iPad Pro + External Display: Better Than Expected! 

I think we years-long MacOS users bring our preconceived perspectives regarding what iPadOS, which is much younger and only in the past five or so years can replace a laptop for many people, should be as compared to what MacOS is. So a lot of us complain about certain aspects of iPadOS, including what we are limited to. We seem not to focus (this channel is a glaring exception to this theory) on what we CAN do with iPadOS, and specifically on the newer iPads Pro. I have to say, I was a bit surprised when I gave my kid who is in early teen years my 2018 iPad Pro w/apple pencil, magic keyboard and smart folio case. She also has a one-year-old, relatively high end Lenovo laptop. Ever since I gave her the iPad a couple months ago, she has been using that device exclusively. She mostly uses it in the folio case with the pencil, and she navigates the UI and most apps with the pencil rather than her finger (which is fascinating to watch). She also does a ton of drawing. She had never used MacOS, and so she doesn't come into the experience thinking the iPad should behave a certain way. Needless to say, she adores the device, so much so that I kind of regret ever buying the laptop. I love these videos, Chris, where you highlight the benefits of the iPad. It's quite a different, refreshing take. iPadOS isn't perfect, but I would argue it is more good than bad, and the fact that it doesn't behave like a MacBook is not a detriment -- it seems rather to be an intentional decision and one that I think is logical and makes sense for Apple.

I love your positivity around this setup! I’m rocking an 11” M1 iPad Pro myself and the iPad is now becoming the device I always wanted it to be. It’s been phenomenal to see and I love Stage Manager. Sure, it’s isn’t perfect, but it’s a giant leap closer to the one-device-rules-them-all concept I’ve been searching for. :)

Been watching your videos for a couple of years now and you always do a great job! Really appreciate that you focus on useful things for everyday people. Thanks for all of the hard work!

I can feel you put emphasis on "better than a lot of people"... because there's so much criticism surrounding Stage Manager on external display! Keep the iPad content going! I enjoy it...you are the only person who shed positivity on the iPad platform!

Thanks for staying true to the ipad Chris. Your videos have been so good year on year on year 💪

Thank you so much for the positivity. I appreciate your sharing the positives instead of the constant negatives. Keep up the great work!

Really liked this video. Great to have someone who can share their experience in such an objective way that people can understand. After watching this, I think I have a better grasp of how to use my IPad as a platform without being disappointed that it doesn’t work like my laptop.

I actually really like it for my work I do with a normal Windows laptop. The frustrating part is I have a 2018 12.9 iPad Pro so I don’t even have the full extended monitor support. Too pricey to upgrade right now.

What a refreshing approach! Thanks Chris!

I have a MacStudio with multiple monitors and an iPad station with a single monitor. I do much of my writing and general computing at my iPad. I really only code at the Mac Studio, and do video editing.

I use this set up daily. Love it!

Apple is not being “thoughtful” about its iPad strategy - it’s dragging its feet as Cook doesn’t want to eat into Mac sales - compare that to Jobs, who had the most successful music player in the world in 2007 and still added iPod functionality to the iPhone in its first release. Jobs had no problem destroying his iPod business to push Apple tech forward. The iPad would be Apple’s strategic computing platform in 2023 with jobs at the helm, for exactly the reasons you highlight in this video. Jobs would have crushed the laptop market by now, particularly with the younger crowd (30 and under).

For me I can not afford both and for the past 6-7 years I have only used iPad. To start with it was for portability, now its because of the pencil and Magic Keyboard. For me I can do so ,cut more than just having a mac. Stage manager and external display is fantastic for me as for the past two years I have been using my iPad Pros for more demanding work, so now I can get even more done and easier. If I can ever afford to have both I may get a mac too. But to be honest I don’t think I need one as I’m so used to how to get every thing I need to do done on the iPad Pro. And it only gets better.. I AM DEFINITELY CAMP IPAD PRO.

Of course I’m missing out on it because i have the iPad Air 4

My biggest issue is sound output. If your monitor has built-in speakers (or line out to speakers) you’re gold. But if your monitor doesn’t have speakers or speakers attached to it, you have to jump through hoops to get sound when connected to iPad. SOMETIMES you can airplay to a HomePod BEFORE connecting to an external monitor. But this doesn’t always work. The most reliable method I’ve seen is connecting to a BT speaker like a Nest Audio (Yes you can pair the 2). But none of this should be necessary if Apple would allow sound out from the iPad itself when connected to a display

@Chris - Does this setup work in clampshell mode where the iPad screen is off but you can still output the iPad to a display?

