I’ve not been a fan of screen protectors but after seeing a few people with matte finishes on their iPads I wanted to jump in with my 11”.

I picked up the iVisor and I have to say after a week in I’m impressed.

As you can see it’s a matte finish and installed bubble free as promised. You can take kit off to wash under the tap but I’m not ready to try that out yet.

The quality looks high and once I started to use it I can see why it’s more expensive.

With us being in summer now and even though we aren’t out and about I’m using it outside in the garden and the finish helps to keep off reflections. It does have an impact on clarity but not too bad to want to take it off. I now personally prefer a matte finish on my iPad screen.

Using the pencil also feels better to me than using the naked screen. There is a little more friction and the texture feels good, not like paper but again better than the glass.

I didn’t have a concern about scratches but that’s obviously a nice side effect of switching to a protector.

At over £20 for one it is on the pricier side but I recommend spending a little more to get the Moshi.

I like to quickly write down my thoughts as I use a product rather than write up a big review so here are my first impressions of the Apple Magic Keyboard for the 11” iPad Pro. I’ve had the 2020 iPad for a couple of weeks and enjoying it but it didn’t feel complete as I was waiting for the keyboard to arrive and today it did.

Even on the smaller iPad Pro it’s got some weight to it but for me at least it’s fine to carry around with the iPad like I did my Smart Keyboard cover on my 10.5” iPad Pro.

Before even plugging it in the build quality feels amazing (as you’d expect for almost £300). The keys are good, more travel than my 12” MacBook so I’ll need to adjust but enjoying the typing experience. The hinge to hold up the iPad is stiff and that’s a good thing, the trackpad is also a little stiff to click - but it’s only day 1.

Here’s a summary of things I’ve spotted from my first hour with this new setup

• It really highlights the apps that embrace the setup, if your app doesn't have secondary click support I cant use it - I'm currently working out which of the apps I use are good or bad in this respect (would you be interested in a post about this?)
• My writing style means my hands are quite high so my nails are hitting the bottom of the docked iPad, I just need to adjust to this - no big problem
• I like the flexibility of using whichever method I feel like - keyboard, trackpad, undocked or pencil, it's one of the main reasons I love the iPad so much
• The trackpad is actually bigger than I was expecting on this smaller iPad and I'm enjoying using it
• The keys feel cramped to begin with but I'm getting used to it
• I miss the function row that I had with my MacBook
• It feels a little top heavy on the lap but totally doable for me I don't think it needs to be a desk only accessory on the 11"
• I wish the hinge had some more angle to it but understand why not - it would topple over...

Using this setup really makes me appreciate my choice to stick with the iPad and means that I have so much flexibility. I’m looking forward to seeing what iPadOS 14 brings up in terms of iPad support even more now.

It’s that time of year when those early adopters amongst us trash our data and devices with beta software for a few months. Every year I tell myself I’m not doing it and always end up enrolling in the developer program again. I’m preparing for this year I’ve gone all in and installed iOS, iPadOS and macOS betas across all of my devices.

I’m embracing it this year and planning to write up more of my thoughts on the new software versions and its impact on my workflows.

Almost all of my apps use data in the cloud so I never even back my devices up. This makes restoring non stressful knowing all my data is either in iCloud or a third party. If you’re new to the beta train then make sure you have an iCloud backup before doing anything! And if you can also do it make sure you’re photos are exported out somewhere separately.

First off here’s my setup so you know what I’m relating this post to

• 2020 11" iPad Pro
• Bluetooth vertical mouse (with scroll wheel, left and right mouse buttons)
• Apple keyboard (taken from an iMac)

Since getting my new iPad with USB-C I’ve been plugged into a USB hub with attached mouse and keyboard way more than I did when I had a lightning equipped iPad and finding new ways to work with it everyday. These might seem like a small list (I’ll be adding as I discover more) and if you’re used to using it this way may seem basic but I’m hoping others like me using it properly for the first time will find it useful.

MOUSE

• Left click the little white bar at the bottom of the screen to go HOME
• Make use of the right click in apps as you would the right click to access options on an element on the MAC, you'l be surprised at the number of apps that have this feature enabled
• Don't forget to use the scroll wheel in Safari and apps, it even works in the iPadOS settings app

KEYBOARD

• CMD+H to go home
• If you're using a MAC keyboard then the function keys work (brightness and media controls)
• Hold down the CMD key within apps to get shortcut help
• CMD+TAB to bring up multitasker (then use CMD+Q to quit any apps you want to close)

If you have more please let me know and I’ll test and add them to this page.

We are less than a week away from WWDC’20 and after moving back to the iPad full time I thought I’d have a think about what I’d like to see in the next version of iPadOS.

Keyboard enhancements

Multi-user support

Better external monitor support

Podcasting improvements

Improved Files app

A change of home screen

Apple competing with their own apps

So here are some of my hopes, what are some of yours?

I always like to restore my new iOS devices to a fresh iOS install when I get one from the factory, but like the iPhone X it’s not obvious how to do this on the 2020 iPad Pro.

You’ll need your Mac to connect your iPad to.

1. Power down your iPad by holding down the power button and volume up button at the same time then swipe to power down
2. Once powered down hold down the power button and volume up at the same time and plug in the USB-C cable
3. Keep holding until you see the restore image on your iPad

The Mac will then ask you to click restore and it’ll go ahead and download the latest iOS version and restore the iPad as new.

If you’ve been following along you’ll know I destroyed my beloved 10.5” iPad Pro a couple of months ago. Since then I’ve been using a combination of a MacBook, iPhone and iPad Mini. This worked well but I’ve been missing the larger iPad screen. When our family iPad mini 2 stopped being able to run the apps we needed the mini 5 got reset and put into it’s place (Apple, please can we have multiuser support in IPadOS).

I decided to finally put in an order for a new iPad. I decided to go for the 2020 iPad Pro 11” in silver 256GB. I contemplated the 12.9” but in the end the added cost and size put me off. I use my iPad mostly in tablet mode and for me portability is the number 1 priority.

On first opening I was shocked at how big it felt and to be honest still does. A couple of months with the iPad Mini and I really came to love the form factor. This actually feels like a 12.9” to me right now, I’m loving it.

I also picked up the 2nd generation Apple Pencil and a smart folio.

I’ve switched a lot of my personal journaling and productivity over to the iPad from my iPhone and finding I’m using the Apple Pencil a load more. I’ve found that with it attached to the side it’s always there and charged. I’m making more notes (especially in work) than I did before and I can’t believe how much better Pencil 2 is. The decrease in weight, matte finish and shorter stem means it feels a lot more like a errrr Pencil.

Battery life is a lot better than my years old iPad Pro 10.5” was so added bonus.

Performance is great as you’d expect. I haven’t got a 2018 to compare with but it feels slicker than my 10.5” but to be honest in my day to day use I’m not seeing much. I don’t game on it or do video editing but will soon be recording music so I’ll see how it handles and report back.

The only real downside so far is losing my home button and TouchID. I’m finding that unlocking my iPad with FaceID is slower and I’m constantly blocking the camera. This is teething problems for me rather than the iPad but wasn’t something I thought I’d have issues with.

I’m only a few days in but really liking the new form factor and Pencil. I’ve also ordered a Magic Keyboard so I’ll report back with how I’m doing.

As you most probably know I’m bigger iPad’less at the moment and have fallen back to macOS for a lot of my production stuff. My current setup hardware wise is as follows:

• 2016 MacBook 12”
• iPad Mini 5
• iPhone 11 Pro

What I’ve realised is that with the current creative projects I have going on these devices are working a lot better than I expected and I’m less and less interested in spending the money to get a 2018/20 iPad Pro.

Here’s how I’m currently working.

Writing

This is something that is probably 50/50 between an iOS device and macOS device. This post I’ve written up using TOT (review coming soon…) i.e. I want to write something up a bit longer form so I went for my device with a keyboard attached. The posts that come from my iOS devices are shorter where I want to quickly get something off my chest or share some cool links.

Podcasting

I have to be honest and have completely given up trying to podcast from an iOS device. I can’t afford the additional hardware I need when I have a Mac in front of me that is better (for me) at this task. Even when I recorded the audio into my iPad or imported audio files then I still struggle to edit on the iPad Mini. I tried Ferrite but I just couldn’t make it work for me. I find that Garageband on the Mac just works better for me in terms of efficiencies as I literally edited one podcast in an hour compared to half a day on the iPad and I still wasn’t happy with the result. My other issue with using an iPad for podcasting is that my podcast requires guests, this is a nightmare on iOS and I find an already out of my comfort zone activity is made more stressful when using something I’m not completely happy with.

Photo Editing

I take a lot of images on my iPhone and DSLR and have found that my iPad Mini or iPhone is where the editing happens. My MacBook just isn’t up to running the Photos app well, I have 8GB ram and it can’t keep up with my 40,000+ photo library. I end up just flying through them on iOS.

Consumption

iOS is the hands down winner here, whilst I have watched Disney+ and YouTube on the Mac I much prefer the lay back form factor of the iPad here although I am missing a larger screen for video. I tend to listen to music evenly across the platforms with my Mac connected to the office HomePod in the day and then my iOS devices in the evening.

Guitar

I’ve recorded using an iPad and MacBook and there isn’t a lot between them but I prefer macOS simply for the reason that I prefer to use Logic Pro to edit. That way I’m not transferring any files around. I plug in my MIC, record and edit all in the same app.

