Apple iPad Air (2019)

I got this tablet four years ago and is still going strong, so I wanted to review it here. There are some good, bad, and ugly things about this tablet. Sadly, despite its compromises, there just isn't enough competition in its space, making it one of the best.

First, I'd never recommend a tablet unless you want to use it as a note-taking device, especially with the Apple Pencil. The Apple Pencil is probably the only Apple product I'd unconditionally recommend to anyone with a compatible device. It's just so much better than any other stylus I've tried, and feels satisfying to use. This is basically the only reason why I'd recommend this device at all.

If you don't want note-taking, get something else. If you want a cheap media consumption device, get a cheap Amazon tablet, cheap phone, or TV. If you want the mobile experience, just get a cheap locked Android phone and don't put a SIM card in it, making it a "extra-mini tablet" with no cellular connection. If you want to do serious productivity, get a $500 Windows, Linux, or even ChromeOS laptop or even an older Samsung tablet. And if you need iMessage, you can buy the cheapest iPad instead.

Why is it so bad? Many reasons, but most of them boil down to the "Apple way" of doing things. The storage is a measly 64GB without a MicroSD slot. Factoring in the system, you only have 50-55GB to play with. Apps and files can fill this up fast. So you want to transfer files to another device, assuming you didn't have to delete any apps first. Too bad, you gotta have a Mac or use the cloud. The least painful method for me is through OneDrive, but that's another subscription! If you want to put this off, you can get the 256GB model for $150 more. This was a huge markup in 2019 and is now an astronomical markup in 2023. Apple still does this with today's tablets.

Speaking of apps, I need to address the elephant in the room: iOS. (Well, technically, iPadOS). The arcane rules to approve apps on the App store make it so that nearly every app is trying hard to get your money. Especially through subscriptions. Know what you are getting into with iOS. Yet, it still might be worth it for the sweet, sweet note-taking experience with the Apple Pencil. I recommend GoodNotes to take your notes, as the full version only costs $9. Get it before it switches to $9/year! Edit: It literally just did that. Wow. There's still a one-time purchase option, but it's ballooned to $29. And I'm sure it'll be $29/year in about 3 years.

Ending on a good note (pun unintended): This is the last of the iPads with a headphone jack. This is a huge feature to me because of how Apple automatically turns Bluetooth back on every day unless you make about 12 clicks into a buggy settings app. And this is a concern because of it constantly interrupting the music when listening on Bluetooth headphones from another device, but the headphones detect the iPad and is trying to connect to it. If you want a better iPad, you better deal with a dongle.