Got myself my first iPad. IPad + iOS 11 is awesome.

Vertpin · Jan 13, 2018

I'd say I am a pretty big Apple fanboy. I own quite a bit of their product, and really enjoy it. However, I was always pretty skeptical about the iPad. Bigger iPhone? Why? It seemed so...worthless?
My opinion on the devices have since changed. I had been debating for a few months now whether or not it was worth purchasing, and after I heard about the generous return policy at the store I decided to go all in. I purchased the iPad Pro 10.5", 256GB Space Gray, with the Smart Keyboard and AppleCare+. I took it home, got it all set up, and wow! This is my first tablet ever (except for a Nexus 9 which I owned for maybe two weeks...), and my opinion has completely changed (depending on what tablet you buy).
For starters, it is definitely a larger phone...but that's awesome! Some may argue that you could continue to use the MacBook or Windows laptop, but they're not as portable as this device. I love how compact and sleek it is. It's been a pain using my MacBook in bed when all I want to do is watch content, browse ERA, or do everything I do on my Mac. I can do all of that on this device here, and it's way more convenient. Secondly, iOS 11...it's been an interesting release. However, I could not imagine not using it on the iPad. Being able to pull up the dock, multitask, drag and drop links, words, images, files, it's just so great.
I have a ton more to say about this device, I really do. I absolutely love it. If anyone is skeptical about the iPad, I say give it a whirl! My model may have the advantage of using the Smart Keyboard (no Bluetooth pairing required), but it's so awesome! As much as I love my iPhone and Mac...I think I like this product the most. I'm not even using my iPhone at all unless it's for calls.

DigitalOp · Jan 13, 2018

I love the 10.5 iPad! Its beautiful eye candy.

Really like what Apple added into iOS for all the extra productivity features!

I hear IPad gaming is really great, you can even invest in a controller.

EdibleKnife · Jan 13, 2018

Yeah I love my Mini 4. Gave up on keyboards for the thing a long time ago. Just can't get used to typing on the ones I've bought. For comics, books, saved articles and modifying documents a bit, it's damn fantastic. Might go for a Pro for my next purchase

-Pyromaniac- · Jan 13, 2018

Love mine. Use it every night. 10.5 here too. Perfect size for me. I tried the 12.9 inch before this and found it too heavy.

Vertpin · Jan 13, 2018

-Pyromaniac- said:
Love mine. Use it every night. 10.5 here too. Perfect size for me. I tried the 12.9 inch before this and found it too heavy.

The 12.9 is really cool too, but too large for my needs. I read an article on it in store, but holding it is another story...

Hate · Jan 13, 2018

I have the same ipad. And it's also my first foray into apple products. Only problem I have is the price of everything. Everything else is awesome.

DigitalOp · Jan 13, 2018

Vertpin said:
The 12.9 is really cool too, but too large for my needs. I read an article on it in store, but holding it is another story...

How much did it come out to? Did you get a good deal?

evrythngwastakn · Jan 13, 2018

I'd like to try ios11 on a newer iPad. I'm wondering if I should replace my 8 year old MacBook Air with an iPad Pro. The pencil would be great for annotating notes and stuff when teaching.

Vertpin · Jan 13, 2018

DigitalOp said:
How much did it come out to? Did you get a good deal?

No good deal on my end. I don't think they ever go on sale, but I feel 100%+ some justified in my end so no regrets if I missed out on some discount.

evrythngwastakn said:
I'd like to try ios11 on a newer iPad. I'm wondering if I should replace my 8 year old MacBook Air with an iPad Pro. The pencil would be great for annotating notes and stuff when teaching.

It's really wonderful. I was quite skeptical at first, but it's been an awesome ride. I want to try the Apple Pencil for writing down notes...but I'll hold off on that for now. I imagine that would be super cool.

9-Volt · Jan 13, 2018

Get Civilization VI, OP! Runs surprisingly great on iPad and the having a full fledged PC strategy game on the go feels amazing. I hope more publishers bring their PC games to iPad.

