When the iPad was first announced in 2010 I didn’t think they were worth it. I thought it was an oversized iPhone. I was able to help a few friends set theirs up. Skip to the second generation and I felt like it was the perfect present for my father. He loved to use his computer, but he was a really mobile person. In the second generation Apple really went in on improving the product. I still didn’t feel like it had a place for me. Back then my Macbook was still relatively new, and my iPhone was great. I was a little tempted with the mini, but still held out.

Let’s fast forward to 2014. I was commuting everyday between Salt Lake City and Orem. Total commute time was 90 minutes each way. For 60 of those 90 minutes I was on a passenger train called the Frontrunner. This train has free Wi-Fi for its’ passengers, but it sucks. Some seats had tables, but they weren’t always available, and they are pretty small. It’s when it hit me that this was where an iPad would help. My first purchase was the iPad Air with Cellular so that I won’t run into the issue of using poor wifi since I was commuting a lot. I immediately fell in love with the device. It was great for reading, doings some quick write-ups, watching videos, among others. The most beneficial feature for me was using it as a second screen with my Macbook whenever I was studying. I would keep my notes up on my iPad, and work on whatever problem I had to solve on my Mac. Another benefit that came with using this alongside my Mac was that it extended the life of my Mac. I was able to offload a lot of processes and it enabled me to use my Mac as my daily computer for 8 years; It is worth nothing that I did upgrade the RAM and the Hard Drive to an SSD. The longest a computer lasted before was roughly 4 years.

Recently I decided to upgrade to the newer iPad Air (2020). It made me think how much this product has grown on me. I really love it. It’s still perfect for the aforementioned reasons, and it’s only gotten better since then. To this day, it is my favorite device to read a book on. I actually like reading an eBook on my iPad more than the physical book. My last iPad was handed down to my Mom, and hopefully it still stays strong for her. This device held strong for me for 6 years.

TL;DR iPads are great. Buy one if you need a computer, but don’t need a laptop.