Comfort

I quite like the keyboard on the MacBook now I’ve adjusted to it and for writing longer posts it’s the best experience for me in the current setup. I like also being within a fingers reach away from the trackpad, which helps my RSI. Having the iPad is a big win for my RSI also as I can simply take it with me and lie on the sofa or even pop outside in the garden and still get stuff done. If the monitor support was better on iPad I’d say it’s a winner overall but I can’t get over the black bars on the iPad when plugged into an external display.

Summary

So my overall setup here is something I’m really happy with right now. I have three devices that adjust to me, I prefer smaller devices and when I want the bigger display I plug my MacBook into a dock attached to a 32” widescreen monitor. The only thing I miss is a larger iPad display for watching video. I’m tempted to actually have a go at repairing my 10.5” iPad Pro somehow and have that as my larger iPad rather than spend £1000+ on a new setup that won’t fulfil all of my needs.

Now I’m using the mini pretty much full time to complete the look for the journal I picked up a Smart Cover.

I really like the colour and these covers although expensive are great. I like the feel of the soft material on the inside when it’s folded back and you’re using it in book reading mode.

I’ve really gotten into the iPad Mini recently and it’s become my go to daily iPad. One area that I’m only just experimenting with this but I’m seeing if it can replace my paper journal.

I started journaling again a month or so again and when running out of paper on my last one I thought why don’t I give the iPad Mini a go.

The notebook I was replacing was the same size as the iPad Mini but the space to write was smaller due to the bezels so I opted for apps rather than use the pencil.

My home screen isn’t much changed with this aside from a new Journal folder on my dock.

(See Matt’s amazing wallpapers here).

Apps

Tally

This app allows me to track times I’m doing something I want to stop or making sure I’m sticking to good habits. These are things like making sure I eat 3 bits of fruit a day or go out for 1 walk. It’s also stopping me from bad habits like tracking the number of times I’m picking my nails or fingers (mainly when I’m anxious!).

Worry Tree

This app is a new discovery and helps me deal with anxiety by using CBT methods. It’s something that has helped me review any worries I might have or deal with uncertainty.

Day One

Everyone’s favourite journaling app and aside from still saving off memories I use templates to log how I’m doing at the beginning and end of the day. I ask a series of questions like “Write down 3 positive things that happened today”.

Mood Notes

This is an app to track mood and commentary anytime you want to reflect on how you’re feeling.

This is going to be an interesting experiment I think so I’ll report back.

I’ve been using my iPad Mini 2 (from 2013) again as my daily iPad and wanted to share some more experiences of using it. In terms of what I’m doing I’m still finding lag but it’s not really bothering me too much now.

For me an iPad replaces a Mac so I’m using it for photos, messages, reading books, watching video, music and browsing. It’s handling all of those ok even on iOS 12 in day to day use. I’m using the on screen keyboard to write posts and any input. I’m using my wired headphone or streaming to the HomePod for music.

I’m missing iOS functionality that you get with iOS 13 like dark mode and mouse support. I also can’t use some of the Apple apps including Reminders so I’m back on a third party to do app again. I also miss the Apple Pencil so moved back to good old pen and paper, oh and TouchID.

My iPhone does a lot for me but my eyes are feeling strained not having a larger iPad so moving up even if only a little is helping me ergonomically. I can switch positions ok and that helps to keep me in check.

So for a 7 year old piece of hardware it’s still pretty amazing to me I can still get away with using it as my main device.

I’ve been using the MacBook as a replacement for my iPad now for two weeks and wanted to share my updated view on how it’s gone in that time, adjusting back to a laptop and macOS.

As far as the hardware goes I’ve been impressed with the 12” MacBook, even the keyboard has grown on me (no sticky keys yet). I’ve not babied it and used it inside and out in the garden and I’ve pushed the 8GB Ram and to be fair it’s held up well.  The only area that frustrates me is using Photos, it runs like a snail compared to how it runs on iOS, maybe I should have gone with 16GB Ram but for 80% of what I’m doing (including podcast editing) this base spec machine has been fine and worked well. I’ve appreciated the USB-C and now when I’m at the desk I go into a Dell hub connecting my MacBook to a keyboard, mouse and 34” monitor. All works really well and has been great to use when podcasting in particular where I can have a lot of windows open at the same time, something I can’t do on iOS.

Where I’m starting to struggle a little is with some RSI and shoulder strain from using a laptop for my day job and now in my spare time. I didn’t realise how much the iPad had helped my RSI over time. I can use it in many different ways and am able to change my position to make using it more comfortable and this is why the MacBook falls down for me as an iPad replacement. I don’t have any particular issues with macOS and in some of the ways I work (especially file management) the Mac beats the iPad but I’m just not using it as much and therefore creating, something my Apple devices have always enabled me to do.

I miss the flexibility of the hardware, the pencil and the apps on iOS, using the Mac feels like work to me and I’m just not wanting to sit down and use it to do something creative - it just isn’t as much fun as using my iPad.

I’m going to have to count my pennies and I think I’ve finally decided on my setup. An 11” 2020 iPad Pro (1TB), Apple Pencil 2 and the new magic keyboard. My reasoning for not going 12.9” is I had a 1st gen pro and ultimately sold it on as I use it in tablet mode most of the time and found it to be uncomfortable for me on the sofa etc… I also have this bigger setup that I can dock it with and use a bigger screen as and when I want to. As I said I still have to count my pennies so don’t be surprised if I end up with a 2018 12.9” if I end up being able to get a good deal used but my intention is to go 11.

It’s been a good experiment to go back to macOS but I’m ready to go back home to iOS.

I trashed my beloved iPad Pro 10.5” and my iPad mini 2 is proving frustrating trying to do production work so I’ve switched back to the 12” MacBook that’s been sat unloved mostly for the last few years. It’s a base model and comes with that original (badly thought of) keyboard. Here’s my experience of switching from iOS full time back to the macOS.

Specs:

• Early 2016 MacBook 12”
• 1.1 GHz Dual Core M3
• 8GB Ram
• 250GB SSD

I picked up this MacBook refurbished from Apple back in early 2017 and although it’s only just over 3 years this processor is showing it’s age worse than my 3 year old iPad Pro was, it’s mostly ok for what I do though to be honest. The storage space is a step up from the base model and as I don’t store pictures or music on it I’m finding space to not be a problem at all. I’m out of Apple Care+ now but in the time I’ve had it I haven’t had any problems, not even with the keyboard. I guess now is the time to test that theory as I’ll be using as my daily machine for now.

My workflows:

• Recording my podcast and editing in GarageBand
• Editing images using Photos
• Writing on the blog
• Browsing the internet
• Listening to music with the Music app
• Apple Notes, Calendar and Reminders

Performance is varied, very much depends on the activity that I’m doing. For recording my podcast (even when I tested with Logic Pro) and editing the performance holds up for me. Editing images in Photos isn’t amazing, if you go full screen with thumbnails scrolling isn’t too smooth and there is lag on opening up the image to edit. Anything browser based is fine as you’d expect and also Notes etc. all run fine too. Overall for my use it’s ‘fine’ as I’d expect from a few year old machine, macOS holds up well and it’s only really the Photos app that I can’t believe is so slow compared to what I can do on an iPad.

Getting back using macOS has both it’s positives and negatives as I’m learning each day I get back used to using it.

Pros:

• File management beats Files on iOS hands down, here’s an example. I recorded a voice memo on the iPhone and moved it onto the files app on iOS. I found that managing this file was a lot slower. I couldn’t rename the file and move it into the Music App. I ended up going to iCloud on my Mac, pulling them onto the desktop, renaming and then importing into Music all on my Mac. I could then see it show up on my Music app on the iPhone
• A trackpad built in, yes I know it’s a silly one given iPad cursor support but having a trackpad under my keyboard is great
• Screen adjustment, I forgot how nice it is to be able to adjust the angle rather than the Smart Keyboard being fixed
• Pro apps, I know it keeps coming up but where are the pro apps on iOS? Even an app like GarageBand is better on macOS, it’s not like for like between the platforms. There’s no doubting the hardware and iOS as a professional platform but I’d like to see Logic Pro moving over to iOS with as close functionality to the Mac as possible
• USB-C, it’s nice to be able to share a power cable between my laptop, Nintendo Switch and work phone

Cons:

• Less flexible than an iPad in terms of helping with posture and RSI. I like the flexibility of my iPad in that I can use it as a tablet or laptop style with a keyboard. I do miss the touchscreen a lot when trying to sit and relax so tending to use my iPhone when I’m not in my office
• I miss the Apple Pencil…
• I’m not a huge fan of the keyboard on the MacBook (it’s very flat) and I prefer the Smart Keyboard cover
• I miss the speed of iOS, I mean (for me) I get work done quicker on an iPad and used to flying around apps and functionality of the apps
• I don’t get my iOS apps I’m used to so falling back on Apple apps, which most are fine but I still find them a little limiting in places e.g. Reminders tagging but both Calendar and Notes work great on both platforms
• Battery life isn’t as good as my iPad was although I’m still testing this one. As I mentioned above though as I mostly have my Switch plugged in (thanks, Animal Crossing) I can easily reach over and plug my MacBook in
• Missing TouchID

This isn’t meant to be an iOS vs macOS post but just my experience on coming back to the Mac after being on iOS for so long. I think I’ll be ok for now and want to give it a go.

