I have a 2017 27” iMac that I use mostly for photo editing.

My other Apple device is an iPhone 13 mini, which I love but it can get straining using it for extended “couch” browsing and social media sessions.

I picked up an iPad Air 5th generation on sale to be a bridge device for more comfortable longer browsing sessions, as well as doing a bit of photo editing and maybe some light video editing without being tied to the immobile iMac for some of this.

I hadn’t opened it yet as I was considering returning it because I just picked up an M1 MacBook Air for $799- thinking it would be more versatile than the iPad.

I’ve been testing it out and it’s a great device- but I don’t quite find it as “nice” for the basic media consumption as it is on a phone or iPad-partly the bulky size.
But one other concern that arose- if I keep this, what is the purpose of my iMac?

It feels to me like if I have an iMac and an iPhone, the iPad may be a better bridge device.

What are your experiences- do some if you have an iMac and still use a mba for the things I mentioned above? And if do, does your iMac really just collect dust at this point?

So I went the other way, I have a MacBook Pro from 2017 and recently got an iMac because it was on sale for like 50% off. Since having the iMac and working from home (on a different computer) I noticed I don't use the MacBook as much anymore, but my iPad usage has increased. This is also due to the fact the battery on the MacBook has been having issues so I never know when it's going to just turn off and say is dead when it has a full battery.

MPclk2006 said:

So I went the other way, I have a MacBook Pro from 2017 and recently got an iMac because it was on sale for like 50% off. Since having the iMac and working from home (on a different computer) I noticed I don't use the MacBook as much anymore, but my iPad usage has increased. This is also due to the fact the battery on the MacBook has been having issues so I never know when it's going to just turn off and say is dead when it has a full battery.

So it sounds like the iPad was the better bridge device for you- thanks for sharing!
I suppose the slight difference is the MacBook Air is quiet snd stays cool snd has ridiculously good battery life compared to the older air snd pro models- but to be still seems just a bit clunky compared to a phone/iPad for things other than heavy work-related productivity or heavier photo editing.

If you plan to do complex work on the road then MBA is better. MBA is also not too bad for media consumption (it’s weight is similar with iPad+case anyway, plus its battery life is also similar with iPad).
The iMac can be your desk station with bigger screen and can run program overnight and has big disk to store your complete data/documents.
Another option, you can sell the iMac and buy the external monitor, use it with MBA when needed.
If you’re considering iPad vs MBA, there are lots of discussion on MR, which usually end up to your typical usage.

I use 3 MacBooks everyday for different purposes running Ventura, Mojave and El Captain.
there is a very fast and reliable Mac mini 2012 i7 sitting in my dresser draw I should get going again.

I would only use the 2021 MacBook Air all the time even to replace the iPad or iPhone.
they are easy to type on, compose graphics, photo edit and watch movies.
what I do is airplay movies or sports from the MBA to the TV.
the signal on the M1 is strong and works better than the other MacBooks.
and that battery does last over 20 hours!

'hope this helped!