New Toy!

I've owned many Apple devices since I began writing on the original 128k Macintosh in 1984. The one that's least necessary is also the one I like the best: the iPad.

I bought my iPad Air, the original one, in 2013 (which does seem like a long time ago) because I thought they were cool and I was feeling flush back then. At first I couldn't figure out what to do with it and I barely even touched it for the first six months I had it. Within a few years it became my favorite Apple product and the one I'm closest to in everyday life. I watch movies and videos on it, read email on it, even answer the phone on it (although it's Wi-Fi only, it links to the iPhone when a call comes in). I take it to bed with me, where I read books on it before falling asleep. It's my alarm clock. When I get up in the morning I check the time on it and read the AA Daily Reflection. I read on it while I eat breakfast. In fact I do almost all of my newspaper and book reading on the iPad—it's been so long since I used my actual Kindle device that I don't even know where it is any more. (It took me a while to get accustomed to reading on the iPad screen, but I've adapted. Now if I have a paper book I really want to read, I'll buy the Kindle version too so I can actually read it. On the iPad, every book is a large print book.) If I'm eating alone at a restaurant and only have my phone, the book I'm reading is also on that, and the devices keep track of where I am in the book.

And by the way, it's the best way to look at portfolios. You can pass it around like an album and let people swipe from one picture to the next at their own pace. Pictures are an ideal size for reading distances, and have all the resolution the screen size calls for.

To this day there's nothing at all wrong with my old iPad and I'm not dissatisfied with it at all. It works perfectly well and it's all I need. Unfortunately, however, it's a 16GB model and that's its downfall...I've been getting "storage full" warnings for a long time and I have nothing left to throw away to make room. I don't think I've done an IOS update in quite a while, because I don't have room. A few days ago I found myself deleting apps I would really rather keep, and thought, okay, enough.

The one thing I hope the new toy does better is pick up the Wi-Fi signal in the back room...the old one doesn't do that very well, even with my fancy alleged range extender.

At least I've gotten my money's worth out of the 2013 iPad. I've paid about a hundred dollars a year for it. A bargain, considering how much I use it. And how much I like it.

Gift cards seem like free cash
Every year B&H Photo gives me a gift certificate to thank me for being an affiliate, and I had several of those piled up. So I used them, plus some cash, to buy a new (early 2019) iPad Air. I splurged (gift cards seems like free cash) and bought the one with 256GB of storage for about $160 more.

Do I really need 16X more storage? Well, I don't know, but over the years I've owned a great many Apple products, and the thing that often seems to push me to upgrade or update is a shortage of storage space. I suppose sooner or later I would have upgraded all those old things anyway, but I think I would have saved money over the years and kept most of my devices for longer if I'd had the foresight to max out on storage as a matter of course. I know I'd keep my current iPad with no complaint if it weren't for the storage problem. Probably a fool's economy to scrimp on storage.

But then I might not even need an iPad at all. I could probably get along fine with just my iPhone 7 Plus and my Mac Mini. The iPad is arguably the device I need the least. And yet, as I said, it's the one I like the most.

And now Xander gets the old one for free! I'm looking forward to when the new toy gets here, but there should be more life left in the old toy yet.

Mike

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Comments

[James]

"The iPad is arguably the device I need the least."

Ahh, but the joy, the joy. Its like getting a new long coveted lens for a much loved camera.

[Stan B.]

I have an iPad Mini, my only Apple (remember when that was a... record company) product. I too love it, but unlike you, only use it when I travel (I refuse to own a smart phone). It's sleek, beautiful and makes me feel like I'm living in the future...

[Dave Levingston]

I don't know. I just don't understand why the iPad costs so much. I love my Kindle Fire and use it pretty much like you use your iPad. It synchs books with my iPhone. A new one (I've had mine for years) costs $50 (less on sale) and takes a removable memory card for extra storage space. The iPad may well be better, but I have a hard time believing it's that much better.

[Jeff Puritz]

Mike, you must have had the patience of a saint. I remember the old 128Ks and still have nightmares featuring the sounds of those incredibly slow floppy drives. Nanah nanah nanah ... it seemed to go on forever and practically after every key stroke.
SSD's are truly a gift from the gods.

[John Krumm]

Regarding your wifi, I upgraded to a Google mesh wifi system and am very happy with it. No more drop-outs. I bet two of the little hockey pucks would be all you need.

[Chad Thompson]

For me when faced with a similar situation I opted for moving files to a Sandisk iXpand drive. It allowed me to shuttle the not-so-necessary files to a place where hard drive space was cheaper. That combined with cloud storage that I already pay for I've been able to extend the life of the iPad by several years.

