First time iPad user's impression...tiring to use? (iPad pro 9.7)

[parajba]

I purchased a new iPad pro 9.7 on launch day, it is my very first iPad.

I think it's very powerful, pretty and battery lasts ages. Screen is also awesome.

For comparison I have a non retina 15" MBP 2010 upgraded to 8GB RAM and 5212 SSD which is absolutely fine and an iPhone 6.

I mainly consume content.

While I really like the screen of the iPad I am finding that it is not that comfortable to use even for surfing as you always have to hold it and touch it. I find it easier and comfier to surf with my MBP (excluding its weight clearly) because you can do everything with the trackpad, you can get the laptop to rest on your lap or table, tilt the screen and your arm can rest while with the iPad I have to hold it or my arm needs to reach out to the screen all the time.

Is it just me or perhaps it's a matter of getting used to it? I read that the iPad was the ultimate consumption device...

Thanks for your opinions.

PS: I use my MBP 99% for surfing.

 

[sjleworthy]

it is a matter of getting used to it. a tablet is a different kettle of fish to naturally use than another device. if you havent ever used one before its just another way of doing things.
we're all in the same boat, we all get there very very fast dont worry. before long you wont even think about it

 

[Night Spring]

You might want to consider getting a case that acts as a stand. Also, holding a tablet should be like holding a book. If you are "reaching out" to touch the screen, then your tablet is placed too far from you. You shouldn't have to reach out to touch it, because it's right in your hands.

 

[appleye]

You might like the following -->

Amazon.com: Pwr+ Silver Metal Pivoting Flex Ipad Stand-Holder for Apple-iPad-Air 1 2 (Only for AIR Series 1 & 2): Computers & Accessories

 

[Newtons Apple]

If you are sitting and holding your 9.7 while using it, you are doing it wrong. Look around and find something to hold it on your lap in the proper position. No way I would go back to my laptop for cruising the Internet.

I use the case and cover from Apple and you can lay it down in your lap with the cover formed into a triangle to prop up one side in the landscape mode.

 

[parajba]

Sorry forgot to add that I also purchased a Smart Cover from Apple
Perhaps I am not using the triangle enough when surfing on the sofa...I used it tough when sitting at the table and that helps.

 

[Abazigal]

I have been holding my iPad with one hand and writing on it with the Apple Pencil in class for the whole day and I don't find it tiring.

It's weird. On paper, it should be heavier than my previous iPad mini 2, yet it somehow feels lighter and more balanced when I hold it.

 

[spiderman0616]

I've discovered a bit of a problem with my iPad Pro 9.7", and it's not a problem with the iPad itself necessarily. Back when I had my iPad 2,3, or Air, I used to lay on my back in bed and prop the iPad on my stomach or chest to watch TV. The problem is that back then I was 250 lbs. and had a lot more padding on my body. I've lost 75 lbs. and now I'm having a harder time getting comfy in my usual reclining position. The iPad digs into my ribs and it hurts!!!

I know--it's a good problem to have. I have to find a better way to watch video in bed now. If I just lay on my stomach and hold the iPad, my hands fall asleep. Such first world problems I have to deal with these days!

 

[ZBoater]

Put a pillow on your chest. Weight a lot less than 75 lbs. and is removable.

 

[oftheheavens]

Sorry forgot to add that I also purchased a Smart Cover from Apple
Perhaps I am not using the triangle enough when surfing on the sofa...I used it tough when sitting at the table and that helps.

I know this is a bit of an upsell but i found that the apple kb made life a lot easier as it hold the iPad up and keeps it very stable. I can even type in my lap comfortably. I also prop it up in bed using the blankets and take the kb off because it causes it to be slightly to heavy and settles into the blankets after a short bit. So when i have it during the day the kb holds it up at night the blankets. I got used to it rather quick myself coming from a macbook air.

 

[augustya]

You might like the following -->

Amazon.com: Pwr+ Silver Metal Pivoting Flex Ipad Stand-Holder for Apple-iPad-Air 1 2 (Only for AIR Series 1 & 2): Computers & Accessories

you can only browse through the iPad using this stand typing would be difficult in my opinion keeping the iPad on the this stand ! Using the Apple Smart case or cover with the cover folded in a triangle works best to browse and type on the iPad you need a table or a desk though to be able to do it !

 

[Mr.C]

you can only browse through the iPad using this stand typing would be difficult in my opinion keeping the iPad on the this stand ! Using the Apple Smart case or cover with the cover folded in a triangle works best to browse and type on the iPad you need a table or a desk though to be able to do it !

The alternative would be to use a separate bluetooth keyboard with it.

 

[augustya]

The alternative would be to use a separate bluetooth keyboard with it.

It is not a compact solution then you are going on putting in layers after layers to access it. I don't have any problem ! But for the OP I guess it would !

 

[apolloa]

I purchased a new iPad pro 9.7 on launch day, it is my very first iPad.

I think it's very powerful, pretty and battery lasts ages. Screen is also awesome.

For comparison I have a non retina 15" MBP 2010 upgraded to 8GB RAM and 5212 SSD which is absolutely fine and an iPhone 6.

I mainly consume content.

While I really like the screen of the iPad I am finding that it is not that comfortable to use even for surfing as you always have to hold it and touch it. I find it easier and comfier to surf with my MBP (excluding its weight clearly) because you can do everything with the trackpad, you can get the laptop to rest on your lap or table, tilt the screen and your arm can rest while with the iPad I have to hold it or my arm needs to reach out to the screen all the time.

