I haven’t taken my MacBook anywhere in weeks.

That wasn’t a deliberate challenge, and I’m not trying to prove that an iPad can replace every computer. It just gradually became the device I prefer to work on when I’m away from my desk.

My setup is a 13-inch M5 iPad Pro with 1 TB of storage and an Apple Pencil. Plus the white Magic Keyboard, because it is a beauty.

I use it for pretty much everything: communication, planning, writing, browsing, reviewing designs. It feels more focused than opening a laptop.

The setup works so well for one reason: I can reach a real Mac whenever I need one.

The Mac in my garage

I have a Mac mini in my garage at home. It runs OpenClaw and handles most of my agentic workflows.

All my devices are connected through Tailscale. That gives me a private tailnet where the iPad can securely reach the Mac mini without exposing it directly to the public internet.

On the iPad, I use Screens 5 when I need the full Mac desktop and Termius when a terminal is enough. I’m also experimenting with Orca to see where it fits. It lets me monitor and steer coding agents from the iPad or iPhone.

The Mac mini is deliberately locked down. It has no iCloud account and no broad access to my personal data. Instead of my full password manager, it gets a dedicated vault with only the credentials it needs.

The goal is a small blast radius. It can still work autonomously, but if something goes wrong, the damage stays contained.

Making web apps feel native

A surprising amount of my work happens in web apps. Safari and adding them to the home screen as a PWA is fine for most of them, but some desktop-style tools still feel awkward on an iPad.

For those, I use Nexus+ in fullscreen with a few custom settings. One example is a small piece of JavaScript that prevents WebKit’s rubber-band scrolling.

That may sound minor, but details like this make tools like Figma and Claude Design behave much more like proper desktop apps.

Here's the exact one I use:

What still doesn’t work

File management remains the most frustrating part of iPadOS, and it is still a lot slower than working in Finder on macOS.

Screen space is the other limitation. When I need more room, I go back to my MacBook at home, where it connects to an LG 5K monitor, giving me a great dual-monitor setup. Something that is also not great on the iPad yet.

I also bought the Wi‑Fi-only iPad and usually tether it to my iPhone while traveling. It works, but I’ll choose the cellular version next time. A device this mobile should not need the extra hotspot step every time I open it.

I like the iPad because it isn’t a Mac. For most of my work, it’s the calmer computer. When it isn’t enough, the Mac mini is a few seconds away.

My MacBook still has a place. It just doesn’t need to come everywhere with me anymore.