The MacRumors Show: Thomas Frank Talks iPad and Mac Productivity

Productivity guru Thomas Frank joins us on The MacRumors Show podcast this week to evaluate the state of the iPad Pro and Mac as productivity tools.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos

Thomas is a YouTuber, podcaster, and content creator best known for his personal development video essays, Notion tutorials and templates, and Skillshare courses. We discuss the ‌iPad Pro‌'s hardware and form factor, the advancements and limitations of iPadOS 16, and accessories like the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.

We explore the M2 MacBook Air, share some productivity tips, and weigh up the upsides and downsides of Apple's platforms for getting things done. We also touch on some of our favorite third-party apps like Things 3, Obsidian, Craft, and Notion. See more of Thomas's work on his YouTube channel or his website.

Listen to The MacRumors Show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, Google Podcasts, or subscribe by copying our RSS feed directly into your podcast player. You can also watch a video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. If you haven't already listened to the last episode of The MacRumors Show, be sure to catch up for an in-depth chat about Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone following the launch of Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold devices.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for more episodes, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by exciting guests like Jonathan Morrison, iJustine, Ross Young, Sam Kohl, Ian Zelbo, Jon Rettinger, Rene Ritchie, Andru Edwards, Jon Prosser, and Mark Gurman. Remember to rate and review the show, and let us know what subjects you would like the podcast to cover going forward.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...

Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
43 months ago
Those must be some major productivity tips to warrant watching a 67 minute video.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ackmondual Avatar
43 months ago

Those must be some major productivity tips to warrant watching a 67 minute video.
I skimmed through that video. No screenshots, nor videos of workflows in action. Just talking. This makes it great if you want to turn it into a podcast (ie, at the gym, driving, daily commute), but as person who doesn't use MacOS, and not iOS for gaming, I was kind of hoping for video clips of such productivity (to get some specifics as to why creative people prefer MacOS). Oh well. That's something that's been on the back of my mind. I'll put in a mental to do list item to seek other videos. I do know one guy who's a solid Apple user (IIRC, he has about $13K of Mac OS equipment alone), so I'll ask him next time I run into him.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dan Barbera Avatar
43 months ago

I skimmed through that video. No screenshots, nor videos of workflows in action. Just talking. This makes it great if you want to turn it into a podcast (ie, at the gym, driving, daily commute), but as person who doesn't use MacOS, and not iOS for gaming, I was kind of hoping for video clips of such productivity (to get some specifics as to why creative people prefer MacOS). Oh well. That's something that's been on the back of my mind. I'll put in a mental to do list item to seek other videos. I do know one guy who's a solid Apple user (IIRC, he has about $13K of Mac OS equipment alone), so I'll ask him next time I run into him.
This IS a podcast lol
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topdrawer Avatar
43 months ago
watching youtube is not productive to me.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Starscape Avatar
43 months ago
So iPadOS’s limitations are a good thing, because it means less distractions.


Alrighty.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imnotthewalrus Avatar
43 months ago
Sorry, MR but as a video - no. Just my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn't even make it to the halfway point.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)