All iPads Best iPad for reading ?

[DiCaprioAngel]

Those who do use iPads for reading, do you use iBooks or the kindle app?

I personally use iBooks for my personal reading. I have the Kindle App, but that was around the time I was in College and the prof let us use the electronic version of our textbook, so I used the app for that. But, otherwise, iBooks is my go to book reading app.

 

[apolkowski]

Those who do use iPads for reading, do you use iBooks or the kindle app?

I use iBooks when book is available as epub only. Not all conversions to kindle are possible due to special characters in my language. Just as a surprise I learned, that the easiest way to make epub book compatible with kindle is to change file extension from .epub to .jpg and then send it to kindle.

 

[bobsamm]

I would prefer the mini 5 for novels but that's it, as i have a 11" pro hard to justify one just for books. I use a kindle much better on the eyes and can use it outside in the sun.

 

[aevan]

Tried kindle but I really prefer reading on an iPad , now I’m thinking which one to get, the 11 pro , the air 3 , the iPad gen 7 and also the mini. I know a lot love the mini form factor for reading but I actually prefer the 10/11 size screen for that as I sometime like to use a split screen while reading to research stuff and the mini is tad too small for that from my experience.
I also know the 11 pro is a total over kill for just reading but let’s say money is not an issue. Would love to get your guys input on which iPad gives the best reading experience from the available options ?

I would say, NOT taking price into account, best iPads for reading are:

Just for reading books - iPad Mini
For reading books and magazines - iPad Pro 11”
For reading books, magazines and comics - iPad Pro 12.9”

Of course, every iPad is good for reading, and some may prefer smaller ones (you can certainly enjoy comics on a Mini as well and you can enjoy books on the biggest one too - depends on preference).

 

[rui no onna]

I would say, NOT taking price into account, best iPads for reading are:

Just for reading books - iPad Mini
For reading books and magazines - iPad Pro 11”
For reading books, magazines and comics - iPad Pro 12.9”

Of course, every iPad is good for reading, and some may prefer smaller ones (you can certainly enjoy comics on a Mini as well and you can enjoy books on the biggest one too - depends on preference).

Hmm, I'd actually change that to:

For reading books and comics - iPad Pro 11”
For reading books, comics and magazines - iPad Pro 12.9”

Comics (at least American ones) are typically 6 5/8" x 10 1/4" while magazines are often 8 1/2" x 11". Reading in portrait, magazines get shrunken down more than comics so sometimes, magazine font sizes can be a little too small for comfort on 10-11" iPads requiring zooming and panning.

Mind, the 12.9" is around same size as 2x 9.7" iPads side by side so it works well even for reading double page spreads in comics. Aspect ratio in 1/2 split view is 2:3 which is pretty spot on for comics so you don't get pillarboxing like you do reading in portrait on 3:4 iPads. Yep, I bought my 512GB 12.9 exactly for this purpose. Comixology HD comics can get pretty huge and you can certainly appreciate the extra sharpness and detail on the 12.9" 2732 x 2048 display. 😁

 

[stanza.richi]

I read everything on my ipad pro 12.9” 2018: scientific paper and scientific books with adobe reader, books with ibooks.

 

[aevan]

Hmm, I'd actually change that to:

For reading books and comics - iPad Pro 11”
For reading books, comics and magazines - iPad Pro 12.9”

Comics (at least American ones) are typically 6 5/8" x 10 1/4" while magazines are often 8 1/2" x 11". Reading in portrait, magazines get shrunken down more than comics so sometimes, magazine font sizes can be a little too small for comfort on 10-11" iPads requiring zooming and panning.

Mind, the 12.9" is around same size as 2x 9.7" iPads side by side so it works well even for reading double page spreads in comics. Aspect ratio in 1/2 split view is 2:3 which is pretty spot on for comics so you don't get pillarboxing like you do reading in portrait on 3:4 iPads. Yep, I bought my 512GB 12.9 exactly for this purpose. Comixology HD comics can get pretty huge and you can certainly appreciate the extra sharpness and detail on the 12.9" 2732 x 2048 display. 😁

Agreed, well said. Also, I often read comics on my 12.9” in landscape as well, especially for double page spreads in US comics. While 12.9” is definitely the best for my needs, just for comics, I often wonder if 11” would be more comfortable.

 

[rui no onna]

Agreed, well said. Also, I often read comics on my 12.9” in landscape as well, especially for double page spreads in US comics. While 12.9” is definitely the best for my needs, just for comics, I often wonder if 11” would be more comfortable.

Reading purely in portrait, I reckon 11" is more than fine. It's the US comic double page spreads that was the deciding factor for getting the 12.9". If not for that, I wouldn't have bought 12.9" at all.

Landscape, the 11" iPad is around same height as the iPad mini in portrait so if you can read comfortably on the mini (fullscreen, pillar boxed), then it should more or less be fine. Maybe some minor niggles due to 264 ppi vs 326 ppi. My eyes just aren't what they used to be so I often find text to be too small for comfort on the mini (ergo 10.5"/11" landscape).

Japanese manga tends to have larger text and simpler art so I'm actually fine reading those double page landscape even on 9.7".

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'd vote for the Mini

But.. I use a Kindle Voyage.

The e-ink + dedicated device with no distractions or ways to get interrupted are what keep me locked in and reading and enjoying myself for long stretches of time.

"Do everything devices" like iPads are real revelations in some respects, but honestly I still love dedicated devices for reading to force me into true context shifting and really get me engaged.

 

[rui no onna]

I'd vote for the Mini

But.. I use a Kindle Voyage.

The e-ink + dedicated device with no distractions or ways to get interrupted are what keep me locked in and reading and enjoying myself for long stretches of time.

