Hey guys, I'm a college student and currently a very happy owner of a galaxy note pro 12.2. Since I'm going into graphic design and need an iMac I thought I should switch to an iPad Pro 12. I love the galaxy tab and my wireless keyboard case. I love the pen and how thin it is, plus it just slides right into the side of the table. It also cost $7 to replace instead of $100. So far I've had a great experience with the galaxy tablet, and I'm wondering if it's worth switching to the iPad Pro? I don't like the idea of having to carry my pencil around, since the Galaxy pen is inside, there's really no chance of losing it. Anyone have thoughts on switching from Galaxy to iPad for a designer? Is it really worth it?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro iPad Pro vs galaxy pro, should I switch?
- Thread starter cptn.nemo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Having owned both of them, I'd say if you have the money absolutely do it. The iPad Pro feels like a million bucks compared to that old android tablet. The little S Pen feels and operates like a toy compared to the Apple Pencil. If you enjoy drawing or expect to do a lot of drawing, there's no comparison. Performance and screen quality-wise, the iPad is the clear winner. If you can deal with the quirks of iOS I think it is a no brainer.
You're kidding wow, I thought the Galaxy felt pretty luxurious. The only thing I'm hesitant about is where I'll keep my pencil. Galaxy just pops in the side. I need it for notes and writing formulas and stuff in school all day, so carrying it separate from the iPad seems really inconvenient. Do you guys have cases that have a slot for it or something?
Get yourself a case that holds the pencil. I had the UAG case on my iPP last year and it was huge and bulky and had a clip where you clipped the pencil in and it honestly got awful cumbersome. I got the STM Atlas for this semester and i abslutly love it. I have a tech armor TG screen protector on it so i dont worry about breaking it. I just take my ipp to class in the case now, no backpack or anything like that. Here are a few pics, im in the library right now studying so i have the full rig operating lol
Attachments
Last edited:
Well I got the iPad Pro. It looks like an amazing machine and I'm sure I'll get used to it but the Galaxy still feels natural to me, popping the pen out of the side and back in again. It's so easy to store. The Galaxy pen does feel like a plastic toothpick compared to the iPad and I already can see I'll have more control with ipencil. I do love the leather back of the Galaxy, and the home button and back buttons being on the landscape bottom. When using in portrait mode my left hand naturally falls on the home and back button for easier navigation. As for the iPad it does have a fingerprint reader which is incredible and a great improvement over Galaxy. Also I didn't know that iPads work with macs as a sort of Wacom tablet, allowing you to use the iPad for illustrator and PS. That alone is worth buying the iPad for. I think I'm really going to enjoy the iPad as a designer, but for the casual tablet user I have to say Galaxy is definitely a viable choice.
I've owned enough Samsung tablets to know (A) never pay anything close to MSRP for them and (B) they drop support for them quickly. If one understands that going in, then they won't be in for a surprise.
For all the horsepower in the Galaxy tabs, and all of the improvements to TouchWiz, GTabs still do not have buttery smooth performance. One thing that Samsung DOES do well is multi-window. And native mouse support that Android provides is a nice addition as well.
For all the horsepower in the Galaxy tabs, and all of the improvements to TouchWiz, GTabs still do not have buttery smooth performance. One thing that Samsung DOES do well is multi-window. And native mouse support that Android provides is a nice addition as well.
NO! Not worth switch to iPad Pro 12 because you said you are happy with Samsung Note 12.2! Just forget about an iMac! You might look for a Windows 10 capable laptop for graphic design. Dell or HP are both a great laptop! Good luck!
If you are going to get an iMac, I'd say to definitely switch. You will be able to use the iPad Pro like a Wacom device with just an app (costs 20$ I believe, but still worth it).
I have both an iPad and a Galaxy. Comparing the backs is interesting.
The Galaxy's pleather back should be crap... After all, it's cheap injection molded plastic instead of machined aircraft aluminum. The plastic is molded in a way to fake the style of natural leather, a typical indicator of cheap junk and knockoff purses. Worst of all, it even has fake stitches, just to reduce itself to complete and utter classlessness.
Yet, despite all this, it's absolutely phenomenal. Like it feels just perfect.
Not cold and barren like aluminum, but warm and inviting. Not slippery like the iPad's constant feeling of being on the verge of dropping, but grippy and stable. And when you slide it across a surface to move it, it just slides across with no worries...whereas with the iPad I feel like every little piece of dust and grit on the table is micro-scratching that beautiful premium surface.
