It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? I hope you’ve been well. Me, I’m still using the iPad a lot. I’m writing this on one (the latest 11” iPad Pro, if you’re curious), using the beta version of iPadOS 17 and a 27” screen with Stage Manager. No, it’s not quite there yet, but Stage Manager is improving, and I’m going to do final edits on a manuscript later today or tomorrow using this very setup, so it’s getting dangerously close to good enough.

Anyway, I wanted to email you about a piece I wrote and sent to the Bored Horse newsletter subscribers. It’s called Writing on glass, and it’s obviously about using the iPad as a note-taking device. I think you’ll like it.

→ Read Writing on glass on the Bored Horse

Oh, and if you’re interested, do consider subscribing to the Bored Horse too. It’s not iPad-centric, or even just about tech, but you might enjoy it nonetheless. It’s free, too.

That’s it for now. I’ve got some things cooking so you might hear from me sooner than you’d think. If you’d rather not, just use the unsubscribe link below.

Okay. Take care!

— Thord D. Hedengren 

This will be the last issue of Switch to iPad. It’s bitter-sweet because I think we had a good run, and I wish I could continue and develop Switch to iPad according to plan, but alas, it’s just not possible. Better to wrap it up, then.

I do have one more thing left: The iPad Office Toolkit. I’ll get back to you on a launch date for that when I have it, but it’ll be a couple of months at least. The iPad Office Toolkit will be released as an ebook with a one-time purchase. Paying subscribers will get the iPad Office Toolkit for free.

Speaking of paying subscribers, all subscriptions have been canceled as of Monday. I am grateful for your support, it’s been such a boon to be able to write these newsletters, and it has all been possible because of you. I will get in touch with you regarding the iPad Office Toolkit closer to launch so that you can claim your copy.

Furthermore, I’d like to thank all readers, paying or no, for these years with Switch to iPad. I’ve had a blast, and while it’s frustrating that I couldn’t make it grow enough to focus on it more, I’m still glad I ventured on this project. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words about using the iPad, and I could’ve gone on to write even more, had things gone differently. As a thank you, I’ve unlocked all member posts so that everyone can read them.

Thank you, all.

Switch to iPad
July 2020 – February 2023

— Thord D. Hedengren 

I’ve been using the Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad case for a while, and I have thoughts.

First, this isn’t marketed as a Magic Keyboard alternative, not really. While it is an alternative, obviously, it’s bulky in comparison. This is because the Pro Keys with Trackpad consists of two parts: The back cover case, and the actual keyboard part. It’s all rubbery and adds plenty of bulk, albeit not as much weight as you might think (0.45 kg). My 11″ iPad Pro, which is the model I’ve been using for this review, is suddenly on the thick side.

There are benefits of this. According to Zagg, this added protection means that you can drop your iPad from two meters without any harm coming to the device. I can see that, the back cover is thick enough, with the only thing susceptible to damage being the camera. With the keyboard closed over the screen, that should be safe too. So, Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad (and, presumably, the non-trackpad version as well) is more tailored to people using their iPads in more sensitive locations.

This feature doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve never dropped and iPad, and I’m not using it in more dramatic places than sitting at desks or tables, bar tops, or in tablet mode slouching in a chair or something. The added bulk is more of a problem than the weight, as the Magic Keyboard – which I typically have on when I’m carrying my 11″ iPad Pro – is quite heavy. I do like the Apple Pencil (or Zagg Pro Stylus, as you’ll see on the promotional material) slot and cover, though, it’s a clever implementation.

Design-wise, the Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad is grey, and quite boring to look at. It’s understated, not a design marvel by any means, but not ugly. I’m typically not a fan of rounded keys, and some of these are half-sized, too, but it works well enough. The extra row with iPad-specific keys is always nice to have, too.

As for typing, the experience is, as expected, quite plasticky, albeit not in a cheap way. There’s a decent amount of travel for a keyboard this size, and I find I can type at about the same speed as I would on the Magic Keyboard. I also like the arrow keys. It’s pleasant, as Zagg’s keyboards usually are. And yes, the Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad keyboard is backlit. It can also pair with two devices, if you want to add your iPhone or something.