When i add an external monitor it always mirrors the display and not use as a secondary display

Screen arrangement option is not been display on my ipad pro 12-inch (3rd generation). What may be the problem?

My m1 iPad Pro gets really hot and the screen gets a black shade on the right when I hook it up to my studio display. Doesn't it happen to you?

I use M1 ipad pro 12.9in and would like to know if I buy 27in studio display and connect it to my ipad pro m1, can I watch netflix full screen on the studio display?

When connected to the Studio Display and doing a video conference, does the iPad use the iPad camera or the camera on the display?

I think it’s great for those who may only have the iPad Pro and not computer/laptop.

I have a magnetic dock for my iPad Pro on my home desk. It’s one of those ones that allows for all angles so you can stand it up or have it down for writing. I run a thunderbolt cable to a thunderbolt dock that connects to a 32” in 4k monitor. Have an apple track pad and a mechanical keyboard. That’s my home setup. My mobile setup is just the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. I carry both the Smart Keyboard Folio and a folio case so I can have tablet or keyboard setup. This is what I take to classes. I switch between handwriting, drawling and then typing. I work for a large communications company. I work in the security operations department. I have video walls and stuff in my office for remote monitoring about 170 global locations those run off their own systems, but my day to day desk work is done on my iPad Pro. I again have a magnetic dock that I can have stand up or in writing mode. An attached keyboard and trackpad and an ultra wide 49” monitor. I can run the video surveillance from the iPad at the desk but it’s more efficient to use the massive expensive video walls I have to justify. I also run two of my own business and co-own another business with my fiancé, all three of which runoff of the same iPad Pro. There are a few things I look forward to improving, the first being running desktop grade apps like pages or Microsoft office. There is no need to be running the mobile versions on these devices. I would also prefer the option to use external webcam for video calls. And the weird thing where when your plugged into a hub the microphone and speakers built in downtown work you need to have other solution. But if I can do all these things from an iPad Pro then 85% of people who do email, word processing and web browsing would be just fine. Where I think the iPads suffer is cost. My iPad Pro with the keyboard case, pencil Applecare+ was like $3000. When you can get a maxed out m2 MacBook Air for $2700 it is a little hard to justify the difference in cost.

Great video Appreciate the positive vibes. My USB c port broke on my monitor Can you use HDMI to USB c for Ipa external monitor support?

I have the new IPad Pro 12.9 and looking to get a monitor other than Apple (due to price). Any suggestions? I will be doing photo editing, etc

J'aime beaucoup cette vidéo car moi je suis très ouvert de travailler avec le + d'écrans possible et cette façon de faire avec un IPad est génial. Go For It from Montréal (Québec)

Chris, I’m a BIG fan of your channel & content! I do have a question about this setup: what happens to the apps/app stacks on the monitor display when you unplug the cable from the iPad? Do they minimize back to be on the iPad? If so, do they automatically return to the display when you come back to the desk and plug the cable back in? (asking for a friend 😂). I use my M1 12.9 Pro as my main device & I can’t find the answer to this question anywhere. But because I will at times unplug the iPad and work remotely, attend meetings, etc. I’m wondering if I have to move apps/stacks to the iPad manually when leaving the office. (And then reversing that process when I’m back in the office.

Unfortunately I can’t make it with my ipad pro M1 on an external LG 34” display without the black borders left and right😢 maybe that it because of the 21:9 ratio of the display ..?

Agreed, unless your job involves being sometimes on video calls. Camera angle to weird and no support for external display camera or continuity.

Love it

Just got the image of having a IPAD, Mac Mini, and external monitor set up and how to integrate each into a crazy setup 🤔

I like the iPad very much and use it as a computer. It’s just a pity how it is artificially restricted by the software!

I’m looking to get this setup, can anyone confirm if a razer keyboard works with this setup?

Hey Chris Great VIDEO.. Timely for me as im looking for an ipad only home -office setup. Quick qn: do you find the lack of higher refresh rates annoying on the studio display, given the ipad has promotion ? Also do you see any difference between the M1 and M2 ipads?

