How iPad + external monitor will boost your productivity and maybe save US$161
Few deny that the iPad is great for content consumption, but what about content creation? Until now, only diehard fans would say yes, but iPadOS 16.1 changes that.
An iPad with a M1 or later processor can fully exploit an external monitor. Apple has liberated its multitouch wonder to compete on an even footing with other tablets and laptops. Finally!
You no longer need to suffer iPad-claustrophobia when building large spreadsheets or drafting long documents on the mighty tablet. Two full-screen windows can sit beside each other, and the external monitor can be a 6K behemoth.
What? No, the iPad won’t just make the pixels bigger. I’m currently looking at a preview of my Ulysses document on my 4K 28” monitor as I write this. The type is displayed properly.
External monitor support won’t be finalised until iPadOS 16.1’s release in October, but it’s available now in the public iPadOS beta. I’ve been running the public beta since July, and if you stick to the external monitor support, I’ve found it to be stable.
Whether you have the nerve to install the beta now or wait until October 2022, I think you’ll discover that external monitor support is transformative.
My MacBook has gone back on to the shelf to continue with its dust collecting duties. I know it can do so much more, but I just want to surf, do email, write, take photos, and draw. The iPad lets me focus entirely on that, and I can finally go big.
This article explains how:
- to get an external monitor up and running
- full monitor support boosts productivity
- it could save you money
There are no affiliate links in this article, and I have no links to any suppliers mentioned.
Which iPads does it work with?
Any iPad with a M1 processor or later can support an external monitor. At the time of writing, this list included:
Supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colours
Supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
Supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colours
Supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
You need a mouse or trackpad
Multitouch is usually unavailable on an external monitor, so how do you control iPadOS? You push the cursor off the edge of the iPad to the side where your iPad thinks the monitor resides (see later to control that).
Once on the external monitor, you can control the cursor with a mouse or trackpad. I prefer using a combined keyboard and trackpad, such as the Apple Magic Keyboard, or Logitech. My fingers don’t have to leave the keyboard.
How to connect a monitor to an iPad
Diagram by author.
Both the iPad Air and the two iPad Pro models support up to 6K at 60Hz. If you have a monitor that supports DisplayPort over USB-C, then you can plug it into an iPad directly. An iPad Pro will also support Thunderbolt 3 monitors.
If you don’t have a monitor with USB-C/DisplayPort, then you have to use an adapter (diagram above). This also applies if you need your USB-C port for other tasks.
Amazon has many USB-C adapters, at various price points, and I’ve been using this one since July 2022.
Here is a I’m happy with it, but it gets hot. I’d suggest not going for the cheapest adapter because I’ve had a few burn-out after a few months.
Here’s what Apple says on its product pages:
iPad Air offers:
> DisplayPort and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (<10Gb/s).
> Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
> VGA, HDMI and DVI output supported using adapters (sold separately)
-- [Apple]
iPad Pro 11” and 12.9”
> Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
> Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
> VGA, HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)8
-- [Apple]
You will have to buy a cable if it didn’t come with the monitor. I use a standard HDMI cable.
Here’s my guide to USB-C and Thunderbolt for further information.
Which monitor should I use?
The iPad Air, iPad Pro 11”, and iPad Pro 12.9” can support all 60Hz monitors up to 6k, so that’s your ceiling. I’m happily using a 28” 4K ASUS monitor at 60Hz. I bought it a few years ago, but it’s still available.
It was relatively cheap because its brightness is only 300cd. That’s a long way from the Apple Studio Display at 600 nits.
I’d suggest getting the best 4K monitor you can afford, preferably with speakers.
The new user experience
Stage Manager is crucial (what?)
External monitor support is centred around something called, Stage Manager. Stage Manager manages groups of resizable application windows. Each grouping is shown on the left of the screen. See below.
Stage Manager will always be the way you interact with apps on the external monitor. By default, it is disabled on the iPad screen.
To enable Stage Manager on the iPad display, you use a new Control Panel icon. Long press the icon to show the Stage Manager options view.