My iPad Pro is out of action so I switched back to a 2013 iPad Mini that we have in the household. Using it for a bit now I feel I can share my thoughts on what it’s like to use one day to day in 2020.

Hardware

First off I’m very impressed with how the hardware has held up. Once I took off all of the stickers it’s still looking brand new on the back. The bezels have a few chips but nothing that bothers me. The screen is in good shape apart from a few hairline scratches and nothing visible when the screen is on. All of the buttons work absolutely fine.

iOS

This iPad is stuck on iOS 12 and coming from iPadOS 13 I miss dark mode and some apps don’t work. Luckily for me it’s just my RSS reader that’s been switched out, all of the other apps I use daily work.

Listening to music and watching video via apps like Disney+ all work fine too.

I think I’ll be ok back on iOS 12 and utilising app by app dark mode. The only slight concern is security but iOS 12 is still getting security updates so I think it’ll be ok temporarily. No trackpad support though, which is a big downside.

Performance

It’s pretty sluggish but I’ve found a few settings that help with some of the daily use. Not much you can do about slow running apps, for instance Disney+ took about 2 minutes to load and get to the point that you can watch something.

Definitely leave all your apps running in the background for a quicker launch next time. I’d suggest turning off motion though to increase the overall feel of iOS.

Settings, general, accessibility, reduce motion then turn on.

Aside from this there isn’t a lot you can do to improve the performance. Remember this is a 7 year old processor now and yes it’s a little slow but pretty amazing I’m still using it for everything, including writing this post.

Security

Here’s the major downside of using an iPad Mini 2, no TouchID. To unlock its back to a passcode.

Should you buy one?

Nope, it’s way too slow in my opinion when you can spend a bit more on a used iPad Mini 5 that also has pencil support. If like me you have one lying around and your usual iPad is out of action then it’ll do as a short term replacement but not a viable replacement. There’s no trackpad support and iOS updates are going to stop most probably soon. Spend a little more to get a 9.7” or iPad Mini 5.

I’m not going into details on this one yet but I needed to remotely wipe my beloved iPad Pro 10.5” today. I couldn’t use any buttons, the screen or the power cable but needed to remove my account and erase.

If you are in the same position there is only one way to do this, note that your iPad needs to have some power left in it for this to work and still have a working and connected network connection.

• Head over to iCloud.com
• Log in and click on Find iPhone
• In the middle of the screen you should see a drop down for DEVICES
• Click on the device you want to erase
• Click on ERASE IPAD
• You’ll be asked for log in details etc and have the option to put a message on the screen
• I also removed from my account as I won’t be using it anymore :-(

Good luck and may the force be with you.

I’ve been looking at picking up a 2018 iPad Pro but after using iPadOS 13.4 for a few days I think I might keep my current one going. It’s still fast and the battery seems to have improved slightly.

Another reason is I’d completely missed this product from Logitech and it might do me just fine. Yes it’s not as elegant as Apple’s version but at more than half the cost I think I’m going to give it a go. There’s a few reasons at the moment I don’t want to make any big purchases right now and keeping my 10.5” going with one of these is going to be my way forward for now.

No idea if it’ll be out in May but I’m going to keep an eye out and I’ll report back in.

Like a lot of the world I’m looking for good iPad apps and any links that I can use to help my daughter with her learning, I thought I’d make a list of ones that I’ve found to be good that cover both academic and creativity

Coding

• Swift Playgrounds (best coding app I've found so far)

Creative

• Pages (create posters and practise images and layouts)
• Procreate (doodling)
• GarageBand (music)
• Minecraft
• Easy Music
• Hey Duggee colouring
• iMovie

Education

• Karate Cats (grammar/spellings)
• The Human Body
• Times Table Rockstars

I know it’s seems like an odd time to be talking tech but I think it’s good to have a distraction, that’s something I’m doing so ploughing on with writing and some creative projects. Anyway that’s not why I’m writing this post.

The surprise iPad Pro announcement this week was interesting and with it’s new trackpad keyboard cover it’s got me thinking about my setup.

My 10.5” iPad Pro is still great but the battery is on it’s last legs and you wouldn’t believe how much having a Bluetooth mouse plugged in drains the battery. I’ve gone three years and thinking it might be time.

The question is though should you get the new one or save some money with a refurbished model?

Looking at a refurbished 2018 model you’re saving about £150 and still getting

• That cool new design
• FaceID
• Small bezels
• Compatibility with the lighter Apple Pencil
• Compatibility with the new keyboard and trackpad cover

What are lose is

• Fastest processor
• Ultra wide camera
• New AR optimised camera
• A brand new battery (unless you get an Apple refurb)

For me those aren’t important, the processor isn’t that much faster than the 2018 in what I’ve read and AR is still early.

My biggest question now is should I get a 12.9” again?

I’d keep my 10.5” so I’d have something more portable but with it’s new trackpad I’m thinking bigger might be the way to go.

But saying that I need to sell my 10.5” and MacBook really to fund it.

I’ll wait a bit I think but looking forward to seeing that trackpad and keyboard combo.

Personally I’d look at picking up a used 2018 and using the money saved to get the keyboard and trackpad case from Apple.

As I type this in the Wordpress app I’m suddenly finding that I go to look for the menu bar, that’s right i forgot I was on my iPad for a second. I’ve got a really cheap HP mouse plugged in, one of the three button and scroll wheel ones. I’ve used it with Assistive Touch before but this new mouse support really does feel like a game changer for someone (like me) that lives on iOS.

There are pros and cons of using this type of mouse because the new cursor support really is intended for trackpads only. When you use a mouse you can no longer go home or swipe between pages of apps or home screens (this only works by also turning on assistive touch). It’s pretty limiting but I crammed all of my apps onto one page and can access apps from within apps but simply moving the cursor down to the bottom of the screen and bringing up the dock.

On using apps, being able to right click to access the context menu is amazing.

Another area that impressed me (whilst I was making my one page home screen) was the ability simply click and hold and drag an app to move it.

Something you’ll notice that the cursor changes depending on the context, so it’ll stick as a circle when scrolling for example but as soon as you hit a bit of text it changes to allow you to manipulate the text, genius.

I’ve probably had a couple of hours with it so far and completely sold, Apple software at it’s best.

Next up is to try and get my hands on a trackpad to see what it really can do!

Spotted this page on Apple talking about the new cursor support that has come in iOS 13.4.

You definitely need to pick up a trackpad.

I saw this on my phone the other day and realised the iPad Pro 10.5” still with it’s original Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil is one of the longest daily use devices I’ve owned. With that in mind I thought it would be a good time to do a bit of a write up on how it’s fairing over all of this time.

The hardware has held up really well. I don’t abuse my hardware but it doesn’t get the screen or back protected (aside from a few stickers stopping scratches). The sides have a few little dents and the screen has some scratching but doesn’t affect daily use.

Amazingly both the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard both work fine. The only thing I’ve noticed is I sometimes get an iOS accessory warning message but that’s literally every few weeks. I take the iPad off the keyboard and back on and it’s fine.

The 10.5” does have a white spot issue, mine got replaced early on with this defect but if you’re considering picking up a used 10.5” iPad Pro you’ll need to ask the seller if they have experienced this. Best way to check is to make sure it’s not in dark mode and go to settings app. Look at the screen to make sure you aren’t seeing any white spots.

Looking at the new model iPad having a slightly bigger bezel now seems a bit old but I like having a home button and TouchID. I’ve been pretty vocal about not liking FaceID over the years and even though it’s much improved on the iPhone 11 models I still like having the physical home button on my iPad.

The speakers are great having the older style 4 speaker layout, I sometimes don’t even stream to a speaker just listen on the iPad.

The screen quality is still amazing and the high refresh screen really does make a difference.

Overall I still couldn’t be happier with the 10.5” iPad Pro, in fact if the worst happened to it I’d probably just replace it with a used one to pop straight into my existing keyboard and pencil setup.

I’m having terrible battery performance on my iPad Pro, it’s a 2017 10.5” model that can’t get through half a day currently.

First step I tested was to turn off all background app refresh and notifications. This made very little difference so quickly discounted this as the cause.

Over the last week I’ve noticed WiFi performance to be extremely slow with constant buffering of video even when next to the router. This made me suspicious that something else might be going on.

Next step was to fully charge and leave unplugged overnight. This confirmed that nothing is draining it and it only dropped 1% overnight. In use though that day it was dropping about 10% every 20 minutes of light use, strange.

This on top of the slow WiFi has me a little concerned but the last resort before contacting Apple is going to be completely clearing it down and reinstalling.

I’m planning on doing this over the coming week so I’ll report back if this fixes it.

BTW if anyone at Apple see’s this - please add battery health to iPadOS.

Wow, I’m really jealous of the setup Habib has going on here. Looks so elegant and clean and has me thinking a lot of thoughts about how I’m setup at home. Working from home I have a big 32” Dell screen that I think I could connect my iPad to, all I’d need is a mouse and keyboard. But then getting a stand for my iPad Pro and doing it like Habib is tempting too, decisions decisions.

I’ve been using my 10.5” iPad Pro now for almost 3 years and along with it’s Smart Keyboard cover and original Apple Pencil it’s still one of my favourite Apple devices I own.

You can pick these up from around £290 on auction sites so it got me thinking about whether it’s still a good buy in 2020.

I use it every day and push it pretty hard both on the hardware durability and software front. Even though the processor is a few years old it still performs well and doesn’t hinder me in anything I do.

