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iPad Pro First time iPad’r

candyman

candyman

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2007
232
31
Phoenix, Arizona
Longtime Apple user here, back from the days of beige towers and (horrible) Mac OS 8. Have never owned an iPad. I preordered the 12.9” iPP about a hour after it went live and ended up waiting that extra 2-3 weeks to receive it. Well, I finally have it in hand and am looking to get acclimated to it.

I am a professional Graphic Designer as well, so I also purchased the Pencil 2 and am using the Logi Combo Touch Case. I don’t have another tablet to compare it to, but am very impressed by the screen and the speakers. The keyboard is pretty slick (love the shortcut keys), and built in trackpad. Feels similar to my wife’s MBPro. No screen cover right now, and have been on the fence about Paperlike. Anyone have experience with the Paperlike protector and if it makes a positive difference on the experience using the Pencil?

I have an Adobe CC account and downloaded Photoshop and Illustrator, but they are both very watered down compared to the desktop versions, which is disappointing, but I was not expecting much. Illustrator feels a bit more useful, but I am really hoping Adobe beefs these apps up this year, as it would be awesome to use this iPP to create my ad and vehicle wrap designs where I don’t have to be chained down to my desk using my iMac all the time.

So, now the question is, what are some great must have apps for this device? I have heard ProCreate, Affinity (Photo & Designer), GoodNotes are useful. Any other fun, unique apps to try out?
 
candyman said:
No screen cover right now, and have been on the fence about Paperlike. Anyone have experience with the Paperlike protector and if it makes a positive difference on the experience using the Pencil?
Click to expand...
Can vouch for paperlike. Excellent and game changing for any pencil input.
 
candyman said:
Anyone have experience with the Paperlike protector and if it makes a positive difference on the experience using the Pencil?
Click to expand...
I have the 12.9in M1 iPad Pro with a Paperlike screen protector on it. I do not own an Apple Pencil and do not use any sort of third party pencil/stylus. The reason I went with the Paperlike protector is because I liked the idea of highly limiting the fingerprints due to the matte like texture. I do like it overall, however, it highly degrades the screen quality in my opinion. It dulls the colors big time. Again, I kind of expected that going into it but it has made me think "why did I fork out all this money for the 12.9in iPad (when I like the form factor of the 11in better) to have the best screen available just to dampen and dull out the screen with this screen protector".

Again, this is a highly opinionated reply to your question but just something to keep in mind. I know you said you are a graphic designer so maybe your needs and opinion of the screen quality trade off will be different. Again, I just thought I would share my experience with the Paperlike Screen Protector.
 
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Definitely try Procreate. Even though you may not be interested in letters and flowers, try Teela Cunningham’s free Procreate 5 online course to familiarize yourself with how it works. There are lots of YouTube videos you can use to get the basics down quickly.

I always use a matte screen protector on my electronic devices. I have a Paperlike on my new iPP 11 but haven’t had much chance to use the pencil with it. I have an Elecom (sp?) on my 2018 iPP 11 and I don’t remember what I have on my Mini 5.
 
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Definitely try Procreate. If you write with the pencil a lot, check out Apple Notes in detail before you commit elsewhere.

Also, Nebo notes has awesome scribble-to-text capabilities and my handwriting is not pretty at all but it somehow figured it out, in two languages even.
 
LibbyLA said:
Definitely try Procreate. Even though you may not be interested in letters and flowers, try Teela Cunningham’s free Procreate 5 online course to familiarize yourself with how it works. There are lots of YouTube videos you can use to get the basics down quickly.

I always use a matte screen protector on my electronic devices. I have a Paperlike on my new iPP 11 but haven’t had much chance to use the pencil with it. I have an Elecom (sp?) on my 2018 iPP 11 and I don’t remember what I have on my Mini 5.
Click to expand...
I’m so happy OP made this thread and that you offered this input. I’ve needed to figure out procreate for sometime now. Appreciate it… 😊
 
I can't recommend the paperlike... I'm a heavily pencil user (photograph and graphics) and within two days (!) the tip of the pencil was worn out and I had to replace it... The paperlike will make the screen dull which is horrible for photography (you just aren't able to tell if a photo is sharp...). The feeling when writing on it is perfect though but with the pencil tip wear out... No... 🤣
 
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vermilion_sky said:
I can't recommend the paperlike... I'm a heavily pencil user (photograph and graphics) and within two days (!) the tip of the pencil was worn out and I had to replace it... The paperlike will make the screen dull which is horrible for photography (you just aren't able to tell if a photo is sharp...). The feeling when writing on it is perfect though but with the pencil tip wear out... No... 🤣
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Agreed. I don't understand the cult-like devotion to Paperlike. It ruins the clarity of your screen. It ruins the tips of your Pencil quickly. It's overly expensive. As a digital artist, hard pass. I just got used to using a regular tempered glass screen protector.
 
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Matte screen protector will always degrade the quality of the screen to some extent (some will do better than others). So it's a trade-off, between reflections and (above all in my opinion) fingerprints, noticeable especially when the display is off, but better screen quality, on the one hand, and more washed out colors, including less dark blacks, and some graininess, but no reflections, fingerprints and better pen feel. Note that the pen feel can be solved with a pencil cover for $19...
Paperlike is not the best around, just the most expensive and most advertised (they spend big budget in sponsoring youtubers and price their screen protectors 2-3 times what they are worth to pay for that...)
I use a German brand which is at least as good but, like any other brand, cheaper than the overpriced paperlike (Atfolix)
 
And not everyone who uses Pencil also uses a screen protector. I prefer using mine without one.
 
