Ben Brooks:

There used to be endless posts online on how to best work with two Macs — how to keep things in sync between a desktop and a laptop — and all the other messes that technology had yet to solve. I was right there with everyone, trying to divvy the work between two computers. In a way, having two iPads reopens this same discussion.

Though, I must say, things have changed considerably for the better.

It’s been a long time since I used a two-Mac setup, but I’ve definitely had my share of discussions about the topic. It used to be an incredibly tedious task to keep everything in sync between the two machines.

It’s amazing how much has changed over the past decade, though. Now I can jump back and forth between my iPad and iPhone, seamlessly. Every application or service I use that I’d want to sync, has it built in.

Because of iCloud and handoff, I’m starting to think Ben’s on the right track with this:

I think it is likely that we do end up computing on many devices instead of one or two.

The hiccups that occur when switching between devices are only going to decrease in frequency as the software we interact with becomes more intricate. Apple will continue to add more features like universal clipboard until moving from one device to another feels like moving your mouse cursor to a second display connected to the same Mac.