Create Your Digital Style

I have talked about the ecosystem trap that Apple has created before and feel it is becoming harder and harder to escape, but I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. When you find yourself in an ecosystem as robust and useful as Apple’s, it starts to not feel like a trap but more of a welcoming home.

Apple’s attempt to create an ecosystem that lets you work between any of their products seamlessly has worked out pretty well. With features such as AirDrop, AirPods with the H1 chips, Handoff, AirPlay, Family Sharing, Catalyst, Sidecar, and all of the apps that sync with iCloud — like Messages and Photos.

The problem with all of Apple’s excellent products is that one can be tempted to want all of them. I have tried to follow a more minimalist lifestyle in living a life that focuses only on the essential needs in my life while limiting the wants.

When I think about my ideal non-minimalist setup, though, it would probably be a supped-up iMac, a MacBook Pro 13-inch, and an iPad Pro 11-inch with Magic Keyboard. You can argue that the MacBook Pro 13-inch would be unnecessary in this setup, but again this is my ideal setup outside of just my needs but also fulfilling my wants.

Now, I cannot only afford this ideal situation, but it also goes against my idea of a minimalist lifestyle. Options can create conflict. Because of the overlap between these three setups (desktop, laptop, and tablet), it can create decision fatigue on what to use when you want to work.

That is where I fall into this Multiple Computer Dilemma and ask myself several questions to figure out what I need (or want):

Do I pick one for everything?

If I pick just one, which one do I pick that fits all my needs? Like maybe having only a desktop at home and use my iPhone for my on the go needs and perhaps a notebook?

Do I keep using a MacBook Pro and no iPad? Or maybe switch to the iPad-only lifestyle?

What if I pick two?

Do I have a desktop computer and either an iPad Pro or MacBook for on the go, only using the desktop at home?

Or do I have a MacBook Pro set up as a desktop with a monitor and only use the MacBook Pro on the go if I absolutely need too, and have an iPad Pro as my default on the go device?

If you love technology and also use it for work, whether it is Apple, Google/Android, or Windows, you probably have had these questions swarm around your head. It isn’t just trying to find out what is best for you to work, but it also needs to fulfill that desire of being happy with the technology you own and use.

What started me thinking about this multiple computer dilemma was reviewing the iPad Pro 11-inch. Using the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard made me see that I can have the experience similar to my MacBook Pro and have a tablet. It made me rethink my whole setup.

Not only did it make me rethink my entire setup in terms of replacing my laptop but it also reminded me on how much I miss having a tablet — the in-between device that Jobs talked about during the introduction of iPad. Which created a conflict in having two devices, a MacBook Pro and a iPad, when I felt the iPad Pro could, maybe, do both.

Amid all this thinking, a quote stood out to me in a book I am reading about stoicism titled How To Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson:

The Stoic Sage, or wise man, needs nothing but uses everything well; the fool believes himself to “need” countless things, but he uses them all badly.

This idea of not needing anything and using what you have well is inspiring. A lot of times, the things that we believe we need are actually wants, not needs. Always thinking that we need things, can be never-ending, causing us not to use what we have efficiently.

Another quote that that stood out to me was something Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia, said on a recent episode of Mac Power Users when talking about his gear. After describing that he used a 13-inch MacBook Pro, he finished with the following:

Mentally for me, I am not great at multitasking, and something about having the exact setup every single time really works for me.

Then continues a little later:

I generally have a slight aversion of owning too much stuff. I like to spend whatever it takes to buy the best 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is fine, but it would stress me out to have too many bits and pieces spread out [in other tools]. Even having my iPad feels unnecessary sometimes, although I like using it for entertainment, I just like not taking much space in the world. And the idea that if I wanted to pack my bags and go anywhere, I can put everything in one bag and go and not even have to think about what all my other technologies are doing.

After thinking about these two quotes and analyzing my dilemma in needing a setup that fits my essential needs. I decided ultimately to dump the MacBook Pro and keep the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. Not only has this been working out as a great solution, but I think it also solves the dilemma I felt I was facing.

