I've been using an iPad with Duet as my secondary monitor when working from coffee shops. It's pretty awesome, very portable. The FPS is a bit low, but for a debugger window its excellent.
I was just earlier toying with the idea of getting the iPad Pro as my second monitor. I just started using duet with my regular iPad, and was surprised both at how well it works for display and its touch screen!
Display rate is not great at highest resolution but perfect for my slack, dash, or current project displaying with browser sync while I work in my IDE on the main screen.
I use my iPad as a second display for the laptop when portable, it's surprisingly useful.
It's also kind of nice for keeping a game of baseball or something going on while sharing audio output with the main laptop, there's almost no display lag.
I'm using an iPad right now as a portable second monitor for my Macbook Pro via Sidecar. I also use the iPad as a music player around the house whenever I don't want to use my phone. It definitely could be improved and it will often sit unused for months but it finds a niche once in awhile.
I was hoping not to invest in an iPad (considering the price and way over qualified) just to use as a second monitor on-the-go. I'll look into an Android tablet while using a similar application since you've had luck working off a tablet as a 2nd screen.
I use my ipad as a second monitor occasionally, using air display. It works well to throw a browser up on and test. Or, even if you don't use air display, as long as you're okay with the mobile browser for the testing, you can set up a local network, and just navigate to the test address.
It's not ideal, but it's nice.
I find the size of my multiple monitor setup is less a concern than being able to mentally divide tasks/contexts. ymmv
I'm so used to having two large monitors that even working on a laptop is sometimes frustrating for me. There's no way I could use an iPad exclusively.
I got an ipad pro (larger one) and a clamp so I can use it as a second monitor at eye level anywhere. I do get a few funny looks from time to time but considering how much time I spend travelling it's been a worthwhile investment.
1. Music production/performance.
The iPad does few things objectively better than Android and touch responsiveness when it comes to playing music apps is one of them. There's a 100-400ms delay with Android for some reason. I had heard they'd gotten better recently but my girlfriend just got a Galaxy S5 and even though it's a last generation phone it's unplayable for being on time.
The iPad has a lot of great emulations of older synths and exciting new apps that aren't available anywhere else. Some big names have also made apps, like Korg, Propellerheads, and Native Instruments. Check out iPolysix, iProphet, Animoog, DM1, Auria, E.L.S.A., Beatsurfing, Impaktor, BIAS Amp, Audiobus, Swoopster, Sparkle, Galileo, Thumbjam, Steel Guitar, Arpeggionome, Orphion, Xynthesizr, Glitchbreaks, Loopy, and Gadget.
2. A second monitor.
Duet Display lets me plug in my iPad as a second monitor to my MacBook. This is convenient for coding on the go.
3. Casual laptop use replacement.
About the only thing I can't do easily on just an iPad is code or write a lengthy bit of text. If I bring a Bluetooth keyboard I can conceivably do the latter. Possibly the former but I hear the coding apps are still "meh". But if I travel lightly and I want to read, answer email, check the news, play music, or watch some videos, then an iPad suffices over a laptop, and I don't need a heavy power brick. If I want better speakers I can either use headphones or a Bluetooth speaker. If I want a bigger screen there are converter cables or apps that let me do that.
Not nearly 17", but I've found my iPad Pro makes a reasonable second monitor when traveling. It isn't really large enough to want to do work on it - I keep those windows on the main laptop monitor - but it works as a place to drop email/Slack/misc other things.
An iPad comes in handy as a portable second display using ScreenRecycler and an iPad VNC client. I use it with my 13" macbook to satisfy real estate envy.
I put the less "active" stuff on it, since there isn't a version of JollysFastVNC (fastest VNC client I've ever used) out for iPad yet, although I hear it's in progress.
I'm 26 and the iPad Air and iPad mini do not appeal to me but I own an iPad Pro and I am enamored with it. I use the iPad Pro at my full-time job as a Software Engineer at Microsoft. I get a lot of mileage by taking notes on it in OneNote and preparing/reading documents from the other Office apps. I also use the iPad to listen to music with Spotify (my headphones have trouble connecting to my work PC). Outside of the office, I use the iPad as a second screen for my Windows Laptop with Duet (https://www.duetdisplay.com/), reading books, web browsing and more Spotify.
My major complaint with the device is the poor IDE support. I think I would love to be able to use it with Visual Studio Code as it is much easier to carry around than my laptop and I don't need the powerful laptop all that frequently. It has basically replaced all of the functionality of my laptop except for my development work.
When I occasionally want a second screen, the 13" iPad does the trick nicely. If it's a PDF, I'll usually use an iOS reader, if it's a terminal or website I'll usually treat it as a second monitor.
recently brought my wifes ipad to a conference and was really stoked to have it versus laptop. got lots of little things done, bu didnt totally zoneout which is easy with the laptop and miss the event, very nice balance, but also a pretty specific use case.
I have been testing out the iPad for development work and it's working out ok so far. I do have a separate keyboard and an ipad support and I mostly work on remote machines using server auditor ssh app. One advantage is the separation of screen from the keyboard so I can have the screen at eye level and the keyboard at elbow level. Less strain on the neck. A mini desktop like environment. Oh and I am 39 :)
There are times when I'm traveling ultra light and just have an iPad and my phone. This is usually what I do when attending conferences, or when I'm traveling and I don't expect to do much coding or writing. But stuff comes up even when I don't intend on doing work, and the ability to make small fixes from my iPad would be a big help.
I'm switching to a 13.3-inch Macbook Air as my main computer (with a 27-inch external display). We'll see if this changes my view on not bringing my laptop places. Still, the iPad is much lighter than an Air and gets incredible battery life.
I might even be out at a coffee shop on the weekend and realize that there is something I want to fix on a website. If I'm out at a coffee shop, relaxing, reading some stuff, I almost never have a laptop with me.
I have a multi-display desktop. I accept I’m not going to have full capabilities if I’m not at home. For travel an external display on an iPad is a nonstarter.
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