Other For those that have a phone and an iPad- which do you use more?

[jm31828]

I have started to debate whether it might be smartest for me to go back to an iPhone SE for the small size and low price, and get an iPad (perhaps the Air 5th generation). The thought being that I have a more basic phone that works for what it's intended for light use, but instead of straining my eyes on longer browsing sessions, I use an iPad instead of the phone. Something like the iPad Air 5th gen would work perfectly as an affordable (down to $550 right now at some retailers) tool for regular browsing of news, online banking, and social media while also working as somewhat of a replacement for my Mac, where I could do photo editing on it.

But that leads me to the question- for those of you that have both, do you find you use your phone more often, or your iPad? Do you find the phone is really only used when you are out of the house, and the iPad is what you use whenever you are home?

 

[now i see it]

If you haven’t spent time with an iPad, I suggest you do with every intention of possibly returning it within the return window.
I was given an older iPad and I really didn’t like using the thing so I gave it to someone else. Obviously lots of people like them, I’m just not one of them. I’d never buy one.
Maybe I just had a bad experience because the iPad I was using was old.

 

[jm31828]

If you haven’t spent time with an iPad, I suggest you do with every intention of possibly returning it within the return window.
I was given an older iPad and I really didn’t like using the thing so I gave it to someone else. Obviously lots of people like them, I’m just not one of them. I’d never buy one.

Ah, what was it about the iPad you didn't like?
And I assume for you, the phone was ideal, even with the smaller screen?

My wife has an old iPad she uses day in/day out, so I'm somewhat familiar, and hadn't thought much of it other than being a big phone, minus the actual phone functionality.

 

[now i see it]

Obviously the person who gave me their old iPad had moved on to something else and they didn’t want it. It was a really old one - the iPad 2 with a low res 1024x768P screen. It gave me eye strain that harkened back to the CRT hell days because of its low resolution. Obviously the new iPads today have a higher resolution now at 1080p.
I just used it for video watching and email and tried using it for other stuff and it was lame for all of that too. Not because of the older processor which could play back video fine but because it was just too hard to hold especially when lying down and far too heavy.

Once I got my iPhone 6 Plus (back in the day) it was game over. That bigger phone was PERFECT for everything. Zero eye strain. Great for watching videos and great for everything else. Added a Loopy case to it that has a finger loop on the back and its been heaven since. Effortless to hold while lying down- when using that case.

I’ve since moved up to an iPhone 8 Plus and I’ll stick with that phone until apple returns to making a display that’s not toxic to sensitive people.

 

[Shirasaki]

I hate the notch on iPhone so I bought a 2018 iPad Pro which was a game changer for me. Used to use iPhone 6s Plus for everything, but then upgraded to iPhone XS Max. Needless To say, I love large screen that can still be held with two hands. 11” iPad Pro gaming experience is 10x better than on any iPhone of Any size. Performance is much better too, plus better battery life. Now I’m using M1 iPad Pro of the same size, which is even better.

I use iPad so much I even carry it out during grocery shopping instead of iPhone, and Apple Watch For payment. iPhone becomes a wired modem for my PC. IMO, gaming on iPhone is a far inferior experience in any way, shape or form possible except if The game control spans across the entire screen, in which case iPhone is better.

Despite all that, utter incompetence of iPadOS prevents me from replacing my PC as a laptop substitute. For example, iPad has absolutely no means to connect itself to the specialised equipment I need to work with (RS-232 connectivity support via adapter on iPad? I’d trust that as much as I trust apple installing floppy disk drive on M3 Mac). And cannot backup or restore iPhone. And doesn't run any Windows games independently. And file operation is way convoluted than on PC. And cannot run a plethora of Windows applications I use for daily work. The list go on and on.

I enjoy it. Just not capable enough to be jack of all trades. Which is fortunate because I get other tools for other part of my life.

 

[Andeddu]

I have an iPad Mini, Mini 4 and Mini 5. I find myself using my iPhone Mini 12 more often than not even when in the house as it’s the perfect sized phone with a fairly large screen when compared to the older phones such as the 6S, 8 and SE1 which I am used to.

I cannot see myself ever purchasing another iPad again as my phone is capable of acting as my main computer.

 

[HDFan]

50-50. If I know I will be in a waiting room for a while I take my iPad. Otherwise it's which one is closest. If i will be reading for an extended period of time in this case i'll pick up the iPad.

Have an iPhone Max. If had an SE would have to carry both which would be a hassle.

