Hey everyone,

I have a 9th-generation iPad that I bought around 2021. I only use it for studying: taking notes with the Apple Pencil, reading PDFs, browsing the web, and that's about it. No gaming, programming, or other demanding tasks.

I'm about to start college, and I already have everything organized on it.: my notes, books, and study materials. I really like this iPad, and I hate replacing perfectly good tech just because something newer comes out. My goal is to keep using it for studying for at least another 6+ years, if possible.

The title is obviously an exaggeration. I don't literally want it to outlive me. I just wanted to grab your attention.

So, what are all the things I can do to maximize its lifespan? I'm willing to do whatever helps. I don't care about having every feature enabled if turning something off will help it last longer. I just need it to remain reliable for studying for as many years as possible.

So as far as Apple has said the iPad Pro from 2018 is not supposed to get iPad os 27 right? So why does the developer and public iPad os 26 betas say the updates optimizes the spotlight index to prepare for iOS 27? Or is that across the board on every iPad?

One thing i give to apple is that the iPad is the best tablet out there (at least the Pros 13”) and my main phone is a S25U. I don’t like the iPhone since all the ecosystem lock is not use in my country (we use whatsapp for imessage and facetime at the same time).

Does anyone else here use the iPad + Android phone here?

Hey people, as the title suggests, I’m a politics student and looking for an iPad to help me annotate readings as I find it difficult to do so sufficiently on my MacBook Pro M1, and handwriting annotations feels unorganised, along with other university tasks.

I’m conflicted between the iPad 11” A16, which is A$919 for 256GB, which is a great price but obviously less features especially with the Apple Pencil USB-C. Also the iPad Air M3 13” 128GB for A$1199 (or 11” for A$749). Then there’s the iPad Air M4 11” 128GB which is A$1169 which is smaller than the M3 but obviously more powerful. All of the prices are considering student discounts (except M3 which isn’t sold at Apple obviously).

The main concern is if it’s worth paying the extra money for the Air for the better performance and the Apple Pencil Pro features, or if it is worth just buying the 11” and saving money for accessories and other things.

Please forgive the length of my post.

This is my review after owning one for two years. It is a beautiful and powerful device, but I mostly use mine for taking notes in goodnotes. That is basically it. As a normal student, you will probably use your laptop for assignments and serious work, then use your phone for videos, reading, and quick tasks. The iPad ends up awkwardly in the middle. You may imagine using it for yt, movies, studying, and productivity, but in reality it is often less convenient than simply reaching for your phone or laptop. I still think an iPad is useful for students, but most people do not need the Pro model. A cheaper iPad can handle notes just as well. The extra money would be much better spent on a better laptop.

A couple weeks ago I posted in the tech-support sticky because my external keyboard on my iPad was driving me crazy: random doubled characters, missed key repeats, and occasional lag, especially when I was switching between Notes, puzzles, and Safari.

Wanted to share what actually fixed it in case someone finds this later. It was not one magic toggle but a combination of changes:

1) I unpaired the keyboard in Settings and paired it again. I had set it up ages ago and never reconnected it. After re-pairing the double-typing became noticeably less frequent.

2) I turned off Full Keyboard Access in Accessibility. I had enabled it for a week while testing navigation shortcuts and did not realize it can change how key events are handled. Turning it off basically stopped the weird repeats.

3) I temporarily disabled Key Repeat in Hardware Keyboard settings, then turned it back on. That by itself did not fix the issue, but it helped rule out a stuck key or other physical problem.

4) I stopped using the keyboard while the iPad was charging. I was doing long puzzle sessions while plugged in and the problem seemed worse then. Maybe interference, maybe coincidence, but it has been stable since.

It has been about 10 days with no double-typing. If you ran into this, did one setting turn out to be the culprit for you? And is Full Keyboard Access known to be flaky with third party keyboards, or did I just hit a weird edge case?

Trying to watch a movie in Safari full screen, and the menu bar will not go away. I feel like I’ve tried every different app. Messing with app settings. Changing it from stage manager off. But still has this annoying menu bar up there. Running iPadOS 27 and using an hdmi usb connector

Trying to watch a movie in Safari full screen, and the menu bar will not go away. I feel like I’ve tried every different app. Messing with app settings. Changing it from stage manager off. But still has this annoying menu bar up there. Running iPadOS 27 and using an hdmi usb connector

Granted, I have a Windows PC at home. But the iPad really gives me the best of both worlds.