The trackpad is a different matter. It suffers from the same problems as all other non-Apple trackpads do, and third-party pointing devices in general. It’s janky, scrolling is horrible, and it reacts slowly when you activate the first time. This isn’t necessarily a fault of Zagg, it’s just the way it is with pointing devices that aren’t from Apple’s Magic Trackpad/Mouse series, or, of course, the Magic Keyboard’s trackpad. Here’s hoping Apple will sort this out with better third-party support for pointing devices in a future iPadOS update, but until then, we’ll have to accept that this is the way it is.

All in all, I think Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad is a practical option if you’re looking for a keyboard case with focus on protection. It’s obviously a lot cheaper than the Magic Keyboard, so that matters, too. Price aside, if you don’t need that extra protection, the Magic Keyboard is better, but the Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad is a good alternative if it ticks your boxes.

out of 5 – Good.

The Zagg Pro Keys with Trackpad for the 11″ iPad Pro and iPad Air 4/5 is available for around $160. There is a model for 12.9″ iPad Pros too.

So, is it any good, Stage Manager on an external monitor?

No, not really. Everything I’ve written about it still stands, it’s buggy and confusing. It does make more sense on larger screens, and definitely on my XDR Display, but it’s also so very limited in the way you can arrange app windows. Not to mention that it crashes from time to time, still. It’s more stable than before, though, so there’s that. More on this at a later date, as well as the new Freeform app, which I’ve been using for some time. I’m looking forward to seeing how well it works for collaborations, now that it’s available for all.

This member post is free for all, thanks to our paying subscribers. Enjoy!

I’ve been wanting to leave Google behind for some time now, at least when it comes to email. There’s something inherently evil about a corporation built on advertising reading your email, after all. I’ve tried multiple other email services in the past, and self-hosted my email as well, but Google’s been the best one when it comes to managing the obscene amount of spam I used to get. They’ve been a necessary evil if you will. Well, the past year or two, I’ve found a bit too many non-spam emails in the Spam folder, several of which were business opportunities for Divide & Conquer. That’s obviously not good, so it’s been on my to-do list to finally move elsewhere for some time.

I took the plunge last week, for everything but the agency work email, a reason for which I’ll get to. My choice of email provider is Proton, a Swiss security-focused alternative that’s been around for a long time. You can get good deal for both private and business accounts, including VPN and their Calendar and Drive services.

So, everything but the agency email is on Proton now, and has been for about a week. I have thoughts.

Encrypted is good, right?

Proton’s big selling point is that everything’s encrypted and safe. I like that, obviously, privacy is important to me. It’s not just email and files, though – their Calendar service is also encrypted. That makes sense, in principle, but comes with some issues. As it turns out, everything’s a bit troublesome.

Let’s start with email, the main, and most significant, reason I’m making the switch. You can’t use the default Mail app. Nope, that’s not safe enough, which will be true for all (that I know of) third-party email applications. Proton has its own email app, which is fine on an iPhone, but horribly un-optimized for iPad. I mean, look at this landscape view when reading an email.

It’s just dead space everywhere. I sincerely hope making use of the iPad’s screen is a priority for the developers at Proton because this is a blown up iPhone app, and that won’t cut it.

Luckily, the web interface works just fine. It’s a very solid web application, so even though I’m disappointed by the state of the iPad app, at least there’s that.

Ready for the next realization? You can’t manage a Proton calendar in the default Calendar app, nor any third-party apps, either. Yep, it’s encrypted and safe, and those apps, well, aren’t according to Proton. Right, so, there’s an app for that, luckily. What’s less lucky is that it’s iPhone only. Honestly…

I’ve yet to use Drive, but the app is simple enough, much like many other cloud drive apps out there. You can even activate it as a storage method in the Files app, which, after my experience with default apps and Proton thus far, surprised me.

Finally, there’s Proton VPN. Now, this just plain works.

Lock-in

Apple isn’t the worst when it comes to lock-in, but the fact that their services work best with their products, well, it sometimes makes it annoying to use something else. Take iCloud calendars, for example, which syncs almost instantly most of the time. Then compare that to the time it takes for a Google Calendar to update when events are added elsewhere, and that makes me want to switch.

But, I sometimes need to use other platforms for work. It’s not all that common, but it’s a hassle if I’m tied to a specific manufacturer or operating system. Something like email should work anywhere, in a pinch.

