If you commute a lot or if you want a compact device that does not take much space, then a portable computer might be the best choice. These devices have become so powerful that they can easily replace a desktop computer to perform tasks.

The most popular form of portable computers available nowadays are laptops and iPads. These are computers that are designed to be carried around and operate without wall power.

An iPad is a tablet computer that has a larger display and commendable processing capability. By attaching a keyboard, it can become a solid replacement for a general purpose computer.

ipad-keyboard-1

A laptop on the other hand, is a miniaturized computer that has a display and keyboard attached, some of which can perform just as well as desktop computers.

iPad – Compact Yet Portable

iPads are devices manufactured by Apple Inc. With each successive iteration and generation, iPads have slowly but surely become a viable replacement for laptops by including morepowerful hardware and productivity features.

With newer generations having the Apple designed M series chips, iPads have become powerful enough to replace and give performance equal to a mid-range laptop for their price.

macbook-pro

iPads are also versatile in a sense as they can support most iOS apps built for iPhones. Because the operating system, iPadOS, is a modified version of iOS, compatibilty is a non-issue.

However, if you decide to purchase an iPad, you cannot make any kind of hardware changes to it. Expansion options such as memory and internal storage cannot be upgraded after purchasing your device and need to bedecided during purchase.

If you plan to do any kind of heavy graphic or calculation tasks, iPads are not ideal as they cannot support external peripherals like e-GPUs that boost performance.

ipad-multitasking-1

Laptop – Powerful Yet Limited

A laptop is a computer that is designed to be carried around and used without requiring wall power. Laptops can provide all the features a desktop class device could have but with the additional benefit of being portable and having much more processing capability.

Purchasing a laptop is also beneficial if you plan on upgrading its features. Depending on the model, most laptops are designed to be upgraded by the user. Storage devices and memory modules can be upgraded and in some cases, manufacturers design their devices with modularity in mind. This gives users theability to upgrade or swapcomponents of their device.

Getting a laptop is also beneficial for the long run as external performance components like e-GPUs can be connected to the laptop. This boosts the performance while doing compute heavy tasks or while playing games and increases the longevity of the device’s usability.

windows-os

The main differences between a laptop and iPad are their software and the way they are designed to prioritise portability. Other notable differences between a laptop and an iPad are as follows.

ipad-form-factor

laptop-profile

laptop-ram-upgrade