22+ Pros and Cons of iPad (Explained)

What are the pros and cons of using an iPad instead of a laptop or desktop computer? Why so much hype about it? Or how it is so much of a contribution to one’s work, creativity, and productivity.

The iPad has become a trendy device over the last decade. Apple introduced its first tablet in 2010, and since then, sales have been steadily increasing. In 2017 alone, Apple sold nearly 100 million iPads.

Now, you may be looking for a new tablet or you may already have one and want to upgrade? Or maybe you just want to know what the whole fuss is about.

There are also many reasons you might choose to buy an iPad over an Android tablet if you upgrade from Android.

Whatever your reason, here’s everything you should know before making a decision. Let’s find out the pros and cons of the iPad for all those scenarios and help you with your decision.

Pros Of iPad	Cons Of iPad
Leading-edge technology	Highly expensive
Long battery life	Lack of storage
App store	Limitation in compatibility
Doing Day-to-day tasks	Less expandability
Plays Nice with iphone and Apple TV
Doing daily tasks
Ease of use
Convenience
Best for traveling
High accessibility
Stability

Pros Of IPad

There are certainly so many pros of the iPad to count here. Right out of the bat, it is an ideal device for things like reading ebooks, watching films and TV shows, and playing high-end games.

The tablet has an amazing screen that makes it easy to read books, watch videos or play games.

It is also something that can be used as a personal assistant using the SIRI AI function.

And if you are like a movie buff or enjoy watching videos a lot but don’t like carrying around a bulky tablet, you can use the iPad as a portable media player.

It is indeed one of the most versatile devices that you can get yourself today. You can do so much more than just surf the web, watch movies and listen to music.

You can do video and audio calls, send messages, work on documents, and all sorts of projects.

Leading Edge Technology

The iPad isn’t just ranked high on its sales, but also it is one of the devices with leading and latest technologies.

It wasn’t just the first tablet that came with High-Definition (HD) resolution display but also the very first to use a 64-bit processor (A6X).

Each year, when Apple releases a new version of its iPad tablet, it becomes one of the most powerful tablets in the world, surpassing many laptop computers in terms of pure processing speed.

Long Battery Life

One of the first things that will be noticeable by the user of an iPhone in its initial phase is the battery life. And that is because of the launch of the first-generation iPad.

iPad offers such long battery power that even maxes out the battery life of your high-end cost Macbook Pro.

This means when you use an iPad for official work whether remotely or in a workplace, you don’t need to think about charging for long hours.

The first generation iPad has a battery capacity of about 12000 mAh. With the latest iPad, the battery performance is good too.

If you compare the batteries of an iPad with a MacBook, the iPad battery lasts longer than the MacBook. You can watch movies, and play high-end video games, and still, the battery life will last for about ten hours.

The App Store

The Apple App Store now has over a million apps, most of which were designed for the iPad.

One huge advantage the iPad has over other tablets is the cost of the apps. Most required apps you need in a iPad can be seen for under 5 USD or even free.

And if you compare that for users who are coming from the PC or android ecosystem where any app is usually 25 USD or more, this is way cheaper.

All the apps you see in the Apple App Store are checked and reviewed by real humans at Apple Company.

The process assures that these apps are secure and match the standards of quality and compatibility for Apple devices.

This you won’t find on Google Play Store. Also, Malware is a huge issue here. This is one way to prevent it.

Doing daily tasks

You can do almost everything on your iPad that you can possibly do on your laptop without breaking a sweat.

For example, you could install productivity apps like a calendar, to-do lists, timer, bookmark manager, and money manager and spend your time in an organized manner.

You can also perform image editing, video processing, emailing, video chatting, sharing your thoughts on various social media platforms, etc.

Works Great With iPhone and Apple TV

If you are using both Apple devices that is Apple TV and an iPhone, then getting yourself an ipad becomes even more fun due to the kind of things you can do with that. This is because these devices interconnect and sync up very well.

It is not just you can switch between apps that are on your iPhone and iPad which come handier than you think, also there is a universal approach to this as well.

Apple TV owners will enjoy AirPlay, which can wirelessly connect their iPad to an HDTV.

App development

Because there are fewer models of iPads, app developers can develop apps for them easily.

When you compare this situation with Android, there are just too many app developers for your device with all updates, variety, brands, and much more.

And since the hardware of your Apple device is the same company behind the apps, the performance gets a dramatic increase. And managing the resources of the devices is easy due to the available coding.

Convenient

As an iPad can help you with most of the tasks that are required on a laptop, it provides greater convenience than a laptop computer.

With an iPad, you can simply detach the keyboard from the device and use it wherever you want. iPads do not ask their users to be stuck with their desks or places like what you face with personal computers or desktops. It is convenient as a device can be.

Ease of Use

Apple’s iOS platform has made great strides in the area of user interfaces (UI). However, Google’s Android OS still leads in terms of ease of use.

While Android tablets offer more customizability, Apple’s simple approach to iOS makes the iPad less overwhelming than Android tablets.

It doesn’t mean you can just lay your hands on an iPad the first time and become an expert on it right away. But it is very soon, people not just get used to but even habitual of the iPad.

