Brief Summary
This video explores the iPad Pro as a powerful productivity tool, detailing its advantages over a MacBook, the author's workflow, essential accessories, and recommended apps for coding, editing, writing, note-taking, and more. It also covers tips for limiting social media usage and optimising the iPad for productivity, concluding with a recommendation for the best iPad model to get.
- Portability and cellular connectivity make the iPad a convenient tool for productivity on the go.
- The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil enhance the iPad's functionality for writing, drawing, and general use.
- Apps like Apollo (local LLM), Jump (remote access), Perplexity (AI search), and Obsidian (note-taking) are essential for productivity.
iPad Pro setup (coding, editing, writing, note-taking, reading)
The author introduces their iPad Pro as a favourite productivity device, highlighting its versatility for tasks such as coding, video editing, note-taking, accessing Obsidian, reviewing flashcards, and reading books. The iPad's cellular support allows for usage in various locations without relying on public Wi-Fi. The author prefers using the iPad over a MacBook in many situations, especially while travelling, and emphasises its power when used in conjunction with a MacBook. The video will cover the reasons for the iPad's power, how the author uses it for productivity, the physical setup, favourite apps, and why the 2022 iPads are considered one of the best releases.
Why use an iPad over a Macbook?
The iPad's portability is a key advantage, especially the 11-inch model, which is about the size of a notebook and easily fits into small bags. The battery life is good, particularly with promotion turned off and battery saver enabled, and it can be charged with a standard phone charger. Cellular connectivity, supported by e-SIM, allows for unlimited data plans, costing only an additional $10 in the US. Apps like Arrow facilitate buying cellular data and installing an e-SIM while travelling in countries like Taiwan and Japan, making it convenient and secure to use the iPad on trains and in cafes.
How I use the iPad (workflow)
At home, the author uses the iPad as a second or third monitor with a magnetic mount. It can function as a native iPad app display or seamlessly connect to a MacBook as an additional monitor with minimal latency. Even without using it as a second monitor, the same mouse can control the iPad, highlighting the continuity between Apple devices, such as seamless copying and pasting. When actively using the iPad, it is attached to the Magic Keyboard, which provides a laptop-like experience.
Essential accessories for the iPad
The Magic Keyboard is essential for transforming the iPad into a laptop replacement, featuring a trackpad and a clicky, comfortable keyboard with adjustable angles. It supports various keyboard shortcuts similar to those on a Mac, such as command space for opening applications and command tab for switching between apps. Additional accessories attached to the back of the Magic Keyboard include an Apple Pencil holder for secure storage and a MagSafe holder for attaching a phone, which can be used to display a calendar or to-do list while working on the iPad.
Best productivity apps for the iPad
The author shares their favourite productivity apps for the iPad, starting with Apollo, which allows users to install a local AI for offline use. This includes various AI models like DeepSeek, Mistro, and Llama, ensuring data privacy and accessibility without an internet connection. The next app is Jump, used for remotely logging into a Mac, enabling coding or video editing on the iPad when the MacBook is unavailable.
Local LLM that you can use offline
Apollo is an application that enables the installation of a local AI on the iPad, allowing for use without an internet connection. It offers a variety of downloadable AI models, including DeepSeek, Mistro, and Llama, which are solid LLMs that can be installed locally. This ensures that no data is sent to any server, providing a private and accessible AI solution for situations such as working on an airplane.
Remote login application for coding, editing (Run mac OSX on iPad)
Jump is used to remotely log in to the author's Mac, allowing them to code or edit videos directly on the iPad, even without the MacBook present. The app allows for adjusting the aspect ratio and settings, and the latency is low enough to enable productive work. Jump is installed on both the Mac and the iPad, making it easy to set up and use.
Perplexity: news synthesizing
Perplexity is an AI search app that is powerful for research and in-depth analysis, such as examining a company's financial statements or summarising news events. It provides comprehensive summaries with sources and allows for follow-up questions. Unlike other AI tools, Perplexity allows users to focus searches on specific sources like Reddit, YouTube, or academic papers.
Obsidian on the iPad and other notetaking apps
Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app with features like a graph view to visualise connections between notes. Unique features include daily notes, which create a new note with the current date for daily record-keeping. All notes are saved locally, allowing for offline access, and Vim shortcuts are supported. The author also uses Apple Notes for handwritten notes and diagrams due to its superior Apple Pencil support. A tip for using the Magic Keyboard is to flip it around to create a raised writing surface.
Books app and workflow
The default iOS Books app is used for listening to audiobooks and reading books due to its UI and speed. Books downloaded from the internet can be added to the app and synced across iOS devices. A useful workflow involves using split screen with Obsidian to take notes while reading.
Todo app that I use
Things 3 is the author's preferred to-do app, syncing across computer, phone, and Apple Watch. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription fees, featuring a minimalistic UI. The setup and usage are based on the GTD (Getting Things Done) system, which is detailed in a dedicated video for channel members.
Project management software notion
Notion is used for project management, such as planning videos and managing the Doco app. While Obsidian is used for personal note-taking and learning, Notion is better suited for planning timelines and collaborating with others due to its document-sharing capabilities.
Apps to help you limit social media usage
To maintain productivity, the author sets limitations on the iPad to prevent it from becoming an entertainment device. The Burnout Buddy app is used to schedule when social media and distracting apps are allowed, with options to block them completely. Unwrapped for YouTube customises the YouTube experience in Safari by removing comments, descriptions, and related videos, and setting the homepage to a search bar.
Additional tips for the iPad (remove blue light, grayscale)
Additional tips include using widgets to take advantage of the screen real estate, such as displaying to-do lists, calendars, or habit trackers. Shortcuts can be added to the control centre for quick access to frequently used functions. The author has shortcuts for creating new to-dos, turning on grayscale (using accessibility settings), and activating a colour filter to remove blue light, which helps reduce sleep disruption when using the iPad at night.
The best iPad to get in 2025
The 2022 iPad Pro is recommended due to its two back cameras (including a super wide angle) and a wider front camera compared to newer models. The newer iPads are thinner, which is seen as a drawback as it makes the Apple Pencil more prone to falling off. While the Magic Keyboard for the newer model has an escape key, this can be remapped on the older model. The refreshed iPad Air with Magic Keyboard is also a good option, though it only has one camera. If you already have an unused iPad, repurposing it for productivity is highly recommended.
