3 accessories to turn your iPad into (almost) a laptop

My iPad Pro replaced my MacBook Pro for many apps. Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

My 12.9-inch iPad Pro M2 is clearly my favorite iPad to date. In fact, it’s the iPad I’ve used the most. And it was not won.

Most iPads I use go through a period where I try to use them for a few weeks. Then they are quickly forgotten until I discover that they serve as a mouse pad or a coaster for a cup.

I think the difference with the 12.9 inch iPad Pro M2 is that the screen is bigger and the processor is faster and capable of heavy duty work like processing 4K and 5.1 video K. This iPad can even process videos encoded using the very heavy ProRes 422 HQ codec.

It’s a powerhouse that rivals the MacBook Pro in power and performance. But the iPad Pro is a tablet, and the MacBook Pro is a laptop.

Is there a way to bridge that productivity gap between tablet and laptop? Yes.

Three accessories helped me turn my iPad Pro into a device that can, in many cases, replace my laptop. Here are these three accessories.

A good keyboard

The best accessory I’ve received for my iPad Pro is Apple’s Magic Keyboard. It’s by far the best, most reliable and sturdy keyboard you can find for the iPad. And I tried a lot of keyboards.

It attaches with magnets, has an awesome folding stand, works great, adds a second USB-C port for charging, and protects the tablet when carried around.

Typing on this keyboard feels a lot like typing on my MacBook Pro, and switching from one to the other isn’t overwhelming. I’ve typed several thousand words on this keyboard and it’s simply the best.

The only downside is that this keyboard is expensive. €369. I wish there was a cheaper alternative, but if so, I haven’t found anything yet.

An Apple Pencil

I don’t use the Apple Pencil, Apple’s stylus, all the time, but when I do, it’s worth its weight in gold. I love the precision it offers compared to touching the screen with my finger, or even using the Magic Keyboard’s touchpad.

Some apps, like DaVinci Resolve for the iPad, seem to have been designed with the idea that people are going to use the Apple Pencil. The UI is much denser than what we’re used to for a mobile app, and having a high-precision pointing device makes a huge difference.

So much so that I find myself pointing at my MacBook Pro with the Apple Pencil, wishing the two would cooperate.

Thanks to the Apple Pencil, my iPad Pro is better than my MacBook Pro.

Apple Pencil (2nd gen) – Best prices:

a hub

I’ve been using the Satechi USB-C Multiport MX Hub for a few months now, and it’s a fantastic hub. This single hub connects the USB-C port on the iPad Pro and gives me two USB-C ports that can be used for devices and charging, dual HDMI ports, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB-A 3.0 ports, slots for microSD and SD cards, and a 3.5 mm audio jack port.

Everything I need, with the added bonus that it also works on my MacBook Pro and other devices.

It’s a great hub.

Some other useful accessories

There are a few other accessories that I usually carry with me. First, I use the excellent Spigen Apple Pencil stylus rest.

It attaches between the iPad Pro and the Magic Keyboard, held in place by magnets, and securely holds the Apple Pencil in the right place for charging.

Then there’s the Anker 737 Power Bank, which keeps the iPad Pro (and all my other devices) running even longer. If I need to use my iPad Pro for more than a day and I’m far from a power outlet, this 24,000 mAh power bank will come with me.

Also, when I need more storage, I connect an external SSD to this very useful USB-C port. My go-to external SSDs are the excellent Crucial X8s, which come in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. Adding storage this way is not only much cheaper than buying an iPad Pro with more storage space (Apple charges $700 to upgrade from the 128GB iPad Pro to 1TB, while a 4TB Crucial X8 is only $300), but it’s also much more convenient, as you can switch from one disk to another.

Can an iPad or iPad Pro replace a laptop?

It really depends on what you want from a laptop. In my case, adding a good keyboard and trackpad, the Apple Pencil, and a decent hub allows me to use the iPad Pro instead of a MacBook Pro in many situations .

For example, if I’m going on a hike to do photography or video, I’d much rather take the tablet than the laptop (it’s smaller, lighter, has better battery life, and it’s a lot less fragile).

It’s not so much that my iPad Pro replaces a laptop, but rather that it’s a better solution.

Source: ZDNet.com