Darknight · Jan 13, 2018

Vertpin said:
No good deal on my end. I don't think they ever go on sale, but I feel 100%+ some justified in my end so no regrets if I missed out on some discount.

What? They were constantly on sale during the holidays. The iPad Pro 10.5" was $150 off. So the 64GB model was 24% off plus another 5% off if you bought it with the Red Card from Target. $600 down to $427.50 is a huge difference. The 256GB model was almost 19% off with another 5% with the Red Card from Target which made it $617.50 down from $800. Best Buy had similar sales too.

Vertpin · Jan 13, 2018

9-Volt said:
Get Civilization VI, OP! Runs surprisingly great on iPad and the having a full fledged PC strategy game on the go feels amazing. I hope more publishers bring their PC games to iPad.

I've never played a CIV game, or an RTS, really. However, I feel you. I'm excited for FFXV: Pocket Edition.

Spoder · Jan 13, 2018

iPad is indeed awesome. I bring it everywhere lol.

FaceHugger · Jan 13, 2018

Man, I still remember that first night with my first iPad. I had the same reservations too (big phone lol) but once I had it home I couldn't put it down. Ended up replacing my laptop and like 75% of the things I did on my desktop. G1. I gave it to my mom after three-ish years of use, and that thing is still kicking - running fine for Facebook and Netflix (basically all my mom does on a device).

Star Tracker is my jam for pleasant nights. Sit out under the stars with a good pint of beer and check out the sky.

Chan · Jan 13, 2018

My iPad Pro has replaced my laptop use by about 85%

Yasuke · Jan 13, 2018

Always figured I'd get one for reading and aimless web browsing at home when I have a ton of disposable income lol. As of now, it still makes sense for me to just continue on with my iPhone and MacBook Pro though.

CloseTalker · Jan 13, 2018

I have a 12.9 inchiPad Pro, and I love it. It replaced an iPad Air 2, and it's definitely a bit harder to hold it in bed (not impossible, but clunkier), but the added screen real estate makes up for it. It's become an incredibly solid device to handle work when I'm travelling. I have the keyboard cover as well, which I like, but I have some problems with. I wish it had more viewing angles, and covered the back of the device, and had a place for the Apple Pencil. The fact that the only case Apple sells that accounts for the Pencil is a leather sleeve (which won't fit the iPad with keyboard attached) is beyond me, it's so dumb. Other than that, love the device though

Darknight · Jan 13, 2018

Yasuke said:
Always figured I'd get one for reading and aimless web browsing at home when I have a ton of disposable income lol. As of now, it still makes sense for me to just continue on with my iPhone and MacBook Pro though.

If you're doing book reading, I highly recommend an eReader over an iPad for that. If you're doing something that has more visuals like comics and graphic novels, that's where the iPad excels. The iPad is great for general browsing, but if you have to do any type of forum replying, I much prefer a laptop. I actually find myself browsing on the tablet but then grabbing the laptop like right now to reply to this.

Yasuke · Jan 13, 2018

Darknight said:
If you're doing book reading, I highly recommend an eReader over an iPad for that. If you're doing something that has more visuals like comics and graphic novels, that's where the iPad excels. The iPad is great for general browsing, but if you have to do any type of forum replying, I much prefer a laptop. I actually find myself browsing on the tablet but then grabbing the laptop like right now to reply to this.

See, I really just want an iPad largely to read my digital comics with lmao.

Darknight · Jan 13, 2018

Yasuke said:
See, I really just want an iPad largely to read my digital comics with lmao.

That's largely why I have one =) When you think about it, it becomes a pretty expensive way to just read comics =)

DJ_Lae · Jan 13, 2018

I had fun with ours for a while but found myself slowly going back to a phone/laptop combination. I can see where an iPad has a great blend of features for some people (it's perfect for my kids and my mom, for example) but once the novelty passed I found it too limiting for work and too bulky for casual browsing.

