Apple iPad (Wi-Fi, 32GB) - Space Gray (Previous Model)

Like all Apple products I’ve ever owned / used - it just works. I am currently using my iPad in an experiment in portable computing. I work in finance and couldn’t justify the cost of an iPad Pro, nor did I need that level of graphics power. Instead (and always enjoy a challenge) I opted to get the least expensive iPad (2018) with 32GB Ram. I knew I needed only a few apps - primarily word, excel, Microsoft One Drive for iOS and Google Drive. What I have up and running and with using less than 10 of the 32 GB of storage:Microsoft One DriveGoogle Drive (temporary - migrating from Google to One Drive, so necessary at this time)Safari - native iOS app performs beautifully on my company’s web-based platformMicrosoft Word - needs office 365 account for maximum benefitMicrosoft Excel - needs office 365 account for maximum benefitHost of other apps - native and third party (like the Amazon App) but not any games, and I don’t store any music, podcasts, movies, or other storage-intensive media.I have used Google Chrome for iOS and it works well, but I prefer the user interface of Safari, so I stuck with that. On iPad, either browser works well and I can see benefits for one over the other and vice-versa, but for my purposes, Safari is fine.I have my iPad connected via Bluetooth to a portable keyboard that I also acquired on Amazon’s website, which makes this work more like a notebook computer overall. I also have a stylus from Amazon that works beautifully since I don’t have a mouse, and I’m not sure I could use one now anyway... when using (now my daughter’s) MacBook Pro, I find myself reaching for the screen to navigate by touch (d’oh!).I have the iPad sync’d to my iPhone for messages and for calls - WiFi calling and calls on my iPhone. Calls are clear, iMessage works great - for iOS and texts forwarded from non-iOS devices. I have my iPhone set up for a WiFi Hotspot when needed.The only thing I “miss” is not having my music and media stored locally. I have this partially addressed by having most of my music in the cloud and music plus all other media stored on an external hard drive that I access through a portable router.Benefits - this weighs less than half what my MacBook Pro weighed, and travel is much easier. Still have to remove the iPad for TSA when going through security, but it’s so much lighter. This has actually been a Godsend of late; my wife had an accident and broke her ankle. I’ve been driving her to appointments for work since I can work remotely, and once again, the iPad is amazing. Paired with my keyboard and iPhone HotSpot and it’s like I’m in the office, only much more convenient.It’s faster than my desktop PC and faster than my former MacBook Pro. Hard as it may be to believe, the iPad feels like it was made to access Google drive and Microsoft One Drive, and I can access files nearly 3x faster than my desktop PC when connected to the same internet. In fact, the iPad is on WiFi and the desktop is wired, and the iPad wins.I can do all my work in the scaled-down iOS apps, or I can use Office.com and log in through Safari and access One Drive and Word and Excel online. There are a couple of features not available in the scaled down iOS versions but they’re not significant enough to deter me from doing all my work on the iPad when necessary.Intuitive controls - gestures and swipes work as they do on a MacBook Pro touchpad. This made the transition way easier.Inexpensive Accessories - Amazon has a host of accessories that work brilliantly with the iPad and have made this transition entirely possible and within a very tight budget.Drawbacks: Charger cable is kind of short. I can buy a third party cable, but I like the way the Apple OE cable performs. I work around it and use the battery and although the cable is short, the battery does last all day for WORK. Streaming Hulu when I should be working? Not so much.Learning Curve: It does take some getting-used to when ditching a Magic Mouse or touch-pad. Allegedly, a future update will give iPad the capability of communicating with a Magic Mouse 2, but I’m not in a hurry to get a mouse.Not having media on-hand all the time. It’s more of an inconvenience than a drawback.

iPads are great.

This Bought this on sale brand new for $250, which is an absolute steal for a top of the line tablet. Enough has been said about iPad as it is, so I’ll keep the review short.I upgraded from from a 4.5 year old iPad Air 2, since I was interested in trying the new one and interested in the added performance for demanding games such as Civilization VI. While this new iPad is ever so slightly thicker than iPad Air 2, and does not have a fully laminated display, the performance upgrade is extremely significant. The trade off in thickness and screen lamination is well worth the significant price drop, while not compromising at all on performance or anything else. Not having a laminated display simply makes it feel a little more hollow when tapping on it compared to a laminated display, but as soon as you apply a screen protector to this, you won’t be able to notice anymore. It’s really the perfect balance unless you have extra money lying around.For $250, you can’t go wrong. This is the same excellent iPad experience as the more expensive models, with the unmatched software ecosystem. Plus, it works with Apple Pencil, so it’s great for artists (or aspiring artists) and doodlers alike.Look no further, it doesn’t get better than this unless you’re willing to invest in Pro.

For the money the value with this device is unheard of in Apple products. It’s plenty fast for all but the most intensive tasks. The screen looks great. Saying the pro has a better screen is sort of like saying a Lamborghini is faster than a corvette. Maybe it’s true but in typical use you won’t really be able to tell unless they’re side by side. I use my Ipad extensively to read comic books and the colors look great.The iPad Pro is no doubt an incredibly impressive machine but this is the one you should buy. Now it even supports the Apple Pencil (gen 1) so the only difference is really the smart connection (you don't need it. Plenty of alternative keyboards that work very well) the screen (you won’t be complaining about this one) and the power. (You likely won't even challenge this iPad so having way more power in a pro won't help most people)For less than half the price of an iPad Pro this is a tremendous value. If you're the kind of person that truly needs a pro then you won't read my review to figure that out. You'll already know. So if you're reading this on the fence go ahead and get the base iPad. It's a terrific device and you won't regret it.

So I was searching for an iPad that can mostly do internet browsing like recipes, playing few games and reading most of my Kindle ebooks and other ebooks on a tablet. This is a perfect ipad for the job and it works perfectly for my needs. This model is simple and easy to use. Battery life is very reliable and it last around almost 3 days max. Although I use this ipad almost every night.Screen quality is so clear and you can adjust the brightness of the display too. It has been over 3 months of usage, and it still works perfectly.The touch screen is responsive as stated.Highly recommend this ipad doing more basic stuff.