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ssmed

macrumors 6502a
Sep 28, 2009
885
423
UK
I have 128Gb ipad pro 11 128 Gb and a MacBook Pro 16 inch 1TB m1 max. Do i need more storage on my iPad im using it for university and medical school ?
This might depend massively on the school. For instance, one of local vet school uses iPads for everything, they are struggling with storage and their has been some debate about the need to provide larger models (they are loaned to students in year 1). Other schools where iPads are not 'essential' I have never heard such comments. A 2TB or bigger iCloud account might be a good answer whatever as with blended learning you often end up storing at least some large videos. HTH
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
It depends on what you end up specializing in. Some medical specialties are very data rich and require more storage.

I may be wrong on this but I have the impression that the OP is still in college and may not yet have even applied to medical school.....and in that case there is no guarantee that he will be moving forward in another year or two towards a career in medicine as a physician.
 

Mishabella

macrumors regular
Apr 2, 2011
127
146
Cali
If you need to do any illustrations (I kinda doubt it if you're in medical school unless it's a hobby or doing anatomical drawings) then perhaps going with more storage (~256 GB) would be helpful but I don't see a reason 128 GB would be limiting.
Illustrations help medical student familiarize themselves with anatomy that is not seen every day. They can be a vital tool for learning alone or if you like to illustrate together as you study. IMHO♥️
 
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ssmed

macrumors 6502a
Sep 28, 2009
885
423
UK
Illustrations help medical student familiarize themselves with anatomy that is not seen every day. They can be a vital tool for learning alone or if you like to illustrate together as you study. IMHO♥️
Yes, drawings - freehand in my day and more recently with a printed/computer framework are a very common form of anatomy teaching. We had to had ours in for assessment.
 
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PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
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Midwest America.
I may be wrong on this but I have the impression that the OP is still in college and may not yet have even applied to medical school.....and in that case there is no guarantee that he will be moving forward in another year or two towards a career in medicine as a physician.

So this comment was meant to do what? It's great to be looking forward to future needs/wants. From what I've heard, there is still a large number of real books that medical students depend on (one of my friends actually wrote a couple of those books, depending on specialty), but there are obviously apps that are in use/pushed. The biggest thing is to be judicious on what apps and other 'stuff' you keep on your portable devices. Some of the apps likely aren't worth saving, and many will be needed for some part of the education process, and of limited or no use post graduation. I asked a few people, offline, on what they use/used. Some had the max capacity iDevices, and some had the smaller sizes. (They can write off the devices, unless they are provided by their employer) Some who bought the max capacity devices find they aren't using anywhere close to half of the space, and fill the rest with movies and music. *shrug* Many said that they use computers almost constantly between seeing patients, and even in some hospitals that have gone the tablet route for patient interactions, they said they try to avoid using them because they are so cumbersome and awkward in use.

You can overthink the device for this purpose, apparently. Maybe don't get the largest, but maybe don't get the smallest either. Chances are, by the end of a medical education experience, the technology you buy today will be out of date after residency and any follow on education/fellowships. Maybe 'get what you can afford' now and plan on recycling it at some point?
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
18,366
10,126
Atlanta, GA
So this comment was meant to do what? It's great to be looking forward to future needs/wants. From what I've heard, there is still a large number of real books that medical students depend on (one of my friends actually wrote a couple of those books, depending on specialty), but there are obviously apps that are in use/pushed. The biggest thing is to be judicious on what apps and other 'stuff' you keep on your portable devices. Some of the apps likely aren't worth saving, and many will be needed for some part of the education process, and of limited or no use post graduation. I asked a few people, offline, on what they use/used. Some had the max capacity iDevices, and some had the smaller sizes. (They can write off the devices, unless they are provided by their employer) Some who bought the max capacity devices find they aren't using anywhere close to half of the space, and fill the rest with movies and music. *shrug* Many said that they use computers almost constantly between seeing patients, and even in some hospitals that have gone the tablet route for patient interactions, they said they try to avoid using them because they are so cumbersome and awkward in use.

You can overthink the device for this purpose, apparently. Maybe don't get the largest, but maybe don't get the smallest either. Chances are, by the end of a medical education experience, the technology you buy today will be out of date after residency and any follow on education/fellowships. Maybe 'get what you can afford' now and plan on recycling it at some point?
Solid advice. To add to this, its sounds like the OP already has a 128GB iPad Pro, to which I'll reiterate that they should keep using it until they run out of space and upgrade then. That will have the added advantage them knowing a little more if the 256 or 512 is better.
 
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xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,027
5,488
192.168.1.1
You can overthink the device for this purpose, apparently. Maybe don't get the largest, but maybe don't get the smallest either. Chances are, by the end of a medical education experience, the technology you buy today will be out of date after residency and any follow on education/fellowships. Maybe 'get what you can afford' now and plan on recycling it at some point?
Agreed. Get as good as you can afford, without going over. Use it until it no longer serves its purpose. Upgrade.
 
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kimjongbill

macrumors member
May 13, 2016
45
65
You sure 128GB enough i dont want to be left out long run im a biology major.
I guess in this case I would bump up to the 256 GB if you haven't bought it already. I bought the 256 GB myself, but that's because I only had the option of 64 or 256 when I bought my 2018 iPad Pro.

