4 ms·

This is starting to me remind of when everyone was talking about replacing their Desktop/Laptop with an iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard for their work machine. I

This is starting to me remind of when everyone was talking about replacing their Desktop/Laptop with an iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard for their work machine. I don't know anyone who was able to do so successfully.

ghaff 3y ago
I know a couple people who travel(ed) a lot who made it work for them. Personally I never could. (And a MacBook Air is sufficiently svelte and light these days I'm not sure I would make the effort.)
IshKebab 3y ago
I think there was some guy who wrote an entire game or app just using his phone. Definitely masochistic though! This video does not look remotely better than a normal PC.
tambourine_man 3y ago
It depends on your workflow. I'd never voluntarily infringe that burden uppon myself, but if you only work on terminal/slack/zoom all day, it's quite doable.
Ancapistani 3y ago
I did, for a while. 99% of my work is on a terminal. I used Blink for that, and connected to a remote machine via MOSH. MOSH reduces perceived latency by anticipating the update, and by sending only a diff between the client's display and the up-to-date emulated client on the server. I stopped because my 11" iPad Pro just wasn't large enough for most work, and because looking down at that screen wasn't practical if I'm sitting in a chair. For working from a hammock it was amazing - but my MBP has a larger screen, no network latency at all, and I can work fully offline if necessary. If I found myself between jobs again, I'd probably sell my laptops and go back to that setup. Other than saving money on hardware, there really isn't much point to it.
cpuguy83 3y ago
The experience really isn't that bad on iPad, except the apps you end up needing to use are kind of lacking... which of course does make it not wonderful. I did this for a couple of weeks with an 11 inch pro while my laptop was being repaired (blasted keyboard... then they broke the mainboard while replacing it). The 11inch is a little small and it made some things difficult, but not how you might think. The main thing with the size is the magic keyboard thing just didn't have enough room between the bottom of the screen and where my fingers need to be so I ended up hitting that a lot. The larger ipad actually doesn't have that problem. But... I should have just gone with a macbook air instead. Same price, roughly, same battery life, more power and versatility. Anyway, you didn't ask for a review but I gave you one anyway <3
- pquki4 3y ago
  That's a big "except" you are talking. If I can do almost everything except this in app A, and everything except that in app B, which happen to be important workflows, why should I torture myself with an iPad instead of a proper Mac/PC or even Chromebook?
  - cpuguy83 3y ago
    I mean, I said as much at the end.
threeseed 3y ago
The comparison isn't right. Because in this scenario it's a Mac monitor with secondary iPad windows.
snakeyjake 3y ago
Unless your definition of "work" is limited to "programming locally" there are millions of people who have replaced their laptop with an iPad. There are millions more who use it as a content creation tool, despite HN users' insistence of that impossibility. One of my favorite youtubers (1M subscribers) produces his video content on and runs his channel from an iPad.
- wnevets 3y ago
  > One of my favorite youtubers (1M subscribers) produces his video content on and runs his channel from an iPad. What makes you think that I would know this youtuber?
  - snakeyjake 3y ago
    >What makes you think that I would know this youtuber? Absolutely nothing.
- makeitdouble 3y ago
  I think parent's point is these people probably still kept a laptop on the side, even if that's not their primary device. And it's totally fine, but we could be at a point where there was absolutely no need to keep a laptop "just in case" or for the rare occasions it's needed. I like the Connected podcast's take on it, where at some point two of the three hosts where primarily on iPad, but keeping their recording setup on the mac and a few other task where they needed another computer as a bridge for random reasons.
- goosedragons 3y ago
  There's a lot of workflows that are hampered or impaired on an iPad beyond programming. Yeah, with kludges you can kinda get most or even all of it done but usually in a less efficient manner. Missing or limited programs, limitations on using peripherals, and moving data/files between apps drags things down. Here's an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosW702fFg4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosW702fFg4
- pquki4 3y ago
sureglymop 3y ago
I will say that I have not found any digital writing experience as good as on an iPad (and yes, I had a remarkable too). The only things I use are a Linux laptop and an iPad which has completely replaced any physical paper usage for a few years already now.
makeitdouble 3y ago
The iPad ? no. A Surface Pro or a Z13 ? totally. Even chromebooks are covering all the computing needs of many people. The tablet/convertible form factor is I think here to stay, even if it doesn't dethrone the standard laptop. To your point, I'd see the same curve for the AVP: it will never become a super solid standalone device, Apple won't let other companies meddle with their vision. But Microsoft, Meta, Vive or Asus will eventually push their headsets over the line, and it won't be the default computing choice for most people, but will still be a solid choice for anyone willing to invest in the experience and take the tradeoffs.

ghaff 3y ago

I know a couple people who travel(ed) a lot who made it work for them. Personally I never could. (And a MacBook Air is sufficiently svelte and light these days I'm not sure I would make the effort.)

