Apple Thread II | AirPods Pros Announced

I'm tempted to buy my first ever Apple product. The new iPad Air 2020. (State of the Android tablet market the last 6 years!).

The cost is fairly steep but isn't in itself the main concern for me but rather will I actually use it after the first month of ownership. They strike me as something that you use less the longer you own it. I don't want Nintendo Wii levels of regret (still remains my biggest waste of money).

In terms of what I'd see myself using it for, general Internet usage (reading news articles, Reddit and GRcade mostly) and Netflix and YouTube in bed and would be more tempted to read e-books which isn't a good experience on a phone and isn't an appealing experience on a laptop.

I'm assuming WhatsApp isn't possible on it since it links to the phone number?

Anyone own an iPad and find they use it much less now?

Grumpy David wrote:I'm tempted to buy my first ever Apple product. The new iPad Air 2020. (State of the Android tablet market the last 6 years!).

The cost is fairly steep but isn't in itself the main concern for me but rather will I actually use it after the first month of ownership. They strike me as something that you use less the longer you own it. I don't want Nintendo Wii levels of regret (still remains my biggest waste of money).

In terms of what I'd see myself using it for, general Internet usage (reading news articles, Reddit and GRcade mostly) and Netflix and YouTube in bed and would be more tempted to read e-books which isn't a good experience on a phone and isn't an appealing experience on a laptop.

I'm assuming WhatsApp isn't possible on it since it links to the phone number?

Anyone own an iPad and find they use it much less now?

I don't see why you'd go for an iPad Air over the normal iPad for what you'd be using it for.

If you already have a laptop you use a lot for the same sort of things then you might end up regretting it I guess. Generally if you buy it for internet browsing and watching YouTube you'll end up using as often as you browse the internet or watch YouTube. I've had an Air for nearly five years and haven't found it gathering dust in that time, but then my partner will also use it quite a lot to watch Netflix etc.

You can use WhatsApp Web via Safari, but obviously you would need your phone nearby.

Grumpy David wrote:They strike me as something that you use less the longer you own it.

I can only speak for myself, but this is the exact opposite of my experience. I use my iPad for everything now. I still have a now-ageing laptop that I keep mainly as back-up storage for my music collection (and it only gets switched on maybe once a month), but the iPad can do everything else that I need of a computer.

The basic iPad is still a cracking device, even better now it’s got pencil support as well (not that I use mine too much as the battery life is shocking), when I last updated my iPad (iPad 2, from June 2011 to a 6th gen iPad, bought in November 2018) I was trying to justify the insane cost of an iPad Pro, I just couldn’t and in hindsight I’m glad I didn’t! Not buying a Pro meant I got my iPad + Pencil and my iPhone for what I’d have paid for the iPad Pro + 2nd gen pencil alone. I use my iPad at home and then my iPhone when out and about, works quite nicely for me and in another few years I won’t hesitate to upgrade to the latest standard iPad as its only getting better value, only rubbish thing is the base version has 32gb of space which depending on your use case it could be fine, imagine for quite a lot of people it’s not though, hopefully it won’t be long before it’s 64gb as standard. I have a cheap desktop PC from 2015 that I have just in case but I very rarely find the need to use it, just turn it on to keep it updated more than anything!

Granted nearly all of my usage is basic stuff that I don’t need anything special for, internet browsing, YouTube, very light office app use and then a bit of a mess around in Procreate when I feel up to it but it just does it’s job, battery life is decent (doesn’t seem as good as it’s meant to be but I never time screen time between charges so it could be as stated).

As someone who's used an iPad and dedicated eReader for reading books, the iPad simply doesn't hold up. It's a beautiful screen but it's still far harder on the eyes than an e-ink screen.

Mafro wrote:I don't see why you'd go for an iPad Air over the normal iPad for what you'd be using it for.

Better processor (will get updates for longer) and a larger, higher resolution, "liquid" retina screen with speakers in stereo landscape positioning.

64gb option rather than 32gb entry level.

USB type C rather than having an annoying lightning connection.

Front facing camera in 1080p video instead of 720p.

Cuttooth wrote:If you already have a laptop you use a lot for the same sort of things then you might end up regretting it I guess. Generally if you buy it for internet browsing and watching YouTube you'll end up using as often as you browse the internet or watch YouTube. I've had an Air for nearly five years and haven't found it gathering dust in that time, but then my partner will also use it quite a lot to watch Netflix etc.

You can use WhatsApp Web via Safari, but obviously you would need your phone nearby.

