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Ask HN: Best iPad Pro Alternative for VSCode?

7 points by euos ↗ HN
Did anybody found a good iPad alternative that can natively run VSCode.

I am using VSCode to remotely develop on my WSL so I only need to run the frontend. I saw some open-source efforts to run it as web app (which would allow running it on iPad) but I do not think they are ready yet.

I am looking for: - 11'+ screen with the quality (resolution/brightness/etc) comparable to iPad Pro - No keyboard or collapsable keyboard (I want to be able to use it as iPad to watch Netflix in bed and such). I assume all OSes now support wireless keyboards. - Officially supported OS for VSCode (Windows/Linux/Mac). Looks like ChromeOS is also supported now.

Am I asking for too much?

9 comments

[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 26.4 ms ] thread
ghuntley
Have you considered Gitpod with an iPad? https://ghuntley.com/anywhere
ss48
I've tried it. The experience was really poor. It does not perform as well on Mobile Safari as other devices. The Terminal also displayed weird on an iPad for a while. Load Times of Interface also take longer. Perhaps it's improved since I last used it, or works better on M1 iPad, as the blog post you linked seems to indicate.

I've been using Textastic or Code (thebaselab.com/code, which is an app with subset of VSCode Functionality, excluding extensions) + Working Copy, and that's been somewhat better.

smoldesu
Get a Microsoft Surface with decent Linux support, toss something like Pop_OS! on it and you should be good to go. Perfectly usable native dev environment without any cloud trickery or OS lockdown, probably at a cheaper price point than an iPad too.
euos
Yeah, that's what I may end up with. Was wondering if there's a comparable Chromebook.

I am most worried about the screen quality.

whb07
What would you be willing to pay for such a thing?
euos
"Reasonable" amount. iPad Pro is reasonable.

I think $2k would be reasonable if it is a real laptop.

whb07
For the IDE to run on iOS
karmakaze
I'd suggest the MS Surface Go 2. It has a 10.5" 3:2 display.

There's many iterations of Surface Pro 7/7+/8 models with faster CPU and larger displays.

rusticpenn
Is something like Stackblitz not usable?