Here’s some of the tasks that I’m asking of it

• Email and web browsing
• Editing images from both my iPhone and DSLR
• Managing my productivity
• Note taking using Apple Pencil
• Editing the occasional video
• Recording music
• Consuming video
• Reading books
• Writing and posting to my blog

On the hardware front it’s held up pretty well. I have some scratches on the screen that I can’t see when the screen is on so doesn’t bother me. The sides have a few scratches but no dents and the back (although covered in stickers) looks good. All buttons work as good as the day I got the device, as does the home button. The keyboard is showing signs of wear and tear but works fine and aside from a few cat nibbles the pencil is looking good too.

It’s really a great all round device and paired with 256GB of storage, the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil I still believe that in 2020 this’ll do you just fine.

It’s better than the current iPad Air in my opinion with it’s high refresh screen and 4 speaker configuration so before buying have a look for a used bargain 10.5” out there.

There’s been a few articles over the last couple of weeks where the iPad has been picked apart.

The one to kick things off was Daring Fireball that mostly dug into how multitasking doesn’t work, which to be honest when it comes to this functionality I mostly agree with.

I like my iPad very much, and use it almost every day. But if I could go back to the pre-split-screen, pre-drag-and-drop interface I would. Which is to say, now that iPadOS has its own name, I wish I could install the iPhone’s one-app-on-screen-at-a-time, no-drag-and-drop iOS on my iPad Pro. I’d do it in a heartbeat and be much happier for it.

It’s strange I work in one app at a time 90% of the time and when I do accidentally invoke multitasking I remember it’s there then promptly forget about it again. I use my iPad almost all day and for the majority of my personal computing yet I don’t have the same frustration of having it there. It’s there for those that want to use it and doesn’t get in the way for those that don’t, like me.

I know a lot of relatives that use an iPad as their main device and I haven’t received any feedback of it getting in the way or them being stuck. They use it in the same way, load an app to use it then press the home button and load another app. To my knowledge none of them have ever used multitasking or really know it’s there. If you’re coming from an older iOS and used to the one app paradigm then they continue to use it in the same way.

On the multitasking itself when I do use it I do struggle a little to get the apps split quickly but I use it so rarely it’s not bothering me. I can see that making it easier would be a benefit but I have no idea how they would implement it, all I do know is not to turn it into a Mac.

Having two apps side by side is where I think I’d limit it. For me it’s gets confusing when you have three on screen and you have content hidden by the top window, it’s also tricky to get rid of.

App switching is fine as is and swiping up to expose all of the apps is also fine.

I might dig into other comments separately but in general I have to say that I’d like iPhone development to slow down and iPad development to speed up. iOS 14 should be stability and no new features on iPhone and a real effort put into pruning iPadOS. I’d also love to see more work put in by Apple to make professional apps such as Final Cut Pro on iPad and it’s own apps such as Reminders split out of the OS and put into the store as an app that can be worked on independently just like Microsoft or Google do. I’ve tried to use Reminders again and it’s pretty demoralising when you see bugs you’ve been reporting since last year and you know you’ll be lucky to see anything addressed in iPadOS 14.

Goes without saying that the hardware is great but Apple needs to up it’s software game, especially in it’s own apps.

The iPad in my opinion isn’t tragic or a failure, it just needs a bit more focus for the power users.

With the iPad turning 10 this year I’m seeing articles from people like me that celebrate it’s existence and from those that are clearly Mac first and bemoan the way it works based on their to be frank lack of day to day use of iPadOS. I know they have the ear of Apple and I hope that this time Apple aren’t listening.

For me I’ve always gravitated to technology that I enjoy using and works with my brain. I’m not Mac is bad and iPadOS is good, I just use what works best for me. I don’t care what your devices of choice are if they work for you that’s great. I’m also not wedded to Apple gear, if something better comes along I’ll give it a go.

I don’t write articles that bring negativity against something I don’t like, I just show my perspective.

You should use what you want to use and ignore those that tell you otherwise.

I still have mine, on an old iOS but like the original iPhone I keep it around to remember where it started and how far we have come.

The most striking thing about picking it up again is the weight and thickness of the device compared to the 10.5” iPad Pro that I use on a daily basis. The original iPad (WIFI) weighed 1.5lbs compared to the 1lb of my current iPad Pro.

I think the image above illustrates it well where you can see that the 10.5” fits underneath the bulge on the back of the original one. This would be even more extreme if I had the most recent pro, but even with the 10.5” it’s pretty awesome seeing how far Apple have come in 10 years with the hardware. Even with the Smart Cover attached it’s thinner than that original one.

Looking at the (dented) side on mine I still miss the mute switch but I do prefer the metal buttons on the iPad of today.

Looking at the bottom we have the older dock connector and a small speaker, I haven’t tested it but the stereo speakers in my 10.5” regularly get used as a speaker for the office and sound great.

The bezel also stands out, even with my home button enabled 10.5”. The home button on the original still works and feels nice when pressed, still has a nice click to it.

When it comes to storage mine is 16GB compared to the 256GB on my 10.5”, I thought it would have been 32GB but maybe I went for the cheaper version as I wasn’t sure how much work I would do on it (turned out quite a lot).

I’ve still got the Apple cover, which has leaked it’s dye straight onto the aluminium so the back of my iPad is kind of purple these days.

Something that you’ll notice with the above shot is the fact that it doesn’t have a camera, something that all iPad’s come with now but to honest I rarely use. I literally can’t remember the last time I used it.

Looking at the differences in screen is another major difference. I’ve tried to illustrate that with the images below best I can, you’ll also notice the bezel difference.

It’s been interesting to see how far we’ve come in 10 years with the iPad hardware, it still feels like the future and has become my platform of choice. I get so much flexibility from using one day to day, be it using the keyboard or pencil or just using it sat on the sofa. It’s given me so much opportunity to be more creative and I couldn’t imagine what I’d be using now if it never came along.

I have to be honest I haven’t used a mouse with my iPad much since it was introduced in iPadOS 13 but in the last few weeks I’ve found myself gravitating to using it again. This came from a need that I used to find myself using my MAC for - managing some of my personal productivity.

Changing to do apps seems like something I do to hurt myself but after being disappointed with TODOIST and OMNIFOCUS not syncing notifications or sometimes data between devices I moved over to REMINDERS. I’m glad to report that sync works flawlessly e.g. I created a load of new items on my iPhone that I wanted to get done today. When I picked up my iPad these items had already sync’d over and were in my widget on the home screen, this is the sort of feature that will keep me using an app.

Anyway, I’d brain dumped onto a notepad (yes using pen and everything!), which aside from having them somewhere not on iOS reminded me of some RSI issues I’m working with when it comes to writing with a pen these days, but I’m getting distracted. The next stage in my workflow was to take these handwritten notes and put them into the REMINDERS app.

In the past I’ve connected my mouse to my MACBOOK, sat down and put them in - somehow it felt more productive. Well this time I decided to keep my MACBOOK in the drawer it lives in and connected my mouse and entered it all on iPadOS and I have to say that it felt just as great and I got through them really quickly. The only downside I found was the date picker is a little fiddly with a pointer but I got used to it quickly and got them all in.

The mouse of choice for me is a cheap HP wired mouse that whilst isn’t ideal for my RSI as I usually use a vertical mouse, it was ok for these smaller stints. To connect the mouse to the iPad I used a lighting to USB/SD Card adapter I got off Amazon (a really cheap one, not even branded). I hate the wires so might have to look a vertical wireless mouse if I can but found that they don’t work when I’ve tried in the past. The USB wireless dongle that goes into the iPad adapter just doesn’t seem to sync across to the mouse itself. Please recommend me a wireless mouse that works with an iPad Pro 10.5”.

This is all to say that I forgot how great the mouse support is for me to get the job done and help me with some RSI issues when I want to swap my setup instead of lifting my arm to touch the screen (remember I’m docked with a Smart Keyboard most of the time).

10 years on and I’m still finding great ways to use my iPad.

I love sharing how I’m using my devices and here’s another monthly update on how my devices currently look. Up this time is my 10.5” iPad Pro.

I’m keeping it simple when it’s comes to productivity at the moment using Fantastical and Reminders. I’m going to give this a go for a bit to see if it sticks. All of my iCloud issues seem to have settled down with Reminders for now so I’ll give it another go.

Other than Streaks (to hopefully help a few habits stick) it’s a pretty standard setup with a mix of photo, video and social apps.

Feel free to drop me a note if you want to delve into any.

I am a little concerned with the battery and overall performance of my iPad Pro though. If I try apps that push it like GarageBand or iMovie I’m getting slow down and app crashing and hanging, very weird. The battery also looks to be suffering with it’s age. I’m 1000 days in with this one, not planning on getting a new one just yet in the hope new models come out this year.

I’ve been swapping between macOS and iPadOS almost daily for the last couple of months and it’s reaffirmed for me why I love using my iPad in my day to day.

The devices I was swapping between was my 2016 12” MacBook and my 2017 iPad Pro 10.5”. I used the iPad along with the pencil and Smart Keyboard cover most of the time also.

My tasks were as follows

• Photo management (Photos)
• Writing (Wordpress app or in safari on macOS)
• Productivity (OmniFocus and Notes)
• Listening to music (Apple Music)

Pretty basic day to day nothing too heavy in terms of pure processing power needed. For each of the tasks I used the same apps where I could across the two devices.

