How do you work with your iPad ?

[pookitoo]

I'm very curious to know how do you work with your iPad and what apps do you use ?

——-Update march 10th ———

To be more accurate : i’m a digital art director and head of user experience (UI / UX designer)

And why do i want to use my iPad only ? Because i want a more organic experience for design, it’s a creative job, and to have more touch and feel it is a very enjoying experience for me (sorry for my poor English i’m A French native).

I love to be minimalist and don’t want to have lot of devices and have the possibility to work anywhere .

What i have with my iPad Pro ? (12 inches) :
A Logi keyboard (key to go ) for long writing like now.
A swift point GT mouse for 1 software
The pencil (obvious, a must have)
Waiting for the Anker Atom PD1 for quick charge

Here my app :

For inspiration : (very important to do some benchmarking and to be inspire in my work ) :

- twitter / Instagram / YouTube / podcast (i use the regular website for dribbble, behance and other)
And Pinterest to do some mood board (+ Udemy to learn all the time something new)

Procreate to draw and make my user flow and persona

Adobe XD to see my design (here we have a big lack of software : Figma or sketch app or adobe XD or Invision Studio on the iPad !)

Affinity designer for logo and other vector stuff and AnyFont to install fonts

Affinity photo ( for photo retouching , waiting for photoshop ! ) + Lightroom CC + photo app (for personal photo) +PlayMemories for my sony camera

LumaFusion for video editing and garage band for music stuff (+ guitare tabs to learn some new songs)

Invoice to go for my invoice

Notability for note taking, pages + keynote for more traditional things

For file management : file app + Dropbox + creative cloud + iZIP (very useful for zip file) and yoink

Coda + inspect (very good app for inspect mode on the web browser)

Trello + slack for team management

And jumpdesktop +the mouse to do my design on adobe XD !!!!! The last software i can’t replace now !!!! But very good to have this possibility to have a remote computer with adobe Xd but wish the full version on iPad !!!! Please adobe

 

[akash.nu]

I’m in the software development industry. Don’t use my iPad for work at all other than admin work, casual browsing, shopping, some media consumption. That’s why I’m rocking the base 2017 model and absolutely happy with it.

Ah it serves a major purpose as a test device though.

 

[ZStech]

I'm very curious to know how do you work with your iPad and what apps do you use ?

I'm a web designer :
- Youtube + Podcast + behance + Pinterest + Tweetbot for inspiration
- Procreate to draw and make my UX scenario and wireframe
- Canva for social network related stuff
- Affinity designer and Anyfont for logo and Lightroom + affinity photo for retouching photo
- Lumafusion for video editing
- Dropbox + slack + Trello + skype + note to organize and chat with my team

I use my iPad only for Mortal Kombat. And yes, for checking some mails. Not much.

 

[MacDevil7334]

I work as an electrical engineer:

• GoodNotes 5 for all my notes. I take a bunch of them and like to hand write in meetings rather than type. Being able to search my handwritten notes as if they were typed and also convert them to printed text for email when needed is a godsend. I also don’t have to keep track of what info is in which notebook anymore.
• Citrix workspace for remote sessions while on the go
• iBooks for reviewing PDFs, technical articles, a few books
• Word/Excel/PowerPoint for working on documents and presentations on the go. The iPad is not my first choice for dealing with these types of documents but it gets the job done when needed.
• Reminders for keeping track of my to do list
• Music for listening at my desk

Basically, my iPad is the perfect companion to my work-issued desktop.

 

[spacebro]

I use blink and jump to connect to actual computers to work from my iPad. I feel like its more productive having a screen you can touch instead of a trackpad. jump is a great app, a pleasure to use with a magic keyboard connected. Without a keyboard connected, jump is a horrible pain to use. blink-only workflows are alright with the soft keyboard. I'm like 60wpm on the soft keyboard vs 90wpm on the magic keyboard, it is not a big deal to use the soft keyboard except you need all the shortcuts like alt-tab when using jump and those are not nice to use on a soft keyboard.

 

[KimHansenDK]

I'm very curious to know how do you work with your iPad and what apps do you use ?

