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reminds me of how paper copies of documents are being used, only better thanks to the adjustable brightness, zooming in, and looking up individual words. Next time you feel like sending a document to the printing queue, you might find that the iPad will do a better job of it. I truly believe it is possible to go entirely paperless and not look back using this tablet, as the screen is generous and responsive, and the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support are invaluable at this price point.Another thing I do is read loads of online articles from various sources. I often like to save them for later in an app like Pocket or Instapaper (both free) to read offline when I have time. This is similar to the bookmark function in the Medium app, except it supports any website. I’ve been doing this for as long as I remember using a smartphone, and I highly recommend it to any avid readers out there, this time on the large, comfortable iPad screen.2. Video streaming. My iPad is now home to Zoom, MS Teams, Blackboard, Skype and FaceTime, the array of video conferencing apps that many of us have been using lately. Separating the already busy laptop motherboard from video conferencing that goes on for many hours at times turns out to be a great idea. Even though my laptop’s CPU temperature hardly shoots over 75 degrees Celsius, I still prefer not to put unnecessary thermal pressure on the internals. Plus, chasing for stronger WiFi signal with a hand-held device rather than a massive laptop is far more glamorous, in my humble opinion.Furthermore, as an avid YouTube viewer with Netflix and Prime subscriptions to make the most out of, I cannot count how many times I dropped my laptop from the bed trying to get comfortable while binge watching. There’s just no elegant way to watch films on a laptop screen. Cue the iPad. Especially with the picture-in-picture functionality, streaming has now become a lot less awkward.3. Drawing. I use Infinite Painter to draw on my iPad, anything from quick graphics and flowcharts to more elaborate drawings. I even retouch pictures in Painter as I enjoy using the pencil to get all the tiny details done. A well known equivalent is Procreate (at a similar price point). I personally found the 10.2" screen to be large and comfortable for drawing.<figure id="9b36"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*DIOj93Qmz3vWnu2FnH_vUA.png"><figcaption>An illustration I created on the iPad 7 by following <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJQpezkDuCQ">a handy tutorial</a>.</figcaption></figure>4. iOS only apps. This is for all of us Android users who sometimes just really want that one iOS app (or feature of an app) that is exclusive to the rival platform. iMovie is a good example of a really powerful native app that has no real competition in the Google Play store. In a similar vein, I use the templates that come with Pages at times (particularly the books and posters) as very good alternatives to MS Word templates. Bear, a note taking app that supports markdown, also falls into this category, along with handy tools such as Apollo for Reddit, which is regar

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ded as the best Reddit client for mobile.Furthermore, I am into a mobile game called Peak, which is a concentration and focus oriented game that allegedly improves your cognitive skills. I prefer playing it on iPad as the big screen is a huge advantage. I am not saying you should get an iPad just to play a puzzle solving game… although, it wouldn’t hurt, if I do say so myself…A final mention in this category is the annoying lack of Instagram app that runs natively on iPadOS. Wait a second, what? Instead of a fully integrated Instagram app, we get a version of the iOS app that sort of works. I use it when I want to post pictures I edited on my iPad, though by far the one feature that I am relieved to have is the clipboard support for stories. In iOS, unlike Android, you can copy a picture from your gallery and paste it into your story. This enables you to create neat collages in no time. In fact, that’s how many of the influencers you follow on Instagram make their stories and highlights look so infuriatingly pretty. Copy/paste, my friends, and for a reason that mystifies me it can only be done on iOS. The more you know.<figure id="7bce"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*RTbPPh6gtpuBWYlLdtPlUg.jpeg"><figcaption>In case you never had the misfortune of seeing it, here is Instagram for iPad. Pictures inside the story by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/giovanni_cg-1760325/">Giovanni_cg</a> on <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a>.</figcaption></figure>5. Sidecar. I actually have an external display at home, so I rarely use Sidecar for extending my MacBook Pro’s screen. Instead, I often mirror my display to be able to essentially use the Apple Pencil on Mac. I sign documents, draw and take notes as I wish, without needing to AirDrop any files or fuss over the lack of compatibility between desktop-class and iPadOS software. Boring but useful feature that would make no sense if I had a Windows laptop, as it would probably have a touchscreen anyway… Perhaps a little more impressive is another feat I have accomplished with Sidecar in the past: playing makeshift Pictionary with my sister from opposite ends of the room without light or internet during a power outage.Ultimately, a tablet device can make as little or as much sense as your daily use allows. I am a creature of habit who relies a lot on my laptop, in lieu of both a desktop machine and a mobile computing device. I enjoy having all my files and tools in the same place and I dread putting in the effort to synchronise my digital life between devices. However, I believe that taking some pressure off my laptop and enjoying going nearly paperless with the cheapest iPad money can buy was ultimately a good choice for me. A word of advice for people in the same situation is to put the effort in to set it up (cloud storage, accounts and passwords) as soon as you unbox it, and have it work for you afterwards without headache. There’s few things as comforting as writing a long piece in Drafts on laptop and proofreading it later in bed, cuddled up with a hot chocolate, without needing to click a single button. Enjoy!</article></body>

