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Between its thin design, good battery life, and cellular support, iPads are among the best portable computers you can buy. Over time, I’ve assembled a dedicated iPad bag with the accessories I use to get work done while I’m on the go.

The iPad

My primary iPad and main personal computer is my 13 inch iPad Pro. This is an incredibly powerful machine that does not disappoint either as a tablet or pseudo-laptop.

The specs of my model are:

• 4 performance Cores
• 6 efficiency cores
• 10 Core GPU
• 16 Core Neural Engine
• 1 TB of Storage
• 16 GB of unified memory
  

This is a primary device for, so everything that isn’t writing code gets done on this machine. I did just pick up a Vision Pro, so I anticipate it will handle some of the at home computing tasks the iPad Pro currently handles.

Link: iPad Pro

The Bag

Even though the 13 inch Pro is laptop sized, it’s significantly thinner and lighter than any laptop, which makes me want to try to keep my bag similarly thin and light.

I went with the Compact EDC Sling by Tomtoc. Its a small crossbody bag that I got in this light grey, kinda fabric-y option, although it looks like it comes in other colors as well. It has a few pockets on the inside I’m sure I’m not taking very good advantage of. I’m not super organized when it comes to this stuff, so I often just throw things in the bag. My phone will often go in the outer pocket to avoid the “bulging phone in jeans” (I don’t know how the Pro Max users do it).

Link: Tomtoc Compact EDC Sling

Keyboards

There are two different keyboard options, depending on what I’m going to be doing that day.

Magic Keyboard

The first option is probably no surprise to anyone, and that’s the Apple Magic Keyboard case. I’m usually the first one to remind people that you don’t have to go with Apple accessories, and I stand by that. There are some great that third party options, like some of Logitech’s options that maybe be a better fit for you.

That being said, if you can swing it, the Apple accessories generally provide an overall experience that is hard to beat. The Magic Keyboard is used for days when I know I’m going to be doing a lot of writing, like a video script or a longer blog post.

Link: Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro

Logitech Keys to Go + Magic Trackpad

Something of a backup option, and one of my favorite keyboards ever, is the Logitech Keys-To-Go version 1. Now, I know this is not the most practical keyboard option. In fact, many of you will hate this keyboard, because of how little key travel (0.05) and the way the covering feels, but I still love just how compact and thin it is.

I’m obviously not a keyboard snob. I get used to whatever keyboard I’m using without much fuss. But this keyboard is kinda fun, and I actually enjoy when I get to use it. The downside of this one versus the newer model is that it charges over micro-usb, which requires USB-C to micro-usb able for charging (I’m anti-adapter/dongle if I can avoid it).

I pair this keyboard with the Apple Magic Trackpad. Supposedly, using a trackpad is a better experience on iPadOS than a mouse, but it really doesn’t seem much different to me. I already own the trackpad because I used to use it with my laptop back in the day.

Link: Logitech Keys-To-Go

Link: USB-C to micro-USB cable

Link: Apple Magic Trackpad

Charging

I wanted a more robust charging solution that what Apple provides out of the box, so I picked up the Anker GaNPrime Hybrid Charger. The “hybrid” part is in reference to how it works as both a power bank and wall charger.Its likely not the fastest charger you can get, but I like that it can always be charged when I do need to use it as a power bank.

Paired with this is an Anker USB cable that supports fast charge, which of course is one of the big reasons you pick a charger with modern USB.

Link: Anker GaNPrime Hybrid Charger

Link: Anker USB Cable

Audio

It’s been about 10 years since Apple bought Beats Electronics, and it seems like some people still look down on the brand. I’ve had a few Beats headphones over the years both before and after Apple bought them, and the Beats Studio Pros are one of the more solid pairs of headphones I’ve owned so far.

These over-ear headphones looking like an even better option today after Apple declined to meaninfully update the Airpods Max, but kept the price at the same eye-watering $549 price point. The Studio Pro’s support a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, and lossless audio over USB. They’re a bit plasticy, but better built than their predecessory, the Beats Studio3.

These come with me, if I’m doing a lot of writing since the over-ear headphones are almost certainly going to have better noise cancellation than earbuds. The big tradeoff here is that the case is kind of bulky, which is a bag this slim, isn’t ideal, but is workable.

Link: Beats Studio Pro

SSD

I use the Crucial X6 SSD for archiving my video work. I keep it with me in case I want to reference or pull something from older project while I’m out. It could also use it to more quickly share files with others (hypothetically). Even though I have a 1 TB iPad, I still don’t want it to fill up with video projects.

This drive supports USB 3.2 transfer speeds, and is APFS formatted, so it works with all of my machines.

P.S. – Did you hear iPadOS 18 adds the ability to format drives on iPad?

Link: Crucial X6 SSD

USB Hub

A USB hub stays in the bag as a “just in case” item. I’m using the Anker 541 USB-C hub. The ports on it are:

• a HDMI 2.0 port, a usb 3.0 port that supports both power and data
• USB port that supports both power and data
• USB-A 3.0 port
• Micro-SD card slot
• SD card slot
• 3.5 mm jack
  

I have a few other hubs like this, but none of them had a USB-C port that supplied both power and data. A lot of the ones I’ve looked at just supply passthrough power.

Link: Anker 541 USB-C hub

Those are the things I bring with me when I’m able to go out with just my iPad. While the iPad by itself if pretty capable, it also supports a number of accessories that can elevate the experience at home or away from home.