We've had a couple of iPads and one iPad Mini (I actually prefer the Mini, which I feel weird saying) and they're nice devices.

Their pricing becomes more and more absurd every year, though, it seems.

Shedinja · Jan 13, 2018

I wasn't sure if I'd like an iPad either, but I got the 12.9 Pro and it's been great. Only reason I still have a Windows laptop is because of Photoshop and that's only because I haven't gotten used to using Affinity Photo yet.

CloseTalker said:
I have a 12.9 inchiPad Pro, and I love it. It replaced an iPad Air 2, and it's definitely a bit harder to hold it in bed (not impossible, but clunkier), but the added screen real estate makes up for it. It's become an incredibly solid device to handle work when I'm travelling. I have the keyboard cover as well, which I like, but I have some problems with. I wish it had more viewing angles, and covered the back of the device, and had a place for the Apple Pencil. The fact that the only case Apple sells that accounts for the Pencil is a leather sleeve (which won't fit the iPad with keyboard attached) is beyond me, it's so dumb. Other than that, love the device though

It does fit in the sleeve with the smart keyboard, though.

I also wished that the smart keyboard protected the back of the iPad. I looked into cases that were compatible with the keyboard, but they all added too much bulk. In the end, I ended up getting a clear back protector from XtremeGuard and now I don't even worry about it.

Mi goreng · Jan 13, 2018

I have the first 9.7 pro and love it to bits. The stereo speakers work really well for laying in bed and watching a movie on it. iOS 11 was also a gamechanger. Looking forward to seeing what they reveal this year.

Teamocil · Jan 13, 2018

I had an iPad 2 back in the day. Didn't mind it but deemed it unnecessary so I sold it.

In September I bought an iPad (2017) and I love it now. iOS 11 is what made me buy one and what really makes the iPad worthwhile IMO.

I'll probably upgrade to the Pro in 2019 to have the Pencil and better screen, but the iPad is a genuinely amazing device these days.

Edit: it has pretty much replaced my MacBook and Windows desktop usage at home completely. The only time I break out the laptop at home is when I'm doing some work on my Home Assistant/HomeKit server or managing media on the NAS. Otherwise the iPad handles everything so extremely well.

Only thing I could ask for is for them to implement network storage into the Files app. Once that happens I'll be the happiest camper

Alekzandrovitch · Jan 13, 2018

I want an iPad so bad. Cubasis is my favorite DAW for songwriting and demoing. IPad and itrack dock please.

woodcutter · Jan 13, 2018

iPads are my go-to porn viewer.

Yasuke · Jan 13, 2018

Darknight said:
That's largely why I have one =) When you think about it, it becomes a pretty expensive way to just read comics =)

Yep. Hence me waiting until such a time when I've got a lot of money laying around. Could be years. Not in a rush really lol

CloseTalker · Jan 13, 2018

Shedinja said:
It does fit in the sleeve with the smart keyboard, though.

I also wished that the smart keyboard protected the back of the iPad. I looked into cases that were compatible with the keyboard, but they all added too much bulk. In the end, I ended up getting a clear back protector from XtremeGuard and now I don't even worry about it.

Oh, it does? That's my mistake. I was looking at reviews and I could have sworn a couple mentioned that it didn't, but that's good to hear. Maybe I'll pick one up at some point then.

Does that clear black protector you got fit with the smart keyboard, and all inside the sleeve?

Giolon · Jan 13, 2018

Discounting work, iPad is my most used device. It's why I have no qualms about upgrading it every year but don't typically upgrade my phone.

iPad Pro 10.5 is great. If you have any penchant for doodling or maybe real artistic skills, try out the pencil.

I was initially skeptical on them, but the first time I got my hands on the original iPad about a month after it launched, I had to have one.

TheDestructiveSquirrel · Jan 13, 2018

Civ 6 is on iPad?!?! Just the Pro or the regular one as well?

