For example, downloading multiple files with Safari’s download manager on the Mac and having them saved in the Finder is easier than using iCab on iOS if I later need to move those files to an SD card (or, God forbid, a USB drive). For all the effort I’ve put into trying to optimize my iPad setup and get everything done on iOS without macOS, there are still certain tasks that I can only perform on a Mac. With the iPad Pro I can work from my desk and the kitchen table and the sofa and the balcony with the Mac mini, I have to sit in a corner of my bedroom.Īnd it’s not like I only use my Mac for recording podcasts. After working on the iPad as my main computer for the past seven years, I guess I take its extreme portability for granted. As I noted in the last installment of iPad Diaries, I like using macOS for certain tasks that are not available on iOS, but I don’t like being forced to sit down at my desk to use a different computer.

The fact that I acquired a Mac mini and have been using it more than my old MacBook Pro does not mean I’m abandoning the iPad Pro and “going back to the Mac”. My Mac mini is primarily a home server dedicated to tasks that are not supported on iOS such as running Plex Media Server, adding HomeKit compatibility to unsupported accessories via homebridge, and downloading 4K versions of YouTube videos using shell scripts.

The main work-related task that I need to perform on macOS is podcast recording 1. In case it wasn’t clear with the first installment of this mini-series, the iPad Pro is still my primary computer and I still use it every day for the majority of my work. If you’re intrigued, however, strap in because I have a lot to share.Īllow me to offer some context first. If you find this idea of reducing macOS to an app that runs on the iPad upsetting, the rest of this article likely isn’t going to make you happy. Today, I’m going to cover one of those two external displays – the iPad Pro running the Luna Display app – and how I’ve been using it to have “macOS as an app” on my iPad Pro. I also described my podcasting setup and how I’ve been taking advantage of Keyboard Maestro to automate window resizing across my two displays connected to the Mac mini. In the first part of my ongoing experiment with controlling and accessing a Mac from the iPad Pro, I covered FileExplorer – the app I use to open Finder locations from iOS’ Files app – and shared a collection of shortcuts to control certain macOS features via Siri and the Shortcuts app. You can find more installments here and subscribe to the dedicated RSS feed.

IPad Diaries is a regular series about using the iPad as a primary computer.

Luna display for mac