TL:DR Using an iPad as a PC is possible, but only in a limited use case. I feel that for the average user the iPad can be as capable as a PC for them. However apple needs either allow proper third party app stores on their devices. Or add in missing functionality to iPad OS to make it feature parity to Mac OS, like being able to connect with third party devices over USB-C.

----Pre-Ramble My thoughts on an iPad and why I have one----

I think everyone has seen, or at least hear of this apple add, where a kid with an iPad asks “what’s a computer”. This ad has always irritated me since the iPad has never had the same power, let along software or support a traditional PC has ever had. At the time, and up until recently the iPad for me has been a Glorified iPod Touch with a bigger screen.

However since then Apple has attempted to make the hardware more computer like, moving from the more conventional A series of chips to their M series for their newer higher end devices. They moved away from lightning to USB-C on the iPads before the European Union forced them across their entire lineup. And with official keyboard accessories and the like, to my eyes the iPad was looking more and more like a Computer, than it use to.

I eventually got my own, a 3rd gen iPad Pro when they were discounted. I assumed the M chips would have a long shelf life, which so far has proven correct with iPad OS 18 support promised. It’s purpose was for Facetime and iMessage chats with family, but eventually grew to be my Streaming Video player and Web Comic reader.

I tried to do more on my iPad to see if it could do more. But every time I found that the App I wanted was behind a subscription paywall, had hidden fees, or was always online. A sad reality as a result of Apple’s policies and complete lack of third party app stores. As much as I detest Android tablets, because of services like F-Droid, they have a much more robust software library which I can trust. Even though I do prefer the iPad software library which feels like they were designed for the device.

----Using my iPad as a Computer----

Now the reason I tested to see if I could use my iPad like a PC was because of my useless laptop. It’s a Gigabyte U4UD, and it has the worse battery life I’ve ever seen in a PC. It literally cannot last more than 30 minutes off the charger. Even when the battery was working well, it barely lasted 1-2 hours on a charge.

The reason I care about battery life was because I was going to visit my in-laws in the next Provence over. With several hours on the road and no guaranteed power jack near where I’ll set up and I needed a device with a battery that will last long enough for me to do some work.

And my iPad… was the only device that was left. On paper it could do the work, I’ve settled on my Office Suite with Apple Works (Pages, Number, Keynote), the default mail client is better than K-9 on android, and for web browsing I just switched over to the Orion Web Browser, and while it’s not perfect, it has a much nicer browsing experience than default Safari.

So I packed a much smaller bag, and was off on my 4 day trip.

I actually didn’t charge my iPad the night before, and when we arrived at our first overnight spot it still had a charge. Now if you’ve used a modern PC with Modern Standby you should know how much of a shock this was to me. And the wins kept coming. I brought along a Pi Media Server for movie nights and it was acting up. I needed to SSH into it to see what was up. I didn’t preload anything and a quick google search showed Termius would do the job, and it did. Though I feel my Logitech keyboard case really helped here.

My only issue was that I wanted to listen to music on my iPad, and forgot to sync my library via iTunes before I left. No issue I though most Apple app will let you import the files by “sharing” them. So I move a few songs over to test and… no share option. One Google search later revealed that it’s not possible. Thanks Apple. Sure I could’ve used VLC, but I’ve already dug out my phone at just use that instead.

Day 2 we were on a ferry, and I again still haven’t charged my iPad. It was around 30% ish I think. And I was able to spend most of that 1.5h ferry ride doing work on my iPad with Pages. Now Apple Work’s isn’t the best Office Suite, it feels more like Wordpad more than Word. But as it is a proper offline office software I couldn’t complain. Google Docs and Word technically work, but are online office suites, which I don’t trust to work where the internet isn’t a guarantee. Collabora Office would be a good alternative (Libre Office is my goto at home), but it has virtually no compatibility with the iPad keyboard mode. So it’s more frustrating to use than helpful.

By the time we arrive at our Hotel the iPad had 8% left. God I love M class silicon. But I also got a renewed hatred for iPad OS. We went for Fish and Chips and I got some nice photos on my Phone I wanted to share with those on iMessage. I tried to connect my iPad to my Android phone over USB-C and… nothing. I tried KDE Connect, and I couldn’t find it. Why Apple, did I have to upload my pictures to Facebook, download them on my iPad before I could send them to people when my Phone was right there, and I know M chips can talk with Android, because I know MacOS can. Lessons learnt for next time, BRING USB-C FLASH DRIVE TO AVOID APPLE SHENANIGANS.

But we got to count our blessing when they happen. Because hey, I was playing The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages on my iPad via Delta from the App Store. Sure it wasn’t a perfect experience, there was a bug that de-synced audio the longer you played GBC games (no I wasn’t using Bluetooth headphones). And I was able to connect my PS Vita to my iPad to move the save over… even if the connection is finicky.

Apple really doesn’t want you to connect anything to their devices do they?

Day 3 was were things got really interesting. Because I saw the light, the iPad started making sense. Sure I can’t connect much to it. But when you are woken up by the 5am sun and you don’t want to wake your wife sleeping next to you. The last thing you’d want is to mess around with cables and adapters and make too much noise.

I got work done in pages, check up and fired off some emails, all while listening to some video and podcast on my browser. I really wish the iPad had a headphone jack, but I’ve grown use to the USB-C adapters at this point. Even then I took some nice photos the day before and was going to wait and edit them when I got home. But remembered I could do them now since I had Affinity Photo (which was half off).

If you don’t do much off device work, the iPad can be as capable as any PC. Especially now that most software designed for computers are just websites. Sure you can’t code on an iPad, and outside of drawing most professional software is gimped. But if all you do is light office work and web browsing, then the iPad really makes sense, especially on the go.

----Closing thoughts----

Nothing interesting really happened on the last day. But when I got home, I was reminded yet again just how good the battery life was. On this trip the iPad tried to be my PC, and despite a few issues it did almost everything I asked of it. My iPad effectively replaced my phone at our overnight spots, meaning when I went out, my phone actually had a charge. Yeah, it had issues, 2 of them. I couldn’t move photos over from my phone to my iPad, and I couldn’t add downloaded music to Apple Music. But when I looked at the word I did while I was out, and how I can work around those drawbacks with better planning and a USB-C Flash drive. I think I can forgive it.

I am in love with the idea of the iPad for a small form factor travel machine. And it is perfect for that work load. Though when I got home, I tried to use it more, by my hand got cramps with the Logitech keyboard case. So I am back to my laptop/desktop if I need to do actual work. But with a massive move planned for me soon, I am happy to know I can pack away my laptop and lighten my load.

----Extra Notes----

I wanted to make this into a video, but I lost some footage, and I don’t think this ramble would’ve been entertaining to watch. But I still wanted to get my thoughts out somehow.