Want to arrange your screens so that they match your physical setup? Go to Settings/Display & Brightness/Arrangement. If you like, you can get the external monitor to mirror the main display too.
Want to configure how the iPad interacts with the external display? Tap on the monitor and configuration view appears. You can set up display zoom and whether the monitor can change mode.
Here’s all that summarised in a diagram.
Living with Stage Manager
Stage Manager is at least an article all by itself, and it’s still in development as I write. Have a look at this.
Applications that shine on an external monitor
It’s not rocket science. As a guiding principle, any app that creates large documents benefits from an external monitor:
- spreadsheets
- drawings
- photos
- mind maps
- Etc
At the time of writing, even using a beta, I’ve got extra value out of the following apps:
- Ulysses and ProDrafts
I’ve been experimenting with using infinite canvas apps rather than mind mapping apps for article research. (An article is in the works, but so far ProDrafts is looking good.)
I created my notes using the Apple Pencil on my iPad screen and transferred the result to the external monitor. I made it full screen.
Ulysses was on the iPad’s screen. It was easy to refer to my notes. I used the trackpad on my keyboard to move the cursor on the external display and scroll around ProDrafts.
- Ulysses and iThoughts
I haven’t forgotten about mind mapping apps completely, so I took iThoughts for a spin too. I used the same technique as I’d used with ProDrafts. Here’s photos of each in action:
It’s great. It’s what every other computer platform has had for ages, but it’s great. I can’t now imagine not having an external monitor available to my iPad.
How an external monitor can save you money
I’ve an interest in drawing cartoons, and I’ve spent too much of my life building large spreadsheets. Because of those interests, I bought the 12.9” iPad Pro as soon as it was released.
Why? I loved the iPad’s multitouch interface and wanted to use it for work, but for big documents, you need a big screen. A 12.9” iPad was a small step in the right direction.
Not only was it a small step, it was an expensive step, but it was the only way I could make it work for work. I still had to use a laptop occasionally, and I used another 11” iPad for content consumption. A 12.9” iPad is too big to carry around casually.
Now, no iPad fan has to buy an expensive iPad Pro 12.9” to work on large documents. Connect an iPad Air to a 4K monitor, and you can use the external monitor to get the big picture.
If you bought a 256 GB iPad Air Wi-Fi instead of a 256 MB iPad Pro 12.9”. How much would that save?
As of August 2o22:
Wi-Fi iPad Pro 12.9” with 256 MB costs US$1,199.
Wi-Fi iPad Air 10.9” with 256 MB costs US$749.00
This is a saving of US$450, which is more than enough to buy a 4K monitor. My ASUS VP28U 28” 4k monitor currently retails at US$289. The net saving is US$161. I’m sure you could get a better monitor now without trying too hard.
I’ve no idea why Apple took so long to do this, or looking at that saving, maybe I do. Read more of thoughts on that here.
Nothing’s perfect
I’m very enthusiastic about external monitor support (did you guess?), but here are some things to keep in mind.
- You can only connect 1 external monitor per port, so that means an iPad can’t exploit more than one monitor. That’s a limitation of single-port Macs, too.
- Sound is automatically routed to the monitor, so if the monitor doesn’t have loudspeakers, your iPad is mute. Make sure your USB-C adapter has a headphones socket or use wireless headphones.
- Many apps will have to be adapted to take full advantage of the new capabilities. Make sure your favourite apps work before you invest in a monitor.
- Widgets do not appear on the external monitor. I’m not certain why, but they still appear on the iPad screen.
Final thoughts
As I said earlier, I can’t now imagine not using an external monitor with my iPad Pro. When I need to, I can detach the iPad and take it where I like, but the extended screen real estate is there when I need it.
I’ve been a big fan of the iPad since 2010, and I think it now has a chance to fulfil its potential. Add in the capabilities of a M1 CPU, and there is no reason why an iPad can’t run full desktop quality apps. Someone has to write them, though. Apple? Adobe? Microsoft? Bueller?
I think Apple has finally let the iPad genie out of the bottle.
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