Using the MacBook

First off you’ll expect me to say that I hated the keyboard, well not entirely. I make a lot of mistakes typing on it but after a while I got used to the flatness of it and actually quite enjoyed using it but the mistakes kept coming and I got frustrated at times. Reliability has been fine and it’s four years old this year and not had any keys replaced or significant problems.

Now onto performance, this frustrated me. I have the base model and it’s slow, took me more time to do anything. Whether I was firing up Music, loading and editing images in Photos or just waiting for it to load emails - everything felt like I was waking through treacle compared to what I could get from my iPad. I honestly can’t recommend this model of MacBook to anyone, even if you are a light user, you’ll be left frustrated.

Comfort in using it was a also downside for me, using a trackpad and keyboard all of the time doesn’t suit my RSI issues I experience using equipment daily as I do. I’m not saying I wish it had a touch screen, I just think I’ve outgrown a traditional laptop at this point.

Where it definitely beats the iPad for me is in battery life. Now my iPad is newer than the MacBook but I bet I get half the battery life. The MacBook seems to last forever compared to the iPad which I have to charge a couple of times a day sometimes with heavy use.

iPad Pro

Whenever I came back to the iPad I was instantly reminded of the speed and portability. I work in different locations and with RSI issues I like to swap things around. The iPad gives me this flexibility. The Smart Keyboard is fine, not amazing but works. Being able to use a pencil on the screen for note taking is still something that I love doing and almost do it daily.

Having a machine that is always on and ready to go, that can fit nicely in my bag and be used wherever I am is why I love the iPad. Photo editing was a lot slicker than on my Mac and writing in a simpler environment meant I wrote more.

I do miss the keyboard/trackpad combination sometimes but I can live with plugging a mouse into my iPad when I want to work this way, most of the time I use it lounging back, feeling more relaxed and it puts me in a more creative mood.

Going forward

I’ll fire up my MacBook now and again but now I’ve done this experiment I reconfirm that the iPad is the platform of choice for me. I have the apps, portability, performance and overall user experience that feels like the future to me and I’m still in awe of what it can do sometimes when I sit back and think about the fact I’m writing this post up on a machine that is as thin as my paper notebook and allows me to tap directly on glass.

I also realised that the 10.5” iPad Pro is still a great iPad, it’s quick and has all of the accessories you need. If you are after an iPad I’d still recommend picking one of these up used.

Anyone else still having rotation issues? I get this almost daily but wondering if it’s down to me being in a 10.5” and most of my follows are using a new Pro. One day it’ll be fixed I’m sure, I can live with it but I’m still amazed that it’s still there.

I have to admit that a few months ago my iPad mini 5 was put in a drawer but over the last few weeks I’ve picked it up again and loving using it everyday. I do have a 10.5 pro that I use the majority of the time but the battery life has gotten pretty bad on it so when the iPhone 11 Pro came out I pretty much switched to my iPhone for the majority of the time instead. Now I’m back on the mini I’m using it instead of my iPhone at home. I’m not writing up large posts but using it in portrait and two hand thumb tapping out posts like this is perfect for me. I also like having the bigger screen than my iPhone 11 that I can use to read comics or articles and even create the odd video. I’m planning on using it a lot more and integrating into my photography workflow again. He only downside I’m finding is that it’s a little cramped to sketch or take notes using the pencil. I prefer using my larger iPad for this.

As I’m using the latest public builds of iOS 13 I’m still amazed at the number of UI issues across the system. This actually applies to watchOS too and iPadOS. I’m not trying to pile on as there have been plenty of posts about iOS 13’s lack of stability but simply to share my experiences. Performance wise I’m happy with iOS 13 but the little glitches around the system really have me scratching my head into what the QA actually does and how they test.

The main offender is my iPad Mini, which I honestly think has never been tested internally at Apple given the devices popularity. Rotation issues are a daily occurrence for me across both of my iPads but the Mini seems to get stuck in one orientation or the other mode often than not.

I’m not sure if this down to the performance of the older 10.5” iPad Pro and slower processor of the Mini but I do wonder if this is an issue on the latest iPad Pro and if Apple are testing on older devices.

watchOS has it’s share of UI issues with little glitches like the one above.

Here’s a nice share sheet bug that doesn’t show the Reminders icon but if you tap the blank space it opens the app.

Apple Music on my iPad Pro is the worst offending app though. This layout issue above occurs in multiple places and I still get issues when using the app in landscape mode. An example of this is when it shifts to album view it resets the left hand pane and takes me to the top of my music again.

This isn’t really a rant post but I can’t air these bugs with Apple as I get zero response or a fix as these have been going on since beta 1. I gave up reporting bugs or asking Apple for help a while ago, I still haven’t been called back for my Notes sync issue despite multiple promises I would be.

I’m writing this to get it off my chest and the little hope someone from Apple might come across it and reach out.

Keeping my fingers crossed that iOS 14 has very little new features and a focus on stability.

Ah, my favourite iOS issue is back with a vengeance. With the latest public iOS release my iPhone has been pretty great but on the iPad (especially the Mini) iPadOS is still giving me daily issues that has me actually using my MacBook a bit more. It took me a restart to get rid of the above issue this time, something I was doing on my iPhone at least once a day. iPadOS seems to be getting a little less love internally right now as I can’t believe it’s just me experiencing this. On a side note I’m also getting other issues that appear just on the Mini, which has me scratching my head and wondering if they actually test on physical devices at all.

Aside from loving the smaller form factor I’m also loving the screen on the new iPad Mini so it made sense for me to use it in my workflow. I’m using it alongside my Canon DSLR to import the images and have an initial run through, deleting those that I don’t like or won’t edit later.

When I picked up my iPad I also picked up the lightning to SD Card reader. This imports images from my memory card quickly and goes straight up to iCloud. I’ve been taking some test images and testing imports and this iPad Mini is going in my camera bag with me on longer trips.

I almost picked up an iPhone 8 to have as a testing device to write about the new iOS but it hit me, I loved the iPad Mini so why didn’t I just use the cash for that instead. A used 8 was going to cost me more than this iPad Mini 5 and I’d get less use out of it.

The reason my last one went back was the lack of work use but the more I’ve been reading and listening to music and wanting to spend less time on my XS the Mini seemed the perfect device for me. I now have a comfortable device for reading in bed and with the larger than my iPhone display it’ll be my main device around the house. I might even use it in my camera bag to take with me when I want to take the DSLR out for the day.

I’m in the process of getting ready to reset my original iPad but thought it would be fun to look back at the older design a little bit. When using it I was struck with how much I prefer the pre iOS 7 folder look.

This is how it looked, I think the darker background and clear division of content looks a lot cleaner than what we have now.

I’m not a huge fan of the smaller semi transparent look of iOS 7. Yes I can swipe though multiple pages of apps within the folder but for me it’s a lot more user friendly in iOS 5.

This isn’t an old man yelling at the clouds but a look back at different elements of iOS in a nostalgic fashion.

Overall I love iOS these days but I’m looking forward to comparing old app versions and seeing how far (or not) we’ve come.

Yes, I’m revisiting some old tech and first up is my original iPad from 2010. It’s full of family photos so when presented with iOS 5 and no iCloud photo sync I needed to have a think about how this was going to work.

Here’s how I did it but you need a Mac to plug it into. You’ll need to plug in your iPad and fire up Photos. If you then open Photos on your iPad you should see the iPad show up in the left hand pane on your Mac.

I created a new Album on the Mac photo library called “old iPad”. I then selected the iPad and selected all of the photos it showed me was on it. I then simply imported and picked the “old iPad” album to import into.

These are family pictures so I created an iCloud photo share and moved the images up to the cloud to share with others. Not idea but the best I could do with the older iOS.

Wow, it starts up. On iOS 5.1.1! let’s see what happens once I get it all back setup.

Thought I’d post an update to my home screen on my iPad Pro 10.5”. Recently newly setup my warranty replacement so this is pretty new, literally just got to setting up today.

As you can see I’m still using Emoji for my folders

• Social
• Apple
• Creative
• Stuff

Then just the apps that are used more often on the home screen and my dock.

Apps are pretty consistent but moved back to OmniFocus. Despite rumours of a refreshed Reminders I have zero confidence in Apple’s ability to create a good app these days so I’m sticking with third party for my productivity. I am sticking with Notes however as it does everything I need it to and sync is reliable.

I used a mini for almost two weeks before moving back to the 10.5. I didn’t use the 10.5 once in that time as I was waiting for a warranty replacement.

Two things I’ve noticed. Confirms my love of the iPad Mini as a book reader. Reading comic books however feels better on the 10.5 to my eyes. Secondly I’d forgotten how great Pro-motion is for both scrolling and writing with the Apple Pencil.

I’m missing the smaller form factor of the Mini. I think I’ll look at picking up a cheap one used just to utilise it as a reading device.

As you know if you’ve been following me lately I’ve enjoyed using my 5th generation iPad Mini so it might surprise you to find out I’ve returned it for a refund.

Here’s why.

Using it as Notebook had been great as I wrote up a few days ago but with an increasing focus on security I’m now limited on where I can store my notes. With this use effectively taken away from me for work use I’ve lost the major selling point.

With me realising it was the form factor I enjoyed but couldn’t effectively use it for work note storage I thought the best option was to return my 5th generation and get my almost £600 back.

What I think I’ll end up doing is getting a refurbished 4th generation and save myself over £300. The performance is going to be fine for my use case where I’ve enjoyed using it like comic books and as a kindle alternative.

