I’ve used an iPad since the original and over the years I’ve done the whole using my iPad as my main device but since using the MacBook Air M1 and iPad Mini this year I realise it was a waste of time.

What I’m finding now and I’m a lot more content with is that I’m using my iPad as an iPad and not forcing it to be something it’s not.

I use my iPad Mini most of the time now and for tasks like checking email, my to do list, watching content or editing images it’s great. If I want to sit down and do my newsletter, do some web research or record some guitar I’ll get out the MacBook Air.

Since treating my iPad more like what it’s built for I’ve been much happier and content using it.

I’ve been using the 6th generation iPad Mini as my main device again and settled on what I feel is the best case to use with it. In my opinion the official Apple Smart Folio is the best.

It works really well to turn your iPad into a notebook and leaves all sides exposed so that you can access all buttons and ports and also have quick access to the pencil.

It’s a tad expensive but I feel worth it for something slim and protects your screen.

I’ve been using my iPad Mini for a couple of days and it’s been good but I am looking at bigger displays a little. What struck me when looking at the iPad range is how poor the value is on the low end storage (64GB). At £499 for the new iPad and £649 for the Air it’s difficult to recommend this to anyone. I know Apple like their profit margins but with 64GB I feel like they are selling a product not fit for purpose. I’m not sure it would cost them much more to put in 128GB, which I think is the sweet spot for most users.

The base storage to store your operating system and associated files is going to take up almost half of that 64GB already and if you want to travel with your iPad and load movies, you aren’t going to fit many on there.

So, 64GB is too little storage for an iPad. If you can’t get 128GB you’ll need to save a little more and get 256GB.

Whilst looking at info about my ipad Mini I came across this great tool from Apple letting you compare the many different models of iPad.

I’ve been switching between my MacBook Air, the iPad Mini and an older iPad Pro and I realised each has it’s own elements that I love using. I predominantly work on macOS but prefer to use the iPad for creating content and photo editing.

I see the M1 in the iPad Pro and wonder what it’s there for. I think I’m coming to the conclusion I want something Apple will never make.

Something iPad Mini or 11” Pro sized that when put in an Apple released dock connected to a screen becomes macOS. Then when I undock and use as a tablet it becomes iPadOS and I can use the pencil and all of it’s accessories.

I get the best of both worlds and use the form factor I love in the iPad with the flexibility of macOS on the desktop.

What about you?

iPadOS 16 came out last week and for me on the 2015 9.7” iPad Pro it made it unusable. On iPadOS 15 it wasn’t amazingly fast but it was usable. What I’ve found this week in using it on the 9.7” iPad Pro is that it’s made it so slow and unresponsive it’s pretty much a brick now.

I’ve tried all sorts of settings and a reset but I just cannot get it to work in a way that makes it a viable daily machine. Even loading web pages can take up to a minute and photos gives me a black screen requiring a restart almost every time I used it.

I’ve sold it onto a refurbished site now, £150 isn’t bad but I don’t see any of the new iPad models that make sense at the moment with the current line up. Might be best to look at the refurbished market and look at an 11” Pro from 2018 or 2020.

If iPadOS 16 is truly just two weeks away part of me thinks that Apple could pull stage manager out of the general release. It’s so buggy and not important to the majority of iPad users I feel the best move would be to pull it from iPadOS 16 completely and keep for iPadOS 17.

New iPad hardware isn’t going to make a difference to underlying software bugs if indeed it is being held back for new iPad hardware.

Maybe an extreme view for iPad power users but I feel it’s better to not release at all than to have people complain about it for months.

Since I switched to the larger 9.7” iPad Pro from my Mini it’s been great to see the larger text clearly and be able to read my magazines in larger size but I’ve reset and it’s ready for trade in.

The reason is battery. It’s 6 or so years old now and I can drain the battery pretty quickly (think losing 1% in around 45 seconds) so it’s become unusable.

It’ll cost me £99 for a new battery on a device that doesn’t run iPadOS 16. I can still get £100 on a trade so I’m thinking I’ll get an Air or wait for the rumoured updated base iPad. I don’t need a Pro, I have my MacBook Air for my heavy lifting.

Would I advise picking up a 9.7” iPad Pro in 2022 – no. It’s laggy when you’re running heavier apps like photo editing, the on board Wi-Fi isn’t that fast and it won’t run the latest iPadOS.

I’ve been struggling with my 5th generation iPad Mini lately. As much as I love the device my eyes aren’t in a place where I can comfortably use it. I wanted an iPad that I could use for creative work and reading books. The Mini just isn’t allowing me to do that so it’s now gone to a family member and I am using the 2016 iPad Pro 9.7” with Smart Keyboard attached.

The screen size seems massive now and in my testing with bumped up fonts reading on it is amazing and I can see fine, even reading magazines without needing to zoom in. It’ll also be good for reading guitar tablature, something I was struggling with on the Mini.

What amazes me with Apple hardware is that it’s still good to use. It’s over 6 years old now and works a treat. I wont be able to update to iOS 16 (I’m good with that) and the performance is surprisingly great.

The Smart Keyboard is also as good as I remember although I am missing the trackpad having used my MacBook Air for so long and also an 11” Pro with Magic Keyboard.

This is an interesting experiment and I’m also shelving the MacBook Air for a bit and going all iPad lifestyle again to remember what it was like.

I’ve been on my MacBook Air for the last year and went a long time (for me) without an iPad. A few months ago I picked up the iPad Mini and it’s rapidly become my favourite iPad ever. It’s also moved a lot more of my day to day needs back to the iPad. I’m enjoying having a smaller form factor device that I can do 90% of my tasks on.

I’m not podcasting or making video so I get away with the limitations of iPadOS and can easily blog, mail etc from my mini.

I’m also using an iPhone 13 Mini these days and the iPad Mini has complemented it really well for editing the photos I take on it. I love using the iPad for editing images.

The only thing that hasn’t stuck is using the pencil and using as a digital journal, I just prefer pen and paper.

Lastly changing things up is good for RSI so now I’m spending more time on the iPad my keyboard use (outside of my day job) has reduced significantly.

Do you still use an iPad daily?

I’ve been using an iPad since the original launched and over that time tried to use it as my main machine that does everything. This has always led to frustration but over the last year of owning both a MacBook Air and iPad Mini this has changed.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Apple doesn’t see the iPad as your do everything machine, so I stopped trying.

My iPad Mini is a companion device but in letting it be an iPad I’m actually using it the majority of the time. It’s that device between an iPhone and a Mac. I use it for editing photos, taking notes, checking email and consuming content.

I don’t try to make it do things it’s not good at. If I want to create I use the Mac. If I want to do some Zoom meetings and take notes at the same point I use the Mac.

I’ve found where the iPad fits into my workflow and let it excel at that.

I think that even Apple are figuring out where the iPad fits in. It needs to cater for both a school age kid and a Pro. I don’t see how it can be good at both with iPadOS in it’s current state. But, with iPadOS 16 just around the corner maybe this year the iPad will be lifted up a bit with some updates because I feel it’s in an odd on hold state for many Pro users now.