All iPads Beyond indecisive...

[taxi_driver]

I'm on my third iPad after two exchanges (11 Pro > 12.9 Pro > Air 4 currently), and only after a few hours of it my eyes and hand are struggling to adjust back down to the smaller screen after two weeks with the 12.9

My frustrations with the 12.9 were mainly around the battery life, also some grievances with the multitasking features that left me wanting more. I went into it with the hope and intention of replacing my 2015 MBP which didn't exactly come to fruition. I also found using any keyboard (Magic + Logitech Combo Touch) added enough weight to where it felt just as heavy as my MBP.

Even thought of getting a new MBA and have a smaller iPad since having two 13" devices might be redundant.

Any wisdom to impart here? I know this is a subjective use/opinion yet thought some other folx might've gone through similar decisions

 

[Pakaku]

You might get used to the screen size, that’s something you’ll have to take some time to figure out. Battery life, on the other hand, is more or less fixed to the iPad model itself. If this new iPad covers your battery use case, then it‘s probably the better choice.

I use an iPad Pro and a 15" MBP, both for different purposes. The screen sizes are similar enough that it may be somewhat redundant, but that’s exactly why I like the iPad Pro.

 

[UltimateSyn]

You had battery life grievances with a brand new 12.9”…? They have really good battery life. Did you give it a few days to finish indexing? Oh, just saw you said two weeks. I’m surprised you were having issues. Might’ve been a defective unit?

The 12.9” is a little bit too big / heavy, but I always end up going for that size regardless. The size and weight increase ends up being well worth the increase in screen real estate for me. They did add some weight from the 2018 to 2021 models, and while it’s not that much on paper it is a tangible difference in the hands, to me. Now that I have a mini on the way I believe I’ll have the best of both worlds.

A lot of us on here have expressed a desire for a ~12.0” iPad, that could end up being the ideal tablet size. Did you try iPadOS 15 when you had the 12.9”? There are some improvements to the fluidity of multitasking included, and that update was just released to the public yesterday.

I’ve spent a LOT of time trying to figure out what the “ideal” Apple tech setup / portfolio is for me. I’ve gone through a lot of talking myself through use cases and justifications and performing returns. I do know definitively that I love iPads. I love using iPadOS. And I think iPadOS is at its finest on the 12.9”; it’s just plain fun to use. So a 12.9” will likely always remain part of my setup, even when I have devices on either side of the spectrum that overlap with its usefulness (8.3” iPad mini and 16” MBP).

 

[Sasha-1]

I'm on my third iPad after two exchanges (11 Pro > 12.9 Pro > Air 4 currently), and only after a few hours of it my eyes and hand are struggling to adjust back down to the smaller screen after two weeks with the 12.9

My frustrations with the 12.9 were mainly around the battery life, also some grievances with the multitasking features that left me wanting more. I went into it with the hope and intention of replacing my 2015 MBP which didn't exactly come to fruition. I also found using any keyboard (Magic + Logitech Combo Touch) added enough weight to where it felt just as heavy as my MBP.

Even thought of getting a new MBA and have a smaller iPad since having two 13" devices might be redundant.

Any wisdom to impart here? I know this is a subjective use/opinion yet thought some other folx might've gone through similar decisions

I think you’re approaching this from the wrong point of view. I used to do exactly what you’re doing and was frustrated for it. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The iPad is an iPad, and the Mac is a Mac.

I have three iPad Pro 12.9” sitting in front of me right now.

One is on a small desktop tripod and is used exclusively as a camera phone, with FaceTime, Zoom or Skype. I sometimes use it to watch YouTube if I’m not on a Video ca… The reason for this is that it is independent of anything I do on any other device.

The next one has a Pro keyboard and is used kind of like a Mac, but then again not so. I run various apps which in my humble opinion are far better than web apps or Mac apps. Most of these are educational.

Duolingo, Linguee, Quizlet, Study Smarter, and a bunch of specialized apps on verbs, dictionaries, alphabets, etc. I study language. I have a simple voice recorder that stores the short recordings on iCloud. Tons of other apps like PDF Expert, Procreate, sketchbook, scrivener, pages, keynote, numbers, the whole Microsoft suite, as well as iBooks, email, web, YouTube and YouTube Music. Maps apps, and many many more. I wouldn’t enjoy doing this any other way. The iPad is just better at all of these.

The third iPad Pro is used mostly for GoodNotes 5. I hand write, export as a PDF and use Explain Everything to have a real-time session between my teachers and I, face to face via the camera iPad and we both work on the same pages via Explain Everything on the iPad. Explain Everything is look Google Docs but for anything you can virtualize, such as pages of a book, a notebook you are writing in, etc. I see my teachers pen strokes in realtime for example.

I scan a book into a PDF. Take the pages I want and export them into Explain Everything and have a real-time session.

