Upgrade the mrs from ipad to macbook air?

[gotoPzero]

Mrs uses an ipad. She uses it a lot. Day to day for surfing, online banking, netflix etc.
However its showing its age now, its an ipad pro but I think it must be 6+ years old.

I was considering a macbook air, but I know *nothing* about apple stuff.

Will she easily be able to swap from ipad to macbook? She is not very tech savvy.

Will the macbook run google sheets ok as we use that a lot? Also can you run an adblocker on safari unlike on the ipad?

I was thinking she could use the macbook for the surfing etc and keep the ipad purely for netflix and the like?

Or would it be better to just get her a windows laptop? I know my way around windows fairly well.

[Audis5b9]

gotoPzero said:

Mrs uses an ipad. She uses it a lot. Day to day for surfing, online banking, netflix etc.
However its showing its age now, its an ipad pro but I think it must be 6+ years old.

I was considering a macbook air, but I know *nothing* about apple stuff.

Will she easily be able to swap from ipad to macbook? She is not very tech savvy.

Will the macbook run google sheets ok as we use that a lot? Also can you run an adblocker on safari unlike on the ipad?

I was thinking she could use the macbook for the surfing etc and keep the ipad purely for netflix and the like?

Or would it be better to just get her a windows laptop? I know my way around windows fairly well.

It will be a simple enough switch from iPad to MacBook Air. It's all very intuitive.

Google sheets - yes (or you can get Microsoft office for Mac as well)

Adblocker on Safari - not sure, but you can on other browsers (which you can download onto the MacBook)

[NiceCupOfTea]

Would a newer iPad be better?

I have an ancient MBA and iPad and I use them for different things. Does she want a computer? Sometimes an iPad with a keyboard is perfect.

[Bistros]

gotoPzero said:

Mrs uses an ipad. She uses it a lot. Day to day for surfing, online banking, netflix etc.
However its showing its age now, its an ipad pro but I think it must be 6+ years old.

I was considering a macbook air, but I know *nothing* about apple stuff.

Will she easily be able to swap from ipad to macbook? She is not very tech savvy.
Yes. And if you press LAUNCHPAD app - all the apps look like an IPAD.

Will the macbook run google sheets ok as we use that a lot?
Yes

Also can you run an adblocker on safari unlike on the ipad?
Yes

I was thinking she could use the macbook for the surfing etc and keep the ipad purely for netflix and the like?

Or would it be better to just get her a windows laptop? I know my way around windows fairly well.

[miniman]

Definitely DON’T get her a Windows anything, you’ll be living in a tent in your back garden at best.

MacBook will do everything an iPad does. But as suggested previously I’d get her a newer iPad.

[gotoPzero]

Problem is ipad pro is 1500+ with keyboard. She needs a keyboard.

Could get her an ipad air but I think she would see lack of face id as a step backwards?

Hm.

[paralla]

My daily driver is a 13 inch iPad Air with a Magic keyboard. I think it’s a fantastic blend of convenience and performance. I don’t find the fingerprint thing to unlock it any bother at all.

I think switching from an iPad to a MacBook for general use around the house would be a backward step.

[ecsrobin]

gotoPzero said:

Problem is ipad pro is 1500+ with keyboard. She needs a keyboard.

Could get her an ipad air but I think she would see lack of face id as a step backwards?

Hm.

Man maths. If the last pro lasted over 6 years that’s 68p a day for the new one.

Also you can run adblockers on an iPad/iphone.

[thebraketester]

gotoPzero said:

Problem is ipad pro is 1500+ with keyboard. She needs a keyboard.

Could get her an ipad air but I think she would see lack of face id as a step backwards?

Hm.

Doesn’t sound like she needs a keyboard from what you have divulged.

Unless you are doing a huge amount of typing then the on screen keyboard works perfectly for everything else.

[mikiec]

Just get her an iPad Air, I’d rather have touch unlock than pic.

[survivalist]

In what way is the existing iPad showing its age?

Might be worth looking at a refurbished M1 or M2 iPad Pro - the processor is massively powerful for a tablet.

[eeLee]

The only requirement that I see called out is that she needs a keyboard? Or is the iPad not cutting it any more performance-wise?

Economy suggests any MBA would suffice and the iPad could be used with it in tandem. Since a 6-year-old iPad performs (nearly) well enough to fit her needs, any Apple Silicon device will blow it out of the water.

Any bluetooth keyboard would also help, I use a Logitech K780 with Windows and Apple mappings that supports 3 devices and has a built-in stand; my iPad is often in that stand as I use it. Could be an alternate solution?

[gotoPzero]

survivalist said:

In what way is the existing iPad showing its age?

Might be worth looking at a refurbished M1 or M2 iPad Pro - the processor is massively powerful for a tablet.

Battery mostly, only holds charge for a couple of hours and often wont charge.
Keyboard, she is on her second OE one. She does wear them out. Second one showing its age. (they physically fall to bits)

[Craikeybaby]

Another vote for an iPad Air - laptops and tablets are different devices and have different strengths. I would find an iPad too restricting for what I do, but conversely other people would find a MacBook to complicated/cumbersome for what they want. You are using lack of FaceID to rule out the iPad Air, but currently none of the MacBooks have FaceID either.

[paralla]

gotoPzero said:

Battery mostly, only holds charge for a couple of hours and often wont charge.
Keyboard, she is on her second OE one. She does wear them out. Second one showing its age. (they physically fall to bits)

I'd think that a MacBook Air would require more care than an iPad + Magic Keyboard. I know I throw my iPad + Magic Kepboard around in a way that I would never do with a laptop. If she destroys Magic Keyboards she will probably destroy a MacBook Air.

[danb79]

I thought this for my wife when she had to give her MBP back when she changed jobs

But got her an iPad Pro 11" with the ESR case and it's spot on for what she needs

The new iPad Air would be just as good IMO

iPad Air: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-iPad-Air-11-inch-La...

ESR case: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ESR-Magnetic-Keyboard-Eas...

My wife has the same ESR case for her 11" Pro and it's superb; as is the iPad

[eyebeebe]

gotoPzero said:

Battery mostly, only holds charge for a couple of hours and often wont charge.
Keyboard, she is on her second OE one. She does wear them out. Second one showing its age. (they physically fall to bits)

Battery replacements for the iPad Pro are surprisingly reasonable (although seems to have gone up a bit since I last looked) £115.

I have the same model and use it most days. Speed wise it’s fine for everything I use it for, apart from Excel occasionally stuttering a bit. There are probably clearance deals available on the Magic Keyboard as it doesn’t work with the newer ones. Does make it as heavy as a MBA though!

[NiceCupOfTea]

Personally I would go for a replacement battery and a logitech keyboard - the apple magic keyboards seem ridiculously overpriced for what they are.

I've been using an iPad 10.1 8th gen daily for the last 4 or 5 years with a logitech case/keyboard, chucking it in bags etc. and only recently is the battery getting a little sketchy (5-6 hours of screen on now) and a couple of the keys are loose.

[gotoPzero]

If I buy her a new device is it ok to factory reset and then sell the old one?
Any security issues?

Its used for banking etc...

[xeny]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Personally I would go for a replacement battery .

How many more years of software updates is a 6 year old iPad likely to get though?