When I’m at home, I game directly on my PC. When I go out, the iPad is super easy to throw in a bag. And if I want to game while I'm away? No problem, I just stream my PC straight to it.

yesterday my waterbottle spilled in the bottom of my bag, i quickly realised and took everything out but didnt realise that it had gotten my ipad wet. i left it for 24 hours in silica cat litter (clean) to see if it would absorb the water but this is how its looking 24 hours later. (left is yesterday right is today) i dont want to replace my ipad (ipad pro 12.9 5th gen) as it works perfectly and i dont exactly have the means to replace it, i do a lot of work from it especially with art commissions as at the moment im trying to help fund moving out of an abusive situation. should i leave it for longer in the silica or look into a repair? i dont want to go anywhere dodgy as my ipad is so important to me but i also just dont have the money.

im very very careful with my tech ao please please odnt comment anything about it being a lesson about carrying waterbottles and expensive tech together.

i was playing minecraft and i fell asleep and when i woke up it was dead now it wont charged do i need to charge it overnight

after so much worrying, saving, contemplating, and YEARS of dreaming... finally, i have my first ipad+pencil, the a16 and the 1st generation.

honestly, i feel very paranoid half the time, lol. i imagine this a portion of how parents to newborns feel: every surface i put it on seems dangerous, i keep triple checking, and treating it like it'll break if i sneeze on it. the same goes with the pencil. it doesn't feel right that it doesn't turn off, just... chills there.

these things don't come around easy for me. all my devices in the past have been very simple and practical. even still, i've been very attached. this a luxury i've dreamed of when i was little but never asked my parents for, to write and draw with. another thing i'm scared of is if i start drawing on this, it'll look like shit and make the purchase a waste somehow, lmao. irrational, i know.

but, oh well. i'll get over all the jitters, i'm being way too sappy. please, let me know your top tips to keep my ipad and apple pencil in the best health!

i like the infinitely adjustable stand in terms of rotation and angle...

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ipad air starlight or space grey? been torn between which one to get for weeks now :( share your thoughts pls

Following up on my earlier mess trying to use the iPad as my main device for planning Disney park days and handling quick side tasks like notes, budgeting, a pin trading list, and a bit of game time. I kept bouncing between apps and losing track of what was current, so I asked here how people keep an iPad workflow from turning into tab chaos.

After a few experiments I started treating the iPad like a single-purpose dashboard depending on the day, not a mini laptop. The changes that actually stuck:

1) Focus mode and a single Home Screen page: I made a "Park Day" Focus that only shows one Home Screen page. That page has a calendar widget, a reminders widget, and the four apps I actually use. Hiding everything else cut the urge to jump around by a lot.

2) Stage Manager, but only two pairs of apps: I assumed I needed four or five windows open. Nope. I now switch between two setups: Notes + Safari, and a Sheets-like budget app + Photos. Stopping the split-view for everything made things much less stressful.

3) One capture inbox: Every quick thought goes into a single note at the top called INBOX. At night I sort it into proper notes and reminders. Making that a habit worked better than hunting for the perfect app.

4) Battery and heat fixes: I lowered brightness and trimmed background refresh. The iPad stopped running warm in my bag and my battery anxiety basically disappeared.

Anyone else using a similar single-dashboard approach? Also, how do you keep photos and notes working together without it getting clunky? I still fumble that part.

I have been traveling to the UK for work lately with my iPhone and iPad pro lately. They are both American and cel service is American too. When I get to London I get a bubble asking me to confirm I am over 18 (which I am). My question is, when I get back to the US. Is there a way to get rid of the bubble? I’ve clicked, restarted tried clearing cache and ran out of ideas. Wondering if someone knows.

They want a picture of my id which I will not give. I understand its the law but still want to keep some sort of privacy

Thanks!

Hi there. How can I get started with design on the iPad? I’ve tried many apps, but most are paid; I’m looking for something free that offers a wide range of tools.

I've been using my macbook air M1 for 1.5 years now and I've realised that I'm not really using it to its full potential. I just use it for reading PDFs and watching Netflix/YouTube. On the other hand, the iPad I believe would be a better choice of device as I wish to get back to digital art and note taking.

But I want to ask if this is a wise decision to make because in the near future I am planning to do my masters (either in graphic design or Fabric & Apparel) and in both of them I would need to use photoshop. So who all uses an iPad as well as a MacBook or uses iPad for designing, can you please help me weigh the pros and cons of this decision?

(Note - I had earlier asked a question about the iPad model as well which had helped me a lot in narrowing it down to which ipad would suit my needs. But would it be wise to actually trade it with a Macbook since I really don't use it much?)

I’ve had an iPad Air 5 for maybe 3 or 4 year. I got it to use most days just for streaming or reading, but in the past year I’ve gotten more into art and have been using Procreate a lot (probably averaging two hours a day). Lately, after using procreate for maybe 30 min my iPad starts to get hot. I want to keep using it and also get into other creative apps, but I don’t know what’s causing it to heat up like this.

Does this mean it’s time for a new iPad? Or is this something that can be fixed? Everything is updated. I know eventually if I really start using more creative apps heavily I’ll need to move to a Pro, but I don’t know when that point is.

so I bought this iPad for my sister and it's one of them with cellular. I purchased a plan for it and everything and the phone number shows up in the settings. so, why cant I use sms messaging? it only lets me do imsg. and when I go to the "send and receive" setting , it only shows the email. but, if I try and add the phone number to the Apple account, it needs a verification code, but the phone number is unique to the iPad and it doesn't recieve messages! is this something I just need to wait for ? I just activated it. please lmk!

And specifically I would like one that doesn’t need to be charged.

Thanks in advance!

I’m a rising freshman going into engineering undecided and I heard people loveee their college iPads and I’m looking into getting one, any recommendations on iPads and where should I buy one? I know Apple has their education store but I didn’t know if there was a better spot, thank you for sharing y’alls knowledge!!