Question for those with MacBook and iPads

[americanm00se]

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How exactly do you use the iPad to take notes? Which apps do you use? One note or notability? Do you have the MacBook streaming lecture while you write with the digitizer on the iPad? I just got both and I'm wondering how to best set up the productivity/logistics of it. (I'm an incoming ms1)

How much of a benefit is the iPad over just typing on the notes section of PowerPoint slides?

I've researched and found that the main benefits are for essential anatomy which is not available on android, the duet app which helps to create a mobile dual screen setup, and on the wards for ms3.

Anyone have any tips for productivity that I'm missing out on?

 

[Agent Michael Scarn]

Thanks for asking this, OP. Also curious. Is notability worth the $10 pricetag? What are the other must have apps?

 

[rpurplel]

Thanks for asking this, OP. Also curious. Is notability worth the $10 pricetag? What are the other must have apps?

Yes. You can import power points and write and draw all over them. Will automatically back up your notes to Dropbox or google drive if you choose. Great for highlighting and annotating articles too.


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[Mr Roboto]

You're correct that Essential Anatomy is amazing. It would've made a huge difference in my grade if I'd heard of it a few months earlier.

I've tried exporting to PDF, then opening in Adobe or Good Reader. A few months ago Good Reader's connection to Google Drive broke, though they haven't updated their app explanation to say that. I also tried using OneNote but the lack of text-recognition and searchability made me stop using it real fast. Notability is on my to-try list. Another app that I've heard is great is PDF Expert... but it's $10 base, +$10 in-app purchase to get the real meat of functionality. It may be worth the price though.

 

[ThunderDog]

Posting here to use this later ;P

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

What size IPad did you get?

 

[MrMammal]

PDF expert is great for both Mac and iPad. I used them both in undergrad for annotating PDFs for biochem and micro. I do a mixture of handwritten notes and typed notes (I use the iPad pro with the keyboard).

 

[americanm00se]

What size IPad did you get?

I the 9.7 pro. On that note, is this one recommended over the 12 or should I exchange?

 

[bengirlxD]

I have seen people have really good results with the notability app. Get the paid version.

 

[Amygdarya]

I second Notability. And, on top of making charts and highlighting PDF slides/papers/books/what have you, I actually take *handwritten notes* with a stylus in Notability. I'm doing most of my reading and studying on my iPad now; I only use my laptop when I need to do some data analysis, write a report/paper, prepare a presentation or something along these lines.

 

[Hannah Faulkner]

Notability, though comes with a price tag but its fast and easy to use and can integrate via cloud so overall i like the app.

 

[yersinia_pestis]

Definitely invest in Notability. Also, I often used Goodreader. That just seemed way more user friendly to me, easier to annotate PDFs, and some other things I can't actually remember at the moment. But I'd say having those two made my preclinical years very nice. On the wards, Notability has seemed to be more useful.

And I would stream on my MacBook Air and take notes on my iPad at the same time, yes.

Also, there is some research showing that handwriting beats typing: Attention, Students: Put Your Laptops Away

Good luck!

 

[oznefu]

Does anyone know if essential anatomy 5 for $19.99 is a good deal? Right now it's on sale and am thinking of purchasing it before I buy an iPad if these sales don't happen too often.


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[acutepox]

Does anyone know if essential anatomy 5 for $19.99 is a good deal? Right now it's on sale and am thinking of purchasing it before I buy an iPad if these sales don't happen too often.


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Do it. My biggest regret M1 year was shelling out full sticker price. Ha.
Although I heard there are days in the year where it goes for $1...

 

[oznefu]

Do it. My biggest regret M1 year was shelling out full sticker price. Ha.
Although I heard there are days in the year where it goes for $1...

What is the full sticker price? Do you remember around what time the $1 sale occurred throughout the year? Thanks!


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[acutepox]

What is the full sticker price? Do you remember around what time the $1 sale occurred throughout the year? Thanks!


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$40? $50? And no clue, sorry. Perhaps around black friday.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Does anyone know if essential anatomy 5 for $19.99 is a good deal? Right now it's on sale and am thinking of purchasing it before I buy an iPad if these sales don't happen too often.