 

[jm31828]

I hate the notch on iPhone so I bought a 2018 iPad Pro which was a game changer for me. Used to use iPhone 6s Plus for everything, but then upgraded to iPhone XS Max. Needless To say, I love large screen that can still be held with two hands. 11” iPad Pro gaming experience is 10x better than on any iPhone of Any size. Performance is much better too, plus better battery life. Now I’m using M1 iPad Pro of the same size, which is even better.

I use iPad so much I even carry it out during grocery shopping instead of iPhone, and Apple Watch For payment. iPhone becomes a wired modem for my PC. IMO, gaming on iPhone is a far inferior experience in any way, shape or form possible except if The game control spans across the entire screen, in which case iPhone is better.

Despite all that, utter incompetence of iPadOS prevents me from replacing my PC as a laptop substitute. For example, iPad has absolutely no means to connect itself to the specialised equipment I need to work with (RS-232 connectivity support via adapter on iPad? I’d trust that as much as I trust apple installing floppy disk drive on M3 Mac). And cannot backup or restore iPhone. And doesn't run any Windows games independently. And file operation is way convoluted than on PC. And cannot run a plethora of Windows applications I use for daily work. The list go on and on.

I enjoy it. Just not capable enough to be jack of all trades. Which is fortunate because I get other tools for other part of my life.

Thanks for sharing! Since you use the ipad for most things then and it sounds like the phone is there for "phone things" and for other small use cases, do you just go with a basic model phone?

It is disappointing that an iPad pro couldn't fully replace a PC/Mac.... I have a 2017 27" iMac that is great, that screen is beautiful- but it chugs along rather slowly due to the fusion drive, and it's sort of a hassle to have to go and be locked down to that room where the computer is for photo editing (mostly the only thing I use it for these days)- it would be amazing to fully replace it with an iPad Air or iPad Pro.

 

[happy orchard]

Thanks for sharing! Since you use the ipad for most things then and it sounds like the phone is there for "phone things" and for other small use cases, do you just go with a basic model phone?

It is disappointing that an iPad pro couldn't fully replace a PC/Mac.... I have a 2017 27" iMac that is great, that screen is beautiful- but it chugs along rather slowly due to the fusion drive, and it's sort of a hassle to have to go and be locked down to that room where the computer is for photo editing (mostly the only thing I use it for these days)- it would be amazing to fully replace it with an iPad Air or iPad Pro.

Yes, get an iPad. For what you want, yes.

I have multiple iPads of various sizes and ilks, and I love them. Mostly, I use my phone when I'm mobile. At home, I would rather grab for an iPad (or a laptop) than my phone. I do use my phone if it's close by. But sooo many things are better on the iPad.

 

[jm31828]

Yes, get an iPad. For what you want, yes.

I have multiple iPads of various sizes and ilks, and I love them. Mostly, I use my phone when I'm mobile. At home, I would rather grab for an iPad (or a laptop) than my phone. I do use my phone if it's close by. But sooo many things are better on the iPad.

Ah, yeah I was thinking the same... but was also feeling guilty considering this after just buying a 13 Mini- which I love, but 90% of my phone usage is in these 1 hour windows in the late evening when I sit down to go through some web browsing, social media, online banking, etc- on my phone. If I replaced that with an iPad, I may as well return the Mini and get a cheaper phone like an SE (which I do also like).
I'm still in my return window, so I may actually do that if I decide this week to buy an iPad.

But on this topic- obviously my iMac wouldn't be going anywhere, I'd still keep it until it fails someday, so even if an iPad were to do 90% of what I might want, it would be nice to have the iMac to go to when needed.

I see it's a good time to be looking at iPads, with the 11" M1 Pro down to $699 at some retailers, and the Air 5th gen M1 at $550.

 

[stinkhorn9]

Ah, yeah I was thinking the same... but was also feeling guilty considering this after just buying a 13 Mini- which I love, but 90% of my phone usage is in these 1 hour windows in the late evening when I sit down to go through some web browsing, social media, online banking, etc- on my phone. If I replaced that with an iPad, I may as well return the Mini and get a cheaper phone like an SE (which I do also like).
I'm still in my return window, so I may actually do that if I decide this week to buy an iPad.

But on this topic- obviously my iMac wouldn't be going anywhere, I'd still keep it until it fails someday, so even if an iPad were to do 90% of what I might want, it would be nice to have the iMac to go to when needed.

I see it's a good time to be looking at iPads, with the 11" M1 Pro down to $699 at some retailers, and the Air 5th gen M1 at $550.

