I have owned pretty much every iPad model that Apple has released. While I’m an Android person for mobile devices, the iPad has far more appeal to me when using a tablet. The iPad OS is more stable and has a much better supporting app ecosystem than what I’ve seen on my Android tablets.
Friends and family always ask, “Which iPad should I buy?”, but that’s not always an easy question to answer. iPads have a wide range of use cases these days. I’ll run down each model and my views on where they work best and where they are more challenged. I’ll walk through the various models based on the price range.
iPad
The basic iPad is a great budget model, and I rarely praise a “budget model”. I could use this iPad and be happy. I bought this for my kids, however, so I don’t use it often. I also don’t recommend anything more than this for kids. My kids also love using the Apple Pencil 1st Generation with this iPad to draw on it and practice their letters and writing skills (ok, so… more drawing than letters). It’s ok for the basics, and you can easily watch movies or anything you want to do on any other iPad.
However, it is bulkier than the iPad Air. With the cover options available, the bulk also adds up. It’s also not as fast as other iPad models available, so if you’re using apps that need a little more power, this may not be appropriate. However, this is the only iPad you can find at times on sale in the $250 price range – and it blows away all the other options at that price.
If you’re looking for a smaller option, a lighter option, a faster option, or more features, start looking at the other options.
iPad Mini
The iPad Mini is a great “smaller” tablet. I love that you get to use the same apps that you see on a full size iPad, you get all the stability, etc. The iPad Mini feels more like a smaller iPad Air and looks identical, just smaller. It also benefits from being extremely light and easy to hold, particularly in one hand. This is my goto iPad for home automation uses, or any activity that requires being easily portable. Home automation is a no brainer – you can find any number of mounts, and the size makes it easily mountable in many locations (permanent or temporary/floating).
One use case I will highlight is using an iPad Mini cellular for boating. Most modern boats will have Bluetooth support for the audio or other functions on the boat. For example, I can view all the engine and running details over bluetooth. The iPad is extremely well supported as a platform for boating apps. With the iPad Mini cellular models, you also get a precise GPS so you don’t need an external GPS. This is great if you’re on the water and can receive a cellular connection. You can get real time weather (Dark Sky), a chartplotter system (Navionics is my recommendation), you can get your engine and running performance data, and you can connect to any modern audio system. All from a small tablet. I personally mount mine using a SeaSucker mount and it works great as I’m navigating. If we stop somewhere, I can unmount it, and carry it easily around the boat to control audio or check in on the weather. Finally, for this use case, I highly recommend the LifeProof waterproof cases. I can’t seem to find them for the iPad Mini right now, but they’re available for the iPad Pro.
Why shouldn’t you buy an iPad Mini? Primarily because it’s a smaller screen. When reading books, working with images, just browsing or watching movies, I highly recommend a larger screen. Speaking of, let’s look at larger iPad options.
iPad Air
The iPad Air is my hands down favorite and my preferred daily tablet. I can carry an iPad Air easily in one hand, and the Smart Cover is a simple, lightweight and very low bulk option for protection. The iPad Air plus the Smart Cover is the lightest and most portable fully protected solution available IMO. I can’t say enough good things about this combination. It’s great for watching movies, reading an ebook, browsing, etc. I can easily prop it up, the smart cover gives additional options, or I can hold it for a while in any position I prefer. This option has a ton of power on par in most normal uses to the iPad Pro.
I have only 2 gripes about the iPad Air. The first is the power connector. I’ll give Apple a pass on the other models, but I also travel often. I’ve standardized ALL of my electronics on USB-C and I only care 1 charger when I travel now. It was getting ridiculous where I needed a small carry-on just to carry chargers. My headphones, phone, laptop, external batteries, everything use USB-C. And I love to travel with my iPad Air because it’s so light, BUT it’s still using a lightning connector.
My second issue with the iPad Air is that it only supports the first generation Apple Pencil. They seriously just recently launched the 3rd Generation of these and only supported the 1st Generation Apple Pencil – that makes no sense to me.
iPad Pro
I bought the iPad Pro the minute it went on sale, primarily because it supports USB-C and the Apple Pencil (2nd Generation only). It seemed on the spec sheets it would only be slightly larger than the iPad Air. As an iPad this is the top of the line – it’s fast, it comes with plenty of storage, it has all the features you can ask for, and you pay for that as this is the highest price option.
The Apple Pencil (2nd Generation) is absolutely awesome. Paired with the iPad Pro it is my perfect combo for taking notes and sketching out diagrams for work. There are some great note taking apps now that were not available at the launch. However, despite all the Apple marketing, it’s not a laptop replacement. I could write an entire post just on this point, but I’ll quickly just say it’s no where near ready to replace my laptop work.
What the Pro also features is bulk. I like my tablets to be easily portable. This is the least portable option – in fact my Macbook 11″is lighter. You will feel strain trying to hold it in one hand for any length of time. It kills the experience in my opinion.
The iPad Pro also only supports a wrap around cover that covers the back and the front. For some reason, Apple never developed a “Smart Cover” option that only covers the front. What this all leads to is this iPad is a two-hand iPad. It’s heavy and hard to carry around in one hand. The Smart Folio cover is nice, but it’s twice as bulky as an iPad Air Smart Cover.
The iPad Pro is also not slender. The boxy design is more similar to the iPhone 4G if you remember those. The edges are “harsh” whereas the iPad, iPad Mini, and iPad Air all feel smooth in you hand.
After owning an iPad Pro for a year, I’ve found I rarely use it compared to my iPad Air 3 for daily leisure. I prefer to read books, watch shows/movies, etc on the iPad Air. I now only use my iPad Pro to take notes, which is very limited use for a very expensive option.
My Dream iPad
My “Dream iPad” is an iPad Air Cellular with the same frame and physical dimensions as the current iPad Air, but with a USB-C power port, a Smart Cover, and support for the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation. Apple’s not there yet, but I don’t know what more I could want if they created this configuration.