Giolon · Jan 13, 2018

TheDestructiveSquirrel said:
Civ 6 is on iPad?!?! Just the Pro or the regular one as well?

Air 2 or newer.

Shedinja · Jan 13, 2018

CloseTalker said:
Oh, it does? That's my mistake. I was looking at reviews and I could have sworn a couple mentioned that it didn't, but that's good to hear. Maybe I'll pick one up at some point then.

Does that clear black protector you got fit with the smart keyboard, and all inside the sleeve?

It's a tight fit when you put the iPad+keyboard in the first few times, but it does fit. As for the protector, it's just the back part of XtremeGuard's screen protector set, so it's just a clear film that covers the back of the iPad and doesn't add any bulk. I'm sure that there are other places that sell back protectors, but I like the rubbery material they use. The prices are outrageous unless you use a coupon code, though.

TheDestructiveSquirrel · Jan 13, 2018

Giolon said:
Air 2 or newer.

Oh man, I have to check how much it costs and teach my mom to play lol

ThePostModernCondition · Jan 13, 2018

Remember all the critics were like 'WTF Is an ipad? WHO DA FK NEEDS A GIANT IPOD TOUCH? APPLE REALLY HAS LOST THE PLOT'
and the rest is history.

It really says a lot about how narrow minded and myopic tech journalism can be and showed that specs isnt the defining factor in a product.
On paper it really was just a bigger freaking Ipod touch but what the critics couldnt see was its immense untold application. Something the spec sheet doesnt spell out for you

CloseTalker · Jan 13, 2018

TheDestructiveSquirrel said:
Oh man, I have to check how much it costs and teach my mom to play lol

It has 60 turns free, but after that it's a full $59, so make sure she's into it lol.

ThePostModernCondition said:
Remember all the critics were like 'WTF Is an ipad? WHO DA FK NEEDS A GIANT IPOD TOUCH? APPLE REALLY HAS LOST THE PLOT'
and the rest is history.

It really says a lot about how narrow minded and myopic tech journalism can be and showed that specs isnt the defining factor in a product.
On paper it really was just a bigger freaking Ipod touch but what the critics couldnt see was its immense untold application. Something the spec sheet doesnt spell out for you

Yeesh, are you okay? Lol.

woodcutter · Jan 13, 2018

ThePostModernCondition said:
Remember all the critics were like 'WTF Is an ipad? WHO DA FK NEEDS A GIANT IPOD TOUCH? APPLE REALLY HAS LOST THE PLOT'
and the rest is history.

It really says a lot about how narrow minded and myopic tech journalism can be and showed that specs isnt the defining factor in a product.
On paper it really was just a bigger freaking Ipod touch but what the critics couldnt see was its immense untold application. Something the spec sheet doesnt spell out for you

replying because I like your avatar. I saw the duchamps in sf and in ny!

Darknight · Jan 13, 2018

ThePostModernCondition said:
Remember all the critics were like 'WTF Is an ipad? WHO DA FK NEEDS A GIANT IPOD TOUCH? APPLE REALLY HAS LOST THE PLOT'
and the rest is history.

It really says a lot about how narrow minded and myopic tech journalism can be and showed that specs isnt the defining factor in a product.
On paper it really was just a bigger freaking Ipod touch but what the critics couldnt see was its immense untold application. Something the spec sheet doesnt spell out for you

Eh, but they were sort of right too. The tablet market has cooled off quite a lot and is in decline.

The Artisan · Jan 13, 2018

i bought the iPad for my mother coz all she ever did with my old iPhone 5s was facebook video calls to her family in the motherland. I figure why the hell should she do that on a tiny ass screen, that's what an iPad would be for

TeenageFBI · Jan 13, 2018

While I have an iPhone and an iPad, I'm kind of ambivalent about the iPhone. I love my iPad though. Especially the large size iPad Pro with a keyboard and pencil. I use it everywhere.