With Stage Manager, iPad Pro and iOS 16, Apple has provided support for an external display in a way only Apple can do. You actually get two monitors in the process as demonstrated by Daily Tekk👍

what bothers me the most is that you can't move windows freely. Stage Manager forces windows to stick together and that is seriously frustrating, since you basically can't take advantage of the space a monitor provides (therefore, what's the point in hooking up a monitor at all). Second thing, audio sources. I get that Apple is sooo behind on this matter (Macs still can't adjust volume separately from one source to another), but seriously... having a yt web video (not even using the app, which is terrible imo) playing in the background is impossible, because it gets paused the moment you switch to another set of applications. You have to bring that safari tab with you everywhere you go. And of course, you can't have more than one audio source at the same time. It's 2023, Apple. Please get a move on. Not to mention the fact it still crashes from time to time and that you can't put the iPad in standby. I mean, I don't want clamshell mode, it doesn't make any sense given the fact the external monitor paired with the iPad cannot, I repeat CANNOT be considered as a main display (which you can do on MacOS), but whenever you press command-control-Q, the iPad does indeed go into standby while the monitor does not. Instead, it turns to a low-brightness blackish kind of screen that makes me mad every time I see it. There is room for improvement, but oh boy how bad of a user experience it is. And this is coming from someone that has both an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard and a MacBook, both hooking up to a 4k LG Ultrafine. So yeah, the problem is iPad OS being mid as always.

Can you add a 2nd external display

even with my MacBook Pro m1. If you use the random Samsung tvs and hdmi cables a university gives you the external displays are finicky. They work at 60hz but then show a black screen. Luckily on macOS you can switch the refresh rate on the external display and they work much better at 30hz. Can't do that yet on iPadOS. Likely never. Who knows.

if you are a student, iPad is extremely good. Apple Pencil, Good Notes etc is going to come in handy. If you are casual user, get a macbook air or pro. iPad OS is still figuring out what it needs to be. Spec wise it's just like an Air but in terms of real world use case, you can do 100% of your work on Macbook Pro/Air. Even if you think of getting an ipad air for 500 to 600$, save that money and invest it in upgrading RAM and storage for your laptop. Currently iPad feels like a luxury item for a casual user. I have both iPad Pro 12.9 M1 and Macbook Pro 14 M1. I think this would be my last iPad unless Apple offers some crazy improvement in battery life and desktop level apps.

Can we get an update on this?

You could now use your wireless earbuds with the external monitor… I found out today and it was amazing 😅

Chris could you provide a link for your monitor riser shelf? I’m looking for one that will match my desk and that one looks perfect. Thanks.

What color is his ipad❤️❤️

If you disconnect the iPad from the Magic Keyboard, does the external display still works full screen?

Please help me, about a year ago, you showcased an amazing desk that was wooden and ergonomic. The stand could go from sitting to standing, and you could collapse it and take it with you from place to place. I'm ready to buy it, but can't remember for the life of me which video it was in. Could you or your audience please help me? this desk was manufactured by a mom-and-pop shop, and they only had like 2 products that they sold on their webpage. It was birch or light that you had on your channel, but it was available in other choices of wood if I remember correctly. THANK YOU!!!!!!! One more thing, keep up the great work, my family really enjoys all of your reviews and genius knowledge that you provide to us in your videos!

gooddd viddd

Have you tried the arc browser yet on Mac? It’s awesome

I only have iPad Pro, i don't have any others tablet or laptop so i don't know the difference. I just know how to use ipad pro to do my work.

My main issue with iPadOS is that some apps are downgraded

Great video Chris!! Hey what about the podcast? I miss it!

I just want ableton live on this and use normal macOS plugins for ableton thats all i want pls …

i tried it, it is so limiting that is almost unusable

It's so ridiculous that the iPad's screen is always on and you can't control the monitor's audio output on the iPad.

I’m always glad I can trust this channel to excuse any problems with Apple hardware or software. Nothing but sunshine and rainbows here! Have a problem with Apple? That’s on you!

Where's your mouse, Apple person?

Just dont get why i am capped on 60 frames per second… thats the real robbery here

Just get a Samsung and use dex, Apple is years behind

I hope they kill the stage manager feature across MacOS and iPad OS entirety in this year’s releases. Just quietly remove it with no fanfare or press. Poor implementation of a poor idea.