All of these things are better on iPad. That’s why I am using them.

The Mac is for when I need to do things that are best done on a computer. When a real file system is needed to easily work on something slightly complicated in Illustrator, or when I want to make several edits to an audio recording I will use Logic Pro. Various things I use excel for are easier and faster on a Mac or Windows rather than an iPad. The Mac Pro apps are far more full featured.

Most of my time is on the iPad. And every year I seem to move more and more onto the iPad. Files got better in iOS 15, but it still not as featured as Finder on the Mac. While I like PDF Expert, is not even in the same ballpark as Foxit PDF Pro On Windows or the Mac. I’m going to use cataloging software on the Mac. I’m going to make Contact Sheets of art on the Mac. I am going to scan books on the Mac. I am going to use OCR in multiple languages, on the Mac. I am not going to watch YouTube Music Videos on the Mac. That’s better on the iPad.

Much of what I do would be PAINFUL on the Mac. And much of what I do would PAINFUL on the iPad. The iPad has opened new doors to better things. But it isn’t an everything device. That’s not to say it couldn’t. If it had a better files app, I’d love that. If the apps took more advantage of the mouse and had something more like a standard file system I might use it more. And likewise, if the Mac itself had a touch screen and ran iOS software, which it mostly does, I might use it more.

Since Apple sells twice as many iPads as Macs, they likely don’t want to make it “just like a Mac”. However, with the M1 iPad Pro, better, more feature full apps could come to iOS. And Apple could continue to improve upon the Files app.

 

[thelookingglass]

I think you’re approaching this from the wrong point of view. I used to do exactly what you’re doing and was frustrated for it. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The iPad is an iPad, and the Mac is a Mac.

I have three iPad Pro 12.9” sitting in front of me right now.

One is on a small desktop tripod and is used exclusively as a camera phone, with FaceTime, Zoom or Skype. I sometimes use it to watch YouTube if I’m not on a Video ca… The reason for this is that it is independent of anything I do on any other device.

The next one has a Pro keyboard and is used kind of like a Mac, but then again not so. I run various apps which in my humble opinion are far better than web apps or Mac apps. Most of these are educational.

Duolingo, Linguee, Quizlet, Study Smarter, and a bunch of specialized apps on verbs, dictionaries, alphabets, etc. I study language. I have a simple voice recorder that stores the short recordings on iCloud. Tons of other apps like PDF Expert, Procreate, sketchbook, scrivener, pages, keynote, numbers, the whole Microsoft suite, as well as iBooks, email, web, YouTube and YouTube Music. Maps apps, and many many more. I wouldn’t enjoy doing this any other way. The iPad is just better at all of these.

The third iPad Pro is used mostly for GoodNotes 5. I hand write, export as a PDF and use Explain Everything to have a real-time session between my teachers and I, face to face via the camera iPad and we both work on the same pages via Explain Everything on the iPad. Explain Everything is look Google Docs but for anything you can virtualize, such as pages of a book, a notebook you are writing in, etc. I see my teachers pen strokes in realtime for example.

I scan a book into a PDF. Take the pages I want and export them into Explain Everything and have a real-time session.

All of these things are better on iPad. That’s why I am using them.

The Mac is for when I need to do things that are best done on a computer. When a real file system is needed to easily work on something slightly complicated in Illustrator, or when I want to make several edits to an audio recording I will use Logic Pro. Various things I use excel for are easier and faster on a Mac or Windows rather than an iPad. The Mac Pro apps are far more full featured.

Most of my time is on the iPad. And every year I seem to move more and more onto the iPad. Files got better in iOS 15, but it still not as featured as Finder on the Mac. While I like PDF Expert, is not even in the same ballpark as Foxit PDF Pro On Windows or the Mac. I’m going to use cataloging software on the Mac. I’m going to make Contact Sheets of art on the Mac. I am going to scan books on the Mac. I am going to use OCR in multiple languages, on the Mac. I am not going to watch YouTube Music Videos on the Mac. That’s better on the iPad.

Much of what I do would be PAINFUL on the Mac. And much of what I do would PAINFUL on the iPad. The iPad has opened new doors to better things. But it isn’t an everything device. That’s not to say it couldn’t. If it had a better files app, I’d love that. If the apps took more advantage of the mouse and had something more like a standard file system I might use it more. And likewise, if the Mac itself had a touch screen and ran iOS software, which it mostly does, I might use it more.

Since Apple sells twice as many iPads as Macs, they likely don’t want to make it “just like a Mac”. However, with the M1 iPad Pro, better, more feature full apps could come to iOS. And Apple could continue to improve upon the Files app.

What boggles my mind is why Apple doesn’t make Files as good as Finder, if not much closer to Finder. There doesn’t appear to be any technical reason not to. Even if just the Files app were improved, it would go a long way towards making the iPad much more useful.

