolete even if the hardware is still good enough. One day it will become a brick because it won't connect to public wifis because it can't load a browser because it's not supported anymore and I can't "agree" to terms without the browser.

I mean, sure, these devices are semi-disposable anyway, with limited lifespans...as are most electronics...but don't expect a tablet to have the same longevity as a computer.
 
All I use anymore is an iPad. Got the largest size and will never go back to a laptop or desktop. However my usage is very much surfing and paying bills.
 
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