Do you need an iPad if you have a laptop?

Key Takeaways

• A person doesn’t typically need an iPad unless they want to use an Apple Pencil.
• Still, an iPad can make for an excellent complimentary device.
• Use cases like cellular connectivity, increased portability, and more can make an iPad useful.

Do you remember Apple’s notorious ‘What’s a computer?‘ ad? If not, I don’t blame you — those ads are about six years old now. While Apple has backed off on the idea of an iPad being a replacement for a traditional computer, it hasn’t stopped many YouTubers and bloggers from attempting to move their entire workflow over to the iPad. Personally, I think those attempts to move a person’s workflow away from a desktop to an iPad exclusively are shortsighted. The iPad can be a dedicated computing device, but it can also be an excellent complimentary one. I’m writing this article on an iPad Pro, but I’ll edit images — and likely publish the story — on my Mac.

I’m going to examine where the iPad shines and where it flops to answer the question, “Do you need an iPad if you have a laptop?”

Where does an iPad shine?

Apple Pencil support

Whether you’re a student taking notes in class, a business professional jotting down key items from a meeting, or a creative professional designing their next work of art, an iPad and Apple Pencil make for a powerful duo. Apple Pencil support is easily one of the most compelling reasons to buy an iPad. If handwriting or stylist input is something you’re looking for in a computing device to draw, create, or write — purchasing an iPad with an Apple Pencil is an easy choice.

Focus and simplicity

I primarily enjoy writing on my iPad rather than my MacBook because of how iPadOS is designed around a single-app workflow. Yes, there’s split screen and Stage Manager, but the most straightforward way to use an iPad is with one app open. I’ve found using my iPad to complete tasks that require focus to be really beneficial. Equally so, friends or family members like seniors or kids may also appreciate the simple nature of an iPad, as iPadOS is pretty hard to break compared to desktop operating systems.

Cellular connectivity

Hands down, one of my favorite features of my iPad Pro is cellular connectivity. If Apple made a Mac with a cellular modem, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Sure, someone could connect to their phone’s hotspot, but that causes significant battery drain on the transmitting device. Plus, I’ve always found it frustrating to reconnect my Mac to the hotspot every time it falls asleep — and that’s also ignoring how unreliable connecting a device to a personal hotspot can be. Cellular connectivity on an iPad allows you to quickly and securely access the internet wherever you are without relying on slow or insecure public networks.

Portability

Before you mention it, yes, laptops are portable too. Still, iPads take portability to the next level. With an optional detachable keyboard and the thinness of the new iPad Pro, iPads make for very flexible computing devices. When leaving the house, I often only take my 13″ iPad Pro over my 16″ MacBook Pro. Even with the Magic Keyboard, an iPad is easy to carry around with or without a bag.

iPads are also excellent presentation remotes, and I speak from experience. Whenever I present, I connect my MacBook to the projector or TV, launch Keynote, and use my iPad as a wireless remote and presenter notes display. When I’m home, the iPad makes it easy to watch YouTube while cooking or doing chores, as it doesn’t take up much room and can easily be placed on stands in areas with limited counter space, like my bathroom.

Where does an iPad not compare?

App and browser limitations

While iPadOS has a decently extensive catalog of apps available from the App Store, there are two significant problems. First, you can’t install apps on an iPad outside the App Store unless you’re in the European Union. Second, apps you can install don’t always work the same as on a desktop operating system. Google Docs is an excellent example, where I often find myself using it in the browser on my iPad rather than the app. Even when using the browser on iPadOS, it still doesn’t function the same as on macOS.

While Apple claims iPads have “desktop browsing,” I’m still frequently served mobile or feature-limited websites. Simply getting the full power of the internet from a non-limited browser and being able to download apps from any source, particularly the developer’s own website, gives laptops a significant advantage over an iPad, especially for users more heavily reliant on specialty apps or powerful workflows.

Keyboard shortcuts

One of my single greatest frustrations with iPadOS compared to my Mac is the lack of keyboard shortcuts compared to macOS. On my Mac, I frequently use paste-match style, something I can’t do on my iPad Pro. Seriously, Apple, why not?

While customizable keyboard shortcuts would be great in the long term, Apple needs to make significant improvements by expanding the number of keyboard shortcuts on iPadOS because, until then, I find the iPad impractical for pasting written text between different sources.

Multitasking and window management

As mentioned, iPadOS does support window management to a limited degree through split screen and Stage Manager. Neither of these features are comparable to what you can do on macOS or Windows. To be direct, if you’re the kind of person who spends a lot of time switching between apps and having multiple windows open, an iPad almost certainly won’t work as a permanent replacement for your workflow.

Compare this to macOS and Windows, where you can place any window side-by-side in just about any size you desire.

Even though I want to use split screen on my iPad Pro, many apps still don’t support this basic feature. Stage Manager is limited to four windows, and you can’t resize windows to your preference. Compare this to macOS and Windows, where you can place any window side-by-side in just about any size you desire.

Background apps and utilities

While less of a deal-breaker, it would be nice to have a background app on iPadOS. For example, on my Mac, I heavily rely on several apps that I open via custom keyboard shortcuts or the menu bar to complete actions like opening a preview window before a video call, grabbing login credentials from 1Password, quickly adjusting the placement of windows, or logging my clipboard history.

Until iPadOS either provides native support for some of these core features like a built-in clipboard manager or the ability to easily launch utilities running in the background, these small quality-of-life apps provide a significant leg up to macOS and Windows as a reason why it could be hard to leave traditional desktop operating systems. I find using my iPad Pro to do any degree of serious work outside a single app or two incredibly time-consuming, without any utilities like the ones I have running on my Mac.

Does an iPad replace your laptop?

Probably not, but it still has uses

I feel it’s safe to say that in most situations, an iPad could replace your laptop if you wanted it to, but you certainly don’t need one. Unless you’re specifically looking for Apple Pencil support, there isn’t a definitive use case where an iPad is essential alongside a laptop. With that said, an iPad easily makes for an excellent complimentary device if you have use cases for one. Whether it be for a more focused environment, a dedicated video player, a device to read the news in bed, a presentation remote, or a more portable computer, there are many great reasons why you may want to add an iPad to your workflow.

I’m a big believer that Apple does a great job of making it so that each of its devices can provide a unique use-case and experience for a person’s workflow. The iPad is no exception to that philosophy, but do you need an iPad if you have a laptop? Probably not. Could an iPad be of benefit to you? Very likely.