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iPad

device · in 49 sources (2018–2020)

Apple's standard tablet; in 2018 Ali recommended the cheaper non-Pro iPad over the iPad Pro for most students.

Made by: Apple

Sources by year: 2018: 15 · 2019: 15 · 2020: 19

Also known as: iPad 2018

Threads

Also named in the threads: Ali promises videos for students on motivation, productivity, note-making, his phone apps and using the iPad at medical school (2018) · Ali promises to start reviewing tech as a tech YouTuber (2018) · Ali promises a more detailed review of the iPad mini (2019) · Ali predicts that iPadOS, out in autumn 2019, will let the iPad replace a laptop for a lot of people (2019) · Ali suspects iPadOS will replace his laptop for everything except video editing (2019) · Ali promises a separate video covering iPadOS in more depth (2019) · Ali teaches physiology supervisions to first-year medical students at Girton College, Cambridge (2019) · Book Club, Ali's series of book-summary videos (2020) · Ali promises a review of the iPad Air 4 (2020) · Ali promises a proper video exploring whether an iPad can replace a laptop for him (2020)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

iPad Pro (83) · iPad Air (24) · Apple Pencil (28) · MacBook (35) · Notability (20) · Apple (24) · Magic Keyboard (15) · GoodNotes (9) · Paperlike (9) · Safari (6)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2020

  • 2020-04-20 · HEAD TO HEAD - iPad Pro vs MacBook Air (2020) — Ali: An iPad can sort of replace a laptop, Ali says, but at a significant cost of efficiency: everything a MacBook Air does can be done on an iPad Pro, it just takes a little longer. — 00:00:29
    • For people with very basic computing needs, like his housemate Molly Hunt, who watches Netflix and only occasionally types a Word document or makes a PowerPoint, Ali says the laptop's efficiency saving does not matter: get an iPad. — 00:00:58
    • Someone whose needs are basic enough to use an iPad as a laptop could easily get by with the budget iPad or the iPad Air, both much cheaper than the iPad Pro, Ali says. — 00:02:09
  • 2020-04-23 · This is Incredible - iPad Pro Magic Keyboard Impressions — Ali: The Magic Keyboard's trackpad is as good as a MacBook's, Ali says, though much smaller and with a physical click, and he expects it to significantly increase his productivity on the iPad, especially for selecting text. — 00:02:56
  • 2020-05-15 · Apple Fanboy Reacts to Microsoft Surface Go 2 — Ali dislikes OneNote and GoodNotes for handwriting because they slightly adjust strokes to look smoother, and loves Notability on the iPad because it does not change what he writes. — 00:09:10
    • The budget iPad is much faster than the Surface Go 2, Ali says: Apple devices are far better optimised for speed, and against the charge of overpaying for specs he says specs don't matter, the user experience does. — 00:11:52
    • For now Ali recommends the iPad rather than the Microsoft Surface Go 2, though he may change his mind in two weeks. (hedged) — 00:12:26
  • 2020-09-01 · Gymshark, Inspirations & Pet Peeves - ONE MILLION Subscribers Q&A — Ali took down a video on taking notes on his iPad at work after someone complained to his hospital that his flippant comments were blasé about data security. — 00:07:11
  • 2020-11-20 · My New Daily Driver - M1 Macbook Pro (2020) Review — Ali still does not think an iPad, even a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, can feasibly replace what a laptop does for him. — 00:02:34
  • 2020-11-26 · iPad Air Review - Productivity Powerhouse — recommendation: Ali's upfront conclusion on the 2020 iPad Air: anyone in the market for an iPad should get it, while a student on a really tight budget would be completely happy with the budget iPad. — 00:00:00
    • If you already have an iPad, Ali would not upgrade to the iPad Air or iPad Pro just for speed unless you have actively noticed it is too slow for what you do. — 00:09:35
    • Whether an iPad is worth it depends, Ali says, on whether you already have one and what you do with it: ask how much your own productivity will improve with an iPad versus without one. — 00:12:23
  • …and 66 statements more in 2020 — all statements of 2020

