This video is brought to you by UGREEN! With the latest M2 iPads and the release of
iPadOS, I get a lot of questions about using the iPad in a Desk Setup, so in this guide,
I’ll try and help you determine if you should think in the direction of an iPad setup or keep
using the tablet as a sidekick to your laptop. Let’s begin with the basics. In order to connect
an iPad with a monitor and take advantage of an extended display and stage manager, you need to
be using an M-powered iPad. The list includes all sizes that run the M1 and M2 chips, including the
latest iPad Air with M1. The important thing to note about the Air is that it has a slower
USB-C port, unlike the Pro models which mean you won’t be able to take advantage of faster speeds
if you decide to connect an SSD to the monitor for example. In my experiments, A 2.8GB video
file took 1:19 to transfer via the monitor on the slower USB-C port and 45 seconds when plugged in
directly to the iPad. In comparison on the M2 with the faster thunderbolt port, it took 5-ish seconds
for the same file when plugged in directly or via the monitor - negligible difference.
In my case, I am using the Apple Studio Display with an M2 iPad
which is pretty much the best-case scenario. If you have a standard monitor you might need to
think of an HDMI or display port cable to USB-C or, best case get a proper USB-C adapter like
Ugreen’s USB-C 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter. It’s a small device that opens up a world of connectivity
options. It has a 4K HDMI port for your monitor, two USB 3.0 ports with up to 5 Gbps data transfer,
and 1 TF and 1 SD Slot for all sorts of SD needs. Having these ports is an absolute time-saver for
me when I’m transferring photos and videos from my camera. The adapter also has a PD port for
100W charging which is greatly appreciated. Last but not least, if you want to plug into
an ethernet connection, there’s a port for that too - with up to 1 gigabit per second,
BTW. The aluminum case protects it and cools it down at the same time, and apart from your iPad,
you can use it with your MacBook as well. Be sure to check out Ugreen’s 7-in-1 USB-C Adapter by
following the first link in the description below. Now that the connection topic is settled,
it’s just a matter of plugging in the iPad to the monitor. When you do that,
there are a few things to consider. The first is positioning the iPad relative to the display.
If you use a Magic Keyboard or some sort of magnetic case that puts the tablet to sleep,
you won’t be able to summon it from the monitor. You need to keep it open. Unlike the MacBook,
there’s no clamshell mode which means you are stuck with an iPad SBS setup. If you are unsure
what SBS stands for, you can check out my Dual Monitor Guide video, which I’ll link at the end
of this one. iPad SBS or Side By Side is keeping the iPad front and Center below the monitor,
either laying it flat on the tabletop or in the keyboard stand that you use it with, or on an
iPad stand or on a shelf like I do in my case. I know many would be interested in this setup,
so I’ll make sure to place links to this awesome Balolo shelf and stand in the description below.
Of course, you can keep it to the side, but if you have an iPad with FaceID,
then it would be a crime against humanity not to take advantage of it by keeping the
tablet to the side and having to manually enter your password or projecting weird body language
when wanting to authenticate something. Next up is going to display settings and
adjusting the position of your iPad relative to your monitor so that you can scroll naturally
between the displays. Unlike the Mac, you are not very flexible in choosing the iPad
location, and you are basically stuck with 4 positions. The top one seems awkward to me.
Now, if you don’t see the option to extend your iPad to the monitor and are stuck in mirroring
mode (seeing the same thing on both the monitor and the iPad), then go to Settings and check your
iPadOS version. Apple turned off the extended display support in iPadOS 16.1, but it’s there
in version 16.2. If you don’t have it officially yet, feel free to enroll in Apple’s Beta program
and grab it download it today. BTW, if you end up enjoying this video, subscribe…because WHY NOT?!?
In terms of peripherals, you can use any Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, but there are a few caveats. If
you decide to pair your Apple keyboard and mouse, which works best with the iPad, BTW,
you won’t be able to then use them with your Mac if you decide to quickly switch back and forth.
You’ll have to remove the Magic Keyboard and Mouse from one device and pair it again with the other.
I think Apple should create an updated Magic Mouse and Keyboard with something like the
H2 chip inside that they place in the AirPods and create peripherals that are connected to all your
devices. Also, if you have a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, the Touch ID won’t work with the iPad,
which is unfortunate. In a nutshell, if you want to be able to switch between your iPad
and Mac while using one desk setup, you’ll be better off with multi-device peripherals like
the Logitech MX Master, Anywhere, and MX keys keyboard or something similar. I’ll place a few
recommendations below as well as monitor choices that might work well in an iPad setup.
