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What do you realistically use your iPad for?

gadgetfreaky said:
I think iOS 13 and maybe before that will address file improvements and multitasking.

I am pretty focused on if they can intro a keyboard w/ integrated trackpad that feels good to work on. No rumors at all on that tho- so who knows.
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I am not sure that they can bring in keyboard with trackpad without iOS change as I don't think that iOS 12 knows about trackpad, mouse pointers etc. However I do hope that they improve the files management and multi tasking in iOS 13 at least. I guess we will wait and see if this happens.
 
gadgetfreaky said:
I think iOS 13 and maybe before that will address file improvements and multitasking.
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One of the reasons I am not upgrading my v1 12.9 is I want to see what iOS13 brings. At that point, I might as well wait for next year's model.

Unless, unlikely, they also mention a ton of new improvements to iOS 12 Tuesday that are device-specific and thus not buried in the betas.
 
gadgetfreaky said:
With the Attached Keyboard and Pen - how much does it narrow the gap in terms of content creation?

What could Apple do to close the gap on content creation on iPad Pro?
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A KB and Pencil help...no doubt. Of course, there is a price. The ASK is over $150. The Apple Pencil is $100. You can find less expensive keyboard cases, but they will probably add a fair amount of bulk. I used a Logitech KB case with my 2017 iPad, and it worked well......but definitely added bulk. There are a few other compromises. I found it harder to use some of the multi-touch gestures with a keyboard case, and I missed the virtual trackpad. It is generally less comfortable to read a book or take a picture with the keyboard flopping around the case.....not a show stopper......but, a somewhat less convenient.

I think the Pencil is a very natural addition to the iPad. I don’t own one, so someone else should chime in, but I would think it definitely facilitates note taking, sketches and drawing. It would seem to be less useful for large document creation
 
D2Rhino said:
I’m mostly a lurker, but I thought I’d comment on this thread because I think it’s laughable that some people still think an iPad Pro isn’t a true productivity device. I run and market a 7 figure ecommerce store (and a few smaller ones) entirely from my iPad Pro, and have done so since the iPad Pro came out. So, I’d say my iPad Pro is very productive.
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Do you mind telling us what apps you use to do this?
 
SoggyCheese said:
All sorts of stuff. Mostly consuming media of one sort of another (Netflix right through to Kindle), although I also hook up my guitar to it via an iRig, and use it at work to take notes. Also extremely handy for showing someone a quick photo or video as you can just pass it to them.

I use it pretty much every day. It's an Air, so probably due an upgrade soon.
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how do you take notes with your guitar? :rolleyes:
 
richinaus said:
Do you mind telling us what apps you use to do this?
Click to expand...

Sure :)

Apps (several tied to SaaS’s):
- Airtable
- Asana
- Mega (if you aren’t using this, you should be!)
- Copied
- iA Writer (so amazing!)
- Quip
- Facebook business manager
- Shopify
- Pixelmator
- Google Analytics
- Drive (because, unfortunately, some people still aren’t using mega!)
- Stripe
- Shortcuts (formerly Workflow)
- Files (granted, lots of room for improvement here, but Finder sucks on MacOS also, so...)

SaaS’s that don’t have an app, but all work (almost) flawlessly on iPad Pro Safari
- Drip
- ManyChat
- Zapier
- Twilio
- Google Optimize
- Subbly

And finally, Wordpress. It doesn’t work for crap on a mobile browser and their app is also crap (for powering about 40% of websites, Wordpress is always about 5 years behind the times) but it’s tough to get away from because of all the amazing plugins.

The only thing I can’t do on an iPad is build landing pages, but that’s what employees are for (I wouldn’t be doing this even if I was using a mac) ;)

For someone that’s actively productive, most tasks can be done on both a ‘computer’ and an ‘iPad’ equally well, if not in exactly the same way (touch vs mouse, etc). There really isn’t much of a distinction anymore, except, apparently, to people that have lots of free time to create them on this forum!

