iPad recommendations for work and pleasure
Discussion
OK then, I've been considering buying an iPad Pro, most probably a 12.9" model for 3D CAD designs for work, I'm using SolidWorks at the moment which I have mostly figured out how to use but the PC is in the office so can't tinker when at home. I've been watching various CAD tutorials on YouTube and Fusion 360 does seem to be quite a good alternative with the benefit that it can be used on an iPad Pro, so assume that either the 11" or 12.9" models would be good choices, am also interested in photo editing which I believe is supremely easy with an iPad Pro and pencil, so have pretty much made up my mind on that score, so which size model, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB or 512GB should I go for, is 512GB overkill or a necessity?
Also, have two young kids currently off school (under 10 years old) driving us mad, they have Kindles which they are hammering to death, so I'm wondering whether to invest in two iPads, so which one to buy for long term usage, I appreciate the 10.2" iPad is cheaper but the newer 10.5" model seems better spec and potentially more future-proofed, and read somewhere that the screens are better quality, probably 64GB models, what do you think?
And finally, due to the lock-down wife has been hammering her iPhone 5S recently to surf the web and do online shopping, and has been complaining the screen size is tiny which is true because it's a phone, so rather than spend a fortune upgrading to a larger phone I suggested she (as in me) buy an iPad Mini, now we already have an original first generation iPad Mini 16GB which still works in a fashion, but it doesn't run the latest apps and falls over when using Flickr, so is this the right time to buy one, I note that 64GB models are available for approx £399.
Funnily enough since the lockdown I've been using the iPad Mini to view various news websites and PistonHeads and do actually like it, seems just right size for surfing the web and not too heavy, is just a shame the Flickr app crashes all the time or it would be perfect for me.
If we buy all of these in one go how does Apple iCloud work, do I register each one separately so they each have their own iCloud account, or do I go with the 'family' option, have never purchased multiple iPads before so am clueless, though am pretty sure my wife has her own iCloud account for her phone.
So has anyone purchased multiple iPads for the wife and kids, what are your recommendations for a stress-free life, any help or recommendations much appreciated and cheers in advance
Also, have two young kids currently off school (under 10 years old) driving us mad, they have Kindles which they are hammering to death, so I'm wondering whether to invest in two iPads, so which one to buy for long term usage, I appreciate the 10.2" iPad is cheaper but the newer 10.5" model seems better spec and potentially more future-proofed, and read somewhere that the screens are better quality, probably 64GB models, what do you think?
And finally, due to the lock-down wife has been hammering her iPhone 5S recently to surf the web and do online shopping, and has been complaining the screen size is tiny which is true because it's a phone, so rather than spend a fortune upgrading to a larger phone I suggested she (as in me) buy an iPad Mini, now we already have an original first generation iPad Mini 16GB which still works in a fashion, but it doesn't run the latest apps and falls over when using Flickr, so is this the right time to buy one, I note that 64GB models are available for approx £399.
Funnily enough since the lockdown I've been using the iPad Mini to view various news websites and PistonHeads and do actually like it, seems just right size for surfing the web and not too heavy, is just a shame the Flickr app crashes all the time or it would be perfect for me.
If we buy all of these in one go how does Apple iCloud work, do I register each one separately so they each have their own iCloud account, or do I go with the 'family' option, have never purchased multiple iPads before so am clueless, though am pretty sure my wife has her own iCloud account for her phone.
So has anyone purchased multiple iPads for the wife and kids, what are your recommendations for a stress-free life, any help or recommendations much appreciated and cheers in advance
We have 4 iPads in the house (wifes mini, my 9.7, daughters 9.7, a spare mini)
Each are setup as their own device and connected as a family with iCloud (along with half a dozen Apple TV’s, iMac, MBA etc...) to allow family controls, monitoring etc...
We use google photos across all our iPhones and iPads for image sharing and unlimited storage so don’t pay for any additional iCloud storage.
My 5yr old did use a mini but since she has been learning at home we found the 9.7 more accessible for learning and she loves the bigger screen for it.
Each are setup as their own device and connected as a family with iCloud (along with half a dozen Apple TV’s, iMac, MBA etc...) to allow family controls, monitoring etc...
We use google photos across all our iPhones and iPads for image sharing and unlimited storage so don’t pay for any additional iCloud storage.
My 5yr old did use a mini but since she has been learning at home we found the 9.7 more accessible for learning and she loves the bigger screen for it.
We’ve got four iPads in the household. Two Air 2s, a Pro 9.7 (soon to be recycled) and a new Pro 11”. All iPhone users as well.