How I Get the Most Out of My Low-Cost iPad

I am not an over-achiever when it comes to using my electronics. I am certainly not the kind of person who writes artisan, fully illustrated and colourful notes in Notability. I also do not have the willpower to max out any features of the hyper-capable productivity apps available today (Notion comes to mind, a true powerhouse for the motivated user). I am personally much simpler than that, and quite lazy. I like my devices to work for me, not the other way around.

Nevertheless, I still went ahead and purchased a 7th generation iPad (128 GB) while it was on sale for £400. Why on Earth did I do that? As buyer’s remorse started to sink in, I desperately Googled ways to make the most out of this small but powerful device, and came back empty handed. Browsing though endless productivity tutorials and skipping through at least a dozen “What’s on my iPad Pro? (2020)” YouTube videos, I soon realised that there might be no one out there to help me.

At this point I should mention that I could not help buying the Apple Pencil as well. Once you pop, you can’t stop, I suppose. I had these tools (some very pricey tools at that, even if not the priciest out there), what next?

I realised that while I stubbornly use my laptop for work and play, there are some things that are quite awkward to do on my (also low cost) MacBook Pro. I carry out all digital tasks on my laptop, save for instant messaging and social media. Isn’t it time for that to change, now that I own a device which essentially amounts to a really large smartphone?

Oh. That, right there. That is a mistake I keep making, one that you might be making too. In my mind, an iPad (any iPad) is just an oversized iPhone, right? Well, yes and no. It all boils down to what you use it for. This grey area between what we use smartphones for and what we use laptops for can be really frustrating to navigate with an iPad, if you are anything like me. Finally, I figured out that this grey area can be useful and exciting, and yes, worth investing a little into.

Here are 5 digital tasks for the iPad:

1.Reading and annotating documents. I no longer do any heavy duty reading on my laptop. Any lengthy email attachments, articles or books I have to go through (and maybe annotate) get downloaded to my iPad and stored in Acrobat, the free Adobe app for reading and annotating PDFs. This device is also fast and efficient with the MS Office suite, so that I can edit documents and presentations, and then export them as I need to.

This process reminds me of how paper copies of documents are being used, only better thanks to the adjustable brightness, zooming in, and looking up individual words. Next time you feel like sending a document to the printing queue, you might find that the iPad will do a better job of it. I truly believe it is possible to go entirely paperless and not look back using this tablet, as the screen is generous and responsive, and the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support are invaluable at this price point.

Another thing I do is read loads of online articles from various sources. I often like to save them for later in an app like Pocket or Instapaper (both free) to read offline when I have time. This is similar to the bookmark function in the Medium app, except it supports any website. I’ve been doing this for as long as I remember using a smartphone, and I highly recommend it to any avid readers out there, this time on the large, comfortable iPad screen.