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No don't buy it. Complete Anatomy is the better app, by the same company, and has a better price. You have to buy a bunch of extra things for EA5 to make it the complete app and even then it doesn't have the great stuff in CA. You can email them to get a discount currently of 10% off.

Buying this app at the beginning of M1 would've substantially upped my grade in gross anatomy...

 

[oznefu]

No don't buy it. Complete Anatomy is the better app, by the same company, and has a better price. You have to buy a bunch of extra things for EA5 to make it the complete app and even then it doesn't have the great stuff in CA. You can email them to get a discount currently of 10% off.

Buying this app at the beginning of M1 would've substantially upped my grade in gross anatomy...

Thanks for the info. I contacted the developer and they have a 20% discount for the complete anatomy app right now if anyone else is also interested.

This may be a dumb question, but would it be easy to integrate complete anatomy with other resources like netters that my school may use? Since they are two different companies, the models and diagrams would look and interact a bit differently right?


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[feather421]

How exactly do you use the iPad to take notes? Which apps do you use? One note or notability? Do you have the MacBook streaming lecture while you write with the digitizer on the iPad? I just got both and I'm wondering how to best set up the productivity/logistics of it. (I'm an incoming ms1)

I used Notability and would start a new "note" that I could draw on. The iPad then basically functioned like scrap paper without all the waste. I used it to directly write on practice question PDFs, would make study resources like flow charts and diagrams, and annotate slides and handouts during lecture. When I streamed lecture from home, I would play it on my laptop (or Chromecast it to my TV) and make notes on my iPad using Notability.


How much of a benefit is the iPad over just typing on the notes section of PowerPoint slides?

I like being able to doodle arrows and things on my powerpoint, and I think it makes a big difference when it comes to things like physiology, where there are complicated diagrams to annotate and equations to write. It's hard to get things down verbally instead of drawing directly on the slide.

I've researched and found that the main benefits are for essential anatomy which is not available on android, the duet app which helps to create a mobile dual screen setup, and on the wards for ms3.

Anyone have any tips for productivity that I'm missing out on?

Notability is fantastic, and I loved using my iPad. I never lost a single note, and always had everything exactly where I needed it. You can copy/paste your own handwritten notes which is really useful for making diagrams. Also, you can make tables that you fill out by hand in Notability and then you can just erase your answers! So for anatomy, I would have a big muscle chart with origins, insertions, innervations, etc. I would go through and fill out the answers, then erase. No pencil marks, no having to re-make the table. It was so, so useful. The same with your own diagrams. You can make an intense diagram, then erase your labels, then fill it out again.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Thanks for the info. I contacted the developer and they have a 20% discount for the complete anatomy app right now if anyone else is also interested.

This may be a dumb question, but would it be easy to integrate complete anatomy with other resources like netters that my school may use? Since they are two different companies, the models and diagrams would look and interact a bit differently right?


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Yes it's easy to integrate it. Different sources portray things slightly differently, and the variety helps with identifying structures. The reason I love CA so much is that you can rapidly find a structure, hide obstructing ones, and see its typical course through the body. It's been much easier to find/recognize structures on the cadavers after having learned them first digitally.

 

[americanm00se]

How exactly do you use the iPad to take notes? Which apps do you use? One note or notability? Do you have the MacBook streaming lecture while you write with the digitizer on the iPad? I just got both and I'm wondering how to best set up the productivity/logistics of it. (I'm an incoming ms1)

I used Notability and would start a new "note" that I could draw on. The iPad then basically functioned like scrap paper without all the waste. I used it to directly write on practice question PDFs, would make study resources like flow charts and diagrams, and annotate slides and handouts during lecture. When I streamed lecture from home, I would play it on my laptop (or Chromecast it to my TV) and make notes on my iPad using Notability.


How much of a benefit is the iPad over just typing on the notes section of PowerPoint slides?

