One Exciting New Feature Could Lure Me Back to the Mac in 2025

For years, I have relied on an iPad Pro as my main computing device, although I’ve dabbled with the Mac here and there. Numerous factors kept me devoted to the iPad, but one recent feature from Apple might just lure me back to the Mac in 2025.

The new device that’s altering my computing habits

Understanding this topic requires a bit of context in two areas:

1. The new device I recently purchased
2. The reasons that led me to fully embrace the iPad Pro

To start, let’s talk about the new device.

After a lengthy period of indecision, I finally purchased the Apple Vision Pro.

Although I had tried the device a few times prior, it was only in the last month that I became an actual owner.

I plan to discuss my motivations for this purchase in another piece, but the standout feature that influenced my decision was the Mac Virtual Display.

So, yes, that “new feature” compelling me to revisit the Mac is technically not solely a Mac feature.

It’s more accurately a Vision Pro feature: Mac Virtual Display, which recently received significant enhancements.

With the recent visionOS 2.2 update, Apple has significantly enhanced Mac Virtual Display with three key improvements:

1. Options for Wide and Ultrawide display modes
2. Enhanced display resolution
3. Superior audio routing capabilities

I had not experienced the original Mac Virtual Display, but its revamped version has proven to be particularly appealing for me.

While I would love to embrace more native visionOS applications, my current options are somewhat limited. For instance, my favorite writing tool—Ulysses—doesn’t exist yet, nor do my preferred image editing programs.

This limitation makes Mac Virtual Display my most effective avenue for completing tasks within the headset.

This situation naturally leads to the question of why I initially committed to the iPad.

Why I transitioned from the Mac and may return in 2025

I have numerous reasons for loving my iPad Pro workflow, which I won’t delve into right now.

However, one of the initial motivations for my choice to go all-in was the aspiration to simplify my device usage.

For many years, I utilized a Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone in highly complementary roles, just as Steve Jobs envisioned.

But the arrival of the first iPad Pro sparked a desire to minimize to just an iPad Pro and an iPhone.

If the iPad could serve as both a tablet and a capable laptop, I felt there was little reason to retain my MacBook Air. Although there would be compromises moving to a full-time iPad setup, I was enthusiastic about the change and never looked back.

Today, I find myself in a similar situation.

I want to leverage my Vision Pro for productivity, with Mac Virtual Display being the most effective tool for that.

This could mean either redistributing my computing tasks between the Mac and the iPad Pro, thus reacquainting myself with moving between platforms, or it might push me to consolidate my work into one primary device.

The same minimalist philosophy that drove me away from the Mac in 2015 could well influence my return to it in 2025.

One Mac experience, Vision Pro or not

I don’t anticipate wearing my Vision Pro for eight continuous hours, nor do I plan to use it while working remotely (at least for now).

However, if I switch to using macOS within the Vision Pro, it would simplify matters to also adopt the Mac for my non-Vision Pro tasks.

Utilizing the same Mac, running identical applications, albeit with significantly less display area compared to my virtual setting, could be advantageous.

I am still undecided, and there are certain drawbacks with the Mac that I would need to consider if I were to let go of the iPad Pro.

Nevertheless, the Vision Pro has opened me up to the idea of returning to full-time Mac usage more than I have been in years.

We’ll see how things unfold as we approach 2025.

Do you use Mac Virtual Display on Vision Pro? How has your experience been? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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