iPad Pro and Apple Pencil
Hey, everyone! About a week and a half ago, I was very excited to purchase and receive a refurbished 12.9 inch iPad Pro. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on it as well as my thoughts on the accessories I purchased with it.
Let’s start with the iPad itself. First, I should note the major reasons that I decided to purchase an iPad. 1) I wanted it for reading music. 2) I wanted it to replace the majority of the functions that my laptop performs. My laptop is from 2012 and although it works great, it is reaching the end of its life. Instead of buying an entire new laptop, I decided I wanted to supplement it with a tablet instead. 3) I wanted to use it paired with the Apple Pencil to create digital art. With that in mind, on to the review.
I received the iPad within a few days of ordering it and it came as if it were a brand new tablet. It even had its beautiful white box and accessories.
The tablet already had a charge so I powered it on and that brings us to the very first thing I would like to mention: the screen. It’s beautiful, every color is vibrant and every line is crisp. The 12.9 inch surface is enormous at first, but it works amazingly for reading music, drawing, and watching videos. I really have nothing bad that I can say about the screen; it’s stunning. It’s also very easy to use. iOS 11, in classic Apple fashion, is extremely user friendly. Gestures and a simple set up make the experience seamless and intuitive. Apps can be run side by side (which is absolute magic when using a reference to draw from). I do have a little trouble occasionally with the gestures activating when I don’t mean them to, for instance Safari popping up when I’m browsing through Netflix. But that won’t be much of a problem as I get used to the device.
Let’s talk about the main reason that I purchased this: reading music. It’s so wonderful to read music on this tablet. At first, I downloaded PiaScore, since it was free. It worked pretty well, but it would only let you upload two pages at a time via the camera, so I ditched that in favor of forScore, which is by far superior. The page turns are much better, I can download as much via camera as I want, I can download from IMSLP, and there are so many features that I haven’t even explored yet. It was $9.99, but it was so worth it. It’s also worth mentioning that the Apple Pencil works really well for marking up the music in forScore.
Now for reason number two for the purchase: laptop replacement. There are a few things on here that my laptop still does a little bit better. I prefer GarageBand on my laptop. For some reason, the iOS version only starts with eight measures (what song only has eight measures?). It may be an operator error, but it’s just easier for me to use the program on my laptop. Along the same lines, I still use MuseScore on my laptop for notating music, and an app called Debit and Credit for my finances. Those few things aside, I don’t even have trouble typing on the iPad like I thought I would. I can do pretty much all my work on it, write emails, and even write this blog post. Overall, it almost replaces my laptop. Almost.
And reason number three: drawing. Here is where the Apple Pencil comes in. Let me just say, even after I’ve used a Wacom tablet, this is the best stylus I’ve used. To me, it feels natural and works perfectly with the iPad and apps like Procreate. The little pieces that come with it like the cap for the tap, the adapter to charge it, and the extra tip are easy to lose. However, that does not deter from the usefulness of this item. I have also discovered that since the cap to the Pencil is magnetic, it sticks to the Pencil really easily, even when it's charging, and will also stick to the iPad case. One adjustment that some might want to make would be a nice rubber grip. I haven’t put one on yet because I actually like the Pencil the way it is, but many artists have chosen to make that adjustment. (The art below was me making a new background for my iPad using Procreate)
The other accessories I purchased were a screen saver from Tech Armor and a case from Valkit. The screen protector is OK. It was difficult to get out all the bubbles and I think next time I would go for the glass instead of the plastic. But for right now, it’ll do. The case from Valkit has a little elastic loop to put the pencil and a removable front cover. The case is very sturdy and feels well made. My only complaint is more of a user error; if you leave the Pencil in the loop and fold the front cover behind the iPad and hold it like that, the front cover gets a bit bowed. Once I stopped leaving the Pencil in the loop when I did that, though, it flattened back out. So that’s probably a me problem.
