I've ditched every iPad I've ever owned within six months.

[sunapple]

You graduated?! Congrats!!! My wife is on her third quarter of her PhD (almost 1 year done of 5). Graduation seems so far off but she's going strong. Best wishes finding a job.


Agreed about right tool for the job (I'm a C# programmer (Visual Studio 2019 Pro with Windows 10)).

Your post interested me because I found a lot of similarities. I too have not kept my iPads for more than 6 months. My history with iPads = iPad 3, Mini 2, Mini 4, Air 2, 2017, 2018, 2018, and iPad Pro 10.5.

I kept my iPad 3 the longest but it never really found a home with me. Sold it off to a coworker. My mini 2 gave to my mother in law, the mini 4 was given to my wife. My 2017 was given to my mother in law after the mini 2 got too slow. Sold my 2018 to my little brother who wanted it for college. Traded in my 2018 I bought this year for a super deal on the 10.5.

I'm definitely a keyboard / laptop guy. I enjoy reading on an iPad a lot more than a computer monitor and the Apple Pencil has replaced paper for me (in class, work, and home). So I think I'll be keeping this 10.5 Pro.

The mistake, I believe, people make with the iPad is to think of it as a laptop replacement. It complements a laptop really well. It makes a great reading / consumption device - and with the Apple Pencil, it makes a great college notebook (I use it for this). It makes a great note taking tool at work (Notability (Audio + Apple Notes sketching)). But it is not a primary device.

I use it at work with a Logitech K811 so I can talk with my wife via iMessage and work on a Windows machine with one keyboard (the K811 can switch devices with a keypress). This means I don't have to lug my work windows laptop + my MacBook Pro in the same backpack. I also use it to do Slack calls with our other office - makes an AMAZING mobile conference phone.

But like you, up until now, I've never kept an iPad for very long. I do feel that I will keep this 10.5 for years. Unlike past iPads, this iPad is finding more use in my workflow/daily usage so it is a lot less likely to be sold.

Thanks! Reading on iPad is great indeed, I need to read more. I wish we had that Apple news/magazine subscription over here in The Netherlands; I currently pay quite a lot for my National Geographic subscription which does come with a digital version, but that's a super basic PDF in an app that hasn't been updated in years...

I do believe it can be a primary device for people, but it depends entirely on what you want from it. I wish I could just use my iPad, but I (used to) rely on software like SolidWorks. There's alternative apps like Affinity Designer, but that's such a change from my trusted Illustrator (I have both currently). It could replace Illustrator though, there's more examples like that.
[doublepost=1555340137][/doublepost]

Industrial design student can't find use for ipad? Maybe you are underthinking this.

I love my ipad for art but when it comes to mobile productivity, give me a laptop. I don't need a
"productivity" device on which it is so hard to cut and paste--disaster. And yes--give me a mouse too.

I also use ipad pro for drawing complicated diagrams in sketchbook and then bring over via
icloud. Works great because ios sketch saves directly to icloud. So, my pc and ios sketchbook
softwares are locked to the same folder. Very productive.

Can find some use, not enough for me.

Art can be 'productivity' though, but iPad sometimes works best as a complimentary device to Mac. iCloud Drive and the Files app are a great improvement over what it used to be some years ago, used it a lot.
[doublepost=1555340304][/doublepost]

Good on you for graduating! That is so awesome. What was your major?

Thanks! Industrial Product Design / Engineering; however they want to translate that. Basically what you need to become the next Jony Ive

https://twitter.com/JonyIveParody/status/1117499760234127363
[doublepost=1555340966][/doublepost]

Cool story, if it doesn’t work for you. It doesn’t work for you.

My only computer is a iPad Pro 11” 1TB cellular model. I bring it with me everywhere, editing videos, creating a lot of cool ideas on my iPad is a normal thing. Gaming, movies, and watching videos on top of all that! It is my main device, I even use it as my phone some days. It is drained to nearly 0% every night, and charged backup to 100% by morning every single day!

I’m so use to using a iPad Pro, I wouldn’t know what to do without one.

I wish I could use my iPad as my only computer!

The way I'm using my MacBook Pro though cannot be compared. I use it mostly as a Mac mini, closed and connected to my 32" 4K monitor with keyboard and trackpad/mouse. I use SolidWorks 3D CAD modeling, I have a full Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, my movies and videos are stored on external drives which are kept in sync using CarbonCopyCloner (and you know, USB) and I'm currently using a scanner to digitize a lot of photos and negatives.

