How I ditched my laptop for an iPad Air 2

iPad is one of the most powerful mobile devices on the market right now. I have been thinking for a couple of months if I could replace my MacBook Pro with an iPad Air 2 and could survive. Since the release of iOS 9’s split-view multitasking feature, iPad Air 2 has become a truly productive mobile device.

Most of the time I am not a power user, which made me decide if I really could go all iPad from a Macbook. I know that they are two completely different devices built for different purposes, but the biggest deciding factor was portability for me. I can take my iPad anywhere I go with ease.

What I use my computer for is not limited – but mostly – I watch Youtube videos and movies, use Microsoft and Google products and services, edit and tweak pictures for Flickr, create simple videos to share with friends and family, surf the web, and use social media. I occasionally, download videos and songs from youtube and convert them to MP3.

Apple has been bragging a lot about the power of its iPad Air 2’s A8 X chip. So, I committed to using the iPad for a few weeks without using my Macbook. It has been four weeks since I have been using solely my iPad Air 2. Surprisingly, I have not been a bit disappointed so far, and I have been able to get my all tasks done on the iPad without any problem. However, to get fully productive, I needed to download some third-party apps. I think apps are what make iPad stand out among its rivals.

Following are the best productivity apps that helped me become much more productive on the iPad Air 2:

  • Documents 5:

iPad doesn’t have a local file manager. Although there are many file managing apps in the App Store, Documents 5 is one of the most productive apps to manage your files on the iPad. It has a built-in browser and can be integrated with all major cloud services including iCloud, Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, and Box. You can easily manage your entire files whether in the cloud or in your device. I also like its built-in music player when I have to listen to music that I download and convert from YouTube.

  • Puffin Browser:

If you want to browse in full desktop mode and open flash files and videos, you can look no further than Puffin Browser. There is also a free version of this app, but I recommend buying the paid version, which only costs $3.99. You also can download files from this browser unlike Safari and Google Chrome and copy them to the cloud services or on your device. However, you need to have Documents 5 or another file manager to open the downloaded files from the Puffin Browser. It is a very fast and snappy browser with a lot of cool features.

  • Pixelmator:

This is one of the best and most advanced photo editing apps for iPad. This has been an alternative for Adobe Photoshop on the Mac OS for a long time, but on the iPad, this app is second to none. I can edit photos like a pro. It only costs $4.99 in the App store. I think it is really worth it if you are looking for a very powerful photo editor. It works great with the A8 X chip in the iPad with its what Apple calls “desktop-class” GPU performance.  I prefer editing my photos on the iPad rather than on the MacBook because of its advanced and intuitive UI.

  • iMovie:

This video-editing app by Apple is the best hands down. If you want to make simple videos and share them with your family and friends, iMovie is probably the best option for you. It is really easy and intuitive to use yet very powerful. The latest version of iMovie for iPad Air 2 can edit in full 4K, which is mind-boggling. Recently, I edited an entire 4K video on iPad Air 2 with this app, and I was very impressed by its performance.

  • Google Drive and Photo:

Google Drive is one of the primary services I use on daily basis. I write documents, save photos and share files on Google Drive. I take so many pictures with my iPhone and DSLR camera that my 256 GB MacBook pro was running out of memory, so I decided to save all my photos in Google Photos which is unlimited. However the photos are compressed,  but they are still of great quality. So now, I don’t have to worry about storage on my iPad. I can directly import all my DSLR photos to the iPad with lightning to SD card adapter.

  • One Drive and Microsoft Office Suite:

One Drive is one of the best cloud services with great integration on the iPad. I use it on daily basis to store, write and share documents, files, and photos. One Drive provides 30 GB of free storage, which is great. If you are a power MS Office suite user, One Drive is a must. MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and One Note for iPad work flawlessly with all the basic features that a consumer needs for free.

  • Evernote:

iPads are really great for taking notes. Evernote is one of the best note-taking apps out there. It has many cool features. This is one of the best note-taking apps for school or just writing journals. It also has great handwriting features, which makes the iPad more productive for some users.  It is a cross-platform app, which is very helpful for me to work on the go and synchronize it with my other devices.

Although I became way more productive with the help of these apps, it was not possible without two very essential third-party accessories for the iPad Air 2 to completely rely on it. Since I take a lot of pictures with my DSLR, I had to get an SD card reader to lightening adopter to move my photos on the iPad and then automatically upload them to Google Photos. You can buy the SD card adapter at Apple Store for $30, however, you may find a much cheaper one on Amazon.

When we talk about productivity on a device, typing becomes one of the most important aspects. There are so many third-party Bluetooth keyboards for the iPad Air 2 in the market that sometimes, choosing the right keyboard can be very tricky and confusing. It won’t be considered a hybrid unless you can put it on your lap and type while you are sitting on a couch. So, it was very important for me to get a keyboard that not only I could put on my lap comfortably, but also I could use as a tablet instantly when needed. The best Keyboard that could suit my needs was Zagg Slim Book. It is $130 in Best Buy, but fortunately, I got it much cheaper on Amazon. I have used many iPad keyboards, but Zagg Slim Book is the best of them all. It has backlit keys and feels very premium in the hands.

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