There’s three of us, and we’ve all got our own iCloud accounts with Family Sharing enabled. Would recommend doing this rather than a single iCloud account - an iCloud account is for life, not just for Christmas! It’s safe for the children, and they will get their own iCloud storage allowance. You can us ‘Find my...’ location services, control screen time, app downloads etc. When they are old enough to be trusted, you can lift these restrictions and ultimately remove all controls. If you share an iCloud account, separating them off is much more difficult.
If you use iCloud (or google Photos) then 64gb should be plenty for the non-pro iPads.
For the Pro, I wouldn’t necessarily say you need to buy the larger storage capacity. Don't forget you can now use the iPadOS Files app to connect to local servers / NAS drives, as well as connect SD cards (dongle is £39) which is a far cheaper option than paying Apple’s pricing for memory. This is in addition to iCloud / OneDrive etc. (If you are connected to web).
There’s three of us, and we’ve all got our own iCloud accounts with Family Sharing enabled. Would recommend doing this rather than a single iCloud account - an iCloud account is for life, not just for Christmas! It’s safe for the children, and they will get their own iCloud storage allowance. You can us ‘Find my...’ location services, control screen time, app downloads etc. When they are old enough to be trusted, you can lift these restrictions and ultimately remove all controls. If you share an iCloud account, separating them off is much more difficult.
If you use iCloud (or google Photos) then 64gb should be plenty for the non-pro iPads.
For the Pro, I wouldn’t necessarily say you need to buy the larger storage capacity. Don't forget you can now use the iPadOS Files app to connect to local servers / NAS drives, as well as connect SD cards (dongle is £39) which is a far cheaper option than paying Apple’s pricing for memory. This is in addition to iCloud / OneDrive etc. (If you are connected to web).
Edited by 595Heaven on Monday 11th May 07:45
Cheers guys and thank you for your replies.
Apologies but I don't know how to put multi-post replies on the post!
Is interesting your comments about individual iCloud accounts but enabling family sharing, I didn't know you could do that, if Apple Meadowhall had been open I would have called in for a chat to discuss this.
The Kindles have worked a treat so far, I bought these about 3 years ago and they have served their purpose when the kids were younger and kind of battered them but now that the schools are closed think that the iPads would be better suited for them to learn on. I take your point about 64GB being a reasonable size, I figure that will future-proof the units better.
In terms of the iPad Pro I am somewhat confused over the memory option, is the 64, 128, etc. simply the storage size or is there more going on. I understand PC figures for HDD and RAM size but not so sure about iPad storage options.
Currently I have my own iCloud account and my wife has her own separate iCloud account but I didn't know about the 'Family Sharing' option, is this like a shared folder for photos, etc. am I right in thinking we set up each iPad with it's own username and iCloud account but enable family sharing so that we can use the 'Find iPhone' app to find them if they are lost or stolen.
In terms of iPad use for business I've been keeping an eye on what is available and listening to the opinions of folks that use iPads.
One of my cousins is very artily inclined and produces artwork on his iPad Pro which he sells online, having moved over from a desktop computer a few years ago and says it's the best thing he has done, I know several other graphic guys who say the same, and having seen Fusion 360 app in use on an iPad do think it offers great potential. Is certainly a better option than doing nothing. Am sure there are other 3D apps available such as, Shapr3D, Sculptura, Putty 3D, uMake, AutoCAD LT, Fusion 360, onShape, SketchUp, Blender to name but a few, hasten to have I've not used any of these as yet.
For photographers/graphic designers there are even more options aside from Photoshop such as Affinity and Procreate which look awesome and I'm pretty sure that there are some very tasty deals on offer for Affinity which is highly regarded.
In business we have reps turning up with an iPad in hand instead of reams of paper and catalogues, am sure there is a good compromise to be reached in terms of what to lug round in the car. And more and more alarm companies use them for completion of alarm installs instead of carrying round contracts to be signed, some even link up payment of the sales invoices which is all over my head but nevertheless shows what can be achieved.
Don't write iPads off for professional use, they have come on a long way since they were first introduced.
Apologies but I don't know how to put multi-post replies on the post!
Is interesting your comments about individual iCloud accounts but enabling family sharing, I didn't know you could do that, if Apple Meadowhall had been open I would have called in for a chat to discuss this.
The Kindles have worked a treat so far, I bought these about 3 years ago and they have served their purpose when the kids were younger and kind of battered them but now that the schools are closed think that the iPads would be better suited for them to learn on. I take your point about 64GB being a reasonable size, I figure that will future-proof the units better.
