Ringo no uta
November 5, 2015 3:21 PM Subscribe
It's time to buy some more lovely Apples. Can you help me decide which exact models of iPad or Air + iPhone to buy?
Sorry, this question is kind of all over the place.
So, I have a MacBook Pro that I lug around all day, and although it's smaller than my old 17-inch one, it's just too bulky. I want something lighter, like an iPad with a keyboard or an Air. I also want to replace my old iPhone 4S. In general, I would rather spend more money to get more memory/a better processor/etc. than be forced to replace everything to handle a new OS relatively soon.
In deciding between an iPad and an Air, I'm conflicted because I need something to use for work (printing wirelessly and through USB, connecting to USB and HDMI projectors, opening Word/Excel/Powerpoint files, opening students' files on flash drives) and I also want something very light and portable for fiction writing. The first use points toward an Air (I think?) since it at least has USB. The second points toward an iPad.
If I'm honest, I want an iPad (I miss Doctor Who: Legacy...). But are there good solutions for hooking up iPads for the kinds of random, antiquated technology that I tend to run into as an adjunct professor? I don't mind carrying a dongle or two around, as long as it actually WORKS. (Stuff comes up on Google, but I'd prefer your actual experiences.) And if yes, any thoughts on iPad sizes and good keyboards? Something I can put in my purse would be great, but not if I wind up carrying an iPad and a laptop because of port incompatibility.
I also don't know how to choose among the iPhone 6s Plus, 6s, etc. I'm dying for a better camera, strong support of the current OS (I'm like 2 behind!), and general awesomeness. If I get an iPad, I probably don't need to worry about having a phone with a bigger screen (?), but it looks like the 6s doesn't have optical image stabilization. Is this worth worrying about?
Finally, if I do acquire new devices, how do I keep these things all synched up nicely? I've had confusing experiences with iTunes, my contacts, my calendar, and my reminders in the past. I want all of them (and maybe even more documents and stuff!) to play nicely together without things being deleted, and I don't really know how to make this happen.
If any of the above was too nonsensical, please ask and I'll attempt to clarify.
Thank you!
P. S. I already have a Time Capsule at home, which I would like to keep using, if that affects anything.
Sorry, this question is kind of all over the place.
So, I have a MacBook Pro that I lug around all day, and although it's smaller than my old 17-inch one, it's just too bulky. I want something lighter, like an iPad with a keyboard or an Air. I also want to replace my old iPhone 4S. In general, I would rather spend more money to get more memory/a better processor/etc. than be forced to replace everything to handle a new OS relatively soon.
In deciding between an iPad and an Air, I'm conflicted because I need something to use for work (printing wirelessly and through USB, connecting to USB and HDMI projectors, opening Word/Excel/Powerpoint files, opening students' files on flash drives) and I also want something very light and portable for fiction writing. The first use points toward an Air (I think?) since it at least has USB. The second points toward an iPad.
If I'm honest, I want an iPad (I miss Doctor Who: Legacy...). But are there good solutions for hooking up iPads for the kinds of random, antiquated technology that I tend to run into as an adjunct professor? I don't mind carrying a dongle or two around, as long as it actually WORKS. (Stuff comes up on Google, but I'd prefer your actual experiences.) And if yes, any thoughts on iPad sizes and good keyboards? Something I can put in my purse would be great, but not if I wind up carrying an iPad and a laptop because of port incompatibility.
I also don't know how to choose among the iPhone 6s Plus, 6s, etc. I'm dying for a better camera, strong support of the current OS (I'm like 2 behind!), and general awesomeness. If I get an iPad, I probably don't need to worry about having a phone with a bigger screen (?), but it looks like the 6s doesn't have optical image stabilization. Is this worth worrying about?
Finally, if I do acquire new devices, how do I keep these things all synched up nicely? I've had confusing experiences with iTunes, my contacts, my calendar, and my reminders in the past. I want all of them (and maybe even more documents and stuff!) to play nicely together without things being deleted, and I don't really know how to make this happen.
If any of the above was too nonsensical, please ask and I'll attempt to clarify.
Thank you!
P. S. I already have a Time Capsule at home, which I would like to keep using, if that affects anything.
I use gmail, gmail contacts, google calendar, and apple's reminder app to sync ipad, iphone, multiple computers, even the kindle fire for some purposes... works great...
And, I agree, you'll want an Air for your purposes, you'll love it, go check them out at the apple store.
posted by HuronBob at 3:47 PM on November 5, 2015
And, I agree, you'll want an Air for your purposes, you'll love it, go check them out at the apple store.
posted by HuronBob at 3:47 PM on November 5, 2015
Get the Mac Air.
I have a couple of iPads because I like to draw and paint with the Procreate app. I don't recommend it for anything else, really. For the form factor, it's still kind of heavy. My iPad Air makes my fingers sore if I have to hold for long periods, it's hard to type on, the autocorrect is seriously borked when it comes to apostrophes. It's hard to select text,..in fact everything is harder to do than on a laptop.