Efficient

People often complain about the full-screen single-usage app style of an iPad allowing you to use one app at a time. But it is highly efficient and powerful for productivity.

After muting any notifications, it gives a minimal distraction.

The user interface and the design of an iPad is created in a way to make people focus on the particular task they intend to do. It has a system in place to restrict distractions and boost efficiency dramatically.

Best for traveling

If you’re a traveler and you often travel to different locations every day, then the iPad is a very portable device.

You can put the iPad into your bag where it weighs less than most of the laptops and is only a little bit heavier than your usual phone.

You have various camera apps on the iPad that come in handy for clicking pictures while traveling.

You can use an iPad for office work while traveling. It’s like having a mini-workstation with you all the time.

Accessories

Being the market leader means that people want to be associated with you. This is something that leads to this enormous loyal community of iPad accessories that goes way beyond just the iPad itself.

You will see all sorts of cases, wireless keyboards, external speakers and whatnot.

For example, there is a Guitar Rig with which you can connect your guitar to your iPad to create music easily.

Also there is another called iCadet that converts your iPad into a classic arcade game console where you don’t need coins. It’s like there is a whole other world to explore once you buy iPad.

Stability

The iOS operating system comes with another spectacular benefit and that is – stability.

And this happens because iPad developers are highly focused to create a particular number of apps specifically matching a particular small section of devices with the same common hardware.

The approval procedure of an app in Apple also helps in providing stability by eliminating the highly grievous bugs prior to their permission.

The iPad’s operating system is often considered a closed system where the Apple company controls every aspect of the software, hardware, and firmware for higher stability and security.

No doubt about having advantages of having a closed system, such as the kind of stability they provide due to the high-end security.

While Android app developers need to support dozens, even hundreds of tablet and smartphone devices, they don’t need to support every single one.

Apple and iPad app development companies are supporting a very small number of tablets based on the same basic technology.

Apple’s app review process also helps stability by preventing the most egregious bugs from being approved.

Cons Of iPad

There are undoubtedly many advantages of the iPad, but it does have disadvantages as well, for example, the iPad doesn’t support external keyboards.

This means you won’t be able to send emails, letters or anything where writing is needed more than just what you need while chatting. It can be an issue if you need to get some long-form writing work.

Another downside is that the iPad is not compatible with all apps. Some apps require iOS 9 or later, which means you cannot run them on older operating system versions.

Let’s dive into more of these disadvantages of iPads:

Price For Value Compared To Other Android Tablet

The entry cost for you to be part of Apple’s ecosystem is quite costly, and this become even more costly when you compare to the options, quality, and features you are getting in the android at much cheaper costs.

With current-generation Android tablets costing as low as $199, the 7-inch tablet market has never been better.

You can even get a cheap Android tablet for as low as $50 to $70, but you can’t do much else on it then browse the web.

However, that’s fine for most people. A current-generation iPad starts from $329, and an Apple iPad Pro starts from $699.

too Expensive

The iPad might offer a whole lot that can ease the workload and enhance one’s productivity. However, all of these gadgets aren’t cheap.

One of Apple’s tendencies is to separate the products from the accessories and charge a high price for each accessory.

If you’re considering buying an iPad, stock up on extra cash for a protective case and a Magic Keyboard.

Storage

You are not getting the feature of storage expansion on an iPad. Unlike some Android tablets, the iPad does not let its users expand their storage space as per their needs.

When the storage capacity of an iPad becomes full, one has two options: Delete files from the device or uninstall certain apps.

Restricted Customization

Some people might prefer the basic standard look and feel of an iPad. However, since the basic design of the iPad is so simple, some advantageous customizations are not possible on an iPad.

Unlike some other Android tablets, the iPad does not offer its users the options or features to play with widgets, customize it or change it.

The restrictions and limitations for further optimization or upgrades of the devices are considered vital disadvantages of iPads.

Compatibility

Some people might be happy with the limited choices of customization in an iPad but there remains the fact that certain apps that are available in Android are not available for iPads.

Most of those apps might not be of much use, but some would have been available for iPads, which would have boosted creative and productive capabilities in an iPad to a different level.

You can’t find those apps in the App Store. Another major problem with iPads is their limited compatibility with certain applications or software.

Limited Customisation

A disadvantage of limited customization is that you cannot alter the tablet experience on the iPad.

It means you won’t get any feature to use widgets on the home screen. Also, there are many apps with are just not compatible with the iPad for full functionality or customizations.

Apple’s approval process keeps some apps from appearing in its App Store that could actually improve the user experience, such as an app that simply switches Bluetooth on or off so you can connect to your wireless keyboard without having to dig through menus.

Not Much Expandability

If you use up all the storage space on your iPad, then you will be left with removing stuff from it to further use it, perhaps those movies or songs you stored.

The iPad doesn’t include a USB port for connecting flash drives, and external hard drives or cloud storage cannot be used to store apps on an iPad.

All tablets in the market are usually less expensive than laptops, which means that they are also less expandable as compared to iPads. However, the iPad tends to have fewer limitations than some Android tablets.