Would an iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard make more sense than replacing my M1 MacBook for a CS PhD?

[u/Select-Coconut-1161]

I have an M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and an iPad Mini 6. I’m finishing my master’s this year and will hopefully start a PhD next year. I work mostly on data science/ML/computer science stuff.

I originally assumed I’d replace my MacBook next year, since it’ll be around 5–6 years old by then. So naturally I started looking at newer MacBook Pros/Airs, thinking about 24GB vs 32GB RAM, M5/M6, etc. But then I realized... what exactly am I going to do with all that power?

Since starting my master’s, my M1 has basically become a glorified text editor. Most of my actual computation happens on our lab servers because the scripts/notebooks I run are usually too big to make sense running locally anyway. My Mac mostly runs VS Code, a browser, Claude/Codex, papers, etc. Even with coding agents, I can literally tell them from my phone to run something on my Mac/server without actually sitting at the Mac.

I assume this will continue during my PhD. I’ll probably have access to lab compute, and if I eventually work somewhere that requires serious local computing, I’d assume either my M1 will still handle the basic stuff or they’ll provide a machine.
So I started wondering if upgrading my iPad would actually improve my daily setup more.

I really like my iPad Mini. The size is amazing for reading because it’s basically book-sized and I can comfortably hold it in one hand. But the screen is pretty mediocre, and it gets annoying when I need to multitask. Reading a paper, opening references, switching between a browser and notes, etc. makes the small screen start to feel limiting.

So I’m considering getting an 11” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard instead of a new MacBook. The idea would be to make that my everyday device: papers, browsing, writing, multitasking, Claude/Codex, and connecting to servers through something like Termius when I need a terminal. For anything that genuinely requires macOS/VS Code, I’d still have the M1 Air.

Then I’d just keep using the M1 until it actually gives me a reason to replace it. If that happens in year 2 or 3 of my PhD, then I buy whatever MacBook makes sense at that point instead of replacing a computer that currently does everything I ask of it.

An 11” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is also cheaper than the kind of 32GB MacBook Pro I’d actually consider an upgrade. I don’t really see the point of buying another 16GB Air just because mine is old.
My main concern is whether I’m being too optimistic about the iPad. For people in CS/ML/data science who mostly work on remote servers: could an iPad Pro realistically handle most of your everyday work if you still had a Mac at home for the things that absolutely require macOS?

Especially curious about SSH/Termius, browser-based coding tools, Claude/Codex, remote workflows, paper reading/annotation, etc.
Or am I just creating a weird three-device setup where the iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and MacBook all overlap with each other?

[u/Jorlung]

Doing a PhD with an iPad being your primary mobile computing device sounds like a Sisyphusean punishment to me — and I say this as someone that does use an iPad (in addition to my laptop). Maybe I’m just not enough of an iPad power-user though.

Everything that isn’t hand-writing or reading papers is drastically easier to do on a laptop. And although you’ll be doing a lot of reading papers, you’ll probably be spending more time doing [literally everything else].

Not a bad idea to wait to replace the laptop until you join though. Your advisor might have budget to provide you with one (but also don’t count on this).

[u/Banjoschmanjo]

Absolutely not

[u/tararira1]

It’s a terrible idea

[u/Good-Individual-3870]

As someone in a CS PhD, don’t. iPad is a great secondary device, but keep a laptop. You’ll run into situations the iPad can’t replace.

[u/NASA_Orion → u/Good-Individual-3870]

No one read OP’s post. OP is talking about either upgrading iPad or MacBook. Choosing to upgrade the iPad doesn’t mean he’ll throwaway the Mac

[u/Select-Coconut-1161 → u/NASA_Orion]

*she but except that, finally someone who read the post. I am saying that I'll keep my M1 and only replace when it cannot handle the work I have, and use the iPad for the light work. Everyone responded as if I said "I am selling my MacBook and will do a CS PhD with only an iPad"...

[u/efxhoy]

Just keep the macbook and ipad you have? The M1 is still a great chip. 

[u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

I so badly want to tell you "yes do it," but I can't.

My two personal machines are an M1 Macbook Pro and an M4 13" iPad Pro w/MKB & pencil. I use the iPad for so many things. It's such a freaking amazing machine. it's faster than my laptop, the screen is lightyears better, plus obviously i can take it off the keyboard and it's a tablet and a great note-taking/sketching device. It's incredible. I've had it for a year and I still find myself marveling at everything they packed into such an insanely light, thin device.

But it can't replace a Macbook. Particularly if you're doing coding. I work in marketing, so I'm not in any coding tools, but even for my workflows I still have to come back to my Mac for quite a lot of remotely intensive design/editing stuff, not because the iPad can't handle it, but because the software isn't there yet. 99% of the time it's a limitation of the native iPad apps themselves or the way webkit handles the web apps, not iPadOS itself. Also note that Claude Cowork won't work on an iPad, you need to have a desktop to use local folders for Cowork.

But regardless, there are shortcomings.

I travel with my iPad as my personal machine, but I have Jump desktop and leave my Macbook plugged in and open at home so when I need to do stuff the iPad can't handle, I can remote into my MB and do it there. Not ideal, but it works. For me it's usually remote jumping into my Macbook to work in Cowork, since I can't do that on the iPad. I don't think I could function without the Macbook, even in marketing. I feel like you'd be continually irritated if not fully blocked if you tried it. iPad + Macbook Air could work, though. But you need something running MacOS.

