💻 The MacBook Neo + iPad Workflow (Quick, Messy Thoughts)

*Correction: The current baseline iPad is from 2025, not 2026.

⏳ As a nearly 20 year Apple user, I’ve had many workflows. From 2007-2018, I had a 2007 MacBook and then a 2011 MacBook Pro. Around 2018, needing an upgrade, I went to an iPad + iMac combo, so from 2018 to 2026, I went without a laptop. Not a problem. Since then I upgraded to a 2020 iPad Air (A14) and 2023 iMac (M3). But with the MacBook Neo, I realized an entirely different workflow could be possible.

➡️ With the Neo, the iPad converts to a second mobile screen with Sidecar. This setup is crazy awesome. Once you establish the link between devices, the iPad will automatically become a second screen. Boom! Since they both use 20W USB-C chargers, bundling and traveling is easy.

💰 When I researched the 2026 iPad (baseline), I was shocked that it shared the same body as the 2020 iPad Air. Since the chip is better, it’s actually an upgrade for several hundred LESS. (Not to mention still a $180 trade-in fee, which was nice for the same specs. Less than $300.)

Note: If we felt like backing up, the 2018 baseline iPad (A10 Fusion) using the first generation iPad OS acted just like a laptop, albeit chained with Apple’s nonsensical limitations. While iPad OS has improved since 2019, I don’t get why they throttle the M-series chips. You could replace your laptop AND get a touchscreen setup, but I digress.

Before the Neo, I was considering the newest iPad Air, but the M4 chip would outclass my desktop, which felt wrong. And with the Neo, there’s no sense in having a M4 tablet overpower as a second screen when it outclasses the laptop—by far.

Regardless, for the price of a MacBook Air ($1099 for 16 GB of memory and a 512 SSD), you get a two-screen mobile setup that handles average office work, sans heavy multimedia editing. (I hear the A18 Pro chip outclasses the M1 in some benchmarks, but since I have an M3 as my desktop, I’ve not cared to push it.)

Anyways, while I’ve tested the dual screen setup, my 2020 iPad Air had a terrible battery from years of use. Hopefully this 2025 baseline iPad will allow easy work from the kitchen table while my toddler plays.