This is a blog post written on my new iPad.
I aim to run through my thoughts of using an iPad as a mainly Android and Windows user. I have a small amount of Linux experience too, for example Rasbian whenever I was doing any little programming projects, and have ran a few virtual machines when learning cyber security – but nothing serious.
In fact, I have never used an Apple made device or OS before this so it is quite a change for me.
What did I buy?
I now have an iPad Pro 11” 2021. This is quite a step up from any technology I have had previously both on a price level and also by performance statistics. I won’t write too much about the performance since there are many other articles that cover this is much more detail then I would.
Other accessories?
- tomtoc padfolio
- Magic Keyboard
- Apple Pencil 2
First thoughts?
At first it was very hard to remember and use all of the gestures. Many are different to ones that you would use on an Android phone or in Android. I will note that I have not used many Android tablets so I haven’t had experience with Android tablet gestures either. However, iPadOS is a very different ballpark to Android and they do gestures in their own Apple way.
Performance
As far as I know at the moment no tablets are comparable to the a newer generation high end iPads, especially not the most recent M1 iPad Pro. The Samsung Tablets are better than the base models of an iPad but the competitive advantages that Apple has in performance with their Apple silicon system-on-chip are just massive. Give it a year or two and Samsung may bridge the gap with their own system-on-chip devices, since there has been news of collaboration with Google on “Whitechapel” but not much news on that yet.
Software
Apple needs to do more to compete on a software standpoint. There are many things they could improve in iPad OS to make it more usable. Some of this is purely Apple deciding they don’t want to damage their laptop market share.
One area of weakness in software is multitasking. Some improvements have been made in iPad OS 15 but the changes are not big enough in some respects. Samsung DEX (desktop like functionality) is extremely useful and actually in my opinion is a large reason to get a Samsung tablet instead of an iPad.
If Samsung can manage to bridge the gap in performance they actually have a large chance of stealing significant iPad user base unless Apple steps up. Apple ideally should add more features allowing the iPad to be used more like a touch-screen laptop to cement their dominance in the tablet landscape (proper external monitor support would definitely be appreciated).
Getting to grips… and finding bugs…
Parts of iPad OS were easy to get used to. Some things took much longer. After a few days of use I have learnt most of the gestures that should allow me to speedily navigate through the system.
One thing that I was suprised about was how I had come to believe that bugs and issues were only present in Android and Windows and that any software that Apple made was completely perfect. I know this sounds dumb as a technology enthusiast.
There are definitely many bugs and I don’t know why this was suprising to me. I have never been a massive Apple fan but somehow they managed to make me believe in a perfection that they definitely do not possess. I guess branding does work. At least now I can confirm to myself that bugs are inevitable.
The bugs haven’t hindered my experience too much. I am quite used to bugs by now. It definitely does have less bugs then my MIUI based Poco X3.
My Apps?
The App Store is very different to Google Play Store. It definitely offers a much more curated feel and I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
I’ll have to use it more before I come to a conclusion on this. One thing beneficial about iPadOS in comparison to Android is that it seems to have many more specialist apps for example Procreate and GoodNotes.
Procreate
Procreate is extremely impressive. Using it with my Apple Pencil just feels smooth and fun. I’m sure Android offers alternatives but Procreate is largely seen as one of the best apps for artists out there. I guess being able to leverage the performance of an iPad chip helps in this regard.
GoodNotes
This is a great notebook app. As a university student I was looking for something that will allow me to improve my note taking experience and this does just that. I just love how the note taking experience transforms with this app. Moving from paper to digital is definitely an effort and takes some getting used to. I had already moved from taking notes on paper to using OneNote on my windows laptop with a drawing tablet. The GoodNotes experience looks to improve my note taking experience even more. I love making use of the automatic shapes when I hold the Apple pencil down.
Other Apps?
On top of these I went with regular free options that you would find on Android for example Microsoft Office, Spotify and Notion.
If using a password manager like me, it is easily integrated into your iPad. I use Bitwarden due to their extensive free plan having moved from Lastpass when the free tier was massively ‘nerfed’. To me it feels like it works much smoother then on my Android phone, but depending on what you use this will vary – FaceID works wonders.
After more usage
Having now used my iPad for multiple days, I can confirm that it is pleasing experience. I enjoy using my iPad, and it can make work productively with minimal distractions. The size although it initially seemed small, now feels quite sufficient.
At first look the magic keyboard was disappointing to me since I hadn’t actually pictured the size of it – it was much smaller then I imagined it would be. Now I can see the appeal of something so little but so nice to use. The keys have bounce to them and the ease of detachment from the main iPad display is extremely useful. I can easily switch from typing with the keyboard to writing with the pen depending on what I need.
Using the iPad bare does scare me at this price level so if I end up using it out of the magic keyboard for any length of time I will definitely sacrifice the bare beauty for a well protecting case. I know how fragile these things are so I will not be risking it under any circumstances.
iPad Pro or Air debate?
I admit that I may have overdone it by choosing the iPad Pro over the Air and that the Air would likely have done everything I needed, but I like the freedom the M1 processor gives me with the thunderbolt port. It seems easily extendable; I can use a USB hub and plug multiple accessories into my iPad at once if required – great for the power user.
I also made the decision to go with the M1 hoping that it will be longer lasting and will receive software updates for longer, though by that point maybe everything will be streamed through the cloud and we’ll just have displays with batteries.
Negatives
Now I should probably balance my review with some negatives of the experience. iPad OS is definitely a limitation, and the iPad can definitely not take advantage of the power the M1 chip gives. If moving from Android to Apple, things will work differently and if you are used to being able to install apps from anywhere you want, you will be disappointed. You are locked into the iPad store unless you go through the risk of jail breaking.
Although the iPad gets close to a laptop experience there are things that a laptop can do and the iPad can’t. Some of this is due to a lack of professional grade apps being ported to the iPad. Maybe in the future this will improve but it certainly limits your freedom. I would appreciate a port of xCode allowing me to use it for more of my programming purposes. For now I still need to hold onto my old Windows laptop, though using remote desktops is an usable alternative.
Conclusive remarks
Overall I am pleased with the experience. The iPad is definitely going to improve my productivity and allow me a better study experience for my third year of University. It also allows me to do much more digital art and allows me the freedom of exploring some pro-grade apps though more would definitely be appreciated.
If you were looking for a new tablet like device I would definitely recommend an iPad but depending on what you want, it is most likely that the iPad Air would be good enough if limited by budget. The iPad Air is still exceptional and contains a powerful processor too. If you aren’t focused on the Apple ecosystem Samsungs tablets are getting better and better – they look soon to be very competitive. There are also very good priced budget Android tablets to look at.