Even writing these comments would be a pain on iPad if it has the same weird issue as on my iPhone where I can't seem to select text properly, I could connect my keyboard though which is neat.

In the future, some of those tasks will be obsolete and some others can possibly be done just as well on a tablet (if by then the terms 'tablet' and 'PC' are still relevant). I'm glad that for a lot of people, from what I gather, the future is here already. That's pretty cool thinking back to when I preordered my 'giant iPod touch' back in 2010 that had very basic functionality compared to today.

 

[retta283]

I too have tried to fit the iPad into my workflow many times. Only thing it is useful for in my case is a media device. I may try and re-enter the world of iPads if they get real file support like Finder.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I too have tried to fit the iPad into my workflow many times. Only thing it is useful for in my case is a media device. I may try and re-enter the world of iPads if they get real file support like Finder.

It's probably already been stated here, but try using a file like Documents (by Readdle). Great app that acts in many ways like a Finder equivalent.

 

[Trey M]

So basically, I like new things too much.

I got my first gen iPad in the same week it launched in 2010. It seemed so great to be able to do everything I did on my iPod touch on a bigger screen and it was! But it felt kinda bulky and I ended up buying a MacBook Air 11" which could do a lot more.

Skipped the 2, got the New iPad (3rd gen) on launch day in 2012. I was still using an iPod touch back then and according to my records I had a Mac Mini this time around. Was hoping to, again, use it for school purposes but after a few months it just felt unnecessary. I did, however, read the Steve Jobs biography on it on vacation which was great.

Skipped the New New iPad, got the Air in 2013. Wow, this thing was thin and light! Still, after a few months the thing wasn't moving as much as I'd hoped. Honestly, I thought it would be great for everything school and portable and I really was trying to get it to work. Sold it within 6 months.

At this point I knew that the iPad would never work for me, no matter what other devices I had or what features the iPad could get.

2015: 12.9 freaking inch iPad PRO with PENCIL!

As a student Industrial Product Design (second year), the iPad Pro seemed like just the device for me. Imagine sketching wherever you are on a digital canvas, being able to use it as a drawing tablet with AstroPad and just use it instead of my 15" rMBP for all light computer needs on-the-go! Perfect!

Following my incredibly predictable pattern, I bought it on launch day and I'm trying to get rid of it just shy of 6 months later (what's up with the 6 months?!).

I need a phone, so I have an iPhone 6 Plus. I need a powerful computer that's portable, so I have the 15" MacBook Pro. I need to draw every now and then... But not that much and not for 1200$. It's just not justifiable.

I ended up bringing my 15" MBP with me every day of the week to school because it runs Illustrator, Photoshop and even SolidWorks. An iPad would just be too much of a compromise, like it's always been for me. It cannot replace my laptop or my phone, but it needs to for it to become more than just a gadget.

That's it, I'm done. Anyone recognizes the iPad ending up in a drawer every time? No? Okay. Am I overthinking this? If I had lots of money, then yes, definitely.

This was me. I owned 3, then just gave up. Didn’t use them, always reverted to my phone. They became paper weights that were pains to update their OS’s and apps.

The new iPad Pros are different. I love mine and I actually reach for it over a laptop a lot of the time. The hardware is that good.

 

[tps3443]

From what I’ve learned with my iPad endeavor, that all started a few months ago is, it takes time and skill to master iOS as a laptop or pc replacement lol. There are a lot of workarounds that you become fluently good at. But, if you’ve got a laptop sitting beside you, you’re most likely going to reach for it instead as you already know what to do quicker or easier.

I’m still learning iOS myself. And I’m new to all of this. But I like it so far.

I look forward to more advancements like iOS 13, I wish they’d just release it already! And knock it out of the park, as everyone’s jaws drop. Maybe..

 

[torana355]

Tablets became redundant for me when phones started getting larger screens, I either use my Phone or my MacBook Air now.

 

[akash.nu]

Tablets became redundant for me when phones started getting larger screens, I either use my Phone or my MacBook Air now.

I used to think the same but some iPad optimised apps provide way better usability and functionality.

 

[Seed101]

Buy stuff for a purpose.
Not because it’s ‘new’?