Whilst I've got a good laptop, I find I rarely use it. I prefer to do casual Internet usage on my phone and it's much less comfortable using a laptop laying down in bed or the sofa compared to a phone or tablet.

I use a Macbook Pro for work and after a long day the last thing I want is to turn on another laptop too, phones and tablets feel more relaxing. If anything I'd expect my phone usage to go down and laptop usage to stay the same (mostly used for sailing the high seas and plugging into the TV to play video files that the Panasonic TV won't recognise).

Tafdolphin wrote:As someone who's used an iPad and dedicated eReader for reading books, the iPad simply doesn't hold up. It's a beautiful screen but it's still far harder on the eyes than an e-ink screen.

Even with inverted colors so you have black pages and white ink? I found my old Nexus 7 tablet was quite good for reading books on at night with this setting. My eyes would be ruined reading it the normal way though.

To my shame, I don't read books particularly frequently (most reading is news websites etc) so a dedicated eReader would probably be something that I'd be less likely to use than an iPad.

Yup, I was using inverted colours. Getting my Kobo really was a revelation and saved my eyes a lot of bother. But if it's a nice extra rather than a main feature for you then yeah, an iPad'll definitely suffice in a pinch.

Grumpy David wrote:Anyone own an iPad and find they use it much less now?

I have a iPad Pro and I use it everyday along with the Apple Pencil (I would really recommend getting it with the pencil because I couldn’t imagine using it without it) I still use my MacBook Pro everyday as well,

Is the pencil really worth it outside of drawing apps?

Cuttooth wrote:Is the pencil really worth it outside of drawing apps?

Outside of the usual stylus stuff, you can write directly into text fields now and the handwriting recognition is pretty cool.

I got an Ipad pro last year, as I wanted the 12.9" screen for displaying piano sheet music - I tried the others, 10.2", 11" etc but they weren't comfortable to use, there is a huge difference in the size of the display area.

I use it all the time with music apps, sound modules etc. in my studio, but outside of that I still use a desktop PC for email, web, general stuff.
If I'd got it just for farting about on I think I would have regretted it.

Mafro wrote:
Cuttooth wrote:Is the pencil really worth it outside of drawing apps?

Outside of the usual stylus stuff, you can write directly into text fields now and the handwriting recognition is pretty cool.

It even recognises my god awful handwriting too, well most of it.

I don't think I've turned my ipad on in months. My phone is easier for casual browsing, for anything work related a laptop is far better.

+1 Rocsteady.

Pretty much have no reason to use my tablet.

Why are Apple pencils so expensive BTW? Whats the technology inside them? Or is it just "lol apple"?

I use my iPad all the time. I’m using it right now to write this. I struggle to even watch tv without also using my iPad.

Cuttooth wrote:Is the pencil really worth it outside of drawing apps?

I use it for everything on the iPad, in fact I am using it now to type, I find it a better experience for general browsing and playing games (Township) I didn’t think I would use it before purchase but like I said before I couldn’t imagine not having it

You know what, reading reviews of the new iPad Air it seems to come very close to hitting the (probably soon to be outgoing) 11 inch iPad Pro for a cheaper price, definitely seems like the better buy at the moment if you’re wanting one of the higher spec’d iPads although again, starting it at 64GB storage is a bit rubbish these days for their intermediate and high spec lines (although the Pro does start at 128GB looking at it again), likewise the basic iPad should start with 64GB rather than 32GB as well in my opinion but I guess this is one way to save a bit of money for Apple.

Prototype wrote:Why are Apple pencils so expensive BTW? Whats the technology inside them? Or is it just "lol apple"?

Aside from being a really, really good stylus for pressure sensitivity and such, it charges wirelessly by just clipping on to the side of the iPad with magnets (the first version of the Pencil had a lightning connector underneath a removable cap at the tip) and has tap gestures to switch between writing mode and eraser, colour palette, brush selector etc.

Mafro wrote:
Prototype wrote:Why are Apple pencils so expensive BTW? Whats the technology inside them? Or is it just "lol apple"?

Aside from being a really, really good stylus for pressure sensitivity and such, it charges wirelessly by just clipping on to the side of the iPad with magnets (the first version of the Pencil had a lightning connector underneath a removable cap at the tip) and has tap gestures to switch between writing mode and eraser, colour palette, brush selector etc.

Sounds better than I gave it credit for. Pity it's not bundled in with the cost of the device. Saw the magic keyboard add on as well for £200+. Very aesthetically pleasing and i'm just bitter i cant justify blowing that amount of money on all 3 :lol:

Apple Thread II | AirPods Pros Announced

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