"Do everything devices" like iPads are real revelations in some respects, but honestly I still love dedicated devices for reading to force me into true context shifting and really get me engaged.

This doesn't work for me as I always have tablets within easy reach. I don't have any issue focusing if I enjoy what I'm reading regardless of platform, though. If a book's boring, then yep, I'm picking up the iPad (probably to lurk on MobileRead or here ).

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

I have only read two “traditional” books on my iPad.
However, I do read comic books weekly. I use an app called Comic Zeal, that displays standard .cbr files, regardless of where I got them.
I went from 9.7” —> 10.5” —> 12.9” & have appreciated each size jump... at the current size; digital comics now (in my opinion) eclipse the experience of a physical copy, handily.
They are backlit, have pinch to zoom, orient a 2 page spread accordingly, if you rotate the iPad, and are larger than their physical counterpart.
I realize it is a slightly different medium, but I read hours of content every month- and to me: size is king. The 12.9” is essentially the exact size of a fashion mag. There’s a reason that size has been pervasive in print. It is the largest that you can comfortably hold, the text is neither too large nor too small, etc.
If it’s not too bulky for your other iPad usage... I cannot more highly recommend the largest of the iPads.

 

[aevan]

I have only read two “traditional” books on my iPad.
However, I do read comic books weekly. I use an app called Comic Zeal, that displays standard .cbr files, regardless of where I got them.

I used to use Comic Zeal (for comics that I couldn’t find on Comixology) but sadly the developer stopped working on it and it doesn’t fully support new iPad Pros (it has that black border around). I switched to Chunky Comic Reader, which is a very good too (opens cbr/cbz/pdf) and supports newer iPads. You can also copy the comics into it from the Files app which is nice.

 

[danmart]

I use my 12.9 Pro for reading extensively, and no longer buy physical books if I can get e-books instead.

I haven’t used a Mini 5 so I can’t compare the screen directly, however I will say that the latest Pro is pretty amazing when reading in bright conditions. As a person who started with iPad 1, reading outdoors on a bright day used to basically be impossible. With the latest Pro screens, when my Kindle stopped working a couple of years ago I didn’t feel the need to replace it.

The 12.9 is excellent if you want read large format books like comics, technical books and so on in portrait orientation. And you can comfortably read a double-page spread in landscape.

I mostly use Kindle, have a few iBooks and also hundreds (actually, thousands) of PDFs which I read using GoodReader. I travel a lot for work and having my entire library with me all the time is pretty amazing.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Reading large volumes of text is a part of my job. I have, in the past, tried other options, but i have found the iPad to be the best among them. In my case, I use the iPad Pro 10.5, which i bought in 2017. It travels with me everywhere. The two main file-types I use are ePub and PDF. For the former, I use Books and for the latter, I use PDF Expert (paid version). I use the Pencil extensively as I need to mark up documents/ papers/ books and I need to make rough notes for which I use OneNote. I don’t expect to change my iPad in the near future since what I have is working well, but if I did, I would not hesitate to pick the 11” version given my use case.

As an aside, till recently, I was very hesitant to use an external keyboard with the iPad. I used to make do with the soft KB. But recently, I was chatting to a few folks on Reddit and they told me to take a look at the Logitech K series (380/480). I bought the K380 and I find it useful, when I don’t take my laptop out with me. To write short passages (like this post), the external KB is very convenient. But I would not dream of doing my main writing on this. For that I will always go back to my laptop (I use the ThinkPad X1C6).

 

[HKDesign]

This really boils down to personal preference.

In general:

iPad mini
best for single-handed use

iPad/iPad Air/iPad Pro 11
if you need larger fonts or if you read in 2-column landscape

iPad Pro 12.9
if you need really large fonts

Personally, the 10-11" class in 2-col landscape is my preferred reading mode (when not on a Kindle).

I find the 12.9 too big for reading novels even in 2-col landscape. My brain can only comfortably process so many words per line. Hence, I actually find myself increasing font sizes and/or margins on the 12.9 to match around the same number of words per line as on the Kindle and 9.7-10.5" iPads.

So if you dont mind me asking...what do you use your 12.9 iPad for..?..if you already have the 10.5..?

 

[apolkowski]

So if you dont mind me asking...what do you use your 12.9 iPad for..?..if you already have the 10.5..?

Reading magazines in landscape with two pages side-by-side. Useful if photos are printed on both pages.

 

[rui no onna]

So if you dont mind me asking...what do you use your 12.9 iPad for..?..if you already have the 10.5..?

This:

Reading purely in portrait, I reckon 11" is more than fine (for comics). It's the US comic double page spreads that was the deciding factor for getting the 12.9". If not for that, I wouldn't have bought 12.9" at all.

Landscape, the 11" iPad is around same height as the iPad mini in portrait so if you can read comfortably on the mini (fullscreen, pillar boxed), then it should more or less be fine. Maybe some minor niggles due to 264 ppi vs 326 ppi. My eyes just aren't what they used to be so I often find text to be too small for comfort on the mini (ergo 10.5"/11" landscape).

Japanese manga tends to have larger text and simpler art so I'm actually fine reading those double page landscape even on 9.7".

 

[annk]

While travelling or when reading in bed, I use my mini. At home, everywhere but when in bed, i use my iPP.

Exception: when I need to use Liquid Text while reading when I'm travelling, I'll lug around the iPP instead of the mini.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I have 3 iPad's. After having them for a year I have decided to sell my 12.9 and my mini and keep my 11". I take my mini to work to read the news but find this is only for 10 minutes or so before I start work. I love my 12.9 but it is just too heavy to use unless using with a case. This makes it too close to my 12" MacBook. This leaves the 11" which fits in between and is the one I am deciding to keep. Should Apple release a "Pro" style mini this year I will probably buy one but for me, for now, my 11" Pro is the one for me.