Having something that runs macOS would be very beneficial but not essential. It could fill in some gaps or some frustrations that I either face now or foresee in the future of only having an iPad Pro but don’t find those reasons strong enough for me to accrue the additional costs or the complexity it creates.

Setting up an iMac on my desk wouldn’t complicate things too much, but it would provide that friction on when I should use each tool. Because I like to use my computer in a variety of different locations, it makes more sense to have a single device that I can use anywhere.

While transitioning from my beloved MacBook Pro 13-inch to the iPad Pro 11-inch, I have been trying to come up with the smoothest path. One of the main reasons why I feel I am ready to move to an iPad only again is my love for having a tablet — and with the Magic Keyboard feel I am not compromising in losing a laptop experience as well.

In addition to a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil for my iPad setup, I have purchased a Folio Case for my iPad to help my transition from laptop to tablet mode. As I was using the iPad Pro for writing and working, it felt weird when I started wanting to watch an episode of Rick and Morty or use my iPad for a reading a recipe in the kitchen while it was still attached to the Magic Keyboard.

Because the Magic Keyboard provides the ability to rip the iPad off of the stand so seamlessly, I didn’t want to keep the iPad in the keyboard when using it for tablet activities. So I bought a Folio Case for the iPad to transfer too when I was ready to move from work to play.

The Folio Case is nice to use the iPad for consuming a TV Show or YouTube, though I do feel like the angle can be a bit far back. Sometimes, I have to stick some coasters or another flat object in-between the iPad and the folding triangle to prop the iPad upright a little more for better viewing.

I also found, while reading, the front of the cover sits flat against the back and stays pretty solid. This is due to the magnets holding the front cover to the back of the case. Unlike the floppy Smart Covers in the past, which just sat flat against the iPad’s back with no magnets to hold it.

Using a Magic Keyboard for laptop mode and a Folio Case for tablet mode has been a great experience. I once thought that the Smart Folio Keyboard could satisfy both of these needs without having two separate cases but feel it instead creates a more awkward situation.

Quinn Nelson, from Snazzy Labs, explained it best in his most recent video about the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard:

With Smart Keyboard, I felt like the IPad Pro was one device trying to do two things poorly, but with Magic Keyboard, I feel like it is two devices trying to help you do whatever it is you want to do.

It has been a year since I started writing for Medium and starting taking writing as a hobby seriously. So it is nice to reflect on my workflow for the last year and see what I can do to update and enhance certain areas for the next year. For the past three weeks, I have been loving this new setup using the iPad Pro as my everything device and have not missed using macOS.

The biggest thing that prevented me from going to the iPad Pro was using Chrome for part of my writing workflow. I was accustomed to using the Grammarly extension and working on the final edits of my posts in Chrome on the Medium CMS. On the iPad, I think I have found some workarounds for these tasks. I have also realized how small an inconvenience it is compared to the benefits I get from this setup.

I feel like I am using my computer more. I not only use it to write, pay bills, research, and other admin tasks. But now I use my computer to watch shows, read books, read more RSS feeds, and also go through email and other admin tasks with more pleasure.

I will have plenty more to say about the iPad and the new things I am doing in future posts for Techuisite, but I have to say I am pretty happy with being back to the iPad-only lifestyle. I also am looking forward to finding new ways to do certain tasks and look forward to new iPadOS updates more than I ever looked forward to macOS updates.

One of the biggest benefits of this transition is that I am happy to be using a tablet again. The iPad has allowed me to feel like I can have a single device that I can utilize to its full potential instead of being just a single device for a small set of tasks. Who knows what happens a year from now if I start to rethink my setup again. For now, though, I am excited to be living in the future again.

Repost permission: Paul Alvarez

Image:IPTC Photo Metadata

For Game Consoles, Controllers and Accessories VISIT Defined Creations