I like being able to doodle arrows and things on my powerpoint, and I think it makes a big difference when it comes to things like physiology, where there are complicated diagrams to annotate and equations to write. It's hard to get things down verbally instead of drawing directly on the slide.

I've researched and found that the main benefits are for essential anatomy which is not available on android, the duet app which helps to create a mobile dual screen setup, and on the wards for ms3.

Anyone have any tips for productivity that I'm missing out on?

Notability is fantastic, and I loved using my iPad. I never lost a single note, and always had everything exactly where I needed it. You can copy/paste your own handwritten notes which is really useful for making diagrams. Also, you can make tables that you fill out by hand in Notability and then you can just erase your answers! So for anatomy, I would have a big muscle chart with origins, insertions, innervations, etc. I would go through and fill out the answers, then erase. No pencil marks, no having to re-make the table. It was so, so useful. The same with your own diagrams. You can make an intense diagram, then erase your labels, then fill it out again.

Can I ask which model of iPad you use? Do you use the Apple pencil? How much storage size does your iPad have?

 

[oznefu]

Can I ask which model of iPad you use? Do you use the Apple pencil? How much storage size does your iPad have?

+1 also would like to know this. Would 64GB be enough space? Also, what color y'all get? I'm having a reaaaallll tough time deciding between the black or white bezel lol


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[ciucia53]

Can I ask which model of iPad you use? Do you use the Apple pencil? How much storage size does your iPad have?

+2 would like to know this!! I am thinking about getting the 32 GB 9.7 iPad Pro, because it's on sale at Best Buy!

 

[drplzz]

Thanks for the info. I contacted the developer and they have a 20% discount for the complete anatomy app right now if anyone else is also interested.

This may be a dumb question, but would it be easy to integrate complete anatomy with other resources like netters that my school may use? Since they are two different companies, the models and diagrams would look and interact a bit differently right?


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How do I get 20% off???!

 

[oznefu]

How do I get 20% off???!

This is the link they directed me to (scroll down) :

Complete Anatomy


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[drplzz]

This is the link they directed me to (scroll down) :

Complete Anatomy


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You rock! Thank you

 

[NonTrad16]

For Essential or Complete anatomy, does anyone have a suggestion for the platform (iPad vs Computer)? I've never used an iPad for 'productivity' purposes, but will be getting one from my school and would like to try to use it with the apple pencil for PDF annotation, etc. Thanks!

 

[Mr Roboto]

For Essential or Complete anatomy, does anyone have a suggestion for the platform (iPad vs Computer)? I've never used an iPad for 'productivity' purposes, but will be getting one from my school and would like to try to use it with the apple pencil for PDF annotation, etc. Thanks!

I have the iPad version and enjoy being able to directly manipulate the images with my fingers... but don't know if it would be easier on a desktop?? If I had a touchscreen laptop I'd go for the laptop version. Additionally if you change your mind about which one you want, they'll knock 50% of the price off the second one you buy.

+2 would like to know this!! I am thinking about getting the 32 GB 9.7 iPad Pro, because it's on sale at Best Buy!

I have the 128GB iPad 2017. For me the lower price point was worth more than the pro's features. With the Pro you're going to spend an extra $200 on the keyboard and pencil, so keep that in mind. 32 GB seems like you'd run out of storage fast. Once you've loaded it with the Sketchy vids and Pathoma you'll be pretty close to no space left!

 

[oznefu]

I have the iPad version and enjoy being able to directly manipulate the images with my fingers... but don't know if it would be easier on a desktop?? If I had a touchscreen laptop I'd go for the laptop version. Additionally if you change your mind about which one you want, they'll knock 50% of the price off the second one you buy.



I have the 128GB iPad 2017. For me the lower price point was worth more than the pro's features. With the Pro you're going to spend an extra $200 on the keyboard and pencil, so keep that in mind. 32 GB seems like you'd run out of storage fast. Once you've loaded it with the Sketchy vids and Pathoma you'll be pretty close to no space left!

Aww man, I placed an order for a 64GB model a few days ago, I hope it's enough. Didn't realize I may need to load videos on it. *fingers crossed*


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[Champylobacter]

Once you've loaded it with the Sketchy vids and Pathoma you'll be pretty close to no space left!