In terms of the iPad Pro I am somewhat confused over the memory option, is the 64, 128, etc. simply the storage size or is there more going on. I understand PC figures for HDD and RAM size but not so sure about iPad storage options.
Currently I have my own iCloud account and my wife has her own separate iCloud account but I didn't know about the 'Family Sharing' option, is this like a shared folder for photos, etc. am I right in thinking we set up each iPad with it's own username and iCloud account but enable family sharing so that we can use the 'Find iPhone' app to find them if they are lost or stolen.
In terms of iPad use for business I've been keeping an eye on what is available and listening to the opinions of folks that use iPads.
One of my cousins is very artily inclined and produces artwork on his iPad Pro which he sells online, having moved over from a desktop computer a few years ago and says it's the best thing he has done, I know several other graphic guys who say the same, and having seen Fusion 360 app in use on an iPad do think it offers great potential. Is certainly a better option than doing nothing. Am sure there are other 3D apps available such as, Shapr3D, Sculptura, Putty 3D, uMake, AutoCAD LT, Fusion 360, onShape, SketchUp, Blender to name but a few, hasten to have I've not used any of these as yet.
For photographers/graphic designers there are even more options aside from Photoshop such as Affinity and Procreate which look awesome and I'm pretty sure that there are some very tasty deals on offer for Affinity which is highly regarded.
In business we have reps turning up with an iPad in hand instead of reams of paper and catalogues, am sure there is a good compromise to be reached in terms of what to lug round in the car. And more and more alarm companies use them for completion of alarm installs instead of carrying round contracts to be signed, some even link up payment of the sales invoices which is all over my head but nevertheless shows what can be achieved.
Don't write iPads off for professional use, they have come on a long way since they were first introduced.
rich888 said:
Is interesting your comments about individual iCloud accounts but enabling family sharing, I didn't know you could do that, if Apple Meadowhall had been open I would have called in for a chat to discuss this.
...
Currently I have my own iCloud account and my wife has her own separate iCloud account but I didn't know about the 'Family Sharing' option, is this like a shared folder for photos, etc. am I right in thinking we set up each iPad with it's own username and iCloud account but enable family sharing so that we can use the 'Find iPhone' app to find them if they are lost or stolen.
Family sharing works really well. You nominate someone (parent) as an 'Organiser' and then you can add up to five other family members to join, either as a 'Parent/Guardian' or a child (in practice, you might want to do this before handing the iPads out!). You can then share apps, Apple Music subcriptions and the like, as well as requiring child accounts to need your permission to install apps (useful to prevent them downloading social media apps if they are too young or running up bills). You can also share a pooled iCloud storage account, but we've kept to our separate iCloud plans so that we can 'detach' our son easily when he's old enough. The 'Find my..' app works really well to find iPads that have gone missing, and you can also track iPhone locations if they get these when they get older. You can get their screen time reports as well. In typical Apple fashion, 'it just works' in my experience....
Currently I have my own iCloud account and my wife has her own separate iCloud account but I didn't know about the 'Family Sharing' option, is this like a shared folder for photos, etc. am I right in thinking we set up each iPad with it's own username and iCloud account but enable family sharing so that we can use the 'Find iPhone' app to find them if they are lost or stolen.
rich888 said:
In terms of the iPad Pro I am somewhat confused over the memory option, is the 64, 128, etc. simply the storage size or is there more going on. I understand PC figures for HDD and RAM size but not so sure about iPad storage options.
Yes, this is the storage capacity, and is shared by apps, media, photos, system files etc. There is also the mysterious 'other' category which covers things like messages, email attachments etc which can grow quite big over time and is not easy to reduce in my experience. My iPad Pro 9.7 was only 32Gb and was forever offloading apps to keep enough memory free. I went for the base 128Gb Pro 11" and that should be fine for me, with iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive and Home Server links!Had the new Pro for 10 days or so now and it is billiant - so quick and has a brilliant screen. Very impressed.
Narcisus said:
Be careful with the iPad Pro 10.5's as many of them have a screen problem. I'm on my 2nd ...
Google iPad Pro 10.5 white spot.
These have been superseded by the Pro 2020 11” although there are some retailers showing stock. Hopefully the new one doesn’t have the same issue!Google iPad Pro 10.5 white spot.
Apologies once again for the lack of individual quotes...
thebraketester, I'm pretty sure that fusion 360 runs on an iPad as it does on any other device rather than just for viewing. I currently use 'eDrawings' app for viewing DXF and STEP files on my iPhone and Mac.
blueg33, I looked at the surface pro models a few months ago which as you say would allow me to run Windows but they worked out to be more expensive and I'm trying to get away from SolidWorks and move onto something more intuitive and less clunky in it's use, and less expensive year on year to keep updated.