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:49 PM on November 5, 2015
I have a couple of iPads because I like to draw and paint with the Procreate app. I don't recommend it for anything else, really. For the form factor, it's still kind of heavy. My iPad Air makes my fingers sore if I have to hold for long periods, it's hard to type on, the autocorrect is seriously borked when it comes to apostrophes. It's hard to select text,..in fact everything is harder to do than on a laptop.
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:49 PM on November 5, 2015
Agreed that an iPad won't work for your needs. The Macbook Air is almost as light and it's a real computer.
For the phone, I have a 6S and it takes great pictures. I have shaky hands so I would have loved optical stabilization, but I can't live with a giant phone. In practice I haven't missed it.
posted by mmoncur at 3:59 PM on November 5, 2015
For the phone, I have a 6S and it takes great pictures. I have shaky hands so I would have loved optical stabilization, but I can't live with a giant phone. In practice I haven't missed it.
posted by mmoncur at 3:59 PM on November 5, 2015
I have an iPad Air 2 which I adore. I never touch a Desktop or PC if I can help it. I read, write, code, query Dbs, visualize data, use web apps and do just about everything on it. But, there are limits. If you want major details, Federico Vidici did a great article about how he uses his iPad for his primary machine on macstories.net.
But, unless you have an AirPrint enabled printer, you can't print from the iPad. similarly, you aren't going to connect to a projector unless that projector is connected to an AppleTV. There are very few supported USB scenarios on the iPad.
Just buy the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus based on which size seems more your speed when you hold it. They have good trade-in/resale and there is always real value in the features added to the latest model.
posted by putzface_dickman at 4:07 PM on November 5, 2015
But, unless you have an AirPrint enabled printer, you can't print from the iPad. similarly, you aren't going to connect to a projector unless that projector is connected to an AppleTV. There are very few supported USB scenarios on the iPad.
Just buy the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus based on which size seems more your speed when you hold it. They have good trade-in/resale and there is always real value in the features added to the latest model.
posted by putzface_dickman at 4:07 PM on November 5, 2015
Best answer: Based on your use cases, I'll just nth the consensus that's already formed: your choice of MacBook Air size, and your choice of iPhone 6s size.
In both cases the powerfulness and forward-facing technology is the same, or very close to it, making it pretty much a form factor consideration. Go handle each size and see which feels more comfortable for you.
Neither weighs anything at all, so that won't be a factor.
If after all that you still covet an iPad (they're nice, they're fun, they're great on airplanes, but serious work... no, not really), there will be a lot of sales in a couple of weeks. Just get a cheap/basic model and treat it like a toy, rather than trying to get work done on it.
posted by rokusan at 4:09 PM on November 5, 2015
In both cases the powerfulness and forward-facing technology is the same, or very close to it, making it pretty much a form factor consideration. Go handle each size and see which feels more comfortable for you.
Neither weighs anything at all, so that won't be a factor.
If after all that you still covet an iPad (they're nice, they're fun, they're great on airplanes, but serious work... no, not really), there will be a lot of sales in a couple of weeks. Just get a cheap/basic model and treat it like a toy, rather than trying to get work done on it.
posted by rokusan at 4:09 PM on November 5, 2015
The new Macbook (not Air) is shockingly light—it's on par with an iPad + keyboard case. It's also shockingly short on ports (though dongles for HDMI out, SD card readers, etc are available), and a lot of people don't like the keyboard (I think I could get used to it). I wouldn't want it for my only computer, but I could imagine using it for outbound work.
I have tried using an iPad + keyboard as my outbound computer and got really frustrated. Not because it wasn't powerful enough for what I was doing, but because of the basic ergonomics of reaching up to the screen to do anything I couldn't do on the keyboard. The fact that I could only have one "window" open at a time was also really limiting. iOS has gone some way toward fixing that with split views.
If I was going to have one computer, and the Macbook Pro is too heavy, I'd get the Air.
posted by adamrice at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2015
I have tried using an iPad + keyboard as my outbound computer and got really frustrated. Not because it wasn't powerful enough for what I was doing, but because of the basic ergonomics of reaching up to the screen to do anything I couldn't do on the keyboard. The fact that I could only have one "window" open at a time was also really limiting. iOS has gone some way toward fixing that with split views.
If I was going to have one computer, and the Macbook Pro is too heavy, I'd get the Air.
posted by adamrice at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
(You may be one of the three people who could get away with the new Macbook. I wouldn't recommend it because it's underpowered, lack of ports, and it's a first-generation Apple product (which for some reason always seem to have weirdnesses).)
I have an iPhone 6 (not plus), and the camera is amazing. Unless you're doing serious, serious photography with action shots and whatnot, it's going to be way more than fine. The screen is outstanding in either size, honestly. It's really how you feel about the size of the device. I only regret getting the 16GB model, which is not enough, tbh.
Apple likes you to use iCloud to sync your devices, and it works, well, adequately. At first it was buggy, but it seems to be better now.
posted by General Malaise at 3:39 PM on November 5, 2015