For now I’m back on my 10.5” iPad Pro, just had a new one through on Apple Care + so I’ll be using it again as my device.

I’ve finally gotten to use my new 5th generation iPad Mini in work meetings and to manage my day. I’ve used it exclusively this week instead of my paper notebook. I want to drop paper completely given I travel with work and also there’s only so much space in my home office to put the old ones.

My setup is Noteability for the note taking app and then the Apple Pencil.

I had my doubts going in but I have been pleasantly surprised by how good the experience is. Writing in portrait had me worried but on using it I shouldn’t have been. It is more cramped obviously than a bigger iPad but it’s comfortable and been very good in use.

I’m using folders within noteability to organise my notes by project etc and now I’ve been using it this week I think that I won’t be going back to paper. In work meetings I always felt a little conscious pulling out the bigger iPad and with this notebook sized iPad Mini it’s almost perfect.

Another positive for me is travelling with a laptop is sometimes tiring and having a smaller iPad to put in my bag that I can use for reading on the commute and also use in work for notes is ideal for my use case.

So would I recommend, yes. If you’re looking to move to digital notes then having the iPad Mini with a pencil is the perfect companion to use in your work day.

I’ve been enjoying my time so far with the iPad Mini 5th generation and have finally had some time to sit down and read some comic books.

For me the go to app is Marvel Unlimited. I pay a monthly fee to read pretty much whatever I want. One of the appeals for me of the Mini is how easy it is to hold in one hand and enjoy reading.

The laminated screen on the iPad Mini is a massive upgrade over my previous 2nd generation and with the addition of True Tone makes the Mini a great device for consuming comic books. All of the Marvel ones I’ve read look good and even with my ageing eyes I’m able to read the text without having to zoom in. Viewing angles are also really good and even outside it works but obviously you’re going to struggle with direct sunlight behind you.

The portability over the 10.5” makes the Mini my go to reader now and I can comfortably hold it anywhere. If you’re into reading primarily I’d definitely recommend an iPad Mini over the regular iPad.

A big draw for getting an iPad Mini for me was using it to read. I find the larger iPad (my 10.5”) a little cumbersome to use comfortably. The screen is great but find I read less. Well, since getting the Mini I’ve almost read a book already. I use iBooks so made sure I had my current library and travelled with it yesterday.

I found the screen to be great both indoors and outdoors (avoid direct sunlight). The advantage over a Kindle for me is I have a device I can obviously do more on. I chucked my headphones on and used Apple Music and away I went.

The screen vs e-ink should tire your eyes more but for me it’s fine and I appreciate the backlight.

Paired with the Smart Cover I’m finding the iPad Mini to be a great, light book reading machine.

So I’ve had my first day of using the iPad Mini 5th generation and I have to admit I’m really enjoying using it. I did some travelling and made sure I had my iBooks downloaded so I relaxed a bit reading. My other uses today have been writing a couple of shortcuts and this post.

I’m using mostly in portrait and typing is pretty easy. In fact I’ve hardly used my iPhone today, just as a camera actually.

It’s in the house finally, I picked up a 5th generation iPad Mini that I want to use for social, comics, making notes in work meetings and reading. I’ll write more posts when I start to use it more.

We’ve had our iPad Mini 2 for a while as you can see and here in 2019 it’s still in daily use but it’s starting to show it’s age with iOS 12. I’ve been very tempted to upgrade our family one but it’s serving it’s purpose and for viewing video and kids games it’s still fine. Where it shows it’s age though is switching apps and swift playgrounds. If you’re thinking of getting an iPad Mini in 2019 I’d avoid anything other than the 4 and 5 iterations. The original iPad Mini, 2nd and 3rd generations should be avoided in my opinion even though you can pick them up relatively cheaply now.

I’ve been following the reviews on the new iPad Air particularly as someone that uses the 10.5” iPad Pro and wanted to put down my thoughts on which one might be best.

First off the screen size and accessory support is exactly the same. That means you can use the same smart Keyboard Cover and first generation Apple Pencil.

For me there are only two important points to help you make your decision.

The speakers are different between the two models. The 10.5” has the same 4 speaker technology that came with the previous 12.9” iPad Pro and it sounds really great. If listening to music or watching movies on device is important to you then get a 10.5” iPad Pro.

Now let’s look at performance. The 10.5” has the A10X, which in my experience still keeps up with anything I’ve thrown at it. That’s editing podcasts, video and my blogging. I don’t notice any slow down and it’ll be good for at least the next 5 iOS versions. The Air has the A12 Bionic that’s in the iPhone XS series. This isn’t the same as the A12X in the more expensive Pro series. It’s a fast chip and it’ll be good for years to come. If you’re going to use your iPad for a lot of music production or video production you might want to consider the iPad Air (that’s if you can’t stretch to the Pro).

For most people the Air will be the default iPad to get but if you can pick up a refurbished iPad Pro 10.5” don’t write it off, it might serve you better and save you some cash.

I’ve been talking a lot about new iPads over the last few months and thought it was about time to share my setup as of April 2019.

Which iPad?

I’ve dabbled with getting a Mini and new Pro but ended up back where I’ve been happy with my setup - the 10.5” iPad Pro from last year. Mines a 256GB in space grey and although I’m on my third with warranty issues I’m still completely satisfied. I’m really starting to be more conscious of my impact on the environment and buying tech I don’t need isn’t a good thing. Also keeping what I have is the best I can do, more on this at a later point.

Accessories

My iPad tends to have the Smart Keyboard permanently attached and my original Apple Pencil is still going, which is also attached via the pen clip I’ve added.

In daily use

It’s still my main ‘computer’ and I’m either writing posts like this, consuming video or doodling notes or sketching.

Moving forward

I’m keeping my 10.5” going forward, based on my experience with faceID on the XS I think I’ll get frustrated with a new Pro. With the Mini I’m very tempted but can’t justify getting another iPad just for 30% of the time so I’ll park that one too for now.

If you’re after an iPad Mini then good news, they are now showing up for in store pickup. I’ve been watching this all week but everyday they haven’t been in stock has been another day I can have a rethink. After being keen to get one straight away I’m holding off now. I’ll pop in and have a play with one in a few weeks maybe but for now I’m good with my 10.5”. Between using my iPhone XS and the 10.5” I suddenly realised although I love the form factor it’s a bit excessive at the moment for me financially at the moment to spend on something that sits between my phone and iPad.

It’s been a strange week with the iPad Mini release date seemingly moving day by day. It’s extra strange that Apple haven’t announced it officially as far as I can tell. Amazon have now moved their release to 29th March from 28th earlier today. I’m still on the fence about getting one but am keen to check out drawing on one to see if it really can become a field notes book for me.

As you know I’m excited for the launch of the new iPad Mini but now it’s time to decide which one to get.

Storage?

This is 64GB or 256GB, which is a large jump and if your budget allows go 256GB. Between storing movies and games it’ll fill up quickly. For me I want to use it as a field notes book and also photography. I’m going 256GB so that I don’t have to worry about running out of space.

WiFi or Cellular?

I’d love to go cellular this time but can’t justify the cost increase so I’ll just tether to my iPhone. If you tether then I’d save over £100 and get the WiFi model.

Colour?

The other one we have in the house is space grey so I’ll go white this time. I find a white front better if you do a lot of doodling and note taking. The black borders on the space grey make me feel boxed in. If you find the white borders distracting then go space grey otherwise get gold or silver.

The more I’ve thought about the potential use cases for a new Mini the more I’m getting excited to have one. One area I’ve always enjoyed on iOS is photography. Be it browsing and editing images through to importing from your camera.

The 10.5” Pro has been my day to day iPad and goes in my camera bag with me about half the time but with a new Mini my camera bag is going to get a bit more space available to me.

The thought of being able to 100% take my iPad with me is going to be great, especially at events and holidays as I can throw my images onto the iPad on the go.

This is great for backup and just getting into my iCloud library as soon as I can.

I’ll report back when I get one.

Cancelled my online order in favour of going into the store. I did some digging and although Apple don’t seem to state when its in store John Lewis are showing 26th March.

Along with a new Air, Apple introduced a new iPad Mini yesterday. The most surprising thing for me though is I’m more excited for this new Mini than I was for the new iPad Pro introduced last year.

A notebook

As you know I use my iPad in work and play and take it with me for client visits. Having a smaller iPad with pencil support is enough to make this an instant buy for me. The 10.5” isn’t exactly massive but being able to have a field note iPad is going to make taking notes on the go a lot easier. When you’re karting around a heavy Dell laptop on top of its power supply every ounce helps.

Replacing our 2013

We’ve had a second gen iPad Mini since 2013 and it’s become very slow. My daughter has started to use swift playgrounds and it’s almost unusable on it. I’m pretty pleased that it’s still going after 6 years but it’s definitely showing it’s age.

Comics

I’m a big Marvel Unlimited fan and have a more portable comic book reader is going to be ace.

So I have my justification for a new Mini, it also means I don’t have to pick up a new pencil given my 10.5” one will work.

I can’t wait to get one to review.

Apple surprised us all with a couple of new iPads yesterday, an Air and Mini. As far as I can tell my beloved iPad Pro 10.5” has morphed into the new iPad Air. This makes some sense given we have new 11” and 12.9” Pro’s and keyboard and pencil support is now available on the Air.

It’s a good buy and should be the default iPad that most people buy in my opinion.

Here’s the full detail.