IshKebab 3y ago

I think there was some guy who wrote an entire game or app just using his phone. Definitely masochistic though! This video does not look remotely better than a normal PC.

tambourine_man 3y ago

It depends on your workflow. I'd never voluntarily infringe that burden uppon myself, but if you only work on terminal/slack/zoom all day, it's quite doable.

Ancapistani 3y ago

I did, for a while. 99% of my work is on a terminal. I used Blink for that, and connected to a remote machine via MOSH. MOSH reduces perceived latency by anticipating the update, and by sending only a diff between the client's display and the up-to-date emulated client on the server. I stopped because my 11" iPad Pro just wasn't large enough for most work, and because looking down at that screen wasn't practical if I'm sitting in a chair. For working from a hammock it was amazing - but my MBP has a larger screen, no network latency at all, and I can work fully offline if necessary. If I found myself between jobs again, I'd probably sell my laptops and go back to that setup. Other than saving money on hardware, there really isn't much point to it.

cpuguy83 3y ago

The experience really isn't that bad on iPad, except the apps you end up needing to use are kind of lacking... which of course does make it not wonderful. I did this for a couple of weeks with an 11 inch pro while my laptop was being repaired (blasted keyboard... then they broke the mainboard while replacing it). The 11inch is a little small and it made some things difficult, but not how you might think. The main thing with the size is the magic keyboard thing just didn't have enough room between the bottom of the screen and where my fingers need to be so I ended up hitting that a lot. The larger ipad actually doesn't have that problem. But... I should have just gone with a macbook air instead. Same price, roughly, same battery life, more power and versatility. Anyway, you didn't ask for a review but I gave you one anyway <3

pquki4 3y ago
That's a big "except" you are talking. If I can do almost everything except this in app A, and everything except that in app B, which happen to be important workflows, why should I torture myself with an iPad instead of a proper Mac/PC or even Chromebook?
- cpuguy83 3y ago
  I mean, I said as much at the end.

threeseed 3y ago

The comparison isn't right. Because in this scenario it's a Mac monitor with secondary iPad windows.

snakeyjake 3y ago

Unless your definition of "work" is limited to "programming locally" there are millions of people who have replaced their laptop with an iPad. There are millions more who use it as a content creation tool, despite HN users' insistence of that impossibility. One of my favorite youtubers (1M subscribers) produces his video content on and runs his channel from an iPad.

wnevets 3y ago
> One of my favorite youtubers (1M subscribers) produces his video content on and runs his channel from an iPad. What makes you think that I would know this youtuber?
- snakeyjake 3y ago
  >What makes you think that I would know this youtuber? Absolutely nothing.
makeitdouble 3y ago
I think parent's point is these people probably still kept a laptop on the side, even if that's not their primary device. And it's totally fine, but we could be at a point where there was absolutely no need to keep a laptop "just in case" or for the rare occasions it's needed. I like the Connected podcast's take on it, where at some point two of the three hosts where primarily on iPad, but keeping their recording setup on the mac and a few other task where they needed another computer as a bridge for random reasons.
goosedragons 3y ago
There's a lot of workflows that are hampered or impaired on an iPad beyond programming. Yeah, with kludges you can kinda get most or even all of it done but usually in a less efficient manner. Missing or limited programs, limitations on using peripherals, and moving data/files between apps drags things down. Here's an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosW702fFg4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosW702fFg4
pquki4 3y ago

sureglymop 3y ago

I will say that I have not found any digital writing experience as good as on an iPad (and yes, I had a remarkable too). The only things I use are a Linux laptop and an iPad which has completely replaced any physical paper usage for a few years already now.

makeitdouble 3y ago

The iPad ? no. A Surface Pro or a Z13 ? totally. Even chromebooks are covering all the computing needs of many people. The tablet/convertible form factor is I think here to stay, even if it doesn't dethrone the standard laptop. To your point, I'd see the same curve for the AVP: it will never become a super solid standalone device, Apple won't let other companies meddle with their vision. But Microsoft, Meta, Vive or Asus will eventually push their headsets over the line, and it won't be the default computing choice for most people, but will still be a solid choice for anyone willing to invest in the experience and take the tradeoffs.