my iPad Air 11-inch

How often do I use my iPad? Why did I buy it when most of my time is spent in front of a desktop? I don't work out of the office much, but I should.

And here's the reason why.

MY SETUP

This will be totally written on my iPad Air 11-inch with the M3 chip.

Those are the specifications, quite nice. I have the 512 GB version which is overkill based on my past experience. My previous iPad Pro 11-inch had 128 GB and I rarely used 50% of the storage.

Why did I upgrade from my 2020 iPad Pro?

• The battery life was dwindling.
• It was too heavy to carry around with the Magic Keyboard.
• I thought that it was too close to my MacBook Air (a laptop) and I needed something closer to a tablet. Not a laptop, not a phone.
• I dreamt of writing and programming from anywhere, without having to carry my laptop.

CONFUSION ALL AROUND

My old 2020 iPad Pro had a value of over $300 according to Apple, not worth exchanging it. So I handed that down and went shopping. I didn't know what I wanted, but it needed to be significantly different from my MacBook Air - which is stunningly awesome.

First, I took home the iPad Pro 11-inch. Yup, I know, same thing but without a Magic Keyboard. The specifications of the 2025 iPad Pro 11-inch are actually quite incredible. Thinner than the Air, lighter than the Air. Faster than the Air. And Oh, more expensive than the Air. By a lot.

I used that iPad for a day and returned it. It was too close to my old setup which I wasn't using and the cost of getting back to the start line wasn't worth it.

And so I decided perhaps I needed a larger screen. The 13-inch iPad Pro. And so I got that one. No Magic Keyboard also.

But the 2025 iPad Pro 13-inch was even closer to my MacBook Air. Same screen size, but less functional. No keyboard meant that I needed to buy one eventually, but even just handling it around the home, I found it difficult to just pick up, sit anywhere and start working.

So that went back to the Apple store as well. Next up, the iPad Mini with the A7 chip. This is the one that also uses the Apple Pencil. 8.3 inches diagonally. The specifications on this tiny, light, feature-packed device is unimaginable. This is a full computer, more powerful than some older desktops, in the palm of your hand. Capable of running my Sketchbook drawing app easily, as well as smooth, clear, crisp video playback. Using the Apple Pencil with this device is like holding a small notebook. While the glassy screen is not pleasant to write on, that can be fixed by buying a Paper Like screen protector, or changing the nib on the Pencil.

And guess what. After a couple of days, that was also returned. I have a BOOX Note Air 3, 10.3 inches diagonally and a Supernote Nomad which is 7.8 inches diagonally. So it really didn't fit in my workflow. For handwriting, the BOOX and Supernote are light years ahead of Apple's devices. But for Internet content, for programming, for writing with a keyboard, the MacBook Air takes over.

iPad Air M3 11-inch

After some hemming and hawing, I decided on a similar 11 inch iPad, but without the keyboard, and not the Pro. I got the iPad Air M3 version, with a generic case, and then I bought the Logitech Keys to Go 2 portable keyboard. I had the previous iteration of the Keys to Go, which I found not so good for long typing sessions.

And so, as I write this on my iPad Air 11 inch, M3 device, using the Keys to Go, it's still NOT the MacBook Air, but I think I could get used to it.

I'll spend lots of time on this device and see if my workflow improves. For sure the iPad has some advantages over the MacBook such as, portability, the Pencil, drawing apps and video playback.

And I think, just after one page, the typing experience may not suck as much as I originally thought. I've used it to do some programming on my Raspberry Pi which is running Code Server, as well as SSH to a Linux box and also write and debug some scripts. I have some work on PythonAnywhere, and for that, all I need is a browser, and Safari on the iPad works well.

I've heard a lot about iSH and a-Shell, but I don't need to turn this iPad into a Linux device. I have enough of those. And my MacBook Air with the Homebrew framework is as close to Linux as a Mac can get.