I know there have been other posts with similar content, but thought I'd come on here and make my own. For some context, i'm totally blind, I have absolutely no useable vision, so screen size doesn't matter.
I'll start with what i'd use it for. I just don't like to use my phone for everything, and I like the idea of having separate devices for different things. My phone for texting and social media, iPad for YouTube and streaming movies and shows, and reading, and I'd my laptop for things like Zoom meetings. I have a MacBook Air that I use.
From what I have read and from what others have said in conversation, it seems that the iPad mini is the best bet. My mom has an iPad pro with a case that has a keyboard attached, which I do like for typing purposes, but I feel like I don't need that heavy of a device. i'd probably just dictate.
I also have a few questions, and please be nice in the comments because I've seen an iPad but have never used one. I might be a little ignorent here.
Can I use, say, my MacBook charger to charge the iPad? Or do I have to also get a different charger.
How do I insure that all the apps from my phone cross over? I assume this is just an iCloud backup, but maybe there's the device to device transfer option like you can do with iPhones. Probably not, though.
What type of case do you recommend? I don't want anything too bulky.
Looking forward to some answers, and sorry for the long post!
Comments
ansers
1. yes you can use your mackbook charger if the ipAd is USBC, witch it most likely is.
2. yes you can do device to device transfer.
device to device transfer
Do you recommend doing that instead? or do you recommend restoring from iCloud backup?
Re: device to device transfer
i do device to device, but it's whatever you would think would bennifet you better.
i don't use ios anymore so idk how device to device works now and if it's any good, i just did device to device like a few times and it's worked for me a lot
Re: device to device transfer
i do device to device, but it's whatever you would think would bennifet you better.
i don't use ios anymore so idk how device to device works now and if it's any good, i just did device to device like a few times and it's worked for me a lot
I think I can help with this
Hi, I had a very similar use case to you and a similar situation. I am also totally blind. I had an iPad mini. Just something to keep in mind is that an iPad mini still does have a much bigger screen and if you’re not going to be using any kind of a Bluetooth keyboard this may be a big adjustment as far as died screen real estate you could get yourself a little bit lost if you’re swiping a lot. That was the issue that I ran into with an iPad and I used it for exactly the same thing that you’re talking about like separate device for your music and different shows and things like that. Also, there are apps that will split onto different sides of the screen. You will literally have a left side of the screen be one part of your app and then the right side of your screen can be another part of an app. For example, the Settings app is like this. I think pretty much. Everything else is too. Also, the on-screen keyboard is a bit different of a set up to get used to if you’re going to use it that way. It’s a bit bigger and it’s still on the bottom of the iPad screen but as I said because everything is more spread out on an iPad it’s a little bit trickier to get lost in for people who are totally mine at least for my case it was. If you’re going to be using dictation, that’s probably is gonna be the best thing for you. I had one of the kind of full cases for my iPad mini because like you I didn’t want anything bulky. iPads come with their chargers in the box so you won’t have to use necessarily a MacBook charger unless you want to. And the iPad mini does have the USB-C charging port. I ended up trading in my iPad mini for my current iPhone. You hopefully will have better luck than me and can get used to the bigger screen real estate swiping around a lot. Lol if you’re really good with the exploring by touching that might be OK too I’ve just never gotten the hang of that. Sorry for the long post, but I hope this is helpful.
Re: I think I can help with this
Oh yeah, I hated the app windows things. Like when I go through settings, one side has the current settings menu and the other side has the main settings directory. It angered me so much. It was so annoying. Besides that, I really enjoyed my time with my iPad. The battery life is the best part about it legitimately beats any iPhone. I've used for pretty obvious reasons.
More Answers
Just to clear up the charging thing—you can't use a Mac's MagSafe charger on your iPad. Your Mac can use either USB-C or MagSafe, but the iPad won't work with MagSafe. And yes, transferring your stuff over from your iPhone is totally fine!
As for the iPad setup, I'd honestly still recommend grabbing a keyboard case. I know you were worried about extra weight, but they really don't add that much, plus you can just detach it whenever you want. You might actually really like having it there if you ever need to type out some quick notes. If you do look for one, check out Amazon—they have tons of options. I'd definitely skip the Apple Magic Keyboard, though; it's way too expensive for what it is.
Re: I think I can help with this
Is there a way to turn that off? That split screen thing? Or is that just how it is
Thoughts from a New iPad Owner
About a month or so ago, I put up a post here asking this very same question. Since then, I've gotten an 11 inch iPad Air, I broke down and got the Apple magic keyboard for my writing(after trying and disliking cheaper keyboard cases), and I'm very happy.
Setup is very easy. You can either choose to restore from your phone, or you can do as I did and set it up as a new iPad. I have social media apps and other stuff on my phone that I didn't want on my iPad.
I'm very happy with my purchase. There are many apps that show in split screen, which means you'll have a sidebar with options, and whatever you select will show up on the other side. I personally really like this. You can also choose to hide sidebars, and that'll give you a tab bar either near the top or bottom. I think learning the sidebar way of doing things would be beneficial since swiping through everything would just take too long.
I use mine for playing games, reading ebooks and audiobooks, and it's now resparked my creativity so I'm writing in Pages.
I learned a lot from podcasts, and I highly recommend the iPad For All Computing course. It got me started, and I'm still listening through.
new iPad
Hi, fellow totally blind iPad user here.
For what it's worth, I honestly wouldn't get an iPad mini. You're right, it's smaller and easier to carry around, but in my opinion it's the worst of both worlds for a blind person. If you do want to try using two apps at once, that tiny screen will drive you nuts if you try to work by touch with two apps. Give yourself the option of the bigger screen so you can work with more than one app if you want to. I mean yes, you can use the keyboard exclusively on an iPad, but even for a totally blind user it's very inefficient for a lot of things, at least in my experience. It takes some practice, but teaching yourself to navigate an iPad screen by touch will speed things up imensely for you if you take the time to learn.
You don't have to get a pro - I did but it's my main machine - but an Air or even a base model would probably do.
I know, I know, everyone else will tell you the screen's useless, but trust me, it's only useless if you treat it as an iPhone. Doing two things at once - like a calendar and a message, for example, or having multi-column apps when reading mail and such are really awesome.