first ipad in 10 years - ipad air 4. Any 3rd party pens?

Buffman · 31 May 2021 at 17:45

Hi all,

Getting an ipad air 4 tomorro. Generally I would like it for internet browsing, taking notes and building lists for my house renovation (and/or build ideas for decorating.)

Ive had other tablets but always tend to revert to my phone (Sony Xperia tablet 7 years ago, surface pro 3)

Any general help for an android user?

Couple questions :

Are there any 3rd party pens recommended? £120 seems a lot for a pen
Can you swap between WhatsApp on android phone and ipad?
What good note software do people have? Id like to use to build notes for my house renovation with colours etc /drawing on it and urls. Any recommendations from designers?
I bought the official "smart folio" case as I like the old style cases which cover the front and are very thin. I presume they don't do these anymore? I got it for £60 but seems like a lot for the case

Minstadave · 31 May 2021 at 18:09

I dont think there are any third party pens worth having, certainly not cheap ones. Logitech and Wacom make pencils but I'd just get Apple's pencil.

WhatsApp doesn't work on iPad at all. There's some janky workarounds but nothing decent.

There's lots of good note apps. I use Microsoft Onenote and Evernote.

ESR usually do a decent quality but much cheaper folio.

https://www.esrgear.com/?s=ipad+air...oSV8nqXx98QuUeD6SF4qVA12n4ie_3GIaAmjCEALw_wcB

Reuben klang · 31 May 2021 at 18:40

+1 on Apple Pencil. I bought a cheap 3rd party one it was a waste of time.

I also use Evernote and the notes app that comes with it, mainly because if I take a ss it’s easier to just edit it right off the bat and you can tap with the pen when you pick it up to instantly start taking notes.

whitecrook · 31 May 2021 at 18:51

Apples notes app is actually pretty decent. try that first and see what it lacks.

malachi · 31 May 2021 at 22:31

I use Notability on my iPad, great for taking notes when studying and syncs across all my devices.

inogen · 31 May 2021 at 22:39

If you’re making notes and making lists, try Trello

LiE · 1 Jun 2021 at 08:03

For a case have a look at this:

ZtotopCase Case for iPad 10.2, Slim Case for iPad 8th Generation (2020)/7th Generation (2019),Lightweight Smart Shell Cover,Translucent Frosted Hard Back Cover for iPad 10.2 2020/2019 inch,Blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XTH6...abc_1J6H35503H5P2W42QA5S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have this brand for my iPad Pro and it’s good.

You could look at the first gen Apple Pencil on eBay, that would be better than a 3rd party.

Buffman · 1 Jun 2021 at 10:05

LiE said:
For a case have a look at this:

ZtotopCase Case for iPad 10.2, Slim Case for iPad 8th Generation (2020)/7th Generation (2019),Lightweight Smart Shell Cover,Translucent Frosted Hard Back Cover for iPad 10.2 2020/2019 inch,Blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XTH6...abc_1J6H35503H5P2W42QA5S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have this brand for my iPad Pro and it’s good.

You could look at the first gen Apple Pencil on eBay, that would be better than a 3rd party.

Thanks! Regarding the case, to be honest I went with ipad over android as I really like the side flip cases (which unfortunately the air 4 doesn't have). I've ordered the smart folio case anyways (for £60 rather than £80) and hope that is a similar high quality.

All my previous cases that have wrapped the whole tablet tend to have made the tablet too thick but we shall see! Coming later tonight from amazon.

Combat squirrel · 2 Jun 2021 at 18:58

Get the Apple Pencil, the others are god awful compared to that and essentially pointless.

Buffman · 2 Jun 2021 at 19:28

Combat squirrel said:
Get the Apple Pencil, the others are god awful compared to that and essentially pointless.

Yeah a couple people have said that. How come? Not sure if I'd use the apple pencil enough to warrant the price tag. I know when I had a surface I used it a handful of times.

Feek · 2 Jun 2021 at 19:52

Buffman said:
How come?

There's a lot more to it, it's not just a dumb stylus.

Buffman · 3 Jun 2021 at 14:27

Feek said:
There's a lot more to it, it's not just a dumb stylus.

Have you got any more to extrapolate on this why it's particularly better? Have you tried 3rd party offerings?

I read a bit into it and presumably pressure sensitivity and the back button on it is in apples favour (plus general ergonomics)

Obviously there's battery etc to consider too.

Im not averse to it, just thought there may be some further discussion /people's use cases (for me it would be minor sketching which tbh currently seems OK with fingers)

Pic of ipad if anyone interested

Bluecube · 3 Jun 2021 at 14:40

Another vote for the Pencil. It works perfectly and does what you want and expect it to do. For note taking, try Nebo

Buffman · 3 Jun 2021 at 16:12

Reuben klang said:
+1 on Apple Pencil. I bought a cheap 3rd party one it was a waste of time.

I also use Evernote and the notes app that comes with it, mainly because if I take a ss it’s easier to just edit it right off the bat and you can tap with the pen when you pick it up to instantly start taking notes.

whitecrook said:
Apples notes app is actually pretty decent. try that first and see what it lacks.

malachi said:
I use Notability on my iPad, great for taking notes when studying and syncs across all my devices.

inogen said:
If you’re making notes and making lists, try Trello

Bluecube said:
Another vote for the Pencil. It works perfectly and does what you want and expect it to do. For note taking, try Nebo

^^^for all the above, do these apps have easy cross syncing with Google (so I can see it on my phone?)

I like the syncing of Google "keep notes" but it has very limited functionality in terms of drawing /annotation.

I tried the bog standard apple notes and it seems alright/user friendly enough. It seems to have more drawing styles etc that adding to do lists etc though

Do they have any monthly charges etc?

Biz.Kid09 · 3 Jun 2021 at 17:22

Buffman said:
^^^for all the above, do these apps have easy cross syncing with Google (so I can see it on my phone?)

I like the syncing of Google "keep notes" but it has very limited functionality in terms of drawing /annotation.

I tried the bog standard apple notes and it seems alright/user friendly enough. It seems to have more drawing styles etc that adding to do lists etc though

Do they have any monthly charges etc?

EverNote is very popular and cross-sync with Android.
It has a free and a paid option, https://evernote.com/premium. I would setup the free one on both your iPad and phone and try it first then if you like it and think the premium features are needed then you can just upgrade.

Reuben klang · 3 Jun 2021 at 17:26

Buffman said:
^^^for all the above, do these apps have easy cross syncing with Google (so I can see it on my phone?)

I like the syncing of Google "keep notes" but it has very limited functionality in terms of drawing /annotation.

I tried the bog standard apple notes and it seems alright/user friendly enough. It seems to have more drawing styles etc that adding to do lists etc though

Do they have any monthly charges etc?

As above Evernote is sync to my iPad, MB and iPhone. Notes does the exact same thing

I just use the free tier on it.

whitecrook · 4 Jun 2021 at 09:46

Apple notes has lists with check boxes… l its beside insert table, above the kb