I turned Apple’s iPad Mini into a baby MacBook, but I have some regrets

I may have made a mistake. You see, I live in Tokyo, the most populous city on earth. Here, when you get the train, it serves as a cramped reminder of that population density. You really need to find something to do, just to serve as a distraction. I’m quite partial to a little Apple Arcade gaming or listening to a somewhat uninteresting podcast on my iPad Mini, just to pass the time. But when you work freelance, anywhere can be your office. So why not the train? Should be simple, right?

Well, no. I have a 15-inch laptop. While it’s a skinny MacBook Air, getting a 15-inch MacBook out on a train full of commuters is outright obnoxious — ooh, look at me, my laptop is massive and silver, and my work is so important I must do it now.

However, when you sit on these trains and your mind wanders from the numbness of a reel, you may notice something: little computers. Tokyo loves them, these compact Panasonics and Fujitsus. I wanted to get one and join my fellow workaholics. One problem for me, however, is that I already own two computers and two iPads. No way was I going to allow myself to buy another just to fit in.

So, I had to work out what to do. I can’t use the iMac, obviously. I tried my big 13-inch iPad, a top pick from our guide to the best iPads, but that feels just as obnoxious as a big laptop — what am I? a famous artist? However, I do have that iPad Mini, and Apple is releasing a new iPadOS to further its multitasking features, so maybe now’s the time. But what about a keyboard?

Well, that was easy. Out here, you can get all manner of copycat Magic Keyboards shipped from China for super cheap. I got the one for about $30. As the price may suggest, this may be the mistake I alluded to earlier. Let’s save that for later; for now, I had to get out there, get a seat on the train, and put my new mini laptop to the test—and oh boy, did this thing look cute.

A tiny little iPad attached to a hand-twistingly mini mock-Magic Keyboard is already pretty nice. Add to that the fact that it’s pink, and it’s a cuteness overload. On a big, somewhat disheveled, and hairy fella like me, that made for one standout accessory.

Ignoring all the aesthetic joys of tiny things, however, leads me to what I was actually commissioned to write about: iPadOS 26 on the iPad mini. What’s it actually like to try and get work done while carving out a bit of time to check out the best iPad games using the new OS on the tiniest iPad? Well, it’s pretty good.

The iPadOS 26 beta introduces quite a few new features that push the device nearer the Mac end of the iOS-macOS spectrum. The iPad had always functioned like a big iPhone, with full-screen apps and only a handful of multitasking features to make it different. Then, about three years ago, Apple introduced Stage Manager— only available on the big M-chip iPads and Macs — which lets you store groups of windows off to the side like a second dock, creating different sets and switching between them for your multitasking needs.

Still, for many, this wasn’t really good enough. Even though I always use it on my Mac, Stage Manager on iPad has long been a divisive addition due to some key flaws. For example, you couldn’t move windows around completely freely or let them sit slightly off the screen; every full window had to be visible on the screen and resized to quite a strict set of proportions.

Now, that’s all gone. Apple has three ways to use the iPad: normal full-screen apps, windowed apps, or a new, improved Stage Manager. With the latter two options, windowed apps can sit anywhere you want on the screen, even if you’re just revealing the slightest smidge of the edge of a window. And, for the first time, it’s on iPad mini.

The fact that Apple hadn’t allowed Stage Manager onto iPad mini before shows how the company believes you should use Stage Manager: with a keyboard. The Mini is the only iPad Apple doesn’t make a keyboard for, so they clearly didn’t think anyone would want to use Stage Manager. It’s now my chance to prove them wrong.

Now, to start the actual testing process, we should note some things. Firstly, I’m using an iPad mini from 2021; this has the A15 Bionic chip used in the iPhone 13 Pro, yet the CPU is underclocked. What this means is that it’s not exactly packing the same punch as the latest Apple Silicon in the big iPads, and it’s quite a way off the new iPad Mini with the A17 Pro.

Secondly, I’m using the public beta of iPadOS 26, so bugs could be a problem. These two things combined — the old chip and the beta software — mean that the iPad mini feels sluggish. I don’t know if the new Liquid Glass design is more demanding (I suspect it is), or if these performance issues will continue with the final release in September (it feels possible given the litany of slowdowns and unresponsive blips), but it’s something to keep in mind for now.

So, I head out to the station. It’s 36 degrees. I am sweating profusely in places I’d rather not mention. I get a seat. I sit down. I unfurl my baby MacBook and get to work. And work it does.

While tiny, the new features on the mini are definitely usable, turning the device into a much more versatile machine. I have Docs and Google Drive open at the same time, referencing and linking materials in the doc from the drive. Meanwhile, a three-finger swipe takes me from this pair to my other pair, my work schedule, and a spreadsheet of paid hours — a vital thing to track as a freelancer.