So there you go! I would recommend this to anyone who was looking for a way to upgrade their Mac without buying a new one, or anyone who wanted to improve their music experience or art experience.
Let’s start with the iPad itself. First, I should note the major reasons that I decided to purchase an iPad. 1) I wanted it for reading music. 2) I wanted it to replace the majority of the functions that my laptop performs. My laptop is from 2012 and although it works great, it is reaching the end of its life. Instead of buying an entire new laptop, I decided I wanted to supplement it with a tablet instead. 3) I wanted to use it paired with the Apple Pencil to create digital art. With that in mind, on to the review.
I received the iPad within a few days of ordering it and it came as if it were a brand new tablet. It even had its beautiful white box and accessories.
The tablet already had a charge so I powered it on and that brings us to the very first thing I would like to mention: the screen. It’s beautiful, every color is vibrant and every line is crisp. The 12.9 inch surface is enormous at first, but it works amazingly for reading music, drawing, and watching videos. I really have nothing bad that I can say about the screen; it’s stunning. It’s also very easy to use. iOS 11, in classic Apple fashion, is extremely user friendly. Gestures and a simple set up make the experience seamless and intuitive. Apps can be run side by side (which is absolute magic when using a reference to draw from). I do have a little trouble occasionally with the gestures activating when I don’t mean them to, for instance Safari popping up when I’m browsing through Netflix. But that won’t be much of a problem as I get used to the device.
Let’s talk about the main reason that I purchased this: reading music. It’s so wonderful to read music on this tablet. At first, I downloaded PiaScore, since it was free. It worked pretty well, but it would only let you upload two pages at a time via the camera, so I ditched that in favor of forScore, which is by far superior. The page turns are much better, I can download as much via camera as I want, I can download from IMSLP, and there are so many features that I haven’t even explored yet. It was $9.99, but it was so worth it. It’s also worth mentioning that the Apple Pencil works really well for marking up the music in forScore.
Now for reason number two for the purchase: laptop replacement. There are a few things on here that my laptop still does a little bit better. I prefer GarageBand on my laptop. For some reason, the iOS version only starts with eight measures (what song only has eight measures?). It may be an operator error, but it’s just easier for me to use the program on my laptop. Along the same lines, I still use MuseScore on my laptop for notating music, and an app called Debit and Credit for my finances. Those few things aside, I don’t even have trouble typing on the iPad like I thought I would. I can do pretty much all my work on it, write emails, and even write this blog post. Overall, it almost replaces my laptop. Almost.
And reason number three: drawing. Here is where the Apple Pencil comes in. Let me just say, even after I’ve used a Wacom tablet, this is the best stylus I’ve used. To me, it feels natural and works perfectly with the iPad and apps like Procreate. The little pieces that come with it like the cap for the tap, the adapter to charge it, and the extra tip are easy to lose. However, that does not deter from the usefulness of this item. I have also discovered that since the cap to the Pencil is magnetic, it sticks to the Pencil really easily, even when it's charging, and will also stick to the iPad case. One adjustment that some might want to make would be a nice rubber grip. I haven’t put one on yet because I actually like the Pencil the way it is, but many artists have chosen to make that adjustment. (The art below was me making a new background for my iPad using Procreate)
The other accessories I purchased were a screen saver from Tech Armor and a case from Valkit. The screen protector is OK. It was difficult to get out all the bubbles and I think next time I would go for the glass instead of the plastic. But for right now, it’ll do. The case from Valkit has a little elastic loop to put the pencil and a removable front cover. The case is very sturdy and feels well made. My only complaint is more of a user error; if you leave the Pencil in the loop and fold the front cover behind the iPad and hold it like that, the front cover gets a bit bowed. Once I stopped leaving the Pencil in the loop when I did that, though, it flattened back out. So that’s probably a me problem.
So there you go! I would recommend this to anyone who was looking for a way to upgrade their Mac without buying a new one, or anyone who wanted to improve their music experience or art experience.
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