Accessories · Tested since May 2026
Apple iPad 11-inch (A16)
My grab-and-go second machine. I usually have the work laptop, but when I am out for a few hours with just my personal MacBook, the iPad runs Outlook, Teams, and Slack so I can stay on top of everything without hauling the big Pro. Light, instant-on, and all-day battery. Also great for videos when I'm at lunch, or when I'm working remote I will occasionally use this as my second monitor since Apple makes it so easy to leverage it for that. It's not a full laptop, but good enough to reply to a Slack or Outlook.
- $$
- May 2026
- Accessories
- Hidden Gem
The verdict
On my desk since May 2026, and it scores 8.0 out of 10.
Everything above comes from running it on real call days, not from a spec sheet — the flaws worth knowing are in the trade-offs, not buried in a spec table. How I rate gear.
What works
- Runs the full Outlook, Teams, and Slack stack for real work away from the desk
- Instant-on with all-day battery, so it is always ready to grab
- Light enough to carry as a just-in-case second device
- iPadOS is not macOS, so some workflows still need the laptop
- Definitely not good for doing a lot of typing without a keyboard
Scored on four things