2. Video streaming. My iPad is now home to Zoom, MS Teams, Blackboard, Skype and FaceTime, the array of video conferencing apps that many of us have been using lately. Separating the already busy laptop motherboard from video conferencing that goes on for many hours at times turns out to be a great idea. Even though my laptop’s CPU temperature hardly shoots over 75 degrees Celsius, I still prefer not to put unnecessary thermal pressure on the internals. Plus, chasing for stronger WiFi signal with a hand-held device rather than a massive laptop is far more glamorous, in my humble opinion.

Furthermore, as an avid YouTube viewer with Netflix and Prime subscriptions to make the most out of, I cannot count how many times I dropped my laptop from the bed trying to get comfortable while binge watching. There’s just no elegant way to watch films on a laptop screen. Cue the iPad. Especially with the picture-in-picture functionality, streaming has now become a lot less awkward.

3. Drawing. I use Infinite Painter to draw on my iPad, anything from quick graphics and flowcharts to more elaborate drawings. I even retouch pictures in Painter as I enjoy using the pencil to get all the tiny details done. A well known equivalent is Procreate (at a similar price point). I personally found the 10.2" screen to be large and comfortable for drawing.

An illustration I created on the iPad 7 by following a handy tutorial.

4. iOS only apps. This is for all of us Android users who sometimes just really want that one iOS app (or feature of an app) that is exclusive to the rival platform. iMovie is a good example of a really powerful native app that has no real competition in the Google Play store. In a similar vein, I use the templates that come with Pages at times (particularly the books and posters) as very good alternatives to MS Word templates. Bear, a note taking app that supports markdown, also falls into this category, along with handy tools such as Apollo for Reddit, which is regarded as the best Reddit client for mobile.

Furthermore, I am into a mobile game called Peak, which is a concentration and focus oriented game that allegedly improves your cognitive skills. I prefer playing it on iPad as the big screen is a huge advantage. I am not saying you should get an iPad just to play a puzzle solving game… although, it wouldn’t hurt, if I do say so myself…

A final mention in this category is the annoying lack of Instagram app that runs natively on iPadOS. Wait a second, what? Instead of a fully integrated Instagram app, we get a version of the iOS app that sort of works. I use it when I want to post pictures I edited on my iPad, though by far the one feature that I am relieved to have is the clipboard support for stories. In iOS, unlike Android, you can copy a picture from your gallery and paste it into your story. This enables you to create neat collages in no time. In fact, that’s how many of the influencers you follow on Instagram make their stories and highlights look so infuriatingly pretty. Copy/paste, my friends, and for a reason that mystifies me it can only be done on iOS. The more you know.

In case you never had the misfortune of seeing it, here is Instagram for iPad. Pictures inside the story by Giovanni_cg on Pixabay.

5. Sidecar. I actually have an external display at home, so I rarely use Sidecar for extending my MacBook Pro’s screen. Instead, I often mirror my display to be able to essentially use the Apple Pencil on Mac. I sign documents, draw and take notes as I wish, without needing to AirDrop any files or fuss over the lack of compatibility between desktop-class and iPadOS software. Boring but useful feature that would make no sense if I had a Windows laptop, as it would probably have a touchscreen anyway… Perhaps a little more impressive is another feat I have accomplished with Sidecar in the past: playing makeshift Pictionary with my sister from opposite ends of the room without light or internet during a power outage.

Ultimately, a tablet device can make as little or as much sense as your daily use allows. I am a creature of habit who relies a lot on my laptop, in lieu of both a desktop machine and a mobile computing device. I enjoy having all my files and tools in the same place and I dread putting in the effort to synchronise my digital life between devices. However, I believe that taking some pressure off my laptop and enjoying going nearly paperless with the cheapest iPad money can buy was ultimately a good choice for me. A word of advice for people in the same situation is to put the effort in to set it up (cloud storage, accounts and passwords) as soon as you unbox it, and have it work for you afterwards without headache. There’s few things as comforting as writing a long piece in Drafts on laptop and proofreading it later in bed, cuddled up with a hot chocolate, without needing to click a single button. Enjoy!