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-128GB-iXpand-Flash-iPhone/dp/B07VNGVKGF

[Michael Perini]

Your New one will feel snappier too. My family lives on them .
I'm the only one who tends not to use it. I have an iPad Pro, and the only thing I use it for is the Portfolio app. As you say, a really fine way to view pictures, a beautiful screen and the right size.
But I hate holding it & typing on it, it seems as slippery as a wet fish.
But since I have a laptop, I enjoy an even larger retina display that stays on my lap at the right angle, and a real keyboard. It makes more sense to me. Now I know I'm in the minority here (even in my own family), but I also don't like using the IOS which is great for a phone, but when I'm browsing or reading, I often save things or quotes or other information to different folders in Documents, and that was impossible on the iPad for a long time. I think it's possible now but I've never learned because I don't like holding it.
I have arthritis in my hands that make it just uncomfortable enough to hold for long periods. It really is the bomb for portfolios.

[Earl Dunbar]

About 2 years ago I bought an iPad Pro 10.7" and I maxed out the memory at 512GB. I then sold my 2011 MacBook Air for a respectable $375. I bought a keyboard case and I have never looked back. I also have WiFi only, but since I always carry my iPhone, I use its hotspot mode and then I'm online with the iPad.

The fact that iOS (and now iPadOS has a real file system means that pretty much everything I need is available on all my Apple devices, and I don't have to futz around with 3rd party apps or fixes to synchronization issues.

[Richard Parkin]

All of what you wrote! I bought an iPad2 whenever they came out and still have it but the Home button is flaky so one has to substitute the touch controls, so it only gets used as a clock to show ‘Australian’ time since that is where most of my close family are.
However I’ve since bought about 5 used ones, usually about £80, and given them to computer-challenged friends and family and they’ve all taken to them. Currently I have an iPad Pro 10.5 bought used but replaced with new under the guarantee that came with it, and an iPad Air 3 that I bought when the Pro broke and I did not expect it to be repaired. The Air3 also died and was replaced by Amazon. It’s odd that the two most expensive ones died and yet the cheap used ones kept going but that tends to prove that devices break soon or work for ever.
Regarding your storage, it was likely cheaper to buy Cloud storage from Apple which is about $3 monthly I think.
On a different note, my hearing is variable and bad despite hearing aids and I find the iPads are the only device I can hear voice on for TV etc. Don’t know why that is except all other devices boast about their bass reproduction so I suspect it’s related to the tiny size of the iPad speakers.

[Bruce McL]

At some point you might want to pick up an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon for your new iPad.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=logitech%20crayon

On a related subject, I just rediscovered a black and white photo app for iPhone that I really like. It's called Camera1.
https://camera1.app/

[Max Cottrell]

Mike, You are exposing yourself to a lot of electromagnetic fields, including when you are asleep and most vulnerable. The fields pass right through the body, including the brain and affect the cells which are exquisitely electro-sensitive. See the book: The Non-Tinfoil Guide To EMFs, by N. Pineault. My own health has been severely and permanently compromised by strong emfs in my apartment -- from wifi, smart meters, and dirty electricity.

[P@L]

I think of this as a bad idea to pass your no longer needed outdated "stuff' to next in line. If you extend gifts at least make them count ... this is your legacy of sorts left behind when You are no longer. Not sure if you want to build it on passing down outdated electronic gadgets even when you grew attached to some of them. Your son is a working adult and if he needs someting ... he can buy it himself ... Hopefully!.

[Tom Burke]

Good choice - the Air is the mid-range model so probably has the best combination of features, technology and price. I was watching Steve Jobs' introduction speech for the iPad just a couple of weeks' ago - it's just over 10 years since he did that - and the points he made then are still valid today. There is room between ultra-mobile devices - smartphones - and compute-intensive devices - er, computers - for a product in the middle which does some tasks excellently, and these tasks are all to do with the consumption of material; images, sound, web browsing, books, and so on. The iPad was Apple's solution to that barely-perceived niche, and it's still as excellent today as it was in 2010. It starts to fall apart as a solution when we try to make it do too much: it's not a handy camera, either video or stills, and it's not good enough to do serious compute-intensive tasks, e.g. video editing, and attempts to make it do so (e.g. with the 13" iPad Pro) reveal its limitations. Just stick to that middle ground, e.g. your 'Image Portfolio viewer' request (another post) is a classic case where the iPad is the best solution.

[andy]

In reply to Richard - have you considered installing a hearing loop system into the room where you watch tv? i bought this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JPBWTV8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for my dad this Christmas and it's been transformational. He can now hear clearly (you can adjust it to boost high or low frequencies) and they no longer have to have the tv volume at such high levels that are likely to damage my mum's hearing!

Andy

[Jim Richardson]

Agreed on the seductive qualities of this device in my life. I, too, read on the iPad. Essential to read books on Kindle so that I can highlight and then collect and export them for research use. Also makes tweeting from book quotes relatively easy.
Essential tool for me is Pocket to collect items to read later. (InstaPaper would work, too.) Then if I need to file them I can transfer them on to Evernote.
You can’t work in Instagram on a laptop so the iPad gets a lot of use there. Particularly because building stories in Unfold, Storyluxe, Spark Post, and Mojo is such a pleasure on the iPad.
So much internet content today is built around the pad experience that it looks and feels clunky on a laptop.
My next step will be a new iPad Pro maxed out to 1TB of memory so I can use it for photo work on the road. May just leave the laptop at home soon. (Yes, always buy more storage. Always.)