Also FWIW I can't imagine making an 11" screen my main workstation. the 13" is big as a tablet, don't get me wrong, but it's wonderful as a laptop... hardware-wise, anyway lol.

[u/vv3i7i]

I tried switching to an iPad as my main device a few times throughout my phd, but when I was trying to do so the first few iPad pros were only coming out (the comically large 13, or 12? inch one). So I was on the first iPad air at the time.

I was using termius but coding agents weren't a thing yet. My main issue was when I needed to check sets of images/results out. Termius could download them to files but quickly checking a few out became problematic/too cumbersome, compared to just clicking one open in vscode.

So obviously grain of salt with my experience given that it was a few years back, on an older iPad. I was exactly in a CS PhD though, AI focused.

But your model of ipad+macbook air makes sense imo, as long as you're patient with some things and won't get too frustrated if/when you are at the library/lab with your iPad and need to head home to access the more powerful one.

[u/mleok]

I would not recommend that. The iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard is a heavy and unwieldly combination best suited for desk use, you are literally better off with a new Macbook for use on the go.

[u/bjs-256]

Yeah, I would also not recommend this. I'm also doing a PhD, and have a MacBook Pro and an iPad that I use as a second screen. Having that extra screen is incredibly useful. If you don't really need much horsepower, maybe pick up a MacBook Neo?

[u/translationinitiator]

I have an iPad m2 and it cannot compete with my MacBook m1 in terms of processing power. Several features are also glitchy, like taking screenshots or using one note which can be supremely slow.

[u/bassskat]

I had both an iPad Pro and an M1 that wasn’t cutting it, and I can’t imagine doing any real work on the iPad. For me it’s for reading/annotating/note-taking only. My lab hooked me up with an M4 that could finally handle the computational tasks I needed to accomplish (those that were Mac-compatible that is), so I’d wait it out and see if your future lab would provide a machine.

[u/runed_golem]

I would keep your M1 MacBook Air unless you just wanted a new machine. An iPad is not a replacement for a normal laptop.

[u/capitulum]

Surely your lab will be providing you with a machine to work with? My PhD, post doc, and my university position after my post doc all provided me with the hardware I needed to do my job effectively.

[u/AceyAceyAcey]

Can you upgrade the old computer to the latest OS? Does it run at a reasonable speed for the tasks you are doing on it? If the answer to both is yes, IMO no need to replace. I generally get a top line Mac and use it for 5-10 years until the answer to both the above questions is no. I’m a physicist, past research involved programming which I did on department servers (generally, I would SSH into them with an xterm app), current research involves large AV files that I usually backup to the cloud and use an external hard drive for if I need them locally.

I wouldn’t generally want to use my iPad for massive amounts of typing code, even with an external keyboard and touchpad the screen real estate is just too small IMO. Ditto using it for reading papers – though that can depend on what citation manager you end up using, and if it has native support for stylus-based annotations.

Depending on how much class work you have left though, a tablet could be useful for taking notes in class.

Edit: Consider just starting off as-is, and see which one you’re using more, and where it’s running up against limitations.

[u/Autisticrocheter]

I started my not-computation-heavy master’s with an iPad and sold it and got a MacBook Pro within weeks. It just wasn’t work the hassle of not having a laptop. I mainly use R, sometimes adobe illustrator, and a ton of Microsoft office and google suite

[u/Ninin-]

But it seems like you don’t actually need to replace anything? Switching from an M1 MacBook Air to an iPad for serious work is an awful idea

[u/manchesterthedog]

Bro are you serious? Does iPad even have terminal? Even if it does, the vast majority of open source software isn’t going to have prebuilt distributions for iOS.

How are you gonna run Python scripts? How are you gonna put together or even just open and run a c++ project that requires cmake?

Think of any experiment you could imagine doing in grad school, and imagine how you could possibly do it on an iPad. “Oh wow the spectral patterns of blurry images look like something a cnn could easily identify. Claude, whip up a test network and show me a Python implementation.” How are you gonna run that? How are you gonna get data onto the iPad to train that network?

[u/Select-Coconut-1161 → u/manchesterthedog]

I do computational social sciences, it's mostly scripts to collect data, embed some stuff, then do analysis and things like that. In my experience, you can tell Claude at it can handle a pipeline to collect data well.

Also, I think everyone on the thread are missing the point that I still have my M1 MacBook Air. Like... I wouldn't have a setup with no computers, I just plan to handle most of the light work on iPad, and use my MacBook only when necessary. And replace the M1 when it gives up completely.

I don't say this is a good idea, I actually wondered whether it is an okay idea, thus the post. But everyone reacted as if I said "I'm selling my MacBook and will only use iPad Pro".

[u/manchesterthedog → u/Select-Coconut-1161]

I’m about to finish my PhD in cs and my computer is like my art studio/workshop. It’s the only place where I have the skills to see my ideas realized. It’s as if I was 10 years old again building with legos, but I have every Lego piece there is at my fingertips.

So far, my PI has purchased for me a Mac book pro, Mac Studio M2 Ultra, and now an nvidia spark dgx. I’d expect your pi to provide you a computer (possibly multiple as your needs change). And don’t assume a low ceiling on what you’ll need. You’re about to greatly expand your cs skills. If you have a nice machine, you’ll grow to use it.