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tekchic said:
Agreed. I don't understand the cult-like devotion to Paperlike. It ruins the clarity of your screen. It ruins the tips of your Pencil quickly. It's overly expensive. As a digital artist, hard pass. I just got used to using a regular tempered glass screen protector.
Click to expand...
It is because the YouTubers are getting paid to pimp Paperlike to the masses.
 
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candyman said:
Longtime Apple user here, back from the days of beige towers and (horrible) Mac OS 8. Have never owned an iPad. I preordered the 12.9” iPP about a hour after it went live and ended up waiting that extra 2-3 weeks to receive it. Well, I finally have it in hand and am looking to get acclimated to it.

I am a professional Graphic Designer as well, so I also purchased the Pencil 2 and am using the Logi Combo Touch Case. I don’t have another tablet to compare it to, but am very impressed by the screen and the speakers. The keyboard is pretty slick (love the shortcut keys), and built in trackpad. Feels similar to my wife’s MBPro. No screen cover right now, and have been on the fence about Paperlike. Anyone have experience with the Paperlike protector and if it makes a positive difference on the experience using the Pencil?

I have an Adobe CC account and downloaded Photoshop and Illustrator, but they are both very watered down compared to the desktop versions, which is disappointing, but I was not expecting much. Illustrator feels a bit more useful, but I am really hoping Adobe beefs these apps up this year, as it would be awesome to use this iPP to create my ad and vehicle wrap designs where I don’t have to be chained down to my desk using my iMac all the time.

So, now the question is, what are some great must have apps for this device? I have heard ProCreate, Affinity (Photo & Designer), GoodNotes are useful. Any other fun, unique apps to try out?
Click to expand...

Congrats on your new iPad.

Apps I use and gladly suggest:

Writing
1) Agenda - Great writing app without a subscription.

Security
1) Strongbox - Strongbox password manager - Excellent UI and features without a subscription
2) Bitwarden - Another excellent password manager without a subscription
3) Apple Support app
4) OTP Auth - for 2FA codes
5) JumpDesktop - great program for remoting into Macs

App Status
1) AirBuddy - to see the current battery status of all your Macs, iPads, watch, pencil etc. al in one place.
2) DeviceMonitor - Very nice UI showing you the current device status and hardware stats of your network connection, RAM usage, Battery, Storage, CPU, Sensors, Camera,

News
1) News Explorer - One of the best RSS feeders with great layout and iCloud sync across devices

AdBlocking
1) Adguard
2) 1Blocker
 
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If concept development or ideation is part of your process, I recommend Concepts, both as an idea development and drawing app. Powerful, fun to use, and a great interface.

I, too, have an Adobe CC account (I get it for free) but I rarely use Adobe apps. I do use Procreate and Affinity Designer and both of those are wonderful.

As others have noted, I avoid screen protectors as I don't want anything to interfere with the superb clarity of the display.

There are lots of resources for learning the drawing and design apps, including the apps' own tutorials. I like to take a methodical approach to new applications and new skills so I take classes on Skillshare.
 
Kierkegaarden said:
I highly recommend PDF Expert. It is a great learning and study tool, and it would work quite well with the Pencil. Their support is good too. Enjoy!
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Good mention and great app. I use it as my default viewer and forgot all about mentioning it. lol That is an app that you need to wait until it goes on sale (on both platforms) as it can be rather pricey otherwise. I believe I paid $25 for the Mac version 3 - 4 years ago. I forget what I paid for the iOS version.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Good mention and great app. I use it as my default viewer and forgot all about mentioning it. lol That is an app that you need to wait until it goes on sale (on both platforms) as it can be rather pricey otherwise. I believe I paid $25 for the Mac version 3 - 4 years ago. I forget what I paid for the iOS version.
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I think the iOS version went free + subscription a while back. A bit off topic, but I’ve been suggesting to them to add a “vocabulary builder” feature into the app to easily save words that would get defined automatically. That would be such a useful feature. Can you suggest a solution for this? Maybe the new Quick Note feature in iPadOS 15 will help?
 
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Kierkegaarden said:
I think the iOS version went free + subscription a while back. A bit off topic, but I’ve been suggesting to them to add a “vocabulary builder” feature into the app to easily save words that would get defined automatically. That would be such a useful feature. Can you suggest a solution for this? Maybe the new Quick Note feature in iPadOS 15 will help?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I am at a loss in regards to the vocabulary question at the moment. I had a trip to the ER this morning and my mind is still a little slow due to the meds. Maybe someone will chime in and shed light on that good idea.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Unfortunately, I am at a loss in regards to the vocabulary question at the moment. I had a trip to the ER this morning and my mind is still a little slow due to the meds. Maybe someone will chime in and shed light on that good idea.
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Sorry to hear about your ER visit Robert, especially on a weekend. I hope you’re doing better! If I find out anything on this type of feature, I’ll let you know.
 
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LibbyLA said:
Definitely try Procreate. Even though you may not be interested in letters and flowers, try Teela Cunningham’s free Procreate 5 online course to familiarize yourself with how it works. There are lots of YouTube videos you can use to get the basics down quickly.

I always use a matte screen protector on my electronic devices. I have a Paperlike on my new iPP 11 but haven’t had much chance to use the pencil with it. I have an Elecom (sp?) on my 2018 iPP 11 and I don’t remember what I have on my Mini 5.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will for sure check out Teela Cunningham’s online courses as I will be purchasing ProCreate to try out.
 
candyman said:
So, now the question is, what are some great must have apps for this device? I have heard ProCreate, Affinity (Photo & Designer), GoodNotes are useful. Any other fun, unique apps to try out?
Click to expand...
Affinity Photo and Designer are very similar to the versions of Photoshop and Illustrator for Windows and macOS. I'm certain it'll favor your ticklish controversy to try them.
 
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