In terms of performance, the iPad, in tandem with a monitor, has come a long way. It’s a much better
experience than before, and I am not sure if it’s the M2 or iPadOS in general, but everything feels
very natural and buttery smooth to the point where you might forget that you are using
an iPad as a computer. UNTIL…you start using the setup for something more computer-y like.
Starting from the very basic Lock Screen, things are a bit weird. For example,
the iPad is locked and dark, while the display is vivid and bright, hinting that it is ready
to use. You can even move the mouse up top and click sporadically without being able to
do anything until you hit space to enter iPadOS. See, everything is still very buggy and there are
plenty of components and elements that need to be tweaked out and polished over time. For example,
if you intuitively press the keyboard button to adjust the brightness of the monitor,
you’ll be surprised to see that you are adjusting the iPad’s brightness. If you go to the top right
of the monitor where the clock is and press on it to open Control Center, you’ll see Control Center
opening down on the iPad where the brightness is still adjusting the iPad’s display. In fact,
if you want to adjust the iPad’s brightness, you’ll have to go through Settings, Display,
and Brightness and tweak it from there. And I am not talking about Stage Manager
yet. Initially, I thought I would use the iPad without Stage Manager while in extended monitor
mode. That, however, is not an option at all. If you have a monitor plugged it, that monitor is
automatically using Stage Manager, and the button in Control Center to turn on and off stage manager
is actually only applicable on the tablet. So, Stage Manager is on if you are in a desk setup
mode, at least on the monitor itself. The toggle from Control Center works only on the iPad.
Fortunately, there are a few settings that you can play with to adjust the setup to your workflow.
The first thing that you can do is to go to Display and Brightness and in the respective
device, adjust the Display Zoom. Think of this as your monitor scaling. Depending on your monitor
size, proper scaling can be very important. The next section in the settings worth playing
with is under Home Screen and Multitasking and under Stage Manager. Here, you can choose if
you want to see the dock and recent apps on the left in relation to your monitor. For example,
I prefer to keep my dock at the very bottom of the tablet while not having the same dock repeating
on the larger display. Also, I prefer the iPad to avoid displaying recent apps because it’s only 11
inches, and there’s not much real estate, while the monitor can do that easily. The layout that
works best for me, for now, is having full-screen apps on the iPad below while having a windowed
experience on the larger monitor above, where I choose what apps to drag in from the bottom.
Here comes an interesting question. If you have the iPad connected to a monitor,
can you use an external webcam? Well, in the case of the Studio Display…NO. In fact,
during my testing, I wasn’t able to use any other third-party camera, whether it’s connected
directly to the iPad or to a monitor. So, the side-mounted nose view is the default for now.
Another interesting observation in such setup is the larger display being nothing but an empty
canvas. It’s not an actual desktop like on the Mac nor a second Home Screen like you might create and
swipe from or to on the iPad. You can’t drag icons or widgets in it. You can just place and
move around windows. If I try to grab an icon from my Home Screen to place on the larger desktop,
it vanishes as if it’s going to another multiverse. That automatically gives the dock the
highest rank since it becomes the only component that can hold things that you might require.
Also, very important, keyboard shortcuts and behavior is very conflicting when in a desk
setup. The Magic Keyboard doesn’t have an escape key. However, an external keyboard does. I often
hit ESC unintentionally to get out of things - like exiting a full-screen image from files,
for example, only to realize that doesn’t work. In certain situations, I can use the
iPad with standard shortcuts very efficiently, like summoning the spotlight. In others,
I am reminded that I need to mouse as if I touch (if that makes sense). The iPad is a touch
interface OS that wants to live in a cursor world. So, can the iPad be used in a desk setup? At a
glance, yes - absolutely. There has never been a better time to use the iPad in a desk setup.
It has all the potential and power to run pretty much all the tasks you can think of, but even with
proper monitor support and Stage Manager, it is still crippled by software limitations that you
should be aware of. I feel a lot more confident using it in my setup for managerial stuff and more
casual work but in terms of utilizing it to its full hardware potential or doing more serious work
is out of the question for now. There’s a lot more to be desired. From simple workflow improvements
to things like decent font support and, most of all, serious UI navigation & management
improvement. There should be a learning curve for managing your windows. If you just got your iPad,
check out my latest video on how I set up a new iPad here and like and subscribe to
the channel, as well as my newsletter and as always, it’s been an absolute pleasure.
This is E Over and out