Is An Ipad Worth It For Note Taking
Yes, an iPad is worth it for note taking, especially if you are going to make the most out of your iPad and use its other features. It is worth it as you it allows you to carry around all your notes on one device, its very easy to share digital notes and you can easily re-arrange and edit your notes. Additionally, you have an unlimited colour scheme, you can easily add images and diagrams from the internet, you have the option of taking handwritten or typed notes and you can easily annotate PDFs. An iPad might not be worth it for note taking if you are unwilling to pay for the expense and upkeep of it.
What Ipad Size Should You Get
This question is so important, and I think I made the wrong call. My iPad is the 12.9 , and its MASSIVE. I dont like it, and I wish I had stuck with the 10.5 .
I thought that the 12.9 would be nicer because Id be able to nicely split-screen textbook+notepad while taking notes, and while that is true, the rest of the issues with the 12.9 make it not worthwhile.
Things I dont like about my iPad size:
I think the 10.5 is my ideal size perfect for split-screening, but still portable and light. My friends have the 9.7, and for me thats too small, although my one friend loves hers. The 11 one is very new and I have no experience with it, but it seems like it would be much better than the 12.9.
Your Guide To Using An Ipad In College
Published by Jenny on April 16, 2019April 16, 2019
Technology is so incredibly useful in college, but it can also hinder your learning if you dont use it correctly. I have perfected the integration of technology into my college curriculum and have worked out the kinks to create this simple guide to help you use an iPad in college.
Disclaimer: some of these links are affiliate links. If you order through them, I get some money on the side with no extra cost to you! For more information, look at my disclosure policy.
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Should I Buy An Ipad For University
Its a brand new academic year. For most, its a return to the norm moving to the year above, seeing friends again, and handing in homework you did the night before. However, for a lot of students, its the first year of university. More often than not, that undertaking prompts the idea of buying a new laptop. In recent years however, the laptop as a students companion has met a new challenger the iPad. So, can you take on university without a keyboard and trackpad?
Digital Text Books Are A Marvel But There’s No Secondary Market
Your child will make the argument that an iPad can display digital textbooks and, since the device is lighter than a stack of dead-tree tomes, you’ll be preventing years of backache and possibly a future addiction to painkillers / chiropractors.
After a cursory examination of eBook prices, you’ll notice that they’re generally cheaper than their printed counterparts. Don’t be fooled! There’s no secondary market for digital textbooks. That price you see for the digital version is the only price you’ll get. You can’t buy them used or at a discount, and you can’t sell them back once the semester is over.
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Reasons Not To Buy An Ipad For Your College Student
If your child is trying to convince you that an iPad is essential for an effective, productive college experience, this list will help you stand your ground.
Dear parents: With summer slowly coming to a close, back-to-school shopping is in full swing. Your college-bound child is probably in the midst of asking for more and more money to buy the “essentials” for class and dorm life. And it’s likely that your kid has also mentioned needing an iPad. Perhaps you’re wondering whether to consider an iPad instead of a laptop for kids heading off to school.
These crafty kids think they found a perfect time to strike! They’ll come at you with all sorts of “reasons” why the iPad is a “valuable tool for learning.” Are you prepared to fight back? Are you armed with the knowledge you need to protect your dollars? You better be, because — as we’ll show you — the iPad just isn’t worth the money for a student.
Ipads For Students: Pros
One of the biggest advantages of the iPad is that its touchscreen is ideal for note-taking. All of the current iPad models include Apple Pencil support, though other simpler styluses are also available. This means you can use them instead of a notepad in lectures to make notes however you like mind-map, scrawl them in shapes that make sense to you, write on top of PDF hand-outs whatever.
And the latest version of iPadOS includes tools to turn any handwriting into regular copyable text, so can scrawl notes quickly, then copy them into a regular word doc for storing and referring to later. You can also copy your doodles to include in those notes. It’s really powerful in this regard.
But the iPad also works with keyboards, so you have the flexibility to have just the tablet for taking notes, then popping it into a keyboard case for writing longer coursework. The best of both!