Proton’s services live up to that by having excellent web interfaces. I don’t like that they can’t be used with default iPad apps, though, but I see the point. What differs something like Proton Mail from Basecamp’s Hey email service, is that the latter is locked into their service. You can’t move to another email provider. You can export your archive, but not import your email. In comparison, Proton Mail imported 3 GB of email from Google easily enough. Nothing’s lost, nor is it split into different formats (I believe your Hey export are HTML files – great for readability, but not actually emails).

Lock-in, it’s bad. I would rather not be locked in, I want the freedom of using any platform, and any device. This is also why I’m hesitant to use domains with iCloud+, it feels like a lock-in. I’m not certain if it’s easy to move, and even though icloud.com has improved over the years, I’m not particularly fond of it. Maybe if Apple’s small business offerings were available here, but I don’t know. There’s a strong incentive for Apple to make everything work best on their devices, and even though I’m a long-time fan, I want to avoid being forced to be a user should they turn evil.

We’ll see how the Proton experience turns out. There are other alternatives that aren’t big evil corporations, should I want to move. For now, I’m going to nag them about better iPad apps.

— Thord D. Hedengren 

This member post is free for all, thanks to our paying subscribers. Enjoy!

There’s a really short answer to that particular question: It depends on what you’re doing on your device. (Well, duh.)

The slightly longer one needs a bit of background. Why, after all, would I be thinking about things like this, as a dedicated iPad user? And why should you? Read on, as they say.

A conversation sparked this

I spoke to an acquaintance the other day, and he told me about his revamped computing setup. Well, he didn’t, not knowingly because we spoke of other things, and I pieced it together.

Years ago, he gave up on the notion of a traditional computer at home. No Mac nor PC, they mostly sat unused, ugly boxes on an unnecessary desk. He’s a bit of a gamer, but gaming consoles (Xbox and PlayStation, you know) have gotten so good that he didn’t feel the need to upgrade his gaming rig some years back. And, after all, he had a designated work laptop that wasn’t too locked down by his employer’s IT department, that he could use in a pinch.

Somewhere down the line he picked up an iPad, and as iPadOS got better, he paired it with a keyboard folio. It covered his basic needs, bank errands being the only issue. Soon that problem disappeared, too.

And then he realized he hadn’t taken home the work laptop for almost a year, so he swapped it out for a nice big screen on his desk at work. The iPad was his new home PC.

Time passes, all is well, until the iPad breaks. It’s beyond repair, or rather, beyond reasonable repair. I got a message from him then, being the designated iPad expert, where he asked me which one to get. This wasn’t too long ago, and I give him some advice. Luckily, it coincides with the upcoming launch of the iPad Air 5, which he waits for, and when the announcement comes, I tell him that it’s an excellent deal. He agrees, and, I believe, places an order.

The thing is, he never did pick up that iPad Air 5, or any other iPad. The order’s cancelled, which I learned the other day. I ask him why not, and he tells me: It was a bit expensive, but really, I’m good with my Plus-sized iPhone.

So, what did he use his iPad for?

• Browsing the web, casually.
• Reading news.
• Checking in on email.
• Social media.
• The occasional game, but not really.
• Bank errands.

While waiting for a new iPad, he realized that he could use his iPhone for all those things. It being a newer model, it even outperformed his old iPad on anything graphical, albeit being a bit smaller. For social media and bank errands, it was even a better fit due to better apps.

I asked him if he missed having an iPad, and he said that, yeah, sure, at times the larger screen was preferred, but no deal-breaker. Websites are mostly good on smaller screens, news apps and social media are just fine, games too, and the bank app was a lot easier than the web interface without setting up the iPad with a keyboard and mouse.

I wasn’t surprised.

The iPad mini problem

You might remember my piece on if you needed an iPad mini if you had an iPhone Max. My iPad mini 6 still sits (mostly) unused, thanks to the large iPhone 14 Pro Max screen. It’s a lot smaller than the iPad mini, obviously, but for reading and the like, it’s just fine. In fact, it’s a way better screen in every aspect except for the lack of Pencil support (which I’m unsure of for a device this small) and size.

Looking only at my iPad mini use, I can relate to the choice my acquaintance made above. I, too, prefer to do most of my personal bank errands on my iPhone due to the superior app interface, for example. Gaming on the iPad mini 6 is wonderful, but it’s pretty great on an iPhone 14 Pro Max, too, so that’s not deal-breaker either.