Why would you need to download those videos? The vast majority of the time you're studying for long enough that you would want to watch videos, you'll have wifi.

I have a 64 gb, and that's way more than I need to download and edit pdfs/power points.


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[TheStallion16]

Aww man, I placed an order for a 64GB model a few days ago, I hope it's enough. Didn't realize I may need to load videos on it. *fingers crossed*


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You can also store a lot on iCloud. I believe it's like $1 per month for 50 GB of storage

 

[TheStallion16]

Can I ask which model of iPad you use? Do you use the Apple pencil? How much storage size does your iPad have?

I got the 128 GB 12.7 inch Pro. I think the 12.7 in is well worth it because it's pretty much like having 2 iPad screens shoved together. You can have a textbook, website, video lecture, etc. open on 1 half and be taking notes in notability on the other.

 

[t5Nitro]

First I'll say that I've been using Apple products for a long time and still do. I bought the 12.9 iPad Pro and I have no use for it. I bought the duet app just to use it as an external monitor. It would have been better for me to buy a portal USB monitor to receive the same functionality. I find that all of my notes are best done on my laptop. I might give my iPad to one of my family members so it isn't collecting dust (the same would apply if I had a surface pro; I just didn't find a use for a tablet when I have access to a laptop).

If you want to use the duet app though, a cool item to buy might be the mountie mount so you can clip it to the side of your laptop screen and improve your workspace.

 

[ciucia53]

Why would you need to download those videos? The vast majority of the time you're studying for long enough that you would want to watch videos, you'll have wifi.

I have a 64 gb, and that's way more than I need to download and edit pdfs/power points.


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I ended up getting the 32 GB because it was the best price for me. I am not planning on downloading the videos anyway, so I think I'll be okay! All I would use it for is taking notes, since I already have my MacBook.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

First I'll say that I've been using Apple products for a long time and still do. I bought the 12.9 iPad Pro and I have no use for it. I bought the duet app just to use it as an external monitor. It would have been better for me to buy a portal USB monitor to receive the same functionality. I find that all of my notes are best done on my laptop. I might give my iPad to one of my family members so it isn't collecting dust (the same would apply if I had a surface pro; I just didn't find a use for a tablet when I have access to a laptop).

If you want to use the duet app though, a cool item to buy might be the mountie mount so you can clip it to the side of your laptop screen and improve your workspace.

If you like using your laptop for note taking I suppose you type them out? Did you try notetaking on the iPad Pro and not like it? I'm curious because all throughout undergrad I hand wrote my notes for whatever reason I had a deep disdain for typing my notes out and I just felt like it wasn't as effective for me - have you always taken notes on a laptop? Thanks!!

 

[t5Nitro]

If you like using your laptop for note taking I suppose you type them out? Did you try notetaking on the iPad Pro and not like it? I'm curious because all throughout undergrad I hand wrote my notes for whatever reason I had a deep disdain for typing my notes out and I just felt like it wasn't as effective for me - have you always taken notes on a laptop? Thanks!!

Yeah. I tried notability and OneNote on the iPad and it all synced with the computer fine. I just found it too time consuming. I became much more efficient when I just had powerpoints open and used hotkeys to place a text box and start typing. I decreased the size of the slide so that the ppt slide wasn't filling the entire screen, and then I added text boxes all along the left and right edges of each slide for any notes that I wanted to take. I usually made the background of the text boxes a color so that it was easy to read the text. I have the apple pencil too. I'm a big fan of apple so I'm not just bashing it. I'm merely saying think about how you really want to study and how you're going to be most efficient. There are a number of my classmates using tablets though so the style is going to vary.

My workflow throughout 2nd year changed to having powerpoint on one side and the lecture recording on the other side (whether it was split screen or using the ipad as a dual display). This became the best way I studied for class outside of board prep. It's easy to delete slides that the professors didn't touch or had no relevance to the test. Easy to select very important parts of the slide and make them bold, red, size 30 font. Then I just reviewed the slides 2-3 times before the test.

