Shop E Store I’ve used an iPad Pro as my primary computer for many years, although I’ve occasionally used a Mac for testing. I’ve stuck with my iPad for a variety of reasons, but a new feature Apple just released may finally bring me back to my Mac in 2025.
A new device that will change my computing habits
This piece requires a little background in two areas:
- a new device you just bought
- Why I went all-in on the iPad Pro in the first place
Start with a new device.
I put up with it for a long time, but recently I gave up and bought Apple Vision Pro.
I’ve used the device several times in the past, but only in the past month have I actually started owning it for myself.
I’ll write about why I ended up purchasing it another time. But the important thing to know is that Mac virtual display was a big factor.
Well, that “new feature” that might bring me back to the Mac is just another Mac feature.
More precisely, this is Mac Virtual Display, a feature of Vision Pro that has been significantly upgraded.
With the recent visionOS 2.2 update, Apple made Mac virtual displays even more appealing with three changes:
- Wide and ultrawide display modes
- High quality display resolution
- Audio routing improvements
I hadn’t tried the old Mac Virtual Display feature, but its new and improved version proved particularly appealing to me.
I’d like to do more computing using native visionOS apps, but the options are pretty limited at the moment. For example, my go-to writing app, Ulysses, is unavailable. Also, your favorite apps for things like image editing won’t be available.
As a result, my best option for working within a headset is currently the Mac Virtual Display.
And that’s why I went all-in on the iPad in the first place.
Why I quit my Mac and why I might be back in 2025
There are many reasons why I love working with the iPad Pro, but I won’t go into them here.
But one of the things that first led me down this path was a desire to streamline my devices.
For years, I used my Mac, iPad, and iPhone all in very complementary ways, just as Steve Jobs intended.
But when the first iPad Pro came out, the idea of being a minimalist with just an iPad Pro and an iPhone was very appealing.
If the iPad can serve its purpose as a tablet while also functioning as a laptop, it seems like there’s no need for a MacBook Air anymore. Sure, moving to the iPad full-time comes with sacrifices, but I was so eager to give it a try that I never went back.
Today, I find myself in a similar predicament.
I’d like to work with Vision Pro. Mac Virtual Display is the perfect way to do that.
So either you start splitting your computing time further between your Mac and iPad Pro and get used to bouncing back and forth between platforms, or you narrow it down to one main device.
The same minimalist desire that drove me away from my Mac in 2015 may bring me back to it in 2025.
One Mac experience, Vision Pro or not
I don’t plan on wearing the Vision Pro 8 hours a day, and I don’t plan on using it when working remotely (at least not yet).
But if you’re using macOS when working within Vision Pro, it’s much easier to continue using your Mac for tasks outside of Vision Pro.
You’re running the same app on the same Mac, just with much less screen real estate than in the virtual environment.
I’m not completely sure yet, and even if I get rid of the iPad Pro, there are still some drawbacks to the Mac that I’ll have to find a way to live with.
But thanks to Vision Pro, I’m more open to full-time Mac computing than ever before.
Let’s see what 2025 holds.
Are you working within Mac Virtual Display on Vision Pro? How did that work for you? Let us know in the comments.
