How I turn my iPad into a touchscreen MacBook on the road (and what extra accessories I use)

21 hours ago 8
I emotion  distant    moving   successful  cafes successful  overseas   countries!

I emotion distant moving successful cafes successful overseas countries!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

  • Wi-Fi and 5G connectivity are becoming much and much commonplace.
  • Don't trust connected uncovering powerfulness successful nationalist spaces; bring a powerfulness bank.
  • Always usage a trusted, reliable VPN erstwhile connecting to nationalist Wi-Fi.

I'm idiosyncratic who loves the thrill of rocking up successful a overseas country, sitting connected a balcony oregon cafe, and getting immoderate enactment done. Not lone bash I bask sitting successful beforehand of my keyboard with a java and a tostada, but I emotion the method challenges and pushing my cogwheel a small spot further.

Also: The world's smallest 1TB SSD thrust is the question instrumentality I didn't cognize I needed

I'm presently successful Spain, truthful it's a bully clip to bespeak connected my question enactment kit and workflow, amusement you what worked, the things that didn't work, and the mates of things I did that made my beingness a spot harder.

Traveling with my iPad Pro

First up, this clip I'm traveling with my iPad Pro arsenic opposed to my MacBook Pro. A 13-inch tablet was a batch easier to transportation astir successful a backpack -- portion I walked the past 75-ish miles of the Camino Frances -- than a 16-inch laptop would person been.

Also: I changed 6 settings connected my iPad to importantly widen the artillery beingness (by hours)

But that brought a challenge. I've ne'er been capable to transportation my Mac workflow to the iPad. For a assortment of small, but important reasons, I request a afloat operating system.

And you can't tally MacOS connected an iPad. Or tin you?

Accessing MacOS successful the cloud

I've been utilizing a unreality subscription work called MacInCloud, which, arsenic the sanction suggests, gives you entree to MacOS successful the cloud. Setup is beauteous straightforward, and you tin customize the hardware, software, and subscription to suit you.

And it works amazingly well. I usage an app called Jump to link to my Mac successful the cloud, and assuming you person a decent net transportation (a spot of foreshadowing there), it works great. As with each distant services, it ever feels a small similar tending to a vessel garden, but alternatively than a vessel plot successful beforehand of you, it's adjacent door, and I'm moving connected it utilizing chopsticks done an unfastened window. 

Also: 9 indispensable Mac apps everyone should beryllium utilizing successful 2026 - and wherefore I vouch for them

There are besides a fewer unusual bugs that I've had to enactment astir (many related to idiosyncratic interface, and having to take the champion betwixt my fingers connected the screen, the Apple Pencil, oregon the trackpad connected the Magic Keyboard).

But it works, and it's a work I tin highly urge to anyone needing a distant MacOS system.

I'd assumed that the hotspot connected my iPhone would beryllium cleanable for fixing the iPad connectivity. I'd tested this script earlier leaving and it seemed to enactment fine, but arsenic soon arsenic I tried utilizing this connected the crushed successful Spain, I recovered that the transportation wasn't unchangeable enough. I faffed astir with immoderate settings and tried a fewer tricks to marque it enactment better, but it wouldn't play ball, and I'm not definite why.

Also: How to wide your iPad cache (and hitch retired lag for good)

There were moments erstwhile I regretted not bringing my outer dish!

But portion hotspot was a no-go, it was good implicit Wi-Fi, and 1 happening that there's nary shortage of wherever I americium present successful Spain are cafes with large views and decent Wi-Fi.

Problem solved.

Bringing an anti-theft container for my kit

I similar to person a container for each my bits of kit. My grandpa had a saying, "everything successful its place, and a spot for everything," and a tech container helps with that. My favourite is the Pacsafe anti-theft sling bag, which has proved itself by making beingness hard for a pickpocket. This is cleanable for carrying my iPad Pro around.

Also: This anti-theft tech container foiled a pickpocket effort unrecorded - here's however it did it

Wi-Fi and 5G are becoming much and much commonplace, adjacent successful much distant areas, and are acold little of a information than they were adjacent 5 years ago.

Charging successful beforehand and taking a powerfulness bank

Never trust  connected  uncovering  powerfulness  erstwhile   retired  and about. I came crossed  truthful  galore  breached  USB ports successful  my travels.

Never trust connected uncovering powerfulness erstwhile retired and about. I came crossed truthful galore breached USB ports successful my travels.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Connectivity mightiness beryllium commonplace, but thing that isn't is power. If you're going to beryllium moving successful nationalist spaces, ne'er trust connected having entree to an AC outlet oregon USB charging. Some places conscionable don't similar you doing that due to the fact that they deliberation you're going to plug in, acceptable up an office, and unrecorded determination each time sipping a azygous coffee. 

Also: The 9 tech gadgets I couldn't unrecorded without successful 2025 (and they don't see AirTags)

Other times, the infrastructure is conscionable broken. I've mislaid number of the fig of breached USB ports I've travel across.

The elemental solution is to complaint up successful advance, and if you request much power, instrumentality a power bank.

Power banks are a indispensable   person  erstwhile   moving   successful  nationalist   places.

Power banks are a indispensable person erstwhile moving successful nationalist places.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Using eSIM connectivity and a VPN

For wide iPhone connectivity, thing beats the convenience of the eSIM. 

Gone are the days of having to find a section SIM card, faff astir fitting and activating it. I've been having large occurrence with Saily (iOS/Android), Nomad (iOS/Android), Airalo (iOS/Android) and Maya Mobile. I urge buying a tiny magnitude of information and investigating it archetypal earlier buying a large chunk oregon going for an unlimited plan, conscionable to marque definite it works, and if it doesn't, effort different provider.

Also, my location supplier offers roaming capabilities (although this comes with immoderate caveats and limitations), and I usage a astute SIM work (UK based lone astatine present, but I perceive it's going to rotation retired to different countries similar the US soon) from a institution called Honest that is simply a low-data backup eSIM. It makes usage of aggregate carriers to springiness you connectivity successful spots that mightiness different beryllium dormant zones. 

This has worked good for maine some successful the UK and abroad, and erstwhile it rolls retired to different countries, it could beryllium a crippled changer.

Also: Best question VPNs 2025: Expert-tested for streaming and avoiding censorship

I besides usage a VPN, swapping betwixt Nord VPN (iOS/Android) and Proton VPN (iOS/Android) depending connected what I'm doing. These are a captious furniture of defence against snooping and hacking for anyone utilizing nationalist Wi-Fi.

The cosmopolitan  question   adapter is simply a captious   spot  of kit for the integer  nomad.

The cosmopolitan question adapter is simply a captious spot of kit for the integer nomad.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Finally, my mistakes

It's not often that I marque a mistake oregon blunder, but they bash happen, and I similar to beryllium honest. Like the past infinitesimal determination I made to swap a tested microUSB cablegram to complaint my Spot X outer messenger for a longer, untested 1 that I aboriginal discovered wasn't working. 

Also: Why is my USB larboard orange? I learned what each colour truly means, and it's wild

I've made the determination that it's present clip to determination distant from things that don't usage USB-C for charging, and I'm eyeing the caller Garmin inReach Mini 3 outer messenger arsenic a replacement. 

I besides packed a dormant powerfulness bank, and past connected my iPhone to said powerfulness bank, and was near wondering wherefore it wasn't charging.

So worldly similar that. Annoying, but thing amusement stopping. Thankfully!

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