Does anyone know, or has anyone tried, using RoastTime for Mac on an iPad? I have a friend that wants to get a Bullet roaster but wants to know if he can use his iPad Pro to control it.
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We have this in the backlog, but may be a bit off. The current version wouldn’t run on an ipad as they are different operating systems.
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Ohhhh. That’s good to hear!
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Hello! This is my first post here! I’m Simon from Worcestershire, UK
I was giving that a bit of thought. It would be really useful to be able to run the RoastTime software on an iPad, but given that It would need a lot of development, I’ve started thinking about what my set up might look like. I hasten to add I have ordered a Bullet, but not received it yet.
The easiest answer is to plug a MacBook Air in direct and use it to run RoastTime. However, by using a VNC viewing client on an iPad, it could be connected to any computer, without the need for a display.
So, typically, I was thinking of either a Mac mini (running macOS) and screen sharing to an iPad or may an Intel NUC that would run either Windows or Linux and screen share. I previously considered a Raspberry Pi, but because they aren’t Intel based, I would only be able to run Artisan. So to keep with RoastTime, the Mac mini or NUC would be best.
On the computer side, screen sharing is built into macOS (System Preferences / Sharing) and either TigerVNC or RealVNC on Ubuntu.
On the iPad, I’ve already had great success controlling a Mini using Screens from Edovia.
I’m definitely going to try this out on my Bullet when it arrives (next year I imagine), I’d love to hear what others have thought about this.
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Welcome!
I run RoastTime on a MacBook Air. A friend is interested in buying a Bullet roaster, and he just recently made the “Apple plunge” and bought an iPad Pro, so I kinda doubt he wants to now go buy a MacBook Air, so I was just asking on his behalf. He has a PC, so he will probably run the software on that.
I hope you get your Bullet soon and that you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine.
Steve
Interesting! The iPad Pro in theory would be ideal because it has the USB-C connection, however, it turns out that it isn’t a full port as such - it can be connected to a display and keyboards, but no USB drives (due to lack of a filing system) nor many other interfaces. However, that is just software at the end of the day and I’d expect and hope that iOS 14 will bring some more support to the port.
Thank you for your welcome and that you’re enjoying your Bullet! I had an email today from Aillio saying that there is a delay as they test the new power supply boards, but I’m good with that and pleased they emailed.
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@matthew, I know this is an old thread, but I wonder if the Universal app capability that Apple announced back around mid-year starts to smooth the way? The iPad is a really good platform for running RoastTime, I think, that form factor really lends itself to an “industrial controls” use case, which is what it is, for the most part. I could deal with just running the roaster only with the iPad, leaving the “clerical” part to a laptop. USB should be doable, and the iPad now supports mouse and external keyboard if you wanted to go whole hog.
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@jerry - I know this is not the same thing, but I’ve been using an old Microsoft Surface tablet to run Roast Time.
It’s super handy to just have a tablet there for minimal interaction. The one I’m using is pretty inexpensive, it’s like 5-6 years old. But I hardly do anything else with it so it fits the bill perfectly.
I know, I know 
- for people in the Apple ecosystem this is usually a non-starter; it makes sense to stay in the ecosystem. But thought I’d throw the Surface out there as an alternative, inexpensive tablet to control the Bullet.
–Matt
I agree. I used to work for Apple and even if I hadn’t, iOS 14.x does handle files on a level it never had before through the Files app and does work with USB-C flash storage as well. It makes for a perfect companion, just like the form factor of a MS Surface does (albeit it runs the same OS as a desktop/laptop). Secondarily the CPU itself is far more powerful than most would suspect. Just look up it’s Geekbench score and compare that to any of the MacBook scores. It’s more powerful than most of them. I have a 2018 and it’s just much more capable than 99% of the apps can even challenge its power. My guess would be that the dev team is aware of these advancements and that Apple’s IDE makes it much easier to port Mac apps to iPad. That said, I also understand that’s development time which costs, but would most likely earn its investment. Thanks for taking the time to consider. Best! @matthew
I’m patiently and anxiously awaiting my Bullet as I ordered it earlier this month. I have been going through the forums and have learned a ton! It makes me even more excited to get my Bullet! I have an iPad Pro that I use 99% of the time and would love the ability to use it to track my roasts. Any updates on where we are with this in the backlog? Thanks!
I literally just logged in to see if there has been any news. I’m using a very old MacBook for roasting and would love to use my much faster iPad Pro!
I don’t know that there’s any advantage to having a “faster” iPad Pro option - it’s still going to be logging data at the same rate from the Bullet - I don’t think that’s overly taxing so even with an M1 chip the roast is going to take the same time it usually does 
I am not worried about the “faster” part of it. I just use my iPad Pro more than my Macbook Pro as I have given my daughter full reign of my Macbook Pro to do school work. So other than my work Macbook Pro (which I am sure my work would frown on me using for roasting purposes) I typically just use the iPad Pro!
Gotcha, with the newest M1 powered iPads, the convergence between iOS and macOS should make this easier
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I don’t mean the speed of graphing… it works ok once I get it running. My MacBook is just very slow at loading Roast Time or doing really anything.
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I also would love to be able to use my iPad pro (via USB-C) to roast with the Bullet. The desire comes from the portability of the iPad and it’s small footprint. It would be an amazing addition rather than using my iMac.
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@mcaillio any update on when this can come to fruition? I am anticipating my bullet getting here in the next month hopefully and would love to be able to utilize my iPad Pro. If there is still no ETA or estimation I might look at getting a Microsoft Surface Pro…however not excited about spending more money when the iPad Pro would be perfect for it. Thanks in advance!
I have a feeling it’s low on their priorities. You might want to repurpose an old laptop that’s lying around that can run Win10. I used my old SurfacePro (2nd gen, which is like a brick compared to the new ones) just to run RT3. If you have to buy something just go cheap if you’re going to use it as a dedicated device just for roasting.
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Hi,
Any updates on iPad development?
Got an iPad Pro 12.9 USB-C ready for beta testing hehe 
Regards,
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I guess it’s still back logged? Years later….