I'm a web designer :
- Youtube + Podcast + behance + Pinterest + Tweetbot for inspiration
- Procreate to draw and make my UX scenario and wireframe
- Canva for social network related stuff
- Affinity designer and Anyfont for logo and Lightroom + affinity photo for retouching photo
- Lumafusion for video editing
- Dropbox + slack + Trello + skype + note to organize and chat with my team

Can you elaborate more on how you work with UX in Procreate? I’m a Digital Designer (app+web) and consider adding an iPad as a tool for parts of the UX process and sketching phase. Would love to see Sketch/Figma/XD support for iPad but that’s is not happening. Do you use the 12.9 inch?

 

[Beelzbub]

I'm a network admin. Currently using an iPad 2017 (5th gen I think) and I use it every day. I do not even use a computer at home anymore, haven't in probably a year and a half, unless it is something work related where I need an actual computer.

I use it to VPN into my office and use Remote Desktop to check on things (almost every day before work), and to VPN into my home if using a public WiFi to keep all my web traffic secure. I shop online all time, look things up as needed, occasional texting an email, and watch YouTube. I also have a small Bluetooth keyboard I keep in my bag if I want to do some serious typing on it. When in the office I stream talk radio on it from about noon till it is time to leave to a Bluetooth speaker I have on my desk. I do volunteer work often and I stay as an overnight staff member to be on call for homeless people, and when I do that I will watch something on Netflix or a movie I downloaded a head of time to keep me occupied. Sometimes I will even stream a baseball game on it at my desk and or during football season I will stream a game on it when I am outside grilling. And for me, the best part is I can go about a whole week with my usage before I need to plug it in and charge it. It suits my needs just fine for what I do and I consider myself a basic user. I will keep using this iPad until I can no longer use it and then buy another.

And here is a screenshot of my battery usage.

 

[MBAir2010]

Scan rude pencil sketch, trye caption, Draw draw draw draw color color color, air drop
Repeat

 

[neutrino23]

I work with a scientific apparatus. I teach its operation and I do lab work with it.

I probably can't list all the things I use it for.

I do a lot of sketching out of ideas for lab work, presentations, papers and such. I'm not at all artistic but I like the flexibility of sketching out ideas with the Pencil.

I take notes in the lab with Concepts. From time to time I can take a photo of the samples, instrument or screens to add to the notes.

Keynote for presentations, though I usually create these on the MacBook Pro.

Reading and markup of PDFs with PDF Expert.

I'm testing out Spire for recording my voice for presentations. Seems very nice.

Affinity Designer I've used a little for creating effects for presentations.

Interior Design for iPad. Not for work but amazing app anyway. We are doing some remodeling and this is a cool, free tool for mocking up your home and furniture. Not as fancy as the pro apps but it really helps to visualize the house in 3D when you go to talk to your architect. Even just when moving furniture around it helps to see the changes in advance.

FluidMask. I use it rarely, but when I need it it is great.

Webex for joining meetings on line.

 

[appleofmyibook]

I have now moved to almost 99% exclusive use of my iPad Pro. There are just some file management issues that are restricting me from getting to 100%.

I work as a Sales Enablement Manager so I use:

- Keynote. Lately I’ve been creating some awesome presentations
- Slack for work
- Notability for notes. I tried GoodNotes 5 but unfortunately, the mechanics behind the handwriting just aren’t as good as Notability and Notes.
- Google Docs begrudgingly
- Lately I’ve been using an app called Agenda for tasks and I hear they’re soon updating it with pencil input, which will be a game changer
- Also a musician so I use GarageBand extensively. I don’t think many people realised how powerful GarageBand is on this device
- For video editing, I downloaded LumaFusion but it’s way too advanced for me so I use good old iMovie.
- Finally, as a sufferer of ADHD, I use Peak every single day to keep my brain stimulated and in order. I cannot recommend it enough.

If you haven’t realised, I absolutely adore my iPad Pro. It has completely changed the way I work and the versatility of it just means it can be anything I need it to be. I’m not paid by Apple, but this is one of those times I genuinely buy into their marketing pitch.

I tried the Surface Pro and while it does better than this as a laptop, it felt subpar as a laptop and less than subpar as a tablet. I actually couldn’t work with it as much as I would have liked to, which is unfortunate because I really love what Microsoft has been doing lately.

 

[Ledgem]

I'm a physician. iPad is always with me at work, in a protective case so that I can bleach-wipe it down without worrying about damaging it. My Apple Pencil (first-generation) is also in a case for the same reason; not sure that the second generation can be put into a case.