Your plan sounds sensible. I use my SE when out and about and I have no other choice (I'm not a heavy phone user: £400+ is certainly enough to be paying for my amount of use!)

When I'm home I'll reach for my iPad or MBA for the bigger screen / better interactivity (and let's face it - they're both still pretty portable.)

And I'll use my Mini if I'm in the Mini Room needing to do Mini Things

 

[happy orchard]

Your plan sounds sensible. I use my SE when out and about and I have no other choice (I'm not a heavy phone user: £400+ is certainly enough to be paying for my amount of use!)

When I'm home I'll reach for my iPad or MBA for the bigger screen / better interactivity (and let's face it - they're both still pretty portable.)

And I'll use my Mini if I'm in the Mini Room needing to do Mini Things

Just curious: Is your mini room a teeny tiny room or where the iPad mini lives?

 

[happy orchard]

Ah, yeah I was thinking the same... but was also feeling guilty considering this after just buying a 13 Mini- which I love, but 90% of my phone usage is in these 1 hour windows in the late evening when I sit down to go through some web browsing, social media, online banking, etc- on my phone. If I replaced that with an iPad, I may as well return the Mini and get a cheaper phone like an SE (which I do also like).
I'm still in my return window, so I may actually do that if I decide this week to buy an iPad.

But on this topic- obviously my iMac wouldn't be going anywhere, I'd still keep it until it fails someday, so even if an iPad were to do 90% of what I might want, it would be nice to have the iMac to go to when needed.

I see it's a good time to be looking at iPads, with the 11" M1 Pro down to $699 at some retailers, and the Air 5th gen M1 at $550.

Yes, keep the iMac. Man I love that thing. Don't know how I lived without it.

I hear you on the phone. There are so many moments I've been tempted to return my 14PM to just use an SE or my old 11 -- to avoid PWM -- and just carry a Mini. But that's another thread where we type about that.

I'm mainly replying now to say maybe be on the lookout this Black Friday season for an iPad Air going for $519. Amazon had that maybe a week ago, I think? $550 is nice, but if you feeling like watching and waiting, $519 might be nice, too.

And I'm a big fan of the Pro. I think if I could only have one iPad, it would be my 12.9 iPP. And that 11" keeps tempting me now since it's still PWM-free and has one of those fancy-fancy M chips.

 

[jm31828]

Your plan sounds sensible. I use my SE when out and about and I have no other choice (I'm not a heavy phone user: £400+ is certainly enough to be paying for my amount of use!)

When I'm home I'll reach for my iPad or MBA for the bigger screen / better interactivity (and let's face it - they're both still pretty portable.)

And I'll use my Mini if I'm in the Mini Room needing to do Mini Things

Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out!

I may actually pick up an SE this weekend to get Apple’s $50 gift card offer here in the US.

I’m quite intrigued by the iPad Air 5th gen that’s on sale now- seems solid with the same internal as the M1 Pro… might have to go browsing tomorrow.

 

[jm31828]

Yes, keep the iMac. Man I love that thing. Don't know how I lived without it.

I hear you on the phone. There are so many moments I've been tempted to return my 14PM to just use an SE or my old 11 -- to avoid PWM -- and just carry a Mini. But that's another thread where we type about that.

I'm mainly replying now to say maybe be on the lookout this Black Friday season for an iPad Air going for $519. Amazon had that maybe a week ago, I think? $550 is nice, but if you feeling like watching and waiting, $519 might be nice, too.

And I'm a big fan of the Pro. I think if I could only have one iPad, it would be my 12.9 iPP. And that 11" keeps tempting me now since it's still PWM-free and has one of those fancy-fancy M chips.

Yes, great call on waiting to see if there is a $519 deal on the Air.. that would be fantastic.

And I’m thinking like you- really drawn to the 11” pro or the air due to the lcd with no pwm… I’m torn between the two- essentially a $150 upgrade from air to pro for double the storage, promotion, and faceid.

 

[happy orchard]

Yes, great call on waiting to see if there is a $519 deal on the Air.. that would be fantastic.

And I’m thinking like you- really drawn to the 11” pro or the air due to the lcd with no pwm… I’m torn between the two- essentially a $150 upgrade from air to pro for double the storage, promotion, and faceid.

Yep. Facing all the same dilemmas. Think I'm leading towards the Pro. Reeeeally prefer FaceID. Promotion is good for drawing. And 64 is just a little tight, 128 is nice, 256 is a lot of space to breathe (all just in my world.)

Keep us posted on how the browsing goes and what you decide.

