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iPad vs Kindle for Reading Books

2019-07-10 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 3:19 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books and reading · mode: Review and recommendation

Ali recommends a Kindle over an iPad for reading books cover to cover, since it feels like real paper, is easy on the eyes, cheap, light and waterproof; the iPad is better only for browsing and annotating textbooks and PDFs. He takes both on holiday and calls the Kindle probably his second most valuable purchase.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The question of iPad Pro or Kindle for reading, and the short answer: a Kindle

  • ★★★ 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 · Kindle, iPad Pro
  • ★ Ali is reading Bad Blood, the book about the blood-testing startup Theranos, on his Kindle. — 00:00:00 · Kindle

00:00:29 — Kindle for books read cover to cover, iPad for textbooks; paper feel, price, weight, waterproofing

  • ★★ Ali says he has used the Kindle to read about 99% of the books he has read over the last ten-plus years. — 00:00:29 · Kindle
  • ★★ For reading books cover to cover Ali says you should get a Kindle even if you have an iPad: it looks like real paper, you can read it in bed and it does not strain your eyes. — 00:00:58 · Kindle, iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali says the new Kindles are waterproof and the iPad is not, and that the Kindle is cheap and light enough to carry anywhere while the iPad is not cheap. — 00:00:58 · Kindle, iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali notes the iPad mini can be used one-handed, but says reading on any iPad feels like reading on a screen and on a Kindle like real paper, which completely sells him the Kindle. — 00:01:27 · iPad, Kindle, iPad Pro
  • ★★★ 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 · Kindle, iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali uses both the Kindle and the iPad Pro extensively and takes both with him whenever he goes on holiday. — 00:01:27 · Kindle, iPad Pro

00:01:56 — Kindle fan since 2008, Goodreads, the Kindle app on the iPad, and who should buy what

  • ★★ Asked why he carries both devices instead of using the Kindle app on his phone, Ali says that works, but reading on a Kindle is much nicer: reading on a phone feels like just looking at his phone. — 00:01:56 · Kindle
  • ★★ Ali calls the Kindle probably the second most valuable purchase of his life, after the camera he first bought, which kickstarted his YouTube channel. (hedged) — 00:01:56 · Kindle
  • ★ Ali says he has been a Kindle fan since about 2008 and will remain one. (hedged) — 00:01:56 · Kindle
  • ★★ Ali has hundreds of books on his Kindle and adds each one he reads to his Goodreads account to keep track of everything he has read. — 00:01:56 · Kindle
  • ★★ Ali says the Kindle app on the iPad is all right and he uses it if he absolutely has to, but it is not as nice: like reading on a screen rather than on paper. — 00:02:26 · Kindle, iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★★ Ali would still recommend that someone with an iPad but no Kindle buy a Kindle; someone with a Kindle should get an iPad only for reasons other than reading. (hedged) — 00:02:26 · Kindle, iPad, iPad Pro

00:02:55 — Affiliate link and sign-off

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: iPad · iPad Pro · Kindle

Also: Apple Pencil · Bad Blood · Goodreads · iPad mini · Theranos

Only in the description or credits: John Carreyrou

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