 

[FranApple]

I think you’re approaching this from the wrong point of view. I used to do exactly what you’re doing and was frustrated for it. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The iPad is an iPad, and the Mac is a Mac.

I have three iPad Pro 12.9” sitting in front of me right now.

One is on a small desktop tripod and is used exclusively as a camera phone, with FaceTime, Zoom or Skype. I sometimes use it to watch YouTube if I’m not on a Video ca… The reason for this is that it is independent of anything I do on any other device.

The next one has a Pro keyboard and is used kind of like a Mac, but then again not so. I run various apps which in my humble opinion are far better than web apps or Mac apps. Most of these are educational.

Duolingo, Linguee, Quizlet, Study Smarter, and a bunch of specialized apps on verbs, dictionaries, alphabets, etc. I study language. I have a simple voice recorder that stores the short recordings on iCloud. Tons of other apps like PDF Expert, Procreate, sketchbook, scrivener, pages, keynote, numbers, the whole Microsoft suite, as well as iBooks, email, web, YouTube and YouTube Music. Maps apps, and many many more. I wouldn’t enjoy doing this any other way. The iPad is just better at all of these.

The third iPad Pro is used mostly for GoodNotes 5. I hand write, export as a PDF and use Explain Everything to have a real-time session between my teachers and I, face to face via the camera iPad and we both work on the same pages via Explain Everything on the iPad. Explain Everything is look Google Docs but for anything you can virtualize, such as pages of a book, a notebook you are writing in, etc. I see my teachers pen strokes in realtime for example.

I scan a book into a PDF. Take the pages I want and export them into Explain Everything and have a real-time session.

All of these things are better on iPad. That’s why I am using them.

The Mac is for when I need to do things that are best done on a computer. When a real file system is needed to easily work on something slightly complicated in Illustrator, or when I want to make several edits to an audio recording I will use Logic Pro. Various things I use excel for are easier and faster on a Mac or Windows rather than an iPad. The Mac Pro apps are far more full featured.

Most of my time is on the iPad. And every year I seem to move more and more onto the iPad. Files got better in iOS 15, but it still not as featured as Finder on the Mac. While I like PDF Expert, is not even in the same ballpark as Foxit PDF Pro On Windows or the Mac. I’m going to use cataloging software on the Mac. I’m going to make Contact Sheets of art on the Mac. I am going to scan books on the Mac. I am going to use OCR in multiple languages, on the Mac. I am not going to watch YouTube Music Videos on the Mac. That’s better on the iPad.

Much of what I do would be PAINFUL on the Mac. And much of what I do would PAINFUL on the iPad. The iPad has opened new doors to better things. But it isn’t an everything device. That’s not to say it couldn’t. If it had a better files app, I’d love that. If the apps took more advantage of the mouse and had something more like a standard file system I might use it more. And likewise, if the Mac itself had a touch screen and ran iOS software, which it mostly does, I might use it more.

Since Apple sells twice as many iPads as Macs, they likely don’t want to make it “just like a Mac”. However, with the M1 iPad Pro, better, more feature full apps could come to iOS. And Apple could continue to improve upon the Files app.

That's quite impressive, but is there any reason you can't get by with 2 iPads?

 

[Sasha-1]

What boggles my mind is why Apple doesn’t make Files as good as Finder, if not much closer to Finder. There doesn’t appear to be any technical reason not to. Even if just the Files app were improved, it would go a long way towards making the iPad much more useful.

I couldn’t agree more.

They can start with making so I can remove the download in iCloud stored files. Finder does it on the Mac. Dropbox does it. One Drive does it. The iPad does not. And that’s a shame. Once you down a file in Files from iCloud, there it sits unless you delete it. And deleting it deletes it on both your iPad, and iCloud. Yet apple has a feature that frees up space if it feels you need to free space. And how does it do that? It unloads files locally but leaves them in iCloud. So Obviously it can be done. So why not make that a feature in Files? I thought we’d have it on iOS 14, but no. Told myself I guess we’d have to wait for iOS 15. iOS 15 and come and still we don’t have this basic feature. Very disappointed in Apple for so many things.

The suggestions of words when I type is still the worst in the industry. I can’t believe how it guess wrong virtually 100% of the time. May as well turn off the feature. If you misspell a word, and back up, it just adds letters to the suggested word making up complete gibberish. Real quality there, eh.

 

[Sasha-1]

That's quite impressive, but is there any reason you can't get by with 2 iPads?

Actually, I have more. That’s just the Pro 12.9” models. I have an current gen air, the prior gen air, and a mini too. It’s a sickness.

For the Pro ones I use those three at the same time. It’s a little bit of a setup on my kitchen table. The camera, the model with the keyboard, and the writing tablet are in use at the same time most of the time.

If Apple would make a 30” I’d get it. Would use it for art.