I’ve been working as a full stack developer since the early days of the modern web. Back in 2010, when the very first iPad launched, I was living in Austria and picked one up on day one. Within 48 hours, I already knew what it was for me: a content consumption device. Not something I could truly create or build with.
Still, every year I tried to make the iPad my main machine. I tested new setups, talked it over with friends and colleagues, and experimented with workflows. But I never fully switched. There was always something missing.
Apple kept pushing the idea that it could replace a traditional computer. There was that 2018 “What’s a computer?” ad (watch it here). MKBHD responded to it at the time, saying that while it might work for some people, it didn’t meet the needs of all people. I’ve always needed real shell access, the ability to run scripts, and support for languages like Ruby and, more recently, Elixir. The iPad couldn’t deliver that.
And then, yesterday, MKBHD released a new video asking the same question again: iPadOS 26: Ready for Laptop Duty?. That got me thinking about it once more. But this time, things finally seem to be changing.
What actually made the difference is the rise of agentic AI.
These days I’m using Claude Code, running in the shell on my Mac back home. The AI handles most of the coding while I review, test, and direct. I’m no longer writing code the same way I used to. But that shift didn’t happen in isolation. My way of coding is evolving because the entire industry is changing. The whole world is moving rapidly toward an agentic AI workforce. That transformation is reshaping how we work, what tools we choose, and how we define productivity.
Now the iPad makes sense. I can be anywhere, connect to my Mac using Tailscale and Prompt, code using AI, and test using ngrok and Safari. Most importantly, I can be productive. Everything works remotely. I don’t need to install or compile anything locally.
So maybe 2025 really is the year of the iPad. Not because Apple finally delivered the dev machine I always wanted to have, but because the tools—and the world around us—have evolved. For once, the iPad fits.
This year, I’m all in. I’m thinking of getting a SIM-enabled model and a Magic Keyboard. For the first time, I actually want the whole setup.