Also named in: My Productive Birthday in Lockdown - Day in the Life Vlog

2019

  • 2019-02-14 · Valentine’s Day Live Stream — recommendation: Ali: For a student with little money, Ali says a budget iPad is no requirement: if you struggle to pay rent or go out with friends, don't buy one; otherwise he would save up, as it can make you a bit more productive. — 00:29:27
  • 2019-04-23 · Which iPad should you buy - Analysis of iPad Pro vs iPad Air vs iPad Mini vs iPad — recommendation: Ali: For using an iPad purely to consume content such as Netflix, YouTube and web browsing, Ali recommends the iPad mini, and calls the budget iPad pretty solid if you want a bigger screen. — 00:00:58
    • For creation work on an iPad, such as a student using the Apple Pencil, Ali recommends the $489 iPad Air. — 00:00:58
  • 2019-06-04 · iPad Mini Review - The Perfect Consumption Device — recommendation: Ali would not recommend the 2019 iPad mini for students. — 00:00:00
  • 2019-06-05 · Top 5 Highlights from Apple's WWDC 2019 Keynote — Ali says iPadOS, an operating system made just for the iPad, brings it closer to being a genuine laptop replacement, and thinks that when it comes out in autumn 2019 the iPad will be able to replace a laptop for a lot of people. — 00:00:26
  • 2019-06-05 · My 7 Favourite iPad OS Features - Apple WWDC 2019 — Ali says the changes Apple announced for the iPad with iPadOS at WWDC 2019 all seem aimed at making the iPad more of a replacement for the MacBook. (hedged) — 00:00:00
    • Ali calls importing camera photos straight into Lightroom on iPadOS game changing and thinks it will mean the iPad replaces his laptop for a lot of his photo editing. (hedged) — 00:01:44
  • 2019-07-10 · iPad vs Kindle for Reading Books — recommendation: Ali recommends a Kindle rather than an iPad Pro for reading most things, because reading on it looks like reading on paper. — 00:00:00
    • Ali says a device for reading has to be the Kindle, while for browsing through and annotating textbooks or PDFs the iPad is better. — 00:01:27
  • 2019-08-23 · The Best iPad Screen Protector - Paperlike V2 — Ali calls the Paperlike the best screen protector for the iPad: it makes drawing with the Apple Pencil feel like drawing on paper. — 00:00:00
  • 2019-10-14 · Do students need an iPad or a MacBook? — Ali now thinks that for most people, students or not, an iPad can probably replace a laptop, with caveats: it depends on how much they value efficiency and what work they do. (hedged) — 00:00:00
    • An iPad is inherently less efficient than a laptop at the same tasks: Mac and Windows have system-wide search utilities such as Alfred or the Windows logo key, which are harder to match on an iPad. — 00:01:07
  • …and 104 statements more in 2019 — all statements of 2019

2018

  • 2018-05-07 · Live Q&A + Hangout - Bank Holiday vibes - Ali Abdaal, Cambridge medical student — recommendation: Ali: For anyone getting an iPad, Ali recommends the new 2018 iPad rather than the iPad Pro: it is a lot cheaper and does basically the same thing. — 00:07:10
  • 2018-06-02 · How I take notes on my iPad Pro in medical school - Cambridge University medical student — Ali takes notes on an iPad with the Apple Pencil because he thinks it combines the advantages of handwritten and typed notes and removes the disadvantages of both. — 00:00:36
    • For taking notes at school or university, Ali would probably recommend the 2018 iPad rather than the 2017 iPad Pro; most YouTube videos he has seen say its larger pencil-to-screen gap is noticeable only to digital artists. (hedged) — 00:03:50
    • Ali calls Notability the best note-taking app for the iPad if your laptop or desktop is a Mac; it is not available on Windows, so Windows users should use something like OneNote. — 00:04:19
  • 2018-06-09 · iPad Pro vs iPad (2018) comparison for college / university students — Ali: To Ali the iPad Pro is an absolute joy to write on while the 2018 iPad is only functional, and that pleasure justifies the extra £2 a week for him personally. — 00:07:28
    • For the vast majority of students, who are not trying to make money online with illustration and graphics, Ali highly recommends the 2018 iPad over the iPad Pro. — 00:09:25
  • 2018-10-10 · iPad vs Macbook for Students - Can a tablet replace your laptop? — Ali: For general efficiency the iPad is not a very efficient device, Ali says: its touch navigation is cool but objectively slower than navigating with a keyboard on a MacBook. — 00:02:47
    • Ali genuinely tried replacing his MacBook with an iPad for a few days of standard student work and found that it was possible, but he grew frustrated with how slow the whole process was. — 00:03:16
    • Preparing a teaching session for students in the year below, Ali tried to make the presentation in Keynote on his iPad, gave up after about five minutes of struggling, and went home to do it on his MacBook. — 00:06:38
  • 2018-10-16 · The best iPad Screen Protector - PaperLike Review — recommendation: Ali thinks the Paperlike screen protector is worth it: anyone spending 500 to 1,000 pounds on an iPad or iPad Pro might as well get a decent screen protector rather than a two-pound one. — 00:00:21
  • 2018-11-19 · iPad Pro 2018 Review - Should you buy it? — recommendation: Ali: The second question of Ali's flowchart: if you have the 2018 iPad with Apple Pencil, especially as a student, it is very hard to recommend buying the 2018 iPad Pro, which costs more than twice as much. — 00:05:53
    • A student probably does not need an iPad, Ali says, but one with Apple Pencil support is quite useful, can make note-taking paperless and could genuinely make you a better student. — 00:10:43
  • …and 45 statements more in 2018 — all statements of 2018