595Heaven, thank you for the info about the family sharing and iCloud options, seems pretty straight-forward, I take your point about being able to separate the kids off as they get older. Well worth considering now rather than trying to unravel it in a few years time.
I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
Edited to add thank you to Narcisus for his tip about the screens on the iPad 10.5, wasn't aware of that on some of the older models. Apple are normally pretty good at resolving issues under warranty so is probably nothing I need to be concerned about unless buying second-hand.
thebraketester, I'm pretty sure that fusion 360 runs on an iPad as it does on any other device rather than just for viewing. I currently use 'eDrawings' app for viewing DXF and STEP files on my iPhone and Mac.
blueg33, I looked at the surface pro models a few months ago which as you say would allow me to run Windows but they worked out to be more expensive and I'm trying to get away from SolidWorks and move onto something more intuitive and less clunky in it's use, and less expensive year on year to keep updated.
595Heaven, thank you for the info about the family sharing and iCloud options, seems pretty straight-forward, I take your point about being able to separate the kids off as they get older. Well worth considering now rather than trying to unravel it in a few years time.
I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
Edited to add thank you to Narcisus for his tip about the screens on the iPad 10.5, wasn't aware of that on some of the older models. Apple are normally pretty good at resolving issues under warranty so is probably nothing I need to be concerned about unless buying second-hand.
Edited by rich888 on Monday 11th May 16:43
rich888 said:
595Heaven, thank you for the info about the family sharing and iCloud options, seems pretty straight-forward, I take your point about being able to separate the kids off as they get older. Well worth considering now rather than trying to unravel it in a few years time.
I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
No problem!I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
Agree with your thoughts on storage size.
Main limiting factor on life other than accidental damage will be the battery, and its ability to hold as much charge over time. 10 years may be pushing it a little! Bear in mind that you can sell you old iPad to a recycler. My old iPad Pro 9.7 was £499 I think, and four years later I’ve been offered £180 by one of the sites. Took the sting out of the upgrade to the new Pro!!
595Heaven said:
rich888 said:
595Heaven, thank you for the info about the family sharing and iCloud options, seems pretty straight-forward, I take your point about being able to separate the kids off as they get older. Well worth considering now rather than trying to unravel it in a few years time.
I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
No problem!I have a 16GB iPad 2 which is extremely old yet (has to be over 8 years) can still be used for surfing websites though only with javascript switched off which can be done in Safari > advanced settings, and off course the majority of apps no longer work on it. Same issue with the iPad Mini and I think the reason the apps are crashing is due to the limited amount of memory because both iPads are now pretty near full up to the brim with years of clutter.
From what you have said I think that perhaps 64GB or 128GB should be fine for the wife and kids, and perhaps 256GB for the iPad Pro, if I get between 8 and 10 years use out of them I will be happy.
Agree with your thoughts on storage size.
Main limiting factor on life other than accidental damage will be the battery, and its ability to hold as much charge over time. 10 years may be pushing it a little! Bear in mind that you can sell you old iPad to a recycler. My old iPad Pro 9.7 was £499 I think, and four years later I’ve been offered £180 by one of the sites. Took the sting out of the upgrade to the new Pro!!
Both of my ancient iPad 2 and iPad Mini batteries seem to be OK and run for literally days between charges unlike my just over one year old iPhone SE which is lucky to last a couple of days between charges, though even that is better since I switched all the tracking apps off which can be found in the privacy settings, take a look at this video entitled 'Why Does My iPhone Battery Die So Fast? which has some very useful tips and tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k0dRmg8te0
BTW, the price you were offered for your iPad seems very reasonable indeed, as you say it all helps take the sting out of the purchase. Can't imagine I will get a great deal back for the Kindles but they saved our Apple stuff from being destroyed by the kids in the meantime so were well worth purchasing at the time.
p1stonhead said:
Have iPads come along that far? I was always under the impression they were pretty useless for doing actual work on?
They are better but still really a content consumption device rather than creation IMHO. The Pro iPads are better but the cost is pretty steep by the time you fork out for a case, keyboard, mouse, pencil (pen) and cloud storage so you can actually get decent sized files on and off. For most people that need to do work they might as well spend that money on a decent laptop and avoid all the compromises needed to work on the iPad.
I'm quite a fan of Apple kit and have an iPhone SE 2020 and iPad Pro 10.5. At work I manage about 800 iPhone and iPad devices but I still revert to a PC, at a desk, for doing "work".
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff