My love-hate relationship with the iPad, explained

I’ve been an Android user since I started using smartphones. But I received an iPad (9th gen) as a gift a while ago and have been using it on and off ever since, but with mixed feelings. While there’s plenty to love about it, there are just some things that I can’t wrap my head around and some I can’t get used to.

First things first

Let me start off by saying that despite using Android for the last 15 years or so, I would not describe myself as an Android fanboy. By fanboy, I mean that I never praise Android just because I use it and then throw shade at Apple and its products because of the rivalry between the two companies. I always found that mentality stupid.

I believe that Apple makes great products for its user base and has played a crucial role in the advancement of technology we all know and love. I also have a lot of respect for the late and great Steve Jobs, whose commencement speech at Stanford University back in 2005 made a big impression on me while I was still in college, trying to find my way in life.

However, we all have a preference, and Android is mine. For a multitude of reasons. But I consider myself a very open-minded person, so I was happy to add the iPad to my collection of tech gadgets, hoping it would work out. And it did. But it also didn’t. As my colleague Gary Sims likes to say, let me explain.

Love is in the air

There are many reasons why I love my iPad, with performance being at the top of the list. It just works. Flawlessly. Despite being a few years old. The device is fast and can handle any task I throw at it. It also doesn’t get super hot, which is an issue I had with a few other Android tablets in the past. However, I do not play any demanding games, as my use case consists of the basics like watching videos, browsing the web, and staying in contact with friends via messaging apps. I do lots of multitasking, though.

Performance is the most important thing in a device like the iPad. If you’ve ever had a budget phone or tablet that was slow as a snail, and usually always at the worst time possible, you know what I mean. The iPad’s performance is so good I never really have to think about it.

Next up is the battery. I’m very impressed with it, since it gets me through two days of moderate use just fine. I have lots of tech that has to be charged often, including two pairs of headphones, a phone, a laptop, a Bluetooth speaker, a Kindle reader, and a smartwatch, to list a few. Making sure everything is charged when I need it is a pain for me, so I’m happy to have a device that doesn’t need to be plugged in every day.

Then there are the updates. When Apple releases a new version of its operating system, it’s available for supporting devices immediately. That’s something you can’t say when it comes to Android phones and tablets. Granted, Pixels do get software updates on day one, just like Apple devices — which is why my phone of choice is a Pixel. However, Samsung and other users sometimes have to wait months to play around with the new version of Android, which never sat well with me. When comparing an iPad with a Galaxy Tab, for example, this is one area Apple has Samsung beat.

For me, the iPad gets a lot of the basics right. That’s why I like it. It works flawlessly, the battery is above average for my use case, and the software support is great. Then there are other, smaller things that add to the experience. Some of its apps — not all, though — like Stocks and Weather are a joy to use. The build quality is great. And the search feature that shows up when swiping down from anywhere on the home screen speeds up the process of finding what I want.

Now for the bad news

I’m a very visual person. For me, design is art, and art makes me feel. It makes me think. But the only thing the iPad’s design makes me think is how ugly it is. It doesn’t evoke any emotion, as it has no character whatsoever. The bezels are huge, the button below the display makes it look dated, and the back panel seems like it was not given an ounce of thought during the design process.

Yes, yes, I know I have the old model and that the new one fixes some of these design issues. While it does look more modern due to its smaller bezels and the lack of a physical button up front, it’s still as bland as a piece of celery. Apple’s idea of adding character to a device was just to offer it in a few different colors. That’s as low effort as it gets.

But design isn’t my only problem with the device. When it comes to software, the lack of an app drawer is driving me crazy. It’s hard to get organized, despite the folders I can create. Apple is all about simplicity, and I don’t find this simple at all. My home screen is cluttered since I use a lot of apps and like to try out new ones regularly.

On my phone, my home screen is minimal. Calm. Zen. When I need a specific app, I open up the app drawer and there it is. One home screen is all I need. Apple’s implementation here is the complete opposite, and I can’t get used to it for the life of me. Especially since I switch between my Android and my iPad frequently. If I only used Apple products, maybe things would be different — but that’s not going to happen.

Then there are a bunch of other, smaller stuff that add up. If I want to go back a page in Safari, I have to swipe from the left part of the screen to the right, while on Android, I do it the other way around. It feels more natural to me and is a cause of frustration when I put down my phone and grab my iPad. There are also loads of apps that aren’t optimized for tablets and don’t take advantage of the large screen of the device, making them completely unusable for me. However, it’s true that Android tablets suffer from the same thing.

And then there’s the charging, which takes forever. While I love the battery life, I hate waiting for more than two hours for a full charge.

The love-hate relationship with my iPad likely won’t change. While it does what I need it to do, the issues I run into as a long-time Android user annoy me enough that I sometimes just don’t pick it up and prefer browsing the web and watching videos on the smaller screen of my phone. I don’t use the iPad daily, so I’ll keep it for now since there’s still plenty to like about it. But when the time for an upgrade comes, I’m buying a Galaxy Tab.