But you can also unload so much of the stuff you'll use. Notes don't really take a whole lot of space, and PDF textbooks aren't bigger than 500 MB at the absolute largest anyways, and you can unload them after you use them. I found in medical school (MS2 here) that I don't really use that much space. Anki uses like 8 GB because I have like 50,000 flashcards, but beyond that, I really don't use that much space because I don't really need to use that many different applications in school.
 

stanza.richi

macrumors 65816
Dec 5, 2019
1,108
1,700
Italy
Bought my iPP 12.9 2018 64 gb wifi only in 2019 as a neurosurgical resident in Italy. Added, in few months, MK and an 1 TB Sandisk SSD for storing files. Now I’m a consultant and I’m still using the same settings, despite evaluating an iPad Mini to add portability to my set-up.
 
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PinkyMacGodess

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Mar 7, 2007
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Bought my iPP 12.9 2018 64 gb wifi only in 2019 as a neurosurgical resident in Italy. Added, in few months, MK and an 1 TB Sandisk SSD for storing files. Now I’m a consultant and I’m still using the same settings, despite evaluating an iPad Mini to add portability to my set-up.

Great post. I don't think buying a 'small' iPad is a killer decision. If you want it to work, it can work. I can't see an active med student hauling around an IPP when on rotations through hospital conditions. A Mini would have a chance to fit in a coat a lot better. Big can be too big so quickly...
 

ct2k7

macrumors G3
Aug 29, 2008
8,382
3,439
London
Great post. I don't think buying a 'small' iPad is a killer decision. If you want it to work, it can work. I can't see an active med student hauling around an IPP when on rotations through hospital conditions. A Mini would have a chance to fit in a coat a lot better. Big can be too big so quickly...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure an Apple video for the mini showed a medical practitioner (or some sort of scientist) pulling a mini out of the pocket of their white coat...

Edit was the keynote / event on 14th September 2021:
 

spooklog

macrumors regular
Aug 10, 2015
221
190
New Hampshire
Apparently half the responses in here have never had the use case you’re describing. I have. 128 GB is NOT sufficient if it will be your primary source for books and videos. Medical apps are getting bigger with newer OS iterations and the ability to record lectures, scan paperwork/homework, and the massive digital library youll probably need on the go or shared between both devices will no doubt push your iPad storage to the limit. I stored tons of uni books and resource material on my iPad. Tons of lectures from my uni and other lectures from different schools of same subject to get added perspective. The iPad is the most versatile of the two devices. MacBook great for the usual software but the medical apps available for iPad and convenience of studying on the go with iPad is 2nd to none. More storage is my experience. Wound up using just over 300GB myself.
Yes, I agree.
 

PinkyMacGodess

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Mar 7, 2007
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure an Apple video for the mini showed a medical practitioner (or some sort of scientist) pulling a mini out of the pocket of their white coat...

Edit was the keynote / event on 14th September 2021:

I know a pilot that ditched his 'iPad', and got the Mini 6. Loves it. In a cockpit, and a coat pocket, you don't have a lot of extra room. Especially for a 'fresh' doctor, resident, or pilot. Everything has a purpose, and laying down a massive iPad Pro, or trying to mount it and reach over and around it just doesn't work. Sometimes small is big enough.
 
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ct2k7

macrumors G3
Aug 29, 2008
8,382
3,439
London
I know a pilot that ditched his 'iPad', and got the Mini 6. Loves it. In a cockpit, and a coat pocket, you don't have a lot of extra room. Especially for a 'fresh' doctor, resident, or pilot. Everything has a purpose, and laying down a massive iPad Pro, or trying to mount it and reach over and around it just doesn't work. Sometimes small is big enough.
As a pilot myself, I wouldn’t want anything larger than the mini in such a small space. Space is a premium and just whipping it out and putting it back is nice.
 
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PinkyMacGodess

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As a pilot myself, I wouldn’t want anything larger than the mini in such a small space. Space is a premium and just whipping it out and putting it back is nice.

There is a mount for the yoke, keep it there, and restrained. With the Jeppesen, and other flight apps, it's hard to imagine life before they were available.
 
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ct2k7

macrumors G3
Aug 29, 2008
8,382
3,439
London
There is a mount for the yoke, keep it there, and restrained. With the Jeppesen, and other flight apps, it's hard to imagine life before they were available.
I normally fly Airbuses, so the mount is to the side, no yoke there :p

Days before the EFB… well the Airway Manual is still thick, and paper charts (ugh), and the renewing of those charts!
 
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iPadified

macrumors 68020
Apr 25, 2017
2,014
2,257
Great post. I don't think buying a 'small' iPad is a killer decision. If you want it to work, it can work. I can't see an active med student hauling around an IPP when on rotations through hospital conditions. A Mini would have a chance to fit in a coat a lot better. Big can be too big so quickly...
Med school and clinical practice are two widely different situations. In a school/uni you have a desk at hand 99% of the time while for clinical work, the white coat and hands is the only place to keep essentials. Studying is also something completely different compared to quick look up of information on the go. A large screen iPad works best for the former while the mini works better for the latter.
 

Mishabella

macrumors regular
Apr 2, 2011
127
146
Cali
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure an Apple video for the mini showed a medical practitioner (or some sort of scientist) pulling a mini out of the pocket of their white coat...

Edit was the keynote / event on 14th September 2021:
The new iPad mini is epic during rotations! Fits perfectly in my white coat and holds over 200 reference books and I have access to Up To Date! Perfect companion. 😊♥️
 
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