Can I replace my desktop with an iPad Air?

[iMore Question]

My desktop is nearing death, so I either need to replace it or try to use my iPad Air (with an external keyboard and hard drive) and iPhone 5 for everything. Possible? Satisfactory? I'm not a gamer, nor do I need excessive graphics capability for other applications. My desktop, iPad Air, and iPhone 5 are used for Microsoft Office Word and Excel, Quicken, reading downloaded books and magazines, viewing photos, an occasional movie, email and texting, misc. iPad apps. While the large desktop screen is nice for Excel and Quicken spreadsheets, I'm retired and my use of these is for personal bookkeeping and is infrequent, so I think I can live with a small screen. However, is it possible to link the iPad Air to a larger, external screen?

 

[kch50428]

Possible? Sure... Satisfactory? It wouldn't be for me... there are just some things that a laptop or desktop are just the best tool for the job.

 

[Bigeric23]

While you can use an iPad for most simple tasks, a computer is more practical for some of the uses you've described. Can you do it? Yes. Would I only have just an iPad/iPhone and no computer? No.

 

[lyle123]

Yes it's possible.I don't use a desktop.I use my ipadair for everything.

 

[Illustrator Joe]

Macbook air sounds like a better choice for you.

 

[RJRF]

I have an iPad Air and use it for everything except DTP where there is no substitution for a big monitor. I also use Word on my iPad and unless I have a large or complex document to write my iPad is all I need.

As regards connecting your iPad to a big screen, Apple make a range of adapters to suit just about anything.

 

[shief24]

It's happened to me and I've read about it but when I connect a Bluetooth keyboard to my ipad, autocorrect does not work. It makes typing word documents extremely hard. I personally won't use it as my main device but can use it as a complimentary device for browsing, emails, take down quick notes, etc. But if something is urgent I always use my macbook pro because nothing beats a keyboard IMO.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I only use an iPhone. I have an old Dell laptop, but we haven't agreed on much in a while. I do everything with my iPhone 5. I can't connect to iTunes. That's my limitation.

 

[Evilguppy]

I find myself using my iPad Air 2 more and more often these days. I do have a 2012 MacBook Air which I like quite a bit but I'm always on the go and the MacBook stays home.
So it's me, my iPad and my iPhone most of the time.
My husband has the first iPad Air and a MacBook Pro and like me, he leaves his laptop at home when we travel.
We both find the iPad quite capable of handling our work and travel needs.

 

[lyle123]

I have an iPad Air and use it for everything,

 

[Just_Me_D]

I have an iPad Air and use it for everything,

Some people can indeed use an iPad for all of their computing needs, but others like me cannot. There are still some things that I prefer to use a computer (laptop) for.

 

[HankAZ]

My desktop is nearing death, so I either need to replace it or try to use my iPad Air (with an external keyboard and hard drive) and iPhone 5 for everything. Possible? Satisfactory? I'm not a gamer, nor do I need excessive graphics capability for other applications. My desktop, iPad Air, and iPhone 5 are used for Microsoft Office Word and Excel, Quicken, reading downloaded books and magazines, viewing photos, an occasional movie, email and texting, misc. iPad apps. While the large desktop screen is nice for Excel and Quicken spreadsheets, I'm retired and my use of these is for personal bookkeeping and is infrequent, so I think I can live with a small screen. However, is it possible to link the iPad Air to a larger, external screen?

Of course, you can. Whether or not it's feasible for your situation would be something that only you can decide. My Dad always said that you could play golf with only a putter, but it may not be an enjoyable experience. Same thing applies here.

The biggest limitation that I see would be one of storage. You would need to use some kind of cloud storage solution, as there is no easy way to move data in/out of your iPad without it.

With regard to a larger, external screen, you might invest in an AppleTV and use AirPlay to share your screen on your television. I am not aware of a way to share the screen on an external monitor.

 

[krazyatom]

They're just totally different. It's like apples and oranges.