Why The iPad Is INCREDIBLE For Travel
This is what 16 hours in a metal cylinder taught me
Today, I'll be heading on a 16-hour journey across 4 different airports, 3 different states, and 2 different countries.
I'll be documenting my journey and (hopefully) you'll see why the iPad is awesome for travel.
Quick note—sorry for the late post. Delayed flights, missed connections, and a very bad sore throat have made it tough to get this post published on time.
What's In My Backpack
For this trip, I packed the basics.
My iPad
I use a 2020 12.9" iPad Pro + an Apple Pencil + a Magic Keyboard.
Charging Stuff
I don't use any fancy power bricks or cables—at home and when I travel I just use whatever Apple provides.
Power Bank
The power bank I'm using is this power bank from Amazon.
It's a genuine brick— it weighs around a pound and has a 25000 mAh capacity (enough to charge an iPhone 14 almost 8 times).
Though the weight can be annoying at times, the insane battery capacity is worth it (at least for me).
On The Ground
When I'm between flights, I tend to use 3 specific apps:
1. App in the Air: an app that lets you track your flights and keeps you on schedule. I use the free version to log my travel journeys, and it's pretty cool to see the map of everywhere I've been to (fun fact: I'm 35% of the way to the moon).
2. Flightradar: most aviation nerds know about this app. It's a flight tracking app that helps you identify aircraft and find their location. I use it at the airport whenever I have some free time.
3. The (Whatever Airline I Fly) App: most major airlines have some app out there that either has important info, entertainment, or both. Before I go on any flight, I always download the relevant airline app.
I usually use most of these apps on my phone, though I do have the iPad versions downloaded.
Flight 1
On my first flight, I used these apps:
1. Apple Music: whenever I'm taking off, I love listening to music.
When I was little, I used to be terrified of flying. Listening to music helps calm my nerves, especially when there's some early turbulence.
2. GoodNotes: once the plane reaches cruising altitude, I started doing some work. I've been reading a "coding for idiots"-type book over the past few days, so I continued reading and taking notes during the flight.
3. Procreate: once I got bored of reading my book, I decided to sketch out some cool wallpapers with the Apple Pencil. For me, this is a relaxing way to be creative.
Flight 2
On the second flight, I was feeling pretty tired from running around the airport (I had a 40-minute layover). It was also around 6-7 PM my time, so I decided to watch a couple TV shows I downloaded.
I use TV+ and Disney+ as my main streaming apps, and I watched a couple shows from each (Secret Invasion is looking pretty good).
Watching TV shows and movies on a 12.9" iPad is an amazing experience. Even though the infamous black bars are kinda annoying, it's still fantastic for viewers.
Flight 3
For the second half of flight 2 and first half of flight 3, I slept.
After waking up from one of the best "airplane sleeps" I've ever had, I decided to get some work done.
Using Bear, I started writing the post you're reading right now.
Whenever I needed a break, I started using Procreate to relaxingly draw some wallpapers.
6 Reasons Why Having An iPad Is Cool For Travel
1. You get a screen that's bigger than your phone to watch TV without having to lug out your laptop.
2. The Apple Pencil is a tool of superhuman creativity, and something about being in a metal cylinder for 10 hours unlocks this potential
3. If you need to do work, the iPad can do most things a laptop can while taking up less space (important if you have tiny tray tables)
4. Every time I walk by the business class cabin on a plane, literally everyone is using an iPad
5. The iPad has a beautiful screen, which can make a bad flight slightly less bad.
6. During your travel, the iPad's screen + Apple Pencil can work together to create a powerful photo editor
Final Thoughts
"Travel is an investment in yourself"—an unknown motivational Instagram page
Thanks for reading!
Adi
Good stuff, my set up is the same as yours except my Magic Keyboard is white, they did not have the black when I bought mine.