 

[Phazer]

I was given an iPad about 4 years ago which I used to use for a specific work-related app about 6 hours a day. Since leaving that job, I hardly ever use it. The larger screen is definitely nice and watching videos on it is definitely more enjoyable, but my phone is with me at all times, making it more convenient.
The only times I use the iPad is to watch movies on the plane, or if I know I'm going to be watching something for an extended period time while doing something else, like cooking. But it's usually a very deliberate choice, I don't naturally gravitate towards the iPad.
It's an old 5th gen, and runs really slow, especially since iOS 15, but I doubt I'll be upgrading it. When it dies, it dies.
I know lots of people who love their iPads though, so I'd suggest trying one out and seeing how you get on.
For me, it falls into the same category as my Apple Watch. As a gift it's been cool, but I'd probably never buy one.

 

[happy orchard]

I was given an iPad about 4 years ago which I used to use for a specific work-related app about 6 hours a day. Since leaving that job, I hardly ever use it. The larger screen is definitely nice and watching videos on it is definitely more enjoyable, but my phone is with me at all times, making it more convenient.
The only times I use the iPad is to watch movies on the plane, or if I know I'm going to be watching something for an extended period time while doing something else, like cooking. But it's usually a very deliberate choice, I don't naturally gravitate towards the iPad.
It's an old 5th gen, and runs really slow, especially since iOS 15, but I doubt I'll be upgrading it. When it dies, it dies.
I know lots of people who love their iPads though, so I'd suggest trying one out and seeing how you get on.
For me, it falls into the same category as my Apple Watch. As a gift it's been cool, but I'd probably never buy one.

Since your experience with an iPad seems work-related and then super slow performance, it kinda makes sense that you're not drawn to the device. Maybe someday you find an iPad on sale, use it only for fun, and see what you think. Or not. Just saying, work and slow can sour us on tech for sure.

 

[Bento.Box]

But that leads me to the question- for those of you that have both, do you find you use your phone more often, or your iPad? Do you find the phone is really only used when you are out of the house, and the iPad is what you use whenever you are home?

In my view, these are totally different devices.

The phone is used with more serious apps, from 2FA, over shopping, mobile banking (e.g. locking/unlocking credit cards), actually talking on the phone, providing a hotspot for my devices as well as listening to music (replacing my ipod classic). The camera also got good enough to leave my DSLR set at home if I'm not serious about taking pictures, but would like to have an occasional landscape photo or some snapshots. And I also put some ebooks on it, which are surprisingly legible.

The iPad I use mostly at home when I just need to use a browser quickly for research, texting (messengers) and for things that I don't want to "risk" an expensive device for. E.g. displaying recipies while cooking, watching videos in the bathtub. Sometimes I take it with me when I "need" but really don't need a laptop.

All the serious stuff I do on my PC, which has a 4k and two 2k screens.

In essence, the ipad is a device which I don't really need, but it's more comfortable to use in many situations. It cannot replace any other device. I got the logitech keyboard/case for it (very nice and highly recommended!) and the apple pencil. Wouldn't recommend the latter, it's expensive, very big and heavy and is often not well supported by iPadOS and many applications. My Wii U's gamepad has a better stylus.

 

[JapanApple]

Using both for a long time. They have different functions when I use them for tasks. I say both are needed.

 

[addamas]

Different devices.

I read web to get something analyzed on iPad as it can drop screen frequency to 24 (iPad Pro 2018), communications are done mostly on iPhone.

YouTube if I am not in travel I watch on iPad or on TV (YT Premium), movies also I prefer on TV.

But stuff which requires lots of scrolling, zooming - it’s better on iPad

If I had money I would sell iPad and go for MacBook M1 Pro with all ports as after I stopped video and audio editing due to health problems I don’t find good usage to only iPad.

Mac gives opportunities to train and learn more things in IT

 

[BB1970]

I barely use the phone at all. It’s simply a glorified video camera for me and texting when out and about. I use my iPad CONSTANTLY though. To say it’s been the most important tech device I’ve used in the last decade is an understatement.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I use my M2 12.9 iPad Pro for hours each day. It has almost replaced my computer. I use my 14PM less than an hour when I am away from the iPad. Most communications with friends, family and customers are via text, very few actual phone calls anymore.

 

[Tripps9000]

I use my iPhone during the week and my iPad during the weekend myself

 

[FeliApple]

OP, for the uses you’ve stated, give the iPad a try. I use mine like that, and for indoor content consumption, my phone lays unused. It’s just used for communication purposes. I use the iPad a lot more than the iPhone. I think you’re going to like the iPad if you have that use case in mind.