Last month I chose to downgrade my tech from an iPad Pro to an iPad mini. I am happy to report I am using my new mini prolifically. It is everything I wanted it to be. It is the perfect size for everyday browsing, shopping, social media, and checking in on my Cleveland Guardians. The battery on my mini stays charged for several days of regular usage, and charges quickly via USB-C.
I bought a matching Smart Cover for it, but given that the mini is not FaceID activated, I may switch that up for a different case. The only quibble with the mini is that I would really have preferred FaceID over the TouchID. TouchID works fine, and I like the fact that the setup software prompted me to set up different fingers for different orientations of holding the iPad. But I must say I like the speed of FaceID on my iPhone, and the fact that I don’t have to touch the iPhone twice to unlock it. I do have to touch twice with the mini: I end up touching the top button to activate it, and then again to unlock. It’s…clunky.
Despite that, I really can’t complain about the iPad mini. It is a wonderful little machine.
Part of the downgrade was using my MacBook Air more for more intensive tasks, and using it for creative endeavors. Towards that end, I have downloaded Apple Creator Studio and signed up for a subscription (fortunately, I am an educational professional, so I was able to qualify for the education pricing). I have yet to dive back into Final Cut Pro and video editing, but for my photos the Creator Studio is a definite upgrade.
I was using a combination of Photoshop Express and a variety of other apps on the iPad Pro to edit my photos. Now, I have a one-stop-shop in Pixelmator Pro. In fact, in reminds me a lot of a beefed up version of the old Apple Aperture photo editor. It uses the same library as the Photos app, but has much more in depth and specialized controls for performing edits to my pics. I really enjoy the editing process again because I can get to the finished version of the photo I want where before I was only able to get part of the way.
I can’t wait to get into the other apps included in Creator Studio, and the more advanced features of Pages and Keynote. It’s only been a month, and I have had other things going on lately, but I will explore the Studio fully in the future.
All in all, my downgrade has been widely successful so far; it’s just what I hoped for!
a simple man 