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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

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Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#31

Post by blackaspen »

oflannabhra wrote: post #18

I know Apple has a strong resistance to the two-in-one form factor, but an M-series MacBook Air with detachable screen that seamlessly transitions between macOS and iPadOS is basically my dream device.

This. Or a Yoga style fold-over in an 11" formfactor.

I picked up an X13s (the ARM one) for travel. It's not perfect -- one thing I like about iOS is that the airline apps are kind of required for IFE, but, my X13s weighs the same as my iPad Pro with a keyboard and can do much more. Trying to use Google Slides or Docs on the iPad is a poor experience.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#32

Post by Joe_Boogz »

I’ve been using Remote Desktop to a windows environment in the cloud for a while. It’s been pretty great actually. As long as you have a Bluetooth mouse an IPad makes a great thin client in a pinch.

I know people want MacOs, but it’s a workaround that works.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#33

Post by haswell »

cogman10 wrote: post #22
vorpalhex wrote: post #2

I just left for a trip today and have a macbook I purchased three days ago along for the ride. Both the spouse and I were uncomfortable with only having ipads - and within 4 hours of landing it's already been the right call. It's a shame. A full desktop OS in iPad form factor is basically a holy grail.

The issue is a OS and UX designed around touch screen doesn't work well with a mouse and vice versa. I think MS got the closest to sort of addressing it with windows 8, but everyone simply defaulted to the desktop mode rather than the touch mode (didn't help that the windows store was/is incredibly poorly done). This is why devices like the surface pro or other 2 in 1 devices never really seemed to work out. You are…

> The issue is a OS and UX designed around touch screen doesn't work well with a mouse and vice versa.

This is really not the case with iPadOS though. It already works quite well with a touchpad and keyboard. The hardware is already there to control a full desktop OS, iPadOS already allows itself to be be controlled as if it’s a desktop OS, and with continuity mode, it’s already possible to control macOS via an iPad.

All of these things already work pretty well, and paint a pretty decent picture of what might be if Apple decided to go further.

Some things just work better on a touchscreen, even when they’re running on macOS. Some things just work better with a mouse and keyboard, even when they’re running on iPadOS.

As long as there’s some way to transition between them, I do really think a best-of-both-worlds option exists, because it’s mostly there already.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#34

Post by classified »

semireg wrote: post #21

Someone should make a list of analogies of: if X were an iPad you couldn’t do Y. Perhaps after a few hundred of these we could identify a higher level pattern that would “make sense” instead of being frustrating. I feel like there’s some deep philosophical underpinning or monad-like slip-through-your-fingers constraint that is maddening.

Nope, it's just Apple wanting to maximize profits.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#36

Post by drewg123 »

I really, really wish that Apple had not let developers opt-out their apps from running on M1/M2 Macbooks.

My use case is a long flight where I want to watch a movie on a screen bigger than my phone. For a while, some of the streaming service iOS apps ran on my MBP. In fact, I subscribed to HBO Max partially because their app worked on my MBP. But since their rebrand to Max, it no longer works.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#37

Post by mos_6502 »

politelemon wrote: post #29

I'm also looking for a two in one, a tablet that can be a laptop. The best I've found is a surface, and I think dell has some two in ones too. The surface feels like the right call because it's just light enough to be a powerful tablet, but not so power hungry that it's stationary. I think they've hit the right balance here. It's a shame this form factor isn't so common, and what would be perfect for a vacation would…

I was about to comment something to the same effect.

Like the author, as well as many who have commented, I've long been disappointed in the gap between macOS' support for advanced use cases (which I need), and the iPad's portability (which I like).

I picked up a Surface Go 3. Having an actual desktop OS on a well-built, decently powerful (albeit hot at times) tablet struck the perfect balance for me. Wish I had done it years ago.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#38

Post by seanthemon »

Joe_Boogz wrote: post #32

I’ve been using Remote Desktop to a windows environment in the cloud for a while. It’s been pretty great actually. As long as you have a Bluetooth mouse an IPad makes a great thin client in a pinch. I know people want MacOs, but it’s a workaround that works.

Which cloud provider do you use? I'm currently connecting to my pc but i don't like this solution. I'd like to run a docker instance

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#39

Post by codetrotter »

zulln wrote: post #8
vorpalhex wrote: post #2

I just left for a trip today and have a macbook I purchased three days ago along for the ride. Both the spouse and I were uncomfortable with only having ipads - and within 4 hours of landing it's already been the right call. It's a shame. A full desktop OS in iPad form factor is basically a holy grail.

What are you missing? If only a few tasks you could just VNC to a “desktop OS” for these tasks. I would assume most things that requires such OS requires an internet connection anyway. I still primary use a laptop, but that is because I like the form of it. So I have no actual experience trying to survive with only iOS.

> you could just VNC to a “desktop OS” for these tasks

There are many places in the world where the availability of the internet is so spotty and so poor, that trying to use VNC to get work done would not be possible.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#40

Post by eddd-ddde »

hattmall wrote: post #26
timestretch wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacOS allows me to run any software I want. It has a terminal, and allows me to run scripts. It has a shared file system and offers true multi-tasking. You can already run some iOS apps in MacOS. I'd like a single computer where I can switch between mobile / pencil usage and desktop keyboard / mouse usage.

That's exactly what I have with a convertible Chromebook. Super Snappy ChromeOS for web browsing. It can run Android apps, or stream them from my phone. Flip it around and it's a BIG tablet. 15.6" 4k screen. Going back into computer mode I can run full blown Linux, very quickly via Crouton or virtualized slightly less quick with official Crostini. Can also do a lot of the terminal stuff directly in the ChromeOS shell…

I'm interested on getting a chromebook. Is the linux experience really great? Which hardware would you recommend?
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