The multitasking stuff is more touchy than I'd like but it was such a huge improvement for the platform.

siddx · Jan 13, 2018

I've owned three ipads. First one was a goddamn rockstar that worked perfectly through thick and thin, until new apps stopped being compatible with it, forcing my to buy a new ipad that shit the bed 6 months in.
Bought another one to replace it and I only realized after I had gone back overseas that half the apps produce loud static through the speakers instead of normal sound. Works fine other than that, but trying to Skype a potential employer and getting the sound of digital demons fucking my soul was not a good first impression.

Blackpuppy · Jan 13, 2018

DJ_Lae said:
Their pricing becomes more and more absurd every year, though, it seems.

Not really. You can buy a brand new iPad for $329 (iPad 2017).

It's not the pro version but it's good enough for most applications.

Riven · Jan 13, 2018

As someone who is more of a content consumer, do you think it would be wise to get the Apple smart keyboard for the iPad Pro? I keep debating on getting one, but I am not entirely sure what I would use it for. I am thinking I would only use it on iMessage the most and sporadic email and forum posting. I am not sure if it is worth it for me.

Mgs2master2 · Jan 13, 2018

iPad Pro 9.7 here. I got it shortly after release. I love this device. It is perfect for me on all levels. Got a keyboard case too. I didn't think i would use it as often as I do

TeenageFBI · Jan 13, 2018

Riven said:
As someone who is more of a content consumer, do you think it would be wise to get the Apple smart keyboard for the iPad Pro? I keep debating on getting one, but I am not entirely sure what I would use it for. I am thinking I would only use it on iMessage the most and sporadic email and forum posting. I am not sure if it is worth it for me.

I get a lot of use out of it. It's great for texting, forum stuff and Office 365 (OneNote is lovely). Not sure it would be worth it just for iMessage but I suppose it depends on how much you text.

Oh, and you can actually use keyboard shortcuts in Civ 6.

edit: A side benefit is that the smart keyboard is a far more reliable stand than the normal Apple iPad cover (which collapses easily).

thePopaShots · Jan 13, 2018

I think the iPad Air 2 may be the best tech purchase I've ever made. I use it every day, and the thing still has great battery life and is whiz-fast.

molnizzle · Jan 13, 2018

I still prefer the MacBook since it requires less physical motion to navigate. I can find a nice comfy (read: lazy) position on the couch and pretty much stay there while having full access to the device's functionality from the trackpad.

The iPad is nice for reading comics in bed, though.

ThePostModernCondition · Jan 13, 2018

woodcutter said:
replying because I like your avatar. I saw the duchamps in sf and in ny!

Thanks! I saw Duchamp in SF too i must admit

Darknight said:
Eh, but they were sort of right too. The tablet market has cooled off quite a lot and is in decline.

Yeah but it has a lot to do wit the fact that ipads are not something you upgrade every two years though not like a smart phone. In that respect its closer to any complete computer...
But the ipad really has become ubiquitous.. so many small businesses use it as POS, the amount of asian restaurants that use it as a menu etc. The use of them in airlines and just for any sort of form filling for organizations... and its ALWAYS the ipad, not some random Android tablet

Vertpin · Jan 18, 2018

Update: Browsing ResetEra on my iPad is the best way. I'm leaning back in my comfortable desk chair, and am multitasking with Safari and Twitch on such a thin and tiny screen. I'm not even hunched back like I would be with my desktop.

Prophyblakcis · Jan 23, 2018

pro 10.5 here. i find that it is the absolute best way to read books/magazines digitally. kindle app looks better than the actual kindles

Carfo · Jan 23, 2018

i have the ipad air 1 and I use the hell out of this thing every day. I'm debating either getting an ipad pro or getting an ultraportable x86 laptop

Got myself my first iPad. IPad + iOS 11 is awesome.

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

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One Winged Slayer

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

"Angels are singing in monasteries..."

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