An iPad setup is smaller and lighter than pretty much any laptop, and you can leave sections of it at home if you prefer ditch the keyboard and you halve the weight, but still have a full-power computer with you.
iPads are incredibly fast and extremely reliable there’s a low risk of weird failures and even if you do have issues, Apple is the best computer company for repairs, since you can visit its own stores. Built-in iCloud backup is a real boon too it makes it much harder to lose important work when disaster strikes.
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Best Value: Ipad Mini 6
If the iPad Air 4 is a little too much, then you may want to consider the new iPad mini 6, as long as you don’t mind having a smaller screen. It’s basically an iPad Air 4 in an even more compact size, and it has some updated internals that make it a step above the Air.
With iPad mini 6, you’re getting a new 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display in a newly redesigned body with flat edges, which means no more Home button! While there is no Home button, the iPad mini 6 still has a Touch ID sensor housed in the top button . Apple also eliminated the Lightning port and replaced it with USB-C for faster charging.
You also get the improved A15 Bionic chip in the iPad mini 6, which has a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. Though the A15 is what you’ll also find in the iPhone 13 lineup, the one in the iPad mini 6 is slightly under-clocked. Still, it’s 40% faster in terms of raw power and has 80% improved graphics over its predecessor. Plus, the iPad mini 6 comes in four beautiful colors: space gray, pink, purple, and starlight.
And for the first time, the iPad mini now has 5G connectivity, so you can stay productive anywhere, anytime. The only bad thing about the new iPad mini 6 is that it is now $100 more than its predecessor, so its starting price is $499 for Wi-Fi-only models and $649 for Wi-Fi + Cellular. But still, it’s a great combination of value and power if you don’t mind the smaller screen size compared to the iPad Air 4 and iPad Pro models.
Face Time And Isight Cameras Enhance Learning
Other not so traditional ways the new iPad can help you study include using the built-in FaceTime and iSight cameras. With the FaceTime camera you can do more than take photos. You can chat with classmates or teachers with the help of the Face Time app or Skype. That means if leaving the house to study with friends isnt really in the cards for whatever reason, you could always meet up with your study-buddy, each from the comfort of your own homes. You can also show the project youre working on and ask questions, or take photos of your artwork to send to teachers for advice. The 5Mp iSight camera on the new iPad comes in handy for taking higher resolution photos and recording 1080p high-def video.
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Why The New Ipad Is Great For Students
With the start of a new school year just around the corner its a great time to look at why Apples new iPad is such an indispensible tool for students. From containing multiple textbooks in one slender tablet to multi-tasking as an organizer, the new iPad makes students’ lives easier.
The new iPad can serve as a document carrier and study aid, while also providing easy access to e-mail and the Internet. And when school work is done, the new iPad makes a great platform for playing games or watching videos. In a nutshell, the new iPad takes what used to be mountains of burdensome materials and condenses them into one transportable, biomechanically-friendly device youll never know how you lived without. You might even be able to get rid of that backpack!
Ipad Pro Vs Macbook Air: Verdict
| iPad Pro | |
| 85 | 95 |
This one is close, and while the Air came out ten points ahead, it may not be the best for all. But after comparing this tablet and laptop in multiple categories it’s clear where these devices excel and where they don’t.
The iPad Pro is the better option for those who want to travel light and who want a touch-first experience with a superior display. Apple’s slate is also a better choice for shoppers who want to create content, as the built-in cameras and optional Apple Pencil provide a level of versatility the MacBook Air can’t match.
But that being said, the MacBook Air has pulled ahead of the iPad Pro when it comes to sheer speed and battery life. Plus, those who are simply looking for a solid laptop will find that the MacBook Air is the better choice and the better value. The Air is much more affordable than the iPad Pro when you consider the costs of the iPad’s optional keyboard, In addition, the macOS interface is simply better suited for everyday productivity tasks, and the Air also benefits from having more ports.
