Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

lucacambiaghi.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 44 posts

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#11

Post by andrewmackrodt »

VoidWhisperer wrote: post #4

One thing the author glosses over that I'm curious about that he said he got working was cloud gaming on the ipad to replace a computer for gaming. I'm curious what cloud gaming setup/provider he used and what the experience was like. I've personally tried various cloud gaming setups before (stadia, geforce now, etc) and the experience ends up being less than ideal even with a stable, gig down / 40 Mbps connection.

Xbox Cloud is quite useable, Dirt 5 for example impressed me in regards to latency but I found it to be too high for Forza Horizon 5 to be enjoyable. I've found RPGs to be a good fit, e.g Dragon Age Inquisition and Yakuza 0.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#12

Post by imiric »

thaw13579 wrote: post #6

It seems like these “main computer” solutions always depend on ssh-ing into some other machine with a proper command line and disk access. It seems like that defeats the point though, because the advantage of a tablet is mobility, but that also brings along less reliable network connectivity to those remote servers. Really wish we could just install macOS…

You're right, that ends up being the main workflow.

Though instead of connecting to a remote VM, I've found it better to carry with me a small Linux device running an SSH server. This can even be a Raspberry Pi. As long as it has a NIC, with a USB-C adapter hooked to the iPad you can just use an Ethernet cable, and have an entirely local setup.

It defeats the purpose of carrying two devices around, but I find the iPad's screen and Folio keyboard to be very comfortable for long sessions, so this is my go-to setup for plane and train rides.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#13

Post by imiric »

Zafira wrote: post #9

Who is the iPad Pro catering to exactly? I've struggled to figure this out.

Content consumers with cash to spare, and professionals who can work around iPadOS' limitations, or whose workflow isn't affected by them. Think digital artists, graphic designers, photographers, writers, some video editors, etc.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#14

Post by enos_feedler »

I use a similar setup for slightly different workflows.

Ipad air instead of pro

Tailscale VPN + raspberry pi instead of GCP

Code-server and git on the rpi I am using terminus but will check out the recommendation in this article

Constraining myself to be productive from an ipad air has been an interesting exercise. A lot of fighting along the way but its possible to smooth things out.

The best feeling though is getting back from traveling and settling into a mac mini + large monitor setup.

The bonus is now the ipad air still gets love via universal control. I will shift over to it with my mouse and keyboard and still do things on it while using my main mac mini. Small work tasks, youtube, etc.

Then when its time to hit the road again I just pickup the ipad and go.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#15

Post by reassembled »

nso95 wrote: post #8

I once idealistically believed that tablets were the PC of the future. The iPad pro is definitely within the top 5 most disappointing hardware purchases I've made. Terrible UX. Trying to be both a laptop and a tablet has made it bad at being both of those things.

I feel like the main reason that the experience is so bad is because nobody is working to unify a touch OS experience and a desktop OS experience. My perception as a user is that the iPad OS and macOS teams are completely siloed.

There are aspects of iPad OS that are becoming reminiscent of desktop counterparts but they always seem half baked.

The file management experience on iPad in particular drove me up the wall when my wife asked me how to do the simple task of transferring a several hundred meg image from her Windows laptop and import it into ProCreate. The iPad OS had some UI to do this task but it was painfully buggy and slow, and hung up constantly while trying to copy the file.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#17

Post by nix23 »

thaw13579 wrote: post #6

It seems like these “main computer” solutions always depend on ssh-ing into some other machine with a proper command line and disk access. It seems like that defeats the point though, because the advantage of a tablet is mobility, but that also brings along less reliable network connectivity to those remote servers. Really wish we could just install macOS…

Long ago i said give me a only-terminal-os and hardware or something like plan9.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#18

Post by alexvoda »

I still have hope that eventually hipervizor virtual machines will be available on the iPad.

The hardware is already there. M1 has hipervizor support. Even the software us partly there. UTM is very capable.

Maybe if Apple is forced to allow third party stores it will happen.

Re: I turned my iPad Pro into my main computer (2021)

#20

Post by phyalow »

Zafira wrote: post #9

Who is the iPad Pro catering to exactly? I've struggled to figure this out.

In my case, someone who needed extra screen real estate when travelling with my MacBook Pro M1 16”. I set the iPad up on a stand, open sidecar and voila! I have (almost) doubled my screen/work area.
Post reply on HN