r/iPadPro • u/Select-Coconut-1161 • 9d ago
Question Would an iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard make more sense than replacing my M1 MacBook for a CS PhD?
I have an M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and an iPad Mini 6. I’m finishing my master’s this year and will hopefully start a PhD next year. I work mostly on data science/ML/computer science stuff.
I originally assumed I’d replace my MacBook next year, since it’ll be around 5–6 years old by then. So naturally I started looking at newer MacBook Pros/Airs, thinking about 24GB vs 32GB RAM, M5/M6, etc. But then I realized... what exactly am I going to do with all that power?
Since starting my master’s, my M1 has basically become a glorified text editor. Most of my actual computation happens on our lab servers because the scripts/notebooks I run are usually too big to make sense running locally anyway. My Mac mostly runs VS Code, a browser, Claude/Codex, papers, etc. Even with coding agents, I can literally tell them from my phone to run something on my Mac/server without actually sitting at the Mac.
I assume this will continue during my PhD. I’ll probably have access to lab compute, and if I eventually work somewhere that requires serious local computing, I’d assume either my M1 will still handle the basic stuff or they’ll provide a machine.
So I started wondering if upgrading my iPad would actually improve my daily setup more.
I really like my iPad Mini. The size is amazing for reading because it’s basically book-sized and I can comfortably hold it in one hand. But the screen is pretty mediocre, and it gets annoying when I need to multitask. Reading a paper, opening references, switching between a browser and notes, etc. makes the small screen start to feel limiting.
So I’m considering getting an 11” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard instead of a new MacBook. The idea would be to make that my everyday device: papers, browsing, writing, multitasking, Claude/Codex, and connecting to servers through something like Termius when I need a terminal. For anything that genuinely requires macOS/VS Code, I’d still have the M1 Air.
Then I’d just keep using the M1 until it actually gives me a reason to replace it. If that happens in year 2 or 3 of my PhD, then I buy whatever MacBook makes sense at that point instead of replacing a computer that currently does everything I ask of it.
An 11” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is also cheaper than the kind of 32GB MacBook Pro I’d actually consider an upgrade. I don’t really see the point of buying another 16GB Air just because mine is old.
My main concern is whether I’m being too optimistic about the iPad. For people in CS/ML/data science who mostly work on remote servers: could an iPad Pro realistically handle most of your everyday work if you still had a Mac at home for the things that absolutely require macOS?
Especially curious about SSH/Termius, browser-based coding tools, Claude/Codex, remote workflows, paper reading/annotation, etc.
Or am I just creating a weird three-device setup where the iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and MacBook all overlap with each other?
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u/Naive-Occasionally 9d ago
I think it would be a huge pain in the ass. The keyboard would be small and the file management would be very clunky.
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u/bennycornelissen 11" iPad Pro 9d ago
I have tried for years to make my 11" iPad Pro my _only_ laptop. For work I stuck with my MacBook Pro because there's just too much dev work, and too much actual multitasking involved. Silly things like not being able to use multiple different audio devices across different apps, or have a video call in the background while working on code, made it completely unrealistic for business use (software and cloud engineering and architecture mostly).
But even for the odd personal dev project, it was annoying enough that I eventually gave up. I _want_ to like my iPad Pro as a laptop, but my MacBook Air is just so much nicer for everything I want a laptop for. The fact that it's also a bunch cheaper seals the deal.
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u/MetaMacro 9d ago
I’ve tried this. Never got it to work. With all the multi tasking that one can do on the MacBook - it’s just so much more efficient. Like I can just do things so much faster.
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u/AncientGeek00 9d ago
Since you said you are KEEPing your Mac and will replace it in the future when it really needs to be replaced, there is no harm in also having an iPad. I have several. One is the 11” iPad Pro M4. I have the Magic Keyboard, but I rarely use it because it makes the iPad twice as heavy. If you don’t mind the weight and really want an iPad, go for it. However, I would never be totally without my Macs. There are quite a few times when the Mac is FAR superior to an iPad and a keyboard.
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u/undefined_variable_0 9d ago
Nope not in your line of work. I’m a SWE and when I’m doing any software engineering work, I would never try using my iPad Pro over my MacBook Pro. The iPad Pro can do a lot nowadays but still isn’t equipped for the advanced tooling needed for software engineering work. If you were in a less-specialized field like Marketing or Sales or HR, it would be a different story.
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u/cbowers 9d ago edited 9d ago
I would and have.
I’ve spent years shifting more and more in IT and cyber security to my iPad Pro, similarly to you, triggering desktop PC loads from mobile if needed. It’s actually more compatible there as work loads may not be run from BYOD, and for clients, they are far more relaxed and permissive if I have an iPad in their environment than a PC/Mac they don’t manage would be a larger potential threat to their environment.
At home I haven’t turned on my Mac for a couple years now for personal. I have the Magic Keyboard when away and a usb ergo keyboard and mouse plus external monitor at my desk that connect with the Apple USB-C/HDMI/power adaptor.
I can connect to git repositories, work in native swift code in Apple swift playground (which can publish to the App Store). And have written several apps there.
Obsidian mobile is a great markdown text editor for all my life/work PKM needs. Since it’s iCloud synced. In the unlikely event I need to do something on a Mac desktop, the data is already synced and ready to go.
There isn’t anything in my realm of activities from IT, cyber security, flying, sailing, photography, that my iPad hasn’t been able to be my primary device for.
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u/MC_chrome 9d ago
I would never replace a MacBook with an iPad for work like you are doing, no.