The few things that can’t be done an iPad are usually the fault of the developers behind the platform (i.e. they haven’t created or optimized for iPad, because, well, they’re behind the times - even Apple is behind with XCode, etc not being available on the iPad). There are a few cases (video editing, AutoCAD, rendering, etc) where obviously the iPad just isn’t going to have the hardware capabilities, but for everything else, the devices are interchangeable, and for many use cases, the iPad / iOS is superior.

I prefer the iPad because I prefer iOS, it’s simply much more modern and less buggy than MacOS. It’s also lighter, smaller, more durable, has a detachable keyboard, and the battery life is great. Other people prefer the Mac laptops (mouse rather than touch, MacOS) and are willing to sacrifice a little in the weight and durability department to do so. At this point, it’s just preference that drives the decision, not capability.
 
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Let me start by saying I am a big fan of the iPad, and I use mine everyday to help me be productive. When I am away from my Mac desktop, the iPad is my productivity device. I just don't like dragging a laptop around with me. It's not just the extra weight and larger footprint. I feel like a laptop is just more susceptible to damage than a tablet. They are way more expensive to replace if lost or stolen. My 2017 iPad cost $300. That's less than 1/4 of the cost of the base rMB, and 1/2 the weight.

After experimenting with all manner of keyboards and keyboard cases, I just put my inexpensive iPad in a regular case ($15 from Walmart) with good drop protection and use it as-is, without a keyboard. Since iOS11, I can be very productive with this simple setup. Some of the improvement to Notes and iWorks have helped make content creation, markups, and annotations much easier. The Files App works great for me because I keep everything in the cloud. The new virtual keyboard with swipe down and trackpad works great. The iPad is the best reading experience for books, manuals, and PDFs. Now, when I run into a limitation with the iPad, I don't get frustrated. I just save the file to the cloud and finish when I get back to my desktop at home. Frankly, I have been surprised at how much final product I can produce on the iPad. I realize that not everyone can adjust their workflow as I have done. So, YMMV.

I used to be a big advocate of mouse support for iOS, but now I am beginning to wonder. The iPad is fundamentally a touch first UI. The traditional computer is fundamentally a keyboard and mouse UI. If the mouse was introduced to the iPad, would developers get lazy and start creating Apps that are more mouse than touch centric? Would we end up with a user experience that isn't particularly good as a tablet and isn't particularly good as a traditional computer? So.....I am not so sure adding mouse support is a good move.
 
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Mainsail said:
Let me start by saying I am a big fan of the iPad, and I use mine everyday to help me be productive. When I am away from my Mac desktop, the iPad is my productivity device. I just don't like dragging a laptop around with me. It's not just the extra weight and larger footprint. I feel like a laptop is just more susceptible to damage than a tablet. They are way more expensive to replace if lost or stolen. My 2017 iPad cost $300. That's less than 1/4 of the cost of the base rMB, and 1/2 the weight.

After experimenting with all manner of keyboards and keyboard cases, I just put my inexpensive iPad in a regular case ($15 from Walmart) with good drop protection and use it as-is, without a keyboard. Since iOS11, I can be very productive with this simple setup. Some of the improvement to Notes and iWorks have helped make content creation, markups, and annotations much easier. The Files App works great for me because I keep everything in the cloud. The new virtual keyboard with swipe down and trackpad works great. The iPad is the best reading experience for books, manuals, and PDFs. Now, when I run into a limitation with the iPad, I don't get frustrated. I just save the file to the cloud and finish when I get back to my desktop at home. Frankly, I have been surprised at how much final product I can produce on the iPad. I realize that not everyone can adjust their workflow as I have done. So, YMMV.