- Notability - #1 used application. I've completely replaced paper with it. It's not just blank sheets, either; I've designed templates for patient encounters and workflow, and work off of those much of the time.
- UpToDate for medical referencing.
- Epocrates for medication dosing/interaction/pill identification.
- Documents with PDF Expert add-on functionality - for storing and annotating research articles. PDF Expert for signing documents and saving a print-fax combo waste of paper.
- Keynote for giving presentations (I have Apple's Lighting to VGA adapter that makes presenting from my iPad or iPhone easy).
- ScannerPro to digitize certain documents, because much of the medical world is still on insecure, loose paper that I'd rather not carry around.
- Messages for team communications and multitasking; nicest when the whole team is on iOS devices.
- Canto for Epic access in hospitals that have it enabled.
- Citrix... for those hospitals that don't use Epic or haven't enabled Canto (but Citrix is a pain most of the time so it's rare to pull it out).
- The Calculator (paid version): because Apple still doesn't have a free calculator included with iPads, and I'd rather not do mental math with dosage calculations and risk errors. Free version was fine at first, but ads because intrusive and slowed me down.
- MedCalX for specialized equations.

I have a separate home iPad, but it's generally used for reading books or doing light internet browsing.

 

[Pipper99]

I have now moved to almost 99% exclusive use of my iPad Pro. There are just some file management issues that are restricting me from getting to 100%.

- Notability for notes. I tried GoodNotes 5 but unfortunately, the mechanics behind the handwriting just aren’t as good as Notability and Notes.

I've been trying to decide between GoodNotes 5 and Notability. I was wondering what is it about the mechanics that make you prefer Notability?

 

[0989382]

This is inspiring

 

[kikote]

I am a Programm Manager... These are the apps that I use most on my iPad Pro 12,9 (3rd gen):
- Agenda (for taking notes)
- Trello (for organizing team work)
- TickTick (to structure own work -GTD)
- Yoink (to enhance drag and drop)
- iThoughts (for mind mapping)
- pdf expert (to handle and comment pdf files)
- documents (to handle all the files)
- word/excel/powerpoint - mostly as viewer but sometimes also to create documents
- visio viewer and omnigraffle to create diagrams
- scanner pro to scan documents
- stock mail and calendar (like the stock apps, don't need more)
- PCalc as calculator
- Jump to connect to my Mac
- luna display if I want to use the iPad as a second monitor with the Mac
- zoom for video conferences and screen sharing
For the kind of work I use it, the iPad Pro is a good device. But the file handling is still bad, I hope IOS13 will improve the user experience. I like the iPad specially because the portability and the always connected (WIFI + LTE), but I hope they improve the operating system...

 

[sparksd]

I’m retired now so this is really just a curiosity to me – for those of you using personal devices (iPads, laptops, etc.) for your work, does your company provide clear guidelines as to how your devices may be used, e.g., are they allowed to access the company network, are they allowed to store company data, what potential legal exposures you may have, can the company demand access to your device, etc. At the very large company I worked for, we dealt with data covered by government security regulations; when someone accidentally sent classified data out in an email on the company’s unclassified network that was received by employees using personal devices, those personal devices were seized and wiped clean as were the infected company devices (the FBI became involved and some seizures occurred at employees’ homes). I could see similar issues if a company became concerned about proprietary data ending up on personal devices. So back to my question – does your company provide explicit approval and guidelines for use of personal devices?

 

[0989382]

I’m retired now so this is really just a curiosity to me – for those of you using personal devices (iPads, laptops, etc.) for your work, does your company provide clear guidelines as to how your devices may be used, e.g., are they allowed to access the company network, are they allowed to store company data, what potential legal exposures you may have, can the company demand access to your device, etc. At the very large company I worked for, we dealt with data covered by government security regulations; when someone accidentally sent classified data out in an email on the company’s unclassified network that was received by employees using personal devices, those personal devices were seized and wiped clean as were the infected company devices (the FBI became involved and some seizures occurred at employees’ homes). I could see similar issues if a company became concerned about proprietary data ending up on personal devices. So back to my question – does your company provide explicit approval and guidelines for use of personal devices?

No, mines a medium sized company. They hired me basically because of my Mac and how I could use it to do marketing things for them and website management. There is a very strong understanding that with the risks of handling consumer data, you can bet your job gone if there’s anything dodgy going on.