What it comes down to is productive work. I can’t draw on an iPhone, there’s no Apple Pencil support. And even though you can pair a keyboard with it, and write in an app like iA Writer or Ulysses, you can’t get pointer support, making anything other than straight-up writing awkward. Need to edit something? No, thank you, screen size matters then, although I think that the iPad mini is too small there too, and possibly 11” iPads as well.

It all boils down to if you’re replacing a light-weight consumption device (as above), or your actual production device. I wouldn’t replace any of my iPad Pros with an iPhone, it just wouldn’t work. But, it did work for the iPad mini 6, no matter how good a device it is.

This, I think, is something to remember. Most people aren’t as obsessed with tech and gadgets as I am, and you, too, dear reader, I’d reckon. They have their work, and the digital, online things they need to do outside of that can be done on an iPhone, unless they have specific interests. It’s something else, if you need a device for work, then a replacement need to be an improvement. What’s professional use for one person, might be casual for another. However, casual use isn’t the same as professional use, regardless of what sort of use it is.

The iPad and Apple too, I suppose, have a problem there. Most of its users aren’t pro users, and unless you show them what sort of things an iPad can do fundamentally better than an iPhone, some will drop off. The larger iPhones are undoubtedly eating into iPad sales, just as Pro iPads are eating into Mac sales. Apple surely isn’t too worried, though, as Mac sales are eating into PC sales, but even so, there’s a lot of blurring over the lines. Stage Manager and iPadOS 16 hasn’t helped — yet. Nor will it, I don’t think because it’s not something fundamentally new. It doesn’t make the iPad stand out, it only aligns it with traditional computers. That’s the wrong way to go, it must be, if you can replace an iPad with an iPhone.

— Thord D. Hedengren 

This member post is free for all, thanks to our paying subscribers. Enjoy!

I meant to write about the upcoming Freeform app in this issue, but I’m afraid the workload has been, well, terrible. While I enjoy doing some print design occasionally, fixing another agency’s crap isn’t my favorite pastime. Add to that some interesting adventures in PowerPoint (!), and you have my past 72 hours. The latter, at least, provides me more information for the iPad office toolkit I’m working on, so that’s intriguing.

As a side-note, while I understand plenty of people swear by PowerPoint, I can’t begin to tell you how horrible it is in comparison to Keynote. This is a user’s nightmare, which is why it landed on my table in the first place. I generally don’t do this sort of thing, but you don’t say no to some clients (for the right reasons, don’t worry), so here we are. Everything I remembered about PowerPoint has, somehow, gotten worse. It’s like a snapshot of the past, with a new interface, and yet, it’s still horrible.

No, I don’t like PowerPoint. Go figure?

Anyway, said print design would’ve been great for the new Affinity Publisher iPad app. Alas, I started it before it was announced (on a Mac, obviously, as there was no Publisher app for iPad back then) and the deadline is too tight for any potential compatibility issues, or otherwise. So, I’ve yet to launch Publisher for iPad, which is a shame. I’m excited about a closer look at these V2 Affinity apps, and intend to write something about them before Switch to iPad closes shop.

Yeah, that’s the elephant in the room, isn’t it? I’m glad you’re still here, especially since this is one of those more informal member posts. You know, when I ramble on about things that I’m struggling with, and end up with something insightful (maybe) on iPad usage.

This time, I’ve got nothing.

Well, that’s not exactly true. I wrote about my love of plain text files some time ago, and that still stands. I’ve also written about the joys (well…) of starting from scratch when you get a new iPad, and I’m using an M1 11″ iPad Pro as my primary device currently, so I’m in that position right now.

I’ve also talked about why Switch to iPad is getting sunsetted, which, of course, is due to my renewed focus on writing fiction.

This is where it comes together, I hope. You see, I’m a big fan of outlining app Zavala (reviewed here). It’s pretty much plain text, in outline, or hierarchical bullet list, form. I’ve been working on the outline for my follow-up to Automatonen, the fantasy novel (in Swedish, sorry) that comes out in the New Year, and Zavala is my starting point.

Except, due to previously mentioned PowerPoint woes, I’ve been spending some time using a Windows PC. I’ve had downtime, and rather than writing on my iPhone (no iPad in sight), I reverted to plain text. Writing in Markdown, it all transitioned just fine to iA Writer on my iPad, as expected.

There’s really something to be said about open file formats. It just works, as opposed to so many other things in today’s world.

