Can man live by iPad alone?

Could you really ditch your Mac in favour of Apple's tablet?

- Written by David Crookes

When I purchased my most recent iPad Air, I always envisioned that it would be used in various ways. It's why I also bought a Smart Keyboard Folio - a device that has since been replaced by the superior Magic Keyboard Folio with its extra line of function keys and a trackpad - along with an Apple Pencil. This was going to be an iPad used for work, creativity and entertainment.

Yet I admit that I haven't really got stuck into the work side of things using an iPad. I tend to use a MacBook on my travels and a Mac mini in the office so ditching both for a full week did fill me with some trepidation. Would it slow me down? Would I become frustrated if key features that power me through the week are missing? But then I remembered Apple's tagline for iPadOS 26 - 'Work. Flows.'

Monday

The idea here was that I wouldn't touch my Mac for a week, so I needed to ensure I had my important files to hand. This was as simple as firing up the Mac and going to Apple menu > System Settings > [username] > iCloud > See All, at which point I could use the toggles to sync apps such as Pages and Numbers. I also clicked iCloud Drive and made sure that 'Sync this Mac' and 'Desktop & Documents Folders' were active. Next, on the iPad, I opened Settings, selected my [username] > iCloud > iCloud Drive and ensured everything I needed was synced there too.

With the Mac powered down, I decided to write this article using

HOW TO... Multitask on iPad >

Enable multitasking

Choose how you want apps to appear on your iPad by going to Settings > Multitasking & Gestures. If you select Full Screen Apps, you're effectively saying 'no' to multitasking. We suggest opting for Windowed Apps.

Use the grab handle