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Comment by eknkc | Hacker News Reader

I owned multiple iPads and never found a compelling use case for them. I don't know why I keep buying them but they have been great computers for my parents so it's not like I buy to shelf them.

Are there any use cases (apart from drawing maybe. I can't draw a stick figure if my life depended on it so that's not for me) for developers?

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I see my colleagues using iPads at work when on Zoom calls as a whiteboard. It's pretty cool when done effectively. I'd like to practice that skill.

I bring my iPad to the coffee shop and leave my laptop at home when all I want to do is send emails and read. I don't think I could do "heavy" work on it, but it's great for quick stuff. The fact that it has 5g means I don't mess around with finding wifi. I wouldn't pay extra for the 5g (tethering works perfectly), but I got a few free unlimited data lines back when various US cell companies were fighting to churn customers.

I really started to enjoy my iPad Pro M1 messing around making music.

There are hundreds of fantastic apps out there from mixers, sequencers to excellent synthesizers, effects and samplers. For an idea of what this can look like, here's a video: https://youtu.be/ft8erjlzg4A?si=lCg77DZAUYNa1SEf

Add a midi controller and you can make pretty much any kind of music you want.

A great benefit over mac / pc computer based music making is that the apps are very affordable.

My iPad Mini is my primary travel computer. Fits (barely) in most of my front pockets. But the screen is big enough that I feel comfortable. Keep a bluetooth keyboard with an attachment slot in my bag. The slot holds the tablet firmly enough that I can use it as a laptop when wanted.

For my needs it's mostly perfect. Can have it with me at all times without requiring a bag. Much more portable than an actual laptop while the screen is more comfortable in size/ratio than the usual 6.8 inch phones.

iPadOS isn't my favorite but the form factor makes up for it.

They're a computer for things that your laptop sucks at. Draw directly on them, use them for reading, carry them to work sites and use them in situations where a laptop would be super-awkward, put them on sheet music stands, prop them up in the kitchen, hold them up and use their tilt sensors in games, all that kind of stuff.

They're basically never better than a laptop at things laptops are good at (though often serviceable enough that folks don't need both) but excel at other use cases where laptops aren't great.

Form factor, amazing. Long ago I had a mini and the new 7th gen is really nice to carry around. However I found the pen functionality to be frustrating. The Pencil Pro, when it works, is great. But I had issues with lagging input on some apps, the well-known screen heating problem (within minutes), lack of a good journaling solution, etc. It's annoying to have to go through 3-4 third party apps to do something that Apple should have released alongside the device, especially when most of them need subscriptions for nebulous benefits like cloud sync (I already pay for iCloud backup, so why?). FreeForm is OK, but isn't great for structured note-taking. There are enough of these niggling problems that I returned mine within the 14-day cool off period to do some more research.

I'd consider getting a used model when the prices have dropped a bit, but full-price for something that feels a little half-baked is tough. Especially because the hardware otherwise feels exceptional.

I'm looking at the Surface Pro, which does basically the same thing and also has conveniences like USB ports for peripherals. Or try out the iPad Pro, but that's getting into "BIG" territory.

> They're basically never better than a laptop at things laptops are good at (though often serviceable enough that folks don't need both)

I'm experimenting with replacing my personal laptop with an iPad Pro this year. I'm not a professional content creator, photo or video editor, etc. So far it's been great. I write a lot, creative writing, journaling, and lots of note taking. It's been wonderful for all of these tasks and it basically goes with me everywhere.

iPads are useless for developers. When working I just use mine as a 3rd monitor for Slack, Notion, Linear, Grafana, or whatever I want to keep an eye on.

iPads are amazing for other things though:

- they're the best platform to read comics or mangas

- they're great to learn/play piano with dynamic sheets

- they're great for games (Balatro on iPad is top tier), and basically anything where tactile is good as an input control (GarageBand is nice to use on iPad)

- they're great for travel

You can do many things with an iPad, developing is not one of them.

I use an iPad for all of my personal development work (except futzing with fpga).

Plugged into my keyboard & monitor I can use one of several “codespaces” solutions and if I’m traveling it’s a better screen than a phone.

I can’t use it for work admittedly but that’s mostly about corporate control of my device, not capability.

You can also use it as an extra display for a Mac

My M1 iPad Pro works well for photo editing (using Photomator, now acquired by Apple).

That, and the normal consumption stuff - web, streaming TV/movies, magazines, news, etc.

Never bothered trying to build software with it - that's why I own a MBP.

I do the exact same thing. I buy an iPad because it seems cool, use it for a bit, forget about it, sell it/give it away, repeat two years later.

I love the idea of an iPad, but they just don't really fit into my life I guess.

My biggest use case was as a recipe manager: I used the app Mela and placed the iPad in the kitchen, giving me a touchscreen with water resistance that would give me step-by-step instructions on cooking the family meal.

I was in the same boat but I've been able to use a friend's ipad with keyboard and have been very impressed. It totally changes the purpose of an ipad to me, especially how good they fit together.

They are good for music production with a Logic Pro subscription, the touch screen interface is great for virtual instruments, mixing sliders, etc. With powerful chips you can add more tracks and effects.

Mine is basically an HN reader for the couch

My iPad is almost exclusively for watching movies on planes. And it's very handy for that.

The form factor (in particular the aspect ratio) is unfortunately not ideal for that.

The original Surface RT might have had the best form factor I've used for plane movies - 16:9 screen with built-in kickstand. 16:9 is sub-par for basically everything other than tv/movies though.

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