I have written a fair amount recently about the iPad Pro and some of the shortcomings of the soon to be released iPadOS15. However it is not all doom and gloom, some of the apps on the iPad are awesome and I thought I would balance the blog by writing a little about the apps I like to use.
I have mentioned my use case before. It is mostly IT certification studies, language studies, and some social media, research and idle web browsing. I am not a gamer and I don't use much in the way of content creation apps (like the so called power apps). So considering my use case, what are my top iPad Pro apps?
Reminders
Yes, the humble Apple reminders application is probably my number one application. I use this all day every day as I have reminder lists for daily tasks, random tasks and a whole bunch of other long and short term reminders. I am sure there are other apps out there that may be as good or better but I like this one - it is simple, clean and easy to use.
Previously I used Wunderlist, and even stuck with it when it became Microsoft To Do, but when I eliminated my Windows PC, I migrated out of the Microsoft environment and haven't looked back.
Notes
Yet another of the basic Apple apps. I generate copious amounts of notes; whether they be for my IT certification studies, German language studies, or my medical research. Is it perfect? No but I really like the simplicity of Notes. I also have GoodNotes installed in the iPad Pro but I really don't use it. Most of my notes are typed and the humble Apple Notes app does exactly what I need it to do.
Documents by Readdle
This is where the bulk of my documentation goes. As a file manager it works well, but it also includes a browser, VPN, document readers and media players. I paid for the additional PDF add on so that I can create PDFs. I do this when I archive projects; I put all of the documentation in PDF form and zip it into a compressed file. Then the compressed file gets thrown into an archive folder.
Another great feature is the way I can connect to my other cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Not only can I connect, but I can transfer or copy files between services and this is a very useful capability for me. My wife and I share the Dropbox account and have a number of shared folders in there so access to that is important.
I tend not to use the build in browser. There are some issues with rendering some web sites, for instance, Gmail does not always display correctly, but again, there is nothing inherently wrong with the browser, except that it is a mobile browser. Same goes for the VPN; when I use a VPN I use NORD, but if I did not have that I might well use Document's built in VPN
Spotify
This is an app that gets used on my iPad, iPad Pro and iPhone and at work, I use the web version. I also have it installed on our Apple TV box. Spotify is everywhere and the wife and I share a family account. Spotify just works, has a great library, and is system agnostic. This is a great feature because I can take it with me if I ever jump from the Apple environment.
YouTube
I use YouTube a surprising amount. There are several YouTube content creators that I follow and find entertaining, but I also use it for meditation, music, language studies, documentaries and of course, goofing off. I have posted a couple of videos there myself but I at the moment I do not create content. It is something I am considering but I am not sure the world is ready for me on video.
Safari
So it's not that I like Safari. If you have read my comments about the iPad Pro browsers you will know that I am not a fan of the mobile browsers used on the iPad. The reasons for this are quite straight forward; I want the ability to import and export bookmarks and to render site and pages correctly. I have used Edge, Firefox and Safari on this iPad Pro, and one thing that for me, puts Safari ahead of the other browsers is the integration with the keychain app. Logging into web sites requires a lot fewer clicks and pokes with the pencil than the other browsers do, and while its a simple thing, it adds up.
Photos
I have a love hate relationship with Apple Photos. As you can tell, I am a fan of using the built in apps; why pay for an app when I have one built in with no ads and has close integration with the other apps. I am not a content creator as such, so I don't need Photoshop editing capabilities. About all I do in terms of editing is cropping and rotating, so Photos will suffice my needs. However I really hate the menu bar layout and the fact that I can't change it. I have written about that previously so I won't elaborate on that here.
I do use the app a lot though. When I document things, I like to take a lot of pictures, including pics for this blog. Often times I will delete the pics once they have been incorporated into my document or blog post or what ever, so I am not really building a collection.
Slack
This is an app that is also always running in the background on my iPad. I keep my own Slack space for friends and family. I like Slack for several reasons including; it is free, it has no ads, it just works as it is enterprise software and not mickey mouse software developed by some kid in his basement. I also have access to other Slack groups and enjoy the simple messaging capabilities that it has.
So that is my list. You will likely have noted that apps like email, calendars, financial apps and games are missing. That is because I don't use them. I am not much of a gamer, and for most other application requirements, I log into the web version of the apps because they usually have better functionality, makes better use of the iPad screen space, and just work better. All of my banking, Google apps, and other apps like Trello, Udemy etc are all accessed via the browser. Sometimes there are issues with the sites rendering correctly (Udemy and video auto play is an issue) but these are mostly minor. If there are major issues I can always switch to the app, if the app is better.
So those are my top apps. Let me know what your top apps are.
No comments:
Post a Comment