I’ve never had an iPad, so when the iPad Pro 2018 came out, I completely fell in love with it. Then, the iPad Pro 2020 came out. Because I’ve been wanting an iPad Pro for a while, when Apple offered a deal that discounted $100 off and bundled a pair of free AirPods for students, I finally decided to dive in and purchase one.
I ordered the iPad Pro 2020, spanning 11 inches with 128GB, in the beginning of August, and it arrived a month later. The free AirPods and the Apple Pencil arrived a week after I placed my order. In this review, I won’t discuss the technical stuff, because let’s be real… I’m not a professional, and I don’t really know much about technology. I will, however, tell you how it works for me as a student.
I’ve been trying to make some changes to my lifestyle, and one of these was swapping out my physical notebooks for digital note-taking. I’m horrible at taking notes on my computer because I can’t type fast enough, and I wanted something that allowed me the flexibility of a notebook.
When the iPad arrived, the first thing I did was buy GoodNotes, an app that allows me to take notes with my Apple pencil. I really like taking notes on the iPad. It’s actually really easy after you get used to the difference between the texture of the screen vs. the texture of paper. I will, however, point out that after a while, my hand starts to hurt a bit and I need to take breaks from writing, due to the Apple Pencil being much heavier than a normal pencil.
The second thing I did after I got my iPad was purchase Procreate. I’m by no means an artist. Like, at all. But I do enjoy drawing and painting, even if my art skills aren’t amazing. The iPad, along with Procreate, makes drawing very accessible and even easier. Procreate gives you access to tons of colors and tools that will make sure your imagination comes alive in the form of drawings. Both the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil have pressure and tilt sensitivity; which at first is a little difficult to control, but it’s actually helpful for drawing and painting. Even if I don’t paint very well, I adore spending my days drawing on the iPad.
Now, let me tell you about the latest update. With iOS 14 came to life what is, in my opinion, one of the iPad’s greatest features: Scribble.
With Scribble, you can write anything you want in any text box or search bar. You can also do things like add a word in the middle of a sentence or scratch something out to delete it. If you drag the Apple Pencil over words, it selects them. If you draw a line in the middle of certain words, it can add or delete a space. I feel that I can do things with Scribble much faster than before. The only thing I don’t like is that I’m only able to write without many mistakes in English and Chinese, and not in any of the other languages I speak.
This device is great for multitasking. Having an iPad has improved my productivity, and doing research is a little bit easier, since now I have two screens to do it with, and the iPad has a split screen feature. It’s also easier to read documents in it because it’s more portable than a computer; and unlike a cell phone, it’s big enough to help make long reads easier on the eyes.
I think the iPad is a great device. You can use it for many thingsーfrom streaming your favorite show, to editing university documents. However, it’s very expensive and I was only able to buy it because I saved up some money during quarantine. I would say that if you have the money, go for it. Nonetheless, keep in mind that Apple also came out with the new iPad Air; which, from what I’ve read, supports these things too. I hope this helps you decide on whether or not you should buy the iPad Pro 2020!