As you know I’ve been happy with my 10.5” but after getting frustrated with my MacBook again and trying the 12.9” for a bit in store I’m tempted. I’ve added up the prices and accessories and my eyes are watering so looking at used deals now.

I’ve worked out if I sell my MacBook I’ll get about ½ the cost of a 12.9”, I’ve also seen companies like MusicMagpie getting in used 2018 models now, in fact I almost picked up a 11” but held back after going back to my though of keeping the 10.5” and joining the multi-iPad lifestyle.

Watch this space, I’ll let you know if I see any good used deals along the way.

Here’s the second shipping box sent to Apple in 4 weeks for my 10.5” iPad Pro. I love this device and missing it already, I’ll most probably work from iPhone than use my MacBook until I get it back next week.

Last time I had a replacement because of a bright white area developed on the screen. This time when I press the home button the screen gets some light bleed at the edge.

This is why I always buy Apple Care +.

I came across this thread on the MacRumours forums yesterday whilst investigating an issue I think I have with mine. About an inch up from the home button I have a lighter area of the screen, which is visible on a whiter background and more evident when scrolling. Given this is now a 14 page thread I’m wondering if there is a problem with the 10.5”?

I’ll keep an eye on mine as I have Apple Care + still valid for a little while but I’ll report back.

Quick LumaFusion experiment.

See the video.

Thanks to the suggestion from Andy over at The Dent for suggesting LumaFusion for video editing on the iPad. I’ve installed and started to play around in it. Intuitive so far so time to get into some video projects.

I finally managed to spend some time with the new iPad Pro, both the 11” and 12.9”. I also managed to try the new keyboard and pencil.

Remember these impressions are from someone with a 10.5”.

First thing I noticed was how light they were, especially the 12.9”. In my hand it still felt like a tea tray, large screen - a little too big for me. Weight was great but screen too big to be my only iPad. I was more attracted to the 11”. The screen was very impressive but not a huge leap from a 10.5”. I didn’t test FaceId. It did feel weird using a iPad without a home button but as an iPhone X user I’d imagine I’d get used to it quickly. If I were to get one someday I’d get the 12.9” and keep my 10.5”, a desk iPad and mobile iPad.

The keyboard felt as per the one I use everyday on my 10.5”. The angles weren’t any better I’d say in my quick testing.

The most impressive thing about my hands on with the new gear was the Pencil, wow it really is a step up in quality. It’s matte finish makes a big difference but the most impressive thing was the decrease in weight. It felt a lot more comfortable than the version I’m using. Here lies one of my frustrations with the new hardware, it’s not backwards compatible. I’d happily pay for a new one but I won’t buy a new iPad for it. Snapping it onto the top to sync and charge is also a game changer.

Overall the new hardware I found to be great in my 15 minutes or so but it wasn’t compelling enough for me to take a loss on the 10.5” and spend a load of money on a new one.

If like me you like to personalise your gadgets a bit you’ll love these sticker packs I discovered on Amazon. There is no way they are licensed but for just over a fiver you get 100 to put on your favourite devices. I always put them on my iPhone cases and iPad. Technology should be colourful and more importantly yours.

I’ve not gone to town sticking them everywhere yet but I will be in the coming days. These are the Marvel set but I also have a Star Wars pack coming soon.

Here’s the (affiliate) link.

After reading a few new reviews I thought I’d post some of my favourites.

Six Colors

The Dent

Matt Gemmell

Austin Mann

MacStories

Chris Lawley

As you most probably know I use the Apple Smart Keyboard cover, in fact I prefer typing on it than my 12” MacBook. I’ve owned my current version since June 2017, so at almost 18 months use I thought I’d report back on the durability.

For me the keyboard cover is attached to my iPad about 80% of the time, I carry it between meetings in work and it goes into my bag to form as protection to the screen. I’ve also dropped it a couple of times and it’s protected my iPad both times.

Overall for the 18 months of hard use I’ve given it I’d say it’s held up well. For the money I feel it’s a little on the expensive side but worth it if you keep hold of your iPad for more than a year. If you change your iPad each year don’t invest in one because it’ll be another couple of hundred that you can put towards Apple Care + or the iPad itself, these things aren’t getting any cheaper.

Where I’d like to see it improved

I’m yet to try the new iPad Pro and it’s new Smart Keyboard, I’m staying as far away from an Apple store as possible - especially if I have access to a payment method but from my experience of the current 10.5” here is where I’d like to see improvement

• Improved stability if using on my lap, the 10.5" is a little narrow and doesn't feel stable when I'm using it on the sofa
• Improved screen angles, not a couple but like the Microsoft Surface and more like a MacBook. I'd like to be able to adjust to wherever I'd like (if you know a good third party that does this please let me know)
• More durable material, as you can see in the images of mine the edge of the keyboard has frayed so I'd like to see some harder wearing material
• Bit more affordable, I know I know this isn't going to happen 😊

[gallery ids=“1075,1077,1078,1079,1080” type=“rectangular”]

I’ve had my 10.5” iPad Pro since June 2017 and now the newly designed one is out I thought I’d provide an update and thoughts on using it as my daily “computer “.

As you can see I’ve customised it somewhat (sticker haters look away) and I have the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil almost always attached. I’ve held off with an update to the hardware this year, for me I can’t justify the price increases when I have an iPad I’m happy with.

Anyway, I digress.

So I’ve got the 256GB with a few movies that like to rewatch when I’m on the go (Avengers: Infinity War, various Star Wars including Clone Wars which I’m working my way through) and most of my music downloaded locally. Across all of my devices I go for as much storage as I can afford. Another reason for staying put this year as I can only afford 64GB, Apple this should be 128GB as the base model but that’s a topic for another day.

I’m my 9-5 job I’m still using Notebility to take on the fly meeting notes and sketches that I can take into more formal documents as reference. These are often server architecture diagrams that I can easily export as PDF and share. I have tried Apple Notes but I find the pen tools more satisfying in Noteability.

Outside of my day job I obviously blog and podcast so for that I’m using Noteability again to write show outlines and ideas. My posts are either written directly into the Wordpress app or iA Writer.

For podcasting I’ve gone more basic and nowadays using my iPhone with Ferrite. I’ll either use my Yeti Mic or just the headphones. I find either work fine for my micro-casts, I’m no ATP yet.

I’ll upload to podbean via mobile Safari, which works well. This handles distribution.

If I want to try to relax and do some sketching I’ll use Procreate.

Photo editing these days is done via Photos. Even if I’m importing via my DSLR I’ll often touch up in Photos rather than use a dedicated Photo app.

I’m not going to talk about productivity because I change my mind so much!

Durability wise my 10.5 has held up well. I don’t baby my tech but I’m not abusive to it either. The screen is fine but remember I used to use a matte screen protector until about a month ago. The edges have a few nicks where it’s gone into my camera bag and general moving around. The back has some scratches but overall great.

The keyboard hasn’t fared so well and the corners are starting to fray but it works just fine.

Apple Pencil has some scratches but continues to work well.

So that’s an update from me, what apps and setup are you using for your iPad?

I came across this reddit thread and wanted to share as it helped make my decision on which new iPad Pro would be best for me.

I was leaning towards the 12.9 given the smaller footprint but after seeing this thread I’d go for the 11” every time. I value portability over screen real estate as I’d have to sell some gear to even think about buying a new one.

If you missed out on preorders but want an iPad on launch day then they are now available for in store pickup.

Use the App Store app and you should see pick up at your local store. Seems to be a lot of availability, it’s not an iPhone so demand will be lower. You’ll be ok for a while I should think.

I use an app called Dreamdays to keep track of certain things, one being how long I’ve owned certain gadgets. Might sound weird but something I’ve come to like to track. It hit me how long we’ve had our iPad Mini. In a couple of weeks it’ll be our longest used iOS device, 5 years. It’s the perfect device for reading but also for the younger members of a family. It’s taken a beating, the battery is still good, it runs iOS 12 (better than iOS 11) and it’s got a headphone jack.

I’m probably cursing it but talking about how much I love the iPad Mini but had me thinking about what I’d want in a new one.

For me it’ll go one of two ways. It’ll either stick with TouchID and become a new affordable iPad or embrace the new less bezel design of the pro. I don’t see the later having any chance of happening.

We also have the argument that the XS Max is almost a Mini, which is a weak one. The Mini to me is for those that like portability or for kids. The Max may replace the Mini for more affluent users but for the majority it doesn’t even register.

When you compare iPads though it really stands out like the recently updated MacBook Air. Just look at the processor. It still runs an A8 and is £20 more expensive than the iPad running an A10. It’s both embarrassing and confusing.

My wish for the Mini is to leave the form factor alone but update the processor to the A10 and update the camera. Then offer it for £299 or £325. If ours broke I’d have no option but to buy a used older one. The iPad Mini 4 is no way worth £399.

I’m starting on a new creative project around using iOS full time and putting the MacBook to bed for a bit. My first challenge is recording a podcast with my beloved Blue Yeti.

After putting a shout out on Twitter (Thanks Andy and Daryl) it looked like the iPad Camera Connection kit was the way to go.

Here’s the one that I picked up on Amazon.

I simply plugged it into the lightning port, connected the microphone via USB and it worked. I did also use the power pass through connection but this isn’t necessary to get it working I just wanted to keep my iPad charged.

Everything works as normal, I can use the mute button and listen via the Mic on headphones.

My recording apps such as GarageBand and Ferrite both worked and picked up the yeti automatically.