— Thord D. Hedengren 

I hope this message finds you well. I’m afraid I have bad news: Switch to iPad will cease to get regular updates about a month from now, mid-December. The site will remain online for the foreseeable future, but don’t expect any updates beyond this point. There are some member features that’ll go online after this, though, but no regular updates.

I don’t take this lightly, and this decision wasn’t my first course of action, either. Discussions and variations hasn’t yielded any sustainable way for me to carry on with Switch to iPad. I just don’t have the time anymore, with a book coming out next year and writing the sequel. That’s the gist of it, something had to give, and since I still need to, you know, pay bills and buy food, that means Switch to iPad has to go.

What does this mean for subscribers?

Firstly, I’ve disabled the yearly plan, but you can still sign up as a monthly subscriber. It’s my intention to wrap up my planned features, including the iPad office toolkit. While I haven’t decided on the format just yet, I’m leaning towards releasing these as ebooks, rather than newsletters, which will be free to download for paying subscribers. I’ll have more on this in the coming days and weeks, and there’ll be a few more member posts as well, on top of the ones already there.

All subscriptions will be canceled when the features are done and dusted. And, again, I won’t accept yearly subscriptions, as that’d be a bit disingenuous.

However, this might not be what you want from your subscription. If you’re a paying subscriber that would like to request a refund, please get in touch by emailing [email protected], and we’ll sort it out. (If you read this in your inbox, hitting reply works too.)

I’ll reach out to those of you with a lot of time left on your yearly plan when everything’s truly done and dusted.

What’s next?

Other than wrapping up the planned member features, and winding down Switch to iPad, I need to focus on my fiction writing. You might remember that I’m a writer, and I’ve hinted that I’ve got a fantasy novel out soon (in Swedish, mind you). I need to get a head start on the sequel, I’m already almost a year behind my schedule, so this is my priority. Writing fiction is what I enjoy the most, and now that I’ve finally gotten a foot in the door, I have to keep at it, obviously. My writing has taken a hit from projects like Switch to iPad which, while enjoyable and close to my heart, has made me lose focus a bit. It happens.

Looking beyond 2022, I don’t think I’ll be able not to write a little bit about technology, and how I use tools like the iPad. I experimented a bit with that, and the conjunction between life and technology, with Bored Horse, and I can certainly see that infrequent newsletter returning. If it does, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Aside from that, there’s a lot of work involved in writing books, outside of writing and editing, obviously. Marketing of all kinds will have to ramp up soon, and I’m ridiculously behind on this, too. It’s been stressing me out, as I’m sure you can imagine, so before anything else can happen, I need to get a grip on things.

Wrapping up

Look, this is really hard to write. I’m sorry it ended up like this, with Switch to iPad. It really felt like moving away from Substack and taking control was a step in the right direction, and it certainly reinvigorated me and my efforts. I even figured out a way to speed up parts of the process, thus making some more time. It just wasn’t enough.

The next month or so will be the last with Switch to iPad. I intend to make it a memorable one, for me, and hopefully an interesting and resourceful one for you all, dear readers.

So, until next time, take care.

— Thord D. Hedengren

Useful links:

• The member’s area.
• Manage your subscription.
• Request a refund by emailing [email protected].
  

Want to talk? You can reach me on Twitter (for now, at least), and email me directly at tdh at tdh.se.

A list of the unlocked posts can be found below.

• Issue #78: So, how did that iPad mini holiday work out?
• Issue #79: My favorite iPad apps of 2021
• Issue #80: The benefits of iPads in meetings
• Issue #81: Let’s talk mind maps
• Issue #83: Finding a place for my iPads
• Issue #84: Getting back to photography
• Issue #85: Going back to default, again
• Issue #86: Where to save that link, again?
• Issue #87: How important are the iPad speakers?
• Issue #88: Can the Logitech MX Anywhere 3 be a Magic Trackpad substitute?
• Issue #89: I’ve been using Calendar for weeks, and I have thoughts
• Issue #90: Is Safari’s Reading List good enough?
• Issue #92: The magic of Universal Control
• Issue #93: iPad screen sizes, again
• Issue #95: My new iPad home screens
• Issue #96: Are any of these tiny keyboards worth getting?
• Issue #97: What if Apple bought EA?
• Issue #98: A typical day
• Issue #99: The one about Stage Manager

No news on iPadOS 16.2 yet. The rumormill says we’ll see a December release, and since we’re just on beta 2, that seems reasonable.