After reading Will Apple EVER consider macOS for iPads? I think I should share my experience with macOS on iPad (kind of).
It is because I found out that with a remote desktop app (in my case, Jump Desktop) on iPad and with a Mac mini at home, I don’t need a MacBook Pro anymore. Let me explain:
My iPad is cellular-enabled. It has an unlimited 5G cellular plan ($11.5-16.5 per month). When I am at home, I use the Mac mini with a Studio Display. When I leave home, I can only bring the iPad. If I need to do something that the iPad is not capable of doing, I can just “Jump” to the Mac mini at home.
Why this combo is better than a MacBook?
Cellular
The iPad has cellular, and it is connected to the internet all the time. The Mac might not, especially when I am not at home.
- When I open the mail/messages app, iPad will have all my mails already downloaded. On the Mac, however, I will have to connect to my iPhone’s hotspot/Guest Wi-Fi, and then wait for the emails to download. It can take 30 seconds to several minutes.
- I can back up my iPad to iCloud with cellular wherever I am. On the Mac, however, I cannot back up my Mac using Time Machine unless I bring the USB hard drive with me or I am connected to home Wi-Fi. (I still can back up my Mac to cloud with third-party apps, though.)
- I can also back up Lightroom photos with cellular. With USB 3, I can import all photos to iPad, and then it will upload to Lightroom through 5G. I can then jump to my Mac mini and those photos are already in my Mac mini’s Lightroom. After I jump to my Mac, I can do AI Denoise, etc. After I have done AI Denoise, I can go back to my iPad’s Lightroom and do more things.
- Streaming, app experiences, etc. It’s just much more convenient with Cellular.
Entertainment Apps
- Netflix for iPad (or a lot of other streaming apps). Before I fly, I can download a bunch of shows on my iPad for the flight. I cannot do this on my Mac. Some streaming websites won’t even play 4K HDR on my Mac (but can do 4K HDR on iPad apps. Like Paramount, at least it used to be).
- Streaming on iPad’s OLED display is just better and more convenient. It is smaller and lighter, and I can take off the keyboard when I watch the shows. It is also easier than Vision Pro.
- Reading books. It’s just more natural to use iPad to read books than MacBooks.
Others
- Touch screen and Apple Pencil. Macs don’t have this. And I can also use Touch Screen/Pencil when I jump to macOS.
- My Mac mini at home is connected to a bunch of peripherals: two 4TB SSDs, 10+TB hard drives. It also has gigabit internet. When I jump to my Mac, all those peripherals are accessible. If I don’t remote desktop, I will have to bring those peripherals with me. And I can lose them, risking my data.
It is also better than iPad + MacBook Pro:
- iPad is much more lightweight than MacBook Pro. Bringing both iPad and MacBook Pro is too heavy.
- Having more devices is also hard to manage when traveling. Like charging an extra device, I have to bring extra cables, and sometimes I forget to charge one of them. Also, things like syncing across two devices are hard.
The exact configuration I use
I use Jump Desktop because it also streams speaker and microphone. You also need to install Jump Desktop Connect if you want to stream audio using the fluid protocol.
SwitchResX
I use SwitchResX to add new custom iPad resolutions to my Mac. So that when my iPad connects to my Mac, my Mac can switch to iPad’s resolution to match the iPad’s screen.
First, take a screenshot on your iPad. Then, go to the Photos app and read the resolution. My iPad has a 2420 × 1668 resolution:
Then, deduct 50 pixels in the horizontal direction. In my case, 1668 - 50 = 1618, so the new resolution is 2420 × 1618.
In SwitchResX, add that new resolution. Remember to choose a scaled resolution.
Then save (Command + S), and reboot. On iPads, jump to Desktop, and use this:
Why deduct 50 pixels?
It is because by default, Jump will not use the Home Indicator Area. If you want to use the Home Indicator Area, you can enable the “Appearance - Use Home Indicator Area” in Jump Desktop’s settings on iPad and do not deduct 50.
I found I don’t want it to use this area because my Mac’s Dock is on the bottom. Using this area affects my ability to click the Dock on my Mac.