Similar situation as OP here, just won the big-*** iPad two weeks ago at the casino and wondering what accessories and programs y'all recommend.
Accessory-wise: So far I got the Apple Pencil, one of those cases that you can fold to serve as a stand, and a Pencil holder for the case. The Smart Keyboard Cover seemed way too expensive and the keys look like they are just going to be these puny gummy keys, so I'll stick with a good ol' Bluetooth keyboard for now. Also looking for another solution for the Pencil, and
this case looks nice and efficient.
Software-wise: I have an iPhone (personal) and an iPad 2 (work's, not mine). The iPad 2 is sluggishly slow on 9.3.5, so I basically only use it for work-related things that include reading PDF's, emails, and clocking in/out through a website. My point here is that I'm not very familiar with iPad software so I've been looking around, especially for apps that work with the Pencil. So far this is what I've got:
- For reading and notetaking:
-- Readability. I use OneNote on my Macbook Pro and Windows Desktop, but based on what I read Readability has good support for note-taking (including searching handwritten notes!), so I got that. Annotating PDF files is also pretty convenient - comes very handy for textbooks and other technical books. For "regular" reading, I find the Pro too uncomfortable - I've been spoiled by my Kindle, so I'm sticking with that.
- For drawing:
-- I am not a drawer by any means, but it's something I'd like to pick up as a hobby. I started with Adobe Sketch (since I have a CC subscription) and it was nice, but I just picked up Procreate and it's leaps and bounds better. Still getting the hang of it - as I said, I've never been a drawer.
- For photography:
-- Duet is really nice to make your iPad a second monitor - I do it for my Macbook Pro and it's a lot easier to organize stuff on two screens.
-- I got Rocketpad to use my iPad as a drawing tablet for Lightroom/Photoshop adjustments, since it was advertised as being lag-free, and unfortunately that was not the case. I tried a 2.4Ghz wifi connection, a 5GHz connection, and USB, and all had noticeable lag and would sometimes not detect input. Still using it but I'm going to check out Lightroom Mobile as well.