I’ll share more on my workflow once I figure it all out.

As you know if you read my stuff regularly I’m going all in on iOS, first up is getting images from a Canon 70D to my iPad and into iCloud Photo Library.

It worked out very easy in the end, I picked up a cheapish card reader on Amazon and simply plugged the memory card in. Note that in the picture the card is upside down, yes this one came out a bit wonky but it works.

Once I plugged in the memory card it brought up the images in Photos and I tapped the ones that I wanted to import into my library. Once in my library they uploaded to iCloud and hey presto.

I’m yet to test really huge RAW files but in my testing so far the speed of import is better than the last time I tried, this is most probably due to using iOS 12 but I’ve not validated this.

Here’s the reader I picked up

Amazon

I don’t often talk about my day job on here but I thought it would be useful to share how I’m using my iPad to assist me in my 9-5 as a Technical Consultant.

I’m home based but work closely with clients all over the UK building out technical requirements for our projects. I won’t name names but I work for a large US company with offices all over the world.

We use Windows, so I’m on a Dell something or other and cannot integrate my iPad into my work email etc. So I use it to help speed up my workflow in other ways.

First off is note taking. I do use pen and paper but often take my iPad to meetings. It is often a conversation starter with clients, which helps break the ice but comes in really handy when they want a copy of something. I also have to make diagrams, sketching and sending is so much quicker than using Visio just to get an idea across.

For this I use Noteability. It’s hands down the best note taking app I’ve found.

Next up is mind mapping. This is more for my knowledge. I’ll create mind maps to remember how to do certain tasks and get things done. Believe me working in a company of over 25,000 people who seem to constantly change roles it’s important to remember who to go to for information or process.

For this I use MindNode.

For a to do given I need to be multi platform so I use Todoist. I have an Android phone and Windows so it’s important I can access it from anywhere.

Lastly for email I stick to outlook on my work machine, no iPad use here unfortunately.

How do you use your iPad to support your day job?

Here’s a little video on iPad changes for iOS 12 over on my YouTube channel.

Here’s an update on my home screen, specifically the iPad Pro 10.5” that has become my main device.

Here’s the apps I use the most.

• OmniFocus: I bounce between to do apps almost monthly but I'm trying to get myself settled on OmniFocus
• Wordpress: The app I use to manage my blog and add new posts
• Music: I'm an Apple Music subscriber and aside from a few UI issues I've come to like it a lot
• Tweetbot: My Twitter app of choice, I cannot stand the official app so I'm hoping that we continue to see updates to third party apps
• Notes: My note taking app of choice, reliable sync and being able to use the Apple Pencil means that I can use it for both work and play
• IA Writer: I use iA Writer to sketch out ideas and start the bulk of the writing on my posts
• DuckDuckGo browser: Pretty much replaced Safari for me these days, puts privacy first and gets frequent updates
• Marvel Unlimited: I've recently got back into comic books having read them growing up, Marvel Unlimited gives me everything I need, although I wish that you could download more than 12 issues when on the go

What are some of your favourite apps?

When I was using my iPad the other day listening to music whilst I’m at work it dawned on me, I don’t need a MAC for much of anything these days. This led me onto Twitter and an idea of posting what I use and how I use it. I’m not going to go into masses of detail but the hardware and accessories I’ve come to rely on.

IPAD OF CHOICE

I’ve had all of the various iPad sizes but have settled on by far my favourite that has been released so far - the iPad Pro 10.5”. I had the 12.9” for a year and although I loved the screen size it always felt unwieldy and not anymore portable than a laptop. I ultimately sold it and went back to the 9.7” form factor for a bit. This was great until Apple released the 10.5”, which on face value seemed the perfect iPad for me. Slightly less bezel meaning a bigger screen in a similar body would fit the bill. I bought one on day one and haven’t regretted it since, in fact it might be my favourite Apple “computer”. This year is going to be interesting if Apple do indeed lose the home button on the iPad Pro and go with an even smaller bezel and FaceID, that will be something that is going to be very tempting. Imagine a 12.9” screen in something similar to the 10.5” body, mmmmm.

So, iPad is a Pro, 10.5” in Space Grey with 256GB of storage. I maxed it out so that I don’t run into storage anxiety, to be honest though I’ve used it. Taking it almost everywhere means that I can use it not just for being productive but have plenty of space for movies. I recommend anyone saving a little more to get the most storage you can, after all you can’t add it again later.

ACCESSORIES

In the past I didn’t spend a lot on iPad accessories but since moving to the Pro range I’ve invested in those that will help me move towards using the iPad as my only computing device.

First off I picked up a Smart Keyboard cover, which (controversially) might be my favourite keyboard of all time. I love the feel of the keys with their soft touch material and the travel seems pretty much perfect (for me) and I much prefer the experience on it over my 12” MacBook that this is looking to replace. It lives on my iPad and it goes everywhere with me. Oh, it’s also fine to wash it with soap under the tap - something I have done several times. It’s then left to dry on the sink and put in our airing cupboard with the clothes to dry off. I’ve done this several times and (touch wood) no problems so far. There, I’ve gone and cursed myself now haven’t I…

At the same time I also picked up a Smart Cover (in Red) that goes on the iPad when I’m out and about and don’t want to do any heavy typing. I’m often on the go on the weekend and being able to travel as light as possible to use the iPad for reading or light typing (on the glass) means that the Smart Cover also gets a lot of use.

My last accessory that gets the most use is the Apple Pencil. I use it for Mind Mapping (in Notes), Brain Dumping (again, in Notes or Noteability), colouring (in Pigment), sketching diagrams and making notes for my day job (in Noteability with iCloud sync). I’m no artist but when I want to relax I might sketch or doodle (in Procreate). I’m constantly amazed by the responsiveness of the Pencil and it is one of my favourite Apple products of the last 5 years (AirPods also make that list, watch for a post coming soon).

BAG

I either carry my iPad with me or put it in my beloved LowePro Hatchback (22L) that goes with me pretty much everywhere. When I want to do some “proper” photography I can take my iPad and all of my DSLR gear (CANON 70D + a few lenses) in something that I can also put a drink and day snacks.

It’s turned out to be a really great bag and anyone looking for something comfortable to take their tech around in should check out a photography bag.

WHAT DO I USE IT FOR?

I didn’t want to go into a great deal about the apps that I use, I do a lot of posts on this and I swap them out frequently. Instead I wanted to share what I’m using my iPad for and simply mention the apps.

• Blogging: Like what I’m doing now, written up using iA Writer and uploaded using the Squarespace blog app
• Photography: Most of my images are taken on my iPhone so the iPad makes a nice large canvas for me to edit or sort into folders. I occasionally use the SD Card reader to take images off memory cards when I’m out and about
• Watching video: YouTube, Netflix and iTunes stuff
• Listening to music: Sit’s next to my home office desk on most of the day, streaming to my HomePod (more on this in a later post)
• Guitar: I use the iPad to learn new songs via the Tabs HD app and record using GarageBand, Music Memos and JamUp Pro
• Sketching and note taking using Notes and Noteability
• Reading comics: I do this via my Marvel Unlimited subscription

This covers everything I’m doing, the only thing I can’t easily do at the moment is record podcasts but it’s not something I’m currently doing. If you have any suggestions on ways you do this please let me know in the comments or on social. I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my setup and please let me know how you use your iPad.

Stuff I’m using:

• iPad Pro 10.5" - Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 64GB Wi-Fi - Space Grey
• Apple Pencil - Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 64GB Wi-Fi - Space Grey
• Smart Keyboard cover - Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 64GB Wi-Fi - Space Grey
• Smart cover - Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 64GB Wi-Fi - Space Grey
• Lowepro bag - Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 64GB Wi-Fi - Space Grey

I’ve been typing on keyboards for as long as I can remember (ZX Spectrum was my first computer if you are interested!) and it’s all catching up on me as I get older. I have experienced shoulder, hand and wrist pain over the years of working on a computer for 8 hours a day and wanted to share how the iPad has been helping me to manage this.

If you have been following me for a while you will know that I am a big advocate of using an iPad to get your work done and with the incoming iOS 11 update it’s an even more important time to start to look at if you can alter your work habits.

I’ve found using an iPad Pro as my daily machine for writing and as a supplement to my 9-5 machine to really improve how I use a computer and thus having a positive impact on my RSI issues.

THE 9-5

In my day job I am at a standard Dell laptop but supplementing this with my iPad has made a difference to how I’m sat and my posture throughout the day. I use my iPad for all my notes and sketches in the day (I’m in meetings at least 2 hours a day). Using the iPad encourages me to change my position, allows me to stand up and walk around and change my hand position.

WRITING

90% of what I do on this site is produced on the iPad and Apple Pencil. Using this combination allows me to change my sitting position, use the on screen keyboard, the smart keyboard cover and the pencil for navigation - basically it gives me loads of flexibility.

I also find that I enjoy using the pencil for navigation as a way to take a break from typing and walking around with it allows me to give my shoulders a rest.

SO DOES IT ACTUALLY HELP?

Unscientifically for me - yes.

I find that the iPad forces me to change my position and with the pencil on hand to navigate with it gives my wrists a much needed rest. It’s important to point out that regular rests (every 30 mins or so), even if it’s just standing and sitting again is important anyway and having an iPad on hand to use especially in the day job forces me to break my laptop typing and use something else.

Get up, walk around with the iPad and make the most of this amazing technology we have at our fingertips.