I rarely typed notes in the note part of powerpoint on the bottom of the page. I hate that space. I too was a big proponent for handwriting. It's just all about efficiency. Later you can use those notes and go to the whiteboard and draw things out for clarification or whatever. It's just what I found to be efficient personally.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Yeah. I tried notability and OneNote on the iPad and it all synced with the computer fine. I just found it too time consuming. I became much more efficient when I just had powerpoints open and used hotkeys to place a text box and start typing. I decreased the size of the slide so that the ppt slide wasn't filling the entire screen, and then I added text boxes all along the left and right edges of each slide for any notes that I wanted to take. I usually made the background of the text boxes a color so that it was easy to read the text. I have the apple pencil too. I'm a big fan of apple so I'm not just bashing it. I'm merely saying think about how you really want to study and how you're going to be most efficient. There are a number of my classmates using tablets though so the style is going to vary.

My workflow throughout 2nd year changed to having powerpoint on one side and the lecture recording on the other side (whether it was split screen or using the ipad as a dual display). This became the best way I studied for class outside of board prep. It's easy to delete slides that the professors didn't touch or had no relevance to the test. Easy to select very important parts of the slide and make them bold, red, size 30 font. Then I just reviewed the slides 2-3 times before the test.

I rarely typed notes in the note part of powerpoint on the bottom of the page. I hate that space. I too was a big proponent for handwriting. It's just all about efficiency. Later you can use those notes and go to the whiteboard and draw things out for clarification or whatever. It's just what I found to be efficient personally.

Thank you for this well thought out response. I too am a big proponent for time management and efficiency, it's probably one of the sole reasons I'm a good student. I been contemplating the efficiency and time I'd be spending writing notes (even if kept to a minimum) on an iPad Pro would take as well. So you make a very great point.

So for content that requires detailed logic or a flow of info, diagrams, etc. you use a white board and/or handwritten notes? I suppose if I was to study similarly to yourself that'd be a cheaper option, using pen and paper instead of an iPad Pro haha. Especially considering I just got a brand new 2016 15' MacBook Pro and I got off the WL at my top school and I've come to learn I need to buy a Dell laptop .. been debating keeping my laptop and using the Dell as a very expensive scantron (many students use there's only for the NBME exams).

EDIT: If you use anki or Firecracker, is it any better or different on a laptop compared to a tablet? or does it not matter?

 

[t5Nitro]

Thank you for this well thought out response. I too am a big proponent for time management and efficiency, it's probably one of the sole reasons I'm a good student. I been contemplating the efficiency and time I'd be spending writing notes (even if kept to a minimum) on an iPad Pro would take as well. So you make a very great point.

So for content that requires detailed logic or a flow of info, diagrams, etc. you use a white board and/or handwritten notes? I suppose if I was to study similarly to yourself that'd be a cheaper option, using pen and paper instead of an iPad Pro haha. Especially considering I just got a brand new 2016 15' MacBook Pro and I got off the WL at my top school and I've come to learn I need to buy a Dell laptop .. been debating keeping my laptop and using the Dell as a very expensive scantron (many students use there's only for the NBME exams).

EDIT: If you use anki or Firecracker, is it any better or different on a laptop compared to a tablet? or does it not matter?

First year I excessively used anki. Second year I used it more for Bros deck to tag cards that were relevant to my lectures and then I studied the cards by tag. Anki is a phenomenal learning tool if you want to use it. I swore by it and still used it for board prep.

I know at one point my go-to was to have the lecture playing on one side and anki open on the other side while I play-paused and essentially used anki as my place to take notes. By the time the lecture ended I had created anki cards for the entire lecture and that was all that I had to review for exams without going back to lectures. For classes where you'll need to draw definitely just have a whiteboard around or a notebook to draw things out. You'll find that you're probably switching up study strategies a number of times between classes or even between exams based on what you have to learn. I do know that first year I used anki heavily as described above, and in second year mostly the way I described using powerpoint (I hate powerpoint; it worked well though -- I tried the onenote thing for a while, but it was just so easy to watch a lecture and be able to bold, red, increase font size, delete bullet points, delete full slides etc to make it 100% relevant to my upcoming test and remove the extra details).