Is it just me or perhaps it's a matter of getting used to it? I read that the iPad was the ultimate consumption device...

Thanks for your opinions.

PS: I use my MBP 99% for surfing.

I would perhaps suggest it's because it's the first time you've used a tablet. Give it a few day's to see if you get used to it, not many people find it tiring to use tablets but they aren't everyones cup of tea for sure.

 

[stevemiller]

I came from an iPad 3, so I've been "using" an iPad for 4 years. Personally I agree with the OP that the iPad is the least comfortable device for a great many things.

I've been playing with this new lighter weight one for a couple days, and while it's certainly an improvement, when I reach for my phone or laptop I realize how forced it still is by comparison. I'm not buying a keyboard to balance it out. that's called a laptop, and I've already got one.

Anyway, the iPad works in a pinch, and there are some use cases where it truly excels (drawing on it is way more natural than a Wacom tablet), and if it's viewing with very minimal interactions you can find a comfortable position to prop it. But web browsing still requires way too much reaching around the screen and tapping to not be more comfortably done with a small screened iPhone or a laptop's trackpad.

There's still this perception that the cool factor of touching a big display trumps the ergonomic value of using a smaller interaction surface to map smaller motions.

 

[jamesrick80]

It's called buying a good comfortable case with multiple purposes...,for Web browsing a small tablet should be one of the most comfortable experiences especially if it's a good tablet

 

[Marshall73]

How did you ever manage to read books or magazines before? That's how I treat my iPad when browsing etc

 

[stevemiller]

How did you ever manage to read books or magazines before? That's how I treat my iPad when browsing etc

To be perfectly honest I've never been a huge fan of books while reclined either. I welcomed e-readers as a bit of an ergonomic improvement. Plus books don't have live tap targets all over the page.

Anyway, still not saying it's impossible or even awful to use a tablet. I'm saying laptops already work great in your lap, and smartphones are as easy to hold as you're going to get. Sometimes some things are a solution in search of a problem. (Also there are other things tablets are great at, straight up reading/video being some of them imo)

 

[mcdj]

I hate when I have to use my arms.

 

[stevemiller]

I hate when I have to use my arms.

You should buy a touchscreen all in one desktop. You'll love the workout!

 

[Night Spring]

laptops already work great in your lap, and smartphones are as easy to hold as you're going to get.

For me, laptops never felt comfortable on the lap. They got too heavy and too hot, and the keyboard forced the screen to be further away than I found comfortable for viewing. Smartphone screens are too small to read websites comfortably, and in ebooks, can show only a much smaller section of the text at a time. If you find smartphones acceptable for reading for extended periods of time, I think your eyesight might be better than mine. So for me, tablets solved the problem of being the most comfortable digital reading device.

 

[stevemiller]

For me, laptops never felt comfortable on the lap. They got too heavy and too hot, and the keyboard forced the screen to be further away than I found comfortable for viewing. Smartphone screens are too small to read websites comfortably, and in ebooks, can show only a much smaller section of the text at a time. If you find smartphones acceptable for reading for extended periods of time, I think your eyesight might be better than mine. So for me, tablets solved the problem of being the most comfortable digital reading device.

Agreed. I guess there is always a trade off in some respects. Newer laptops are getting quite good for weight and heat, but then so are tablets. ultimately options are a good thing!

Also: some of my issues with tablets would be alleviated with some UI tweaks. Using procreate, I often smile when I encounter UI decisions that I can tell were the result of someone thinking from scratch how you would use the iPad when drawing (Palettes auto rotate, but the canvas stays put because it knows you probably rotated to get a better drawing angle). I'd love to see web browsers rethink some of their own long held conventions to better suit the tablet.

 

[family_guy]

I just use mine for reading and watching media. I hate typing on it. Like when I'm on a forum like this one and I want to type more than a sentence, I end up switching to my laptop or my cellphone. Then there's the fingerprints smudges that build up on it over the course of a day. I used to have a smart cover, but it kept falling so I bought a small stand to prop it up when I need to.

 

[zhenya]

Just takes some time. Tablets do some things better than laptops, and other things worse. I agree that there are times that a nice laptop and a great trackpad is a great thing. I would love to see the iPad eventually get mouse support and the option of a type cover with a touchpad. I find it makes a pretty passable light-weight laptop when paired with a keyboard, but just like Apple used to mock, it's really awkward reaching across the keyboard to interact with the screen.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I purchased a new iPad pro 9.7 on launch day, it is my very first iPad.

I think it's very powerful, pretty and battery lasts ages. Screen is also awesome.

For comparison I have a non retina 15" MBP 2010 upgraded to 8GB RAM and 5212 SSD which is absolutely fine and an iPhone 6.

I mainly consume content.

While I really like the screen of the iPad I am finding that it is not that comfortable to use even for surfing as you always have to hold it and touch it. I find it easier and comfier to surf with my MBP (excluding its weight clearly) because you can do everything with the trackpad, you can get the laptop to rest on your lap or table, tilt the screen and your arm can rest while with the iPad I have to hold it or my arm needs to reach out to the screen all the time.

Is it just me or perhaps it's a matter of getting used to it? I read that the iPad was the ultimate consumption device...

Thanks for your opinions.

PS: I use my MBP 99% for surfing.

First World Problems. I can't hold my new tablet it's too tiring to hold woe is me.