iPad

So I’ve been having thoughts, my friends. Dangerous thoughts. The kind of thoughts that sneak in when you’re sipping a latte and scrolling through tech blogs on your iPad, feeling a little smug because the screen is shiny and the keyboard clicks just the way you like it.

Lately, I keep bumping into all these posts from people who’ve gone full iPad. They’re out there living that sleek, cable-free, digital-nomad-at-the-café life. Meanwhile, I’m over here with my faithful MacBook, which—bless its aluminum heart—is basically glued to my monitor like it has separation anxiety.

And now I’m wondering… should I be more like those iPad people?

I mean, I love my MacBook. Love. It does everything. It handles my writing, my spreadsheets, my research rabbit holes, my attempt at organizing my life in twelve different apps because I apparently refuse to learn from past failures. But it stays on my desk like a loyal houseplant that never ventures out.

My iPad, though? That thing is a social butterfly. I take it everywhere. It’s light, it’s flexible, it’s fun. If tech had personalities, my iPad would be the friend who says “Let’s go to the library, it’ll be adorable,” while my Mac would say, “No, we are staying right here next to this monitor like grown-ups.”

The 80–90% Theory

Here’s what sparked this whole internal monologue: I realized I could probably do about 80 to 90 percent of my actual daily work on the iPad without breaking a sweat. Writing? Absolutely—Ulysses runs beautifully, and I’ve turned into one of those people who cackles while dragging snippets around with my finger. Emails? Easy. Social stuff, blog stuff, journaling, reading PDFs, making my endless to-do lists? Not a problem.

The iPad handles all of that like it’s lounging on a chaise with grapes.

But then there’s… Photoshop.

Cue dramatic piano chord.

Photoshop: The Final Boss

I design my own book covers, right? So Photoshop on the Mac is something I rely on heavily. Layers, masks, smart objects, finicky tweaks at 800% zoom—stuff that feels a little like performing tiny digital surgeries.

I’ve heard decent things about Photoshop on the iPad, but “decent” has a different meaning depending on who you ask. Some folks claim it’s fantastic for painting and drawing, which is great if you want to illustrate a dragon or sketch a mountain. My needs are a bit more “here is a ghost detective in a fedora; please make him dramatic but not too dramatic.”

From what I gather, iPad Photoshop is… fine. Like, it tries. It does a respectable job for many things, but it’s missing enough features to make cover design feel like assembling IKEA furniture with two screws and a verbal apology. The bones are there, but sometimes you just need the full muscle of desktop Photoshop to finish the job.

So that 10–20% remaining? Yeah. That’s where the Mac still wins.

But Here’s the Tug

I love working on the iPad more.

There, I said it.

There’s something energizing about being able to grab my little glass slab and head outside. Or to a coffee shop. Or to the library, where I can pretend I’m some babbling writer from the 1920s scribbling a masterpiece (except instead of a fountain pen, I’m tapping on a Magic Keyboard and hoping the Wi-Fi doesn’t hiccup).

And since I’m more mobile again—walking places, leaving my house, rediscovering the joy of not staring at the same four walls—it’s been really tempting to rethink my setup entirely. The iPad feels like the tool that fits this new chapter better. It’s portable, it’s fun, and it lets me work anywhere without feeling like I’m lugging around a small metal suitcase.

The Question: Could I Actually Move to iPad Full-Time?

I keep circling around the idea that it might be worth investigating. Really investigating. Maybe even doing a little experiment—like a weeklong “iPad-only” challenge to see what breaks first: my workflow or my spirit.

Maybe I’ll discover that Photoshop for iPad is secretly brilliant and I’ve been worrying for nothing. Maybe I’ll find myself running back to the MacBook like it’s an ex I never should have left. Or maybe—just maybe—I’ll split the difference and let each device do what it’s best at.

Honestly, that sounds the most likely: iPad for the daily roaming writer life, Mac for the deeper “let me manipulate this book cover until I’m convinced the shadows look moody enough without swallowing the poor detective whole” work.

But the idea of trimming down my tech life and actually embracing the iPad as my main machine? It keeps tugging at me.

Anyway, you know me—I’ll probably overthink this for another week and end up sitting in a café with the iPad anyway, pretending I’ve already made the switch because it just feels right.

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Lucien Knight came to New York to escape scandal.
He found a dead singer, a beautiful liar, and a ghost that won’t let go.
Murder at the Savoy — jazz-soaked noir meets the supernatural.