Just a quick look online though you can get a 16" USB portable monitor for $100 with good reviews. Again these are just my thoughts. I too have a retina MBP that I use over the school-issued laptop. Easier to read on in my opinion. Plus I know the OS better. One thing that I will add that I never did figure out on my MBP is the ability to use a universal hotkey to play pause a lecture while I'm not clicked on the video application. So if I had powerpoint open or anki open or whatever, on my windows laptop I can set something like F1 to universally control the lecture recording play/pause function and never have to keep going back and forth between screens to pause > back over to other screen to type notes > back over to other screen to play, etc. Very minor detail but it was really nice when I figured that out on the PC. Hotkey text box was way easier on the Mac powerpoint (I think I just had to double click on the grey space next to slides vs windows had a 3-button hotkey). I'm not the greatest with computers that way though so others might have some nice tips for that stuff. It really does help though when you never have to leave your program and to use a universal hotkey to control your other program. Small detail, saves time.

Edit: I use anki on my laptop and on my phone. Sometimes I took the smaller 9.7" iPad into the gym with me which fit in one of the holders on the treadmills and I would go through cards there if I was cramming and was sick of sitting. I replaced that one with the 12.9 pro, and going back I would have bought the smaller one if I was buying an iPad again. Doing anki on it feels like using anki on a laptop.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Why would you need to download those videos? The vast majority of the time you're studying for long enough that you would want to watch videos, you'll have wifi.

I have a 64 gb, and that's way more than I need to download and edit pdfs/power points.

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Because I don't have unlimited data on my phone, and am not on wifi 100% of the time when studying, so having things downloaded is convenient? It's not the end of the world to have less storage space, but the maxim is buy as much as you can afford.

 

[Beasters]

Currently iPad Pro 9.7+pencil and Macbook air. Love both and take them everywhere. I use notability on my iPad to annotate lecture notes when i take notes in class. It is much easier to do stuff like Biochem, physio and anat when you can draw. Airdrop is amazing for data organization as well as linking with googledrive and sharing notes/drawings/whatever with other students. Complete anat was a great app but i havent used it since gross anat. I use my iPad at the gym to watch kaplan videos, sketchy, dr najeeb or whatever. Able to do cardio for an hour while still "learning". I use firecracker on either computer or ipad or iphone so i can switch between them all throughout the day so i always get through my days flash cards without it feeling like a chore just do 20-30 when i have some time. The combo is also amazing for multi tasking. I can have my FA2017 open on the desk, a youtube video explaining the topic on my computer and then textbook questions from BRS or pretest or whatever open on the ipad. it just makes everything much more efficient. Also get a good file manager(soon you can get apple files in ios11) but for now a good pdf manager like goodreader so you can annotate and read textbooks easy. vlc is a must for watching downloaded videos. kinda wish i had a 12" one instead of the 9.7 but if you are looking now the 10.5 would be amazing. But ya. i say its the best study aid i have.

edit: Firecracker user here. firecracker is much more efficient on the computer then on the ipad or phone. you can go through it much faster with keyboard shortcuts and its much nicer to read and everything on the computer. the good part about the ipad is it is much more portable. On a bus? do some firecracker. at the gym? can still do some. Out to lunch? ipad is easier to bring.

 

[feather421]

Can I ask which model of iPad you use? Do you use the Apple pencil? How much storage size does your iPad have?

+1 also would like to know this. Would 64GB be enough space? Also, what color y'all get? I'm having a reaaaallll tough time deciding between the black or white bezel lol


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+2 would like to know this!! I am thinking about getting the 32 GB 9.7 iPad Pro, because it's on sale at Best Buy!

Sorry just saw this!

I have an iPad Air with I6GB space because it was the cheapest! Haven't run out of hard drive memory, but did run out of iCloud space and needed to clear some old notes about halfway through the year. I use a stylus that I got from Amazon, the Adonit Dash 2. Everything worked wonderfully.