I actually got them to move to SharePoint where all our data lives now. And if someone was to be fired we could remotely disable their account and they’d lose access to files overnight

 

[appleofmyibook]

I've been trying to decide between GoodNotes 5 and Notability. I was wondering what is it about the mechanics that make you prefer Notability?

If your writing isn’t really neat, it feels slipperier and more like you’re writing with a felt tip pen even if you’re using the ball point pen. I find the strokes on notability are much more like a paper - with mostly a more even stroke. The only thing I like more on GoodNotes is the shape recognition.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I’m on medical retirement, but.....

I use GoodNotes, Notability, ZoomNotes, Noteshelf 2(?) and a few other note/writing apps to reduce the paper I use to write notes/messages/reminders/appointments, etc down to 0.

PDF Expert for PDF maniulation.
Scanner Pro for obvious
Google Docs to break my Office addiction (plus all the other Google apps equating to a complete Office suite)
Couple of Calendar apps
Procreate and Adobe Sketch(?) for drawing/sketching.

And way too many others apps for other tasks.

Just waiting on the Brydge 2018 for the iPad Pro. I’m passing on the Apple keyboard because of a lack of backlighting.

Tom

 

[chfilm]

As a filmmaker, I’m reading and annotating movie scripts in good notes, sometimes creating quick scribbles in procreate and export them as PSD files which I then animate as animatics on my Mac.
Take notes in Evernote, use Dropbox and slack. Sometimes google docs and sheets, though I find that a bit frustrating.

Has anyone found out a great way how to create tables on iPad with pictures inside of every single row in the left column? This is one of things I need all the time, lists with pix and then a description on the side. I know it’s possible with pages, but it’s super tedious. Maybe there’s a better way?

Actually I refuse to use MS office, but maybe it’s easier in word actually?
Any experiences?

Oh I also use Lightroom CC to select all pix from a shooting and then sync them back to my Mac to finish the editing there, but now I always make the selections and ratings on the iPad as Lightroom runs SO MUCH FASTER!

 

[blasto2236]

I’m using mine for music production, and it has completely replaced the need for my Mac aside from one plugin that hopefully will come to iOS soon.

I prefer it because it’s a much more tactile experience as opposed to using a mouse or trackpad on the Mac. It also feels more like I can just grab it and get going and let my ideas flow quickly.

Primarily I’m using BeatMaker 3 and Blocs Wave for that.

I also use AudioShare for managing all my samples and it’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve honestly run in to very few problems as far as moving files around in iOS.

Like others, I also use Notability and do some video editing in LumaFusion. I also use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for creating and maintaining documents for a comedy festival I produce.

All in all, there are very few things I need my Mac for anymore. If Squarespace would make a good iPad app I could use for my website maintenance, I would probably sell it altogether and just use the iPad.

 

[MBAir2010]

I just translated Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" in Dothraki using the ipad gen 5 !

 

[pookitoo]

Can you elaborate more on how you work with UX in Procreate? I’m a Digital Designer (app+web) and consider adding an iPad as a tool for parts of the UX process and sketching phase. Would love to see Sketch/Figma/XD support for iPad but that’s is not happening. Do you use the 12.9 inch?

Hello,

Procreate detect form if I draw a rectangle or a square, so for my screen it’s perfect, I can resize element etc, and I use layer to divide part of my website. I start with the biggest size I can (9999 px )

I can draw all my screen with user flow and import some screenshots from my mood board (from pinterest) easily with Yoink.

And yes the 12.9
[doublepost=1552288114][/doublepost]

I've been trying to decide between GoodNotes 5 and Notability. I was wondering what is it about the mechanics that make you prefer Notability?

I prefer notability for the recording option, and the possibility to resize element quickly (but like some other little feature from good note )

 

[KimHansenDK]

Hello,

Procreate detect form if I draw a rectangle or a square, so for my screen it’s perfect, I can resize element etc, and I use layer to divide part of my website. I start with the biggest size I can (9999 px )

I can draw all my screen with user flow and import some screenshots from my mood board (from pinterest) easily with Yoink.

And yes the 12.9
[doublepost=1552288114][/doublepost]
I prefer notability for the recording option, and the possibility to resize element quickly (but like some other little feature from good note )

Will give it a try