Bottom line: The iPad Pro is the best tablet you can buy that can double as a laptop for some people, and the MacBook Air is the best laptop for most people. I would personally pick the Air despite some shortcomings, but overall you can’t lose.
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So Which Ipad Is The Best For Students
Overall, we think the iPad Air at 64GB is a solid choice for college. Its more affordable than the iPad Pro, yet offers comparable performance for all your studying, research, and note-taking needs. Plus, it can support the more intensive tasks too with ease, such as working in large spreadsheets or even video editing, so you dont necessarily require a laptop to get most of your work done while youre at school.
In terms of storage size, we asked 3000 of our student followers on Instagram, and 60% of respondents said they dont need more than 64GB on their iPad.
If you need more than 64GB but dont need any fancy features, were confident the original iPad at 128GB should be plenty sufficient, especially with the new upgrades Apple has introduced in its 2020 model.
Should A Student Get An Ipad For College
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Ipads Have A Battery Life
Another down side to taking notes on an iPad is that your device will have a battery life. If you are going for a long school, college or university day, make sure that your iPad is full charged before leaving otherwise it might die on you while note taking.
Most iPads have a very good battery life, so with a full charge it should last a full school day. Specifically the iPad Pro has a 10 hour battery life. If you are worried about your iPad running out of charge I would suggest that you bring a portable chargerin your bag.
About Those Older Pros
Apple has always packed a little extra into its iPad Pro tablets. The 2018 and 2020 11-inch iPad Pros are worth buying if you can find them for $650 or less. Try not to spend more than $800 for the 12.9-inch version, 2020 or older. Anything more and you may as well buy the 2021 models. They’re both very powerful and match the latest versions in many ways, and will work with the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad.
The older 10.5-inch, 10-inch, and 13-inch iPad Pro tablets are not worth buying . They’re just too old.
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Ipad Pro Vs Macbook Air: Ipados Vs Macos
This is the biggest difference between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air. The iPad Pro runs iPadOS, which is a touch-first operating system that now supports cursor input across the OS. You can now easily select text using a Bluetooth mouse, external trackpad or Apple’s own Magic Keyboard with trackpad, as well as perform various gestures, such as flicking with three fingers up to see all of your open apps.
iPadOS continues to support multitasking features like Slide Over and Split View , and the customizable Today Screen gives you helpful widgets to stay on top of your day. Plus, only iPadOS supports Apple Pencil for drawing, note-taking and marking up documents.
macOS provides a more traditional desktop experience. The Dock is always visible, and you get more robust desktop applications. For example, the Chrome browser on macOS has a bookmarks bar, something the iPadOS version lacks. You also have a lot more choice in terms of software and what you can download on macOS, whether you choose to go through the Mac App Store or the web.
That said, macOS Big Sur added the ability to run iOS and iPadOS apps, provided your computer is running on an Apple Silicon processor.
Winner: Draw
Surface Vs Ipad: Final Thoughts & Conclusions
Cant decide between an iPad Air and a MacBook Air? The Verge video above compares the MacBook Air against the Surface Pro 3.
If you asked Microsoft how the Surface Pro 3 stacked up against the iPad Air, they might argue that the comparison is moot. The real question Microsoft has been asking consumers on their website is how the Surface Pro 3 compares to a MacBook Air. Microsoft designed the Surface Pro 3 to compete against both other tablets, as well as premium laptops. If thats the kind of tablet that appeals to you, the Surface Pro 3 might be the tablet youve been dreaming of. Then again, that premium feel comes at a premium priceand that price tag may be too steep for some students.
As for the iPad Air, this tablet is likely to appeal to people who are already ensconced in the iOS ecosystem. If you already own an iPhone, there are lots of benefits to making an iPad your primary tablet. The iPad Air also gets high marks for lightweight design, and for a friendly OS that is expected to get even friendlier with iOS 8. However, some people may prefer a larger screen, even if it means getting a heavier tab. For many college students, however, a smaller tab is appealing because it takes up less space in a backpack.
Ultimately, the choice between these two tabs comes down to personal preferences about display size, your favorite OS to work in, and overall cost .
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