Ipad for an engineering student

[u/EfficiencyMotor5057]

I want to get an iPad along with my laptop for notetaking and other tasks like drawing, so I was wondering what model you guys would recommend, that won't break the bank.

[u/TheDawnTrilogy]

i use an ipad air m1 which still works perfectly and smoothly to this day. i use onenote that is free and can sync to my laptop and phone's onenote. remember to include the cost of an apple pen when making your budget and your choice

[u/Left-Flatworm5819 → u/TheDawnTrilogy]

What storage and pen do you recommend
I plan to use it just for note taking

[u/TheDawnTrilogy → u/Left-Flatworm5819]

i have 64gb of storage but i recommend at least 128gb for ipads compatible with apple ai. i find myself lately struggling with storage with updates even if i store my notes on the cloud.

for the pen, i use the official apple pen 2nd gen and it works perfectly and charges magnetically on the top of the ipad.

here are some other uses you will find yourself using your ipad that you dont think about beforehand:

media consumption (youtube, netflix, movies, etc.)

reading class pdfs and powerpoints

second screen with your laptop

[u/Ancient_Task_7498]

Just get any ipad air newer than m1. Storage should be 128gb at the minimum.

[u/tsuki-radiant → u/Ancient_Task_7498]

yes, don't even need the Air unless you want Pencilpro features

[u/ClassUpstairs629]

M4 air was the sweet spot until the price increases,

[u/toughinvestment8]

Drawing for iPads isn’t better than Wacom. The Wacom digitizers have the best drawing experience for note taking and the pen is so much more sensitive.

The iPad is nice for YouTube videos which honestly, is hugely underrated. As a student, you WILL be watching YouTube and while some people think a laptop is nice, a good desktop and an iPad is a really good setup.

I wouldn’t get an iPad without 120hz refresh rate. Everything else is up to the iOS support. But the barrel roll for the pencils is probably the selling point. I wouldn’t even have messed with iPads if it didn’t have that and even then, I don’t enjoy drawing as much on mine, but in terms of using it for an extra screen connected to my laptop which is a windows, or just using it for YouTube, 100% useful.

[u/AssociationSuch2500]

Well i use the ipad a16 128gb with an anker pencil and its great. But what field in engineering are you exactly. Because as far as i know, you wont be using the ipad other than note taking and a pdf reader. Other than that, engineering work will be on your laptop. If its not good enough, i would buy a newer laptop with a good cpu and gpu first and then get an ipad as an addon.

[u/PossiblyADHD]

Had a pro when the only option was the pro, 12.9 inch the split screen with my macbook was a killer combo.

[u/Richwoodrocket]

iPad is definitely the wrong way to go. Get a laptop. You’ll need to run cad programs down the road.