Last edited:
EXACTLY! I'll probably get a vinyl back for my iPad, maybe I can find a fake leather back. I'd love to see brown leather instead of black. I can set my Galaxy down without worrying about the grain of salt on the table that's going to ruin the back of the iPad. I don't like the cold feel of the aluminum or even glass. I like to use my tablet without a case, so I hope I can find a back protector/leather feel skin. I'm definitely putting a screen protector on. I just cozy love that leather back
I realized that after I got the iPad. If I had known this before it would have been hands down iPad winner for me. So glad I have it now. I got procreate also, looking forward to some serious concept art in there
Bought a tab s2 last year screen was great I only used it to watch nextflix and such. But the marshmallow update made sound not sync on most video. Even after a reboot. Maybe if I wiped it and started fresh.
Coming into this conversation late, but if I were a college graphic design student, the Surface Pro would be my device of choice.
However, now that you purchased the iPad Pro, congrats! It;s an excellent device! Be sure to check out all the amazing Adobe apps (my favorites are Sketch, Shape, and Comp). Also, Quark makes an excellent page layout tool (kind of wish Adobe would step up Comp to make it at least a little closer to InDesign Mobile).
I also like 52's Paper (that app is exclusive to iOS and it's amazing!) as well as Sketchbook.
However, now that you purchased the iPad Pro, congrats! It;s an excellent device! Be sure to check out all the amazing Adobe apps (my favorites are Sketch, Shape, and Comp). Also, Quark makes an excellent page layout tool (kind of wish Adobe would step up Comp to make it at least a little closer to InDesign Mobile).
I also like 52's Paper (that app is exclusive to iOS and it's amazing!) as well as Sketchbook.
Congratulations with your purchase. I have an iPad Pro 9.7, I will get a Macbook later to use it with my iPad to draw. It looks amazing on the videos
Yeah I've looked at the surface pro but it's just doesn't look powerful enough to run a full version of Windows especially if your working in photoshop and illustrator heavily. I really need a desktop for that stuff. My iPad certainly won't be taking on full photoshop tasks. I've never been a fan of the surface though so that's just my opinion haha.
I'll definitely look into those apps though, I need more recommendations of good apps.
One thing I don't like is that I have onenote and my Galaxy used to recognize the pen and automatically switch to draw mode. With my iPad it won't do that, and I have to actually press draw mode. Just an inconvenience. I might look for another note app
If you decide to get one I have a logitech create keyboard I can sell to ya
Just got a create the other day, wish I had known u had one to sell earlier :/
Try turning off the "Draw with Touch" in OneNote. It should still have whatever tool was selected the last time you used the app. I use the heck out of OneNote - in fact it was the FIRST app I tested on the Pro with the Apple Pencil!
As for the Surface, I have the SP3 with a core i3 and it handles Photoshop and Illustrator well (if the UI is appropriate and useful on that kind of device is another discussion entirely). Upping the RAM to 8 GB and the processor to an i5 can only help performance.
As for apps, those are the main apps I use - though I'll also throw in AnyFont (useful for loading fonts onto the iPad) and Duet (using the iPad as a second screen on the laptop). I also use Adobe Nav and PS Touch for interaction with Photoshop on the desktop.
I was Coming from the original Note 10.1 tablet and still works and I have it, before I got my IPP 12.9. I used a full size Stylus on it though from a samsung slate not the S-Pen (too small for drawing), I got it on Amazon. I loved that tablet for drawing, but since I got my 12.9, I don't touch it, except occasionally on the game Draw Something, because the Ipad doesn't have a floating window for reference images to draw from. Side by Side doesn't work with Draw Something. The one thing I have to say is that on Android, the only thing that even comes close to Procreate as a drawing app, is Adobe Sketchbook Pro. In My opinion Procreate blows anything on Android away.
I was a long time Samsung Note Phones and Tablets guy, so I converted with no problems. Samsung as someone said, left people with their Tablets hanging with no updates and no more Note Tablets. So Apple was the only one who had what I was looking for. I would say move over to the IPP, because I looked at the Galaxy Note Pro 12" and it's 2 years old already, I wasn't going to pay for old technology, when for a few hundred dollars more could get a new IPP. Not liking Samsung as much anymore, not liking the direction they were going and taking away features and charging more for things.
I was a long time Samsung Note Phones and Tablets guy, so I converted with no problems. Samsung as someone said, left people with their Tablets hanging with no updates and no more Note Tablets. So Apple was the only one who had what I was looking for. I would say move over to the IPP, because I looked at the Galaxy Note Pro 12" and it's 2 years old already, I wasn't going to pay for old technology, when for a few hundred dollars more could get a new IPP. Not liking Samsung as much anymore, not liking the direction they were going and taking away features and charging more for things.