Power Up Your iPad

Can your iPad work like a MacBook on the move? Our field expert finds out…

- Adam Banks

Tim Cook once said the iPad could be a “replacement for a notebook PC”. Weird flex for a guy who makes the world’s leading notebook PC, but can it really be done?

Like learning a foreign language, I reckon the way to do this is by total immersion, so I cast aside my MacBook Pro, having set iCloud to sync my stuff. That includes the Documents folder for my macOS user account, so I can access work that isn’t already on iCloud Drive or Dropbox; iCloud is also set up on my iPad. I’m using my iPad 10.2–inch ($429, 128GB of storage), which I’ve equipped with a Smart Keyboard ($159) and Pencil ($99). Obviously, if you’re an iPad Pro user, you can use the Smart Keyboard Folio (from $179) and Pencil 2 ($129).

Essential iPad apps

iWORK

Free apple.com/iwork

With Pages, Numbers and Keynote it’s easy to create neat documents on the touchscreen. Advanced features are limited. Office files can be imported, but you’ll need Microsoft apps for sharing with Office users.

MICROSOFT OFFICE

From free products.office.com

Office Online (office. com) lets you open docs in a Safari window, with limited editing. Installing Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iPadOS gives you desktop–like tools unlocked for Office 365 subscribers.

SPARK

Free sparkmailapp.com

iPadOS Mail can handle Outlook, Gmail and more as well as iCloud: go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Add Account. But if you’re not a fan, Spark is a great alternative, with strong integration, team tools, and smart message prioritization.

FANTASTICAL 2

$9.99 flexibits.com