[Barry Braunstein]

After being a android fan for years and having our newspaper delivered at ever rising costs, I decided to go digital on the newspaper and use the savings to purchase an Air, and haven’t looked back. And with Apple news + I can get a lot of extra content for cheap$$$. Content sold me but am now a fan of the platform. And photos look great on it as well

[Michel]

when I got the very first iPad, just after it was released, my brother in law exclaimed it was like I had been to the future.

A couple of years ago I replaced an aging iPad 3 with a MacBook Air and I regret it. I look forward to reading about your experience with the new iPad.

[Dave Van de Mark]

If someone broke into the house and stole my 13" MacBook Pro's, and were caught, all I'd want would be to get them back plus a good judicial spanking to the perpetrators. If they stole my iPad the minimum verdict would have to be life without parole :-)

[robert quiet photographer]

For Valentine I bought my wife the new iPad because her previous iPad, 7 years old suddendly died. After recovering from the backup I started to play with it and I found it to be a very powerful tool. For photography I like to sit at my desk in front of my Eizo monitor connected to the mac specially when I have to edit, work on pictures.
But as you say the viewing experience on the new iPad is really good... i honly hope my wife will let me to use it more and more :-)

[Scott]

All of my laptops in recent years have had 360-degree hinges and touchscreens, so never any need for a tablet. My current one, a Pixelbook, is superb at being both a laptop and a tablet — and everything in between ("stand mode" is my favorite in-between mode; "tent mode" is the other such choice).

[Paul Farr]

I so wish you hadn't written the following :

"At least I've gotten my money's worth out of the 2013 iPad. I've paid about a hundred dollars a year for it. A bargain, considering how much I use it. And how much I like it."

I've had my tablet for about the same length of time and it has been doing me fine in much the same way as your iPad. It's especially brilliant for the morning Guardian crossword with two cups of coffee.

But now I'm thinking, "Yeah, that's been good value - I deserve a treat! And I bet I'd be better at the crossword with a new one too".

I don't need a new tablet, but you've made me want one.

[Tim Smith]

I sprang for the keyboard cover on my iPad Pro and it makes all the difference. My wife got my old iPad without the keyboard cover and when I see her trying to type on it, I remember how annoying that was. Very worthy upgrade.

[Oskar Ojala]

I like the iPad for media: movies, photos, books. Its format is convenient and just running an app that takes full attention is a handy way to approach consumption of media. I wish I could do more with an iPad since it's so portable, perhaps the new iPad OS will offer better chances to do that.

What I dislike is that I have a hard time getting their full potential used after they get old. We have a 2012 and a 2013 model at home and they mostly work as video screens. The iOS updates ended long ago, the last versions run slow on the iPads, too slow to make Web browsing anything but an annoying flashback to days of modems and too old to run any newer apps. I'd like to recycle a bit, but no. Good that you get mileage out of your though.

And for the memory, I think 256 GB is just about right for someone who uses the iPad constantly.

[Mark]

As a retired from NYS Supreme Court court reporter and now doing the same on a freelance basis, I use iPads to provide attorneys at depositions and arbitrations with real-time transcription. As a result, I own about 10, some older vintage. The new ones are lighter, have better screens, are faster, better battery life, and many other welcome features. At first I thought I’d miss the home button. I quickly came to abhor it on the older ones.

I have an 86” tv on the wall in our family room. Unless we are watching a movie on it, while my wife watches hockey, I watch videos on my iPad instead. It’s my right hand.

[xf mj]

My iPad Mini with a Brydge bluetooth keyboard gets a lot of attention when I travel. "Is that a tiny laptop??" I take it everywhere, including photo travels and any travel when I have to get a few things done. Not to mention movies, reading, catching up on news, and so on. jkuyl, Erps. Just dripped some pizza sauce on the keyboard there.

[Richard Parkin]

Thank you Andy @ 05:00 am for the recommendation. It looks like it might work with my hearing aids, I’ll look into it!

@Mike, it’s OK if you disallow this as I realise it’s near breaking your rules ;).

[Steven Ralser]

My first Mac was the same vintage as yours, but I got the Fat Mac - all of 512K of memory. I wrote my PhD thesis on it, including digitizing images by copying them on overhead projector film, cutting them up and sticking them on the tiny monitor.
Last summer I got an iPad pro - it's a great toy. Do I really need it - NO, but its what I use most of the time (I also have a 27" iMac for photo work), and a MacBook Pro (which I use for teaching and general stuff). I Apple device I have now, which I definitely don't need, but really enjoy is an Apple Watch (I got the last v4 from the local Costco). I could have kept my old watch, but I find the Apple Watch surprisingly useful (e.g. I don't have to find my phone for texts or phone calls). It also is giving me an incentive to exercise - I must close those pesky rings (at least most days).