A swipe back takes me straight back to the other pair, or I can swipe the other way and continue to my three messaging apps, checking info from clients or just chatting to my buddies. It feels like a MacBook, in this most basic sense, and it’s a genuine joy to use.

The new windowed apps mode doesn’t make as much sense, however. It’s like Stage Manager, since you can have one group of apps on screen, as many windows as you like, all configured and organized in whatever way you want. The only difference is that you don’t have a dock of app groups to go between. Just one cluttered screen. It’s just a less useful Stage Manager. It works, and it’s fine, but it is actually less versatile. Still, in either mode, we are getting closer to the Mac experience.

The limits occur when it comes to file management. The lack of a desktop and the fact that the Files app is still just a smidge less useful than Finder is pretty annoying. One way that you can manage files between windows quite easily is by putting a folder in your dock — I have my desktop folder on mine, shared across all devices via iCloud — giving me a pseudo desktop. It makes me wonder, though: why doesn’t Apple just give in? Turn the app library into Launchpad, give the iPad a desktop, and turn the Files app into Finder. We’re so, so close that it feels like the company ought to have just done it as an option.

Some more limits come when you try to push the power. Don’t try to have a power-hungry app like Logic Pro open while doing something else. More than one window alongside any project of even minimal complexity is going to cause slowdown. Then again, I can’t really imagine why someone would want to use the iPad mini and then make Logic Pro even smaller — it’s already too small here — but each to their own.

You can try and push it even more and delve into windowed gaming, but that doesn’t really work; it’s basically not possible. You can play a game in a window, but landscape games can’t shrink much more than the screen size, so you can’t see anything else while playing the game. You’d still have to click between the windows.

I’m playing a lot of one of my favorite Apple Arcade games, Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic, at the moment, as well as a bit of Suica Game. Both of them stutter and slow when alongside other windows. It makes no sense to play in this way in the first place, but the performance basically makes it a no-go. (Note: I have tried windowed gaming on my more powerful iPad Air with the M2 chip. It works, but again, it’s not a very nice way to play. Also, mouse and keyboard support is such a mess with iPad games that it’s not really a goer — just stick to full screen and thumbs.)

The gamers shouldn’t ignore this update, however, as there is a new Apple Games app. This app allows you to explore your recently played games, recommendations, and rankings for various categories. You can also explore Apple Arcade, challenge your friends and play with them, and look at your library of played games — all the way back to the first game you downloaded with your Apple account. Mine? Real Football 2012.

Um, the Games app isn’t really for me, however. Most of it is just stuff you can see in the App Store anyway, and the game library is just a glorified games folder from the App Library. It’s a lot of stuff you can find elsewhere put into one app. Maybe Game Center will liven up finally, given it now has some dedicated multiplayer and competitive functions, but I don’t know anyone who’s going to use that with me.

So, iPadOS 26 looks like it does the job, no? Well, it does — you can now do more stuff with your iPad without having to pay for a new one. That is great news for most people, and if you don’t want it, that’s fine; just stick with the original way of interacting. The choice is yours.

The problem, however, or rather the mistake I made, was thinking that an iPad mini would be anything but irritating to use as a laptop. Of course! No one uses laptops this tiny, not even the folks on their commute in Tokyo! Their laptops are at least 11 inches, not the tiny 8-inch restriction of the mini. What I’ve discovered with using the iPad mini as a baby MacBook is this: Apple was right. You don’t want to. And yet you now have the choice.

Worse yet, if you do turn it into a laptop, that cheap Magic Keyboard knock-off you got at AliExpress will give you RSI. The clunky keys, the chemical smell, the painfully unresponsive trackpad… do not go there; it’s an absolute waste of time and money.

So, my conundrum remains. The iPad Air with the big 13-inch screen is my next stop. I used it on the train a few times with Apple’s real Magic Keyboard, and well, it’s good, but still too big. My elbows are perilously close to the love handles of my neighbor, occasionally jabbing as I type, and the train bends around a corner. It is not an option for comfortable work.

So, what have I decided? Well, first, my commute is too long, and I do too much unpaid work. Secondly, though, between my iMac, two iPads, and my MacBook, I’ve concluded that… I need another iPad. The one in the middle. Maybe that, the 11-inch iPad Pro, with a Magic Keyboard, and of course a nano-texture display to fight off the glare from the train window… maybe that could solve all my woes. For the bargain price of $2,000! That’s got to be the only solution. Right? Right?

If you’re looking for some new tech, be sure to check out our guides to the best handheld consoles and the best iPhones for gaming while you’re here. Or, if you’re waiting to see what Apple has up its sleeve for its next series of flagship phones, see our iPhone 17 hub for all the latest rumors and speculation.