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A real Windows PC on your iPad: desktop Chrome, Figma and Windows apps with a cloud GPU

An iPad cannot run desktop Chrome, extensions or Windows programs. A Windows 11 server with an Intel GPU, opened with Microsoft's Windows App, gives you a full PC from €14.99 per month plus €10 once. What you get, and how to set it up in 10 minutes without a command line.

· Linux GPU

A real Windows PC on your iPad: desktop Chrome, Figma and Windows apps with a cloud GPU

An iPad is a great screen with a great battery, but it is not a computer. Safari and Chrome on iPadOS are mobile browsers: no desktop extensions, some web apps ask you to “use a computer”, file uploads and downloads go through the Files app, and Windows programs simply do not exist. If your work happens in a browser or in a Windows program, the simplest answer is not a new laptop: it is a Windows PC in the cloud that you open from the iPad.

This guide explains what you get with a Linux GPU server running Windows 11, and how to use it from an iPad, step by step, without any command line.

Why a cloud PC with a GPU, rather than the iPad alone

  • A full desktop browser. Chrome, Edge or Firefox for Windows, with extensions, downloads, several windows side by side and every website in its desktop version.
  • Windows programs. Anything that installs on Windows 11 runs on the server: office suites, design and photo tools, business software, browser-based tools that need a desktop.
  • A GPU in Windows. The server has a slice of an Intel UHD 770 graphics card, with Intel’s official driver installed. Windows uses it to draw the remote desktop, and Chrome uses it for WebGL and hardware acceleration, which matters for design tools and image-heavy websites.
  • Your iPad stays light. Heavy pages, large uploads and long downloads run on the server, on a data-center connection. The iPad only receives the picture of the screen.
  • Always on. The PC keeps running when you close the iPad: a long export or upload continues, and you find your windows where you left them.
  • A control panel in your browser. The Proxmox web console shows the server’s screen in Safari, and lets you start, stop and restart it and see its graphs, even when remote desktop does not answer.
  • Hosted in Europe (France or Germany), with a flat monthly price and no hourly billing.

What it costs

ItemPrice (excl. VAT)
iGPU Start: 2 vCPU, 8 GB of RAM, 60 GB SSD, Intel UHD 770€14.99 per month
Windows 11 instead of Linux€10, paid once
Dedicated IPv4 address (only if your network has no IPv6, see below)€5 per month, optional

So €24.99 the first month, then €14.99 per month. iGPU Start is enough for one person with a browser and design tools. If you keep many tabs open or work on large files, iGPU Power (4 vCPU, 14 GB of RAM, €29.99 per month) is more comfortable with Windows 11. VAT is added at checkout for individuals in the EU; customers outside the EU pay no VAT.

The Windows option includes the Windows 11 Pro licence: we install Windows 11 Pro and activate it with a licence for you, so you get a normal, activated Windows, with no watermark and nothing to buy on your side.

Step by step

1. Order

On the pricing section, choose iGPU Start (or Power) and add the Windows 11 option. After payment, we prepare the server and email you its address, the user name and the password. Nothing to install or configure on your side.

2. Install Windows App on the iPad

Install Windows App from the App Store. It is Microsoft’s free remote desktop app (it used to be called “Microsoft Remote Desktop”) and it works on iPad, iPhone, Mac and Android.

3. Add your PC

In Windows App, tap +, then Add PC:

  • PC name: the address from our email (for example cus-xxxxx.proxmox-02-eu.linuxgpu.eu);
  • Credentials: user Administrator and the password from our email;
  • in the display settings, keep the default resolution at first (“Match device” works well on most iPads).

Tap the new PC: after a few seconds, the Windows 11 desktop fills the iPad screen.

4. Keyboard, mouse and touch

Windows App turns your finger into a mouse pointer (tap to click, two fingers to scroll). It is much nicer with a Magic Keyboard or any Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad or mouse: you then use Windows exactly like a laptop, with keyboard shortcuts.

5. First steps in Windows

  1. Install the browser you want (Chrome, Edge is already there) and sign in to your accounts.
  2. Open chrome://gpu in Chrome: the “Graphics Feature Status” section should show hardware acceleration enabled.
  3. Install your programs, or open your web tools in the desktop browser.
  4. Change the password of the Administrator account (Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options).

6. The Proxmox web console, in Safari

Your Linux GPU account also opens the Proxmox web console of your server, directly in Safari on the iPad, with nothing to install. Use it when Windows App cannot connect (for example after a Windows update that restarts the PC, or if you changed a network setting by mistake):

  1. Open the console address from our email (for example https://proxmox-02-eu.linuxgpu.eu).
  2. Choose the linuxgpu realm, tap Login (OpenID redirect) and sign in with your Linux GPU account (the first time, use “Forgot Password?” to choose your password).
  3. Select your server, then Console: you see the Windows screen as if a monitor were plugged in, with a button to send Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  4. The Start, Shutdown and Reboot buttons control the server, and the Summary tab shows its CPU, memory and network graphs.

The console is a rescue screen, slower than Windows App: use Windows App for your daily work.

Good to know

  • IPv6 or IPv4. The server has a dedicated IPv6 address. Most mobile and home networks support IPv6; if Windows App cannot connect from your network, it probably has no IPv6. Try another network (your phone’s hotspot often works), or ask for the dedicated IPv4 option.
  • The connection matters more than the iPad. A stable Wi-Fi (5 GHz) or 4G/5G connection is enough for office work, browsing and design tools. Remote desktop is not made for fast video games.
  • Specific applications. We have tested Windows, the Intel driver and Chrome’s GPU acceleration. We have not benchmarked every application (for example Figma’s desktop app or Adobe tools): test your own files during the first days, and tell us if something does not work.
  • Backup. Your files live on the server. Add the daily backup option (€2 per month, 7 days kept) if they matter.

Try it

See the plans: iGPU Start is €14.99 per month excl. VAT, plus €10 once for Windows 11. A question before ordering? Use the chat at the bottom of the page or write to contact@linuxgpu.eu.

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