I replaced my laptop with an iPad for a week – here’s what it couldn’t quite do

I’m frequently trying to come up with new stories to pitch for my freelance work. Recently, I had gone on an overnight trip and wanted to do some writing at nighttime while I was away and everyone else in my family was sleeping. The problem was: I had forgotten my laptop. I had put my computer bag by the door but had forgotten to grab it. My wife had brought the family iPad with us, so I figured why not give it a try and attempt to complete some work.

That’s when I had the idea to replace my laptop with an iPad for a week and see how it went — might as well see how an iPad could hold up against heavier usage. I unfortunately don’t have a specific iPad keyboard. But, my MacBook Pro is a few years old and a few of the keys on the keyboard don’t work, so I use an Apple Wireless Keyboard on it. I was able to swap that over to the iPad, so I didn’t have to always use the iPad’s internal keyboard. I did, however, give that a shot a few times, just to test it out under heavier use.

What I found in my week was a bit surprising. I definitely can see why people might opt for an iPad over a laptop. But there were times when I felt a bit limited. Here’s more of what I discovered by giving up my laptop for an iPad for a week.

How it holds up for writing

Which is what I mainly use my computer for

The first thing I wanted to keep doing was writing with my iPad. I spent one full day trying to write a story without using a Bluetooth keyboard, and then the rest of the week with one. What I found was that the Apple Wireless Keyboard worked just as well with my iPad as it does with my MacBook Pro. It paired easily and made it simple to jump into my workflow. I also tend to use a wireless mouse, so I paired that, too. The iPad instantly became a smaller, glorified laptop.

I was able to switch between browser tabs with ease and keep writing. That said, I did notice some of the websites I rely on during the writing process didn’t adapt well to the iPad’s screen. I’ve run into similar issues on my phone when accessing backend platforms, so I didn’t fault the iPad too much — it’s more of a site design limitation than a device flaw.

When I wasn’t using the Apple Wireless Keyboard, everything was noticeably slower and more tedious. Typing quickly on the built-in iPad keyboard is tough — it pops up on-screen and takes up a lot of real estate, and the typing experience just isn’t as fluid. That’s when I started using the speech-to-text feature. Tapping the small microphone icon on the bottom right of the keyboard lets me dictate text directly into the input field. It turned out to be a surprisingly effective use of Siri and the iPad’s mic — accurate, fast, and a solid workaround when typing wasn’t ideal.

The positives

Split View made my work more efficient

I like to do a good bit of research before writing my stories. While I didn’t have as big of a screen to work with as I normally do, I decided to use up as much of it as possible for my researching purposes. That’s when I used Split View to help me. I don’t usually use Split View on my MacBook because of the ability to minimize browsers and then find things easily with a mouse. But, using the iPad made me realize how I should be using it more.

Split View lets you use two apps at once and put one on one half of the screen and the other on the other half. I put our backend system on one side and a website I was reading on the other to give me more ease to go back and forth.

Another use for Split View was when I was using Spotify to create a new running playlist. I wanted to have that side-by-side with whatever I was doing at the time, so I could add some songs, do something else, then go back to adding songs. Keeping it up made it easier than just always swiping upward to see all the open apps on my iPad and tapping on the one I wanted to use again. Spotify, while it doesn’t sound as good on my iPad as it does on my MacBook, worked just fine.

Often, I’ll be winding down for the night and want to watch something. If it’s a show my wife also wants to see, we’ll watch together on the TV. But if our interests don’t align — or she’s already watching something I’m not into — I’ll usually head to the other room and watch something on my laptop.

Lately, she’s been deep into The Handmaid’s Tale, which isn’t really my thing. So I grabbed the iPad, went into the other room, and streamed Netflix there instead. I don’t need to hype up how easy it is to stream on an iPad. Despite the smaller screen, it was the perfect way to unwind and catch up on something I actually wanted to watch.

Things I wasn’t crazy about during the switch

There are some drawbacks to not having a laptop

On a few mornings each week, I’d start my day by using the iPad to check emails and get a sense of what needed to get done. I’d sit with a cup of tea and scroll through my inbox. But coming from a desktop environment, I had to adjust to the iPadOS experience — most apps are designed for touch interaction, not keyboard and mouse. Swiping through emails with a finger felt less efficient, and honestly, I didn’t love managing my inbox this way.

Opening certain apps, like the Microsoft Office suite, also felt a bit limiting compared to their desktop versions. They worked, but not with the same depth or fluidity I was used to.

Having only one USB-C port was also a bit tough. I do like to store some things on an external hard drive when I need to clean up storage, and that was hard to do if my iPad wasn’t fully charged, because the charging port is where I’d plug it in. It wasn’t the worst thing, but it’s something I had to plan for in advance. Also, I know eventually I’d have to rely mainly on cloud or external storage, as the iPad’s internal storage would fill up faster than a MacBook would.

The portability of the iPad made it really convenient to use. It’s much lighter than my MacBook Pro, and thanks to the case we have on it, it props up easily wherever I set it down. That said, since I prefer using it with a keyboard and mouse, I still had to carry those around. For me, that’s not a big deal — I already carry them for my MacBook anyway. But for someone with a MacBook that has a built-in, fully functional keyboard, it might feel more like an inconvenience than a benefit.

Would I make the switch full time?

I’m not sold yet, but it’s closer

I’m not ready to give up on my laptop yet. Probably because of how much time I’ve spent using it over the years and how accustomed my brain is to switching apps and programs quickly using the touchpad or different macOS methods. But I can see a world where having an iPad, along with an Apple Pencil, could be incredibly helpful for full work purposes.

I would use different applications with the touchscreen iPad than I would on a MacBook, so I’d likely be shifting my thought process of how I went about each day. Without one, I still didn’t find myself struggling as much as I thought I would. Using the iPad for work purposes was generally a smoother process than expected, and it’s something I can definitely consider again, especially if I’m packing for a trip and want to use my iPad for light work.