I used to be a big advocate of mouse support for iOS, but now I am beginning to wonder. The iPad is fundamentally a touch first UI. The traditional computer is fundamentally a keyboard and mouse UI. If the mouse was introduced to the iPad, would developers get lazy and start creating Apps that are more mouse than touch centric? Would we end up with a user experience that isn't particularly good as a tablet and isn't particularly good as a traditional computer? So.....I am not so sure adding mouse support is a good move.
Click to expand...

I don't buy the lazy developer argument against mouse support. I've been using Android for years with mouse support and haven't seen that at all. I personally would like mouse support due to physical difficulties I have when fine touch is required (e.g., slider bars in some apps).
 
I use it for my music games since mobile platforms are where they are heading to nowadays

I am also trying to expand the iPad's usage; hopefully I won't really need to lug a laptop around
 
In 2012 I bought my first tablet and since then started using my PC a lot less. I never liked the idea of having a notebook or anything of the sort. Too cumbersome. Also never liked and used smartphones.

Currently I have the IPP 10.5 (256 GB LTE).

What I use for (list not by order of importance):

- Writing longer/specific stuff: only when I have the Smart Keyboard attached. I hate typing by touching a screen, since it doesn't help with posture. The best way to preserve our health is placing the iPAD in a desk (in a tablet stand) and using the SK. While we are siting upright in an office chair, of course.

- Browsing the web

- Watch all sorts of videos and listen to any kind of audio (rarely songs, mostly podcasts). I also have (available in nPlayer) lots of different contents stored for free in Google Drive accounts.

- Alarm clock
- Dictionaries
- Ebooks
- Studies. Besides reading, with apps such as Khan Academy.
- Emails
- Accessing bank accounts

- Taking photos and recording videos in 4K.

There are a few other apps I have here, such as Google Maps, Uber, Moovit, one from a "local" eBay, Notability/GoodNotes for the Pencil... And that's all.

I don't enjoy playing games often, I consider a waste of time. I liked doing that in the 1990's, nowadays I would play a classic game, though, if given the chance and it was 100% the same, but for iOS. Preferably with a joystick. Since this can't be done I don't bother with others which don't appeal to me.
 
Realistically? Pretty much everything. Web surfing, email writing, texting, movie watching, music listening, book reading, game playing, bill paying, stock trading, drawing, painting, video editing, photo editing, web blogging, writing, researching, note taking....you name it, I do it on an iPad. It truly has replaced my laptop, and even my iMac is getting less use at home.
 
My day usually begins on my bike on the turbo trainer - so I’ll be using TrainerRoad for the workout, with music too or if it’s an easy enough workout - Netflix / YouTube on the iPad too.
I’ll then use it for web surfing / reading the news before heading off to work.

When I get home I’ll use it again for browsing the internet while watching TV. Some nights I’ll do a bit of organising and editing of photos in Lightroom and Polarr or video editing of drone footage with LumaFusion (purely for enjoyment /as a hobby - I’m no pro).

Sometimes if the GF is watching something on the TV that I’m not as interested in I’ll use R-play to play my PlayStation 4 on the iPad.

And then normally read a book on the iPad in bed.

The thing I love most about the iPad is that it gets me doing things that I enjoy as a hobby (cycling, photography, videography, gaming) but for some reason tended to put off doing. (Trainerroad is a great app for encouraging you to cycle more and the convenience of being able to have music / entertainment / answer a phone call all while on the bike makes it such a great experience that I end up doing it more, the photo/video editing I would always put off getting out my MacBook and actually doing what I enjoy - doing it on the iPad seems less hassle, and getting free run of the tv to game is a rare luxury so would end up not getting ‘into’ games like I used to and not returning to them.

I’m hoping to get the Apple Pencil soon - and am thinking that will allow me to go paperless at work and bring the iPad with me for meetings and notes - the danger with that being now that I’ve actually thought about how much I use the thing - it looks like I’m on it all day!
 
I work from home and I don't have a TV in my home office so I use my iPad to watch TV, movies, etc. while I work.
 
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