Writing a Medium Blog on a 11” iPad Pro
I recently got the 2020 11" iPad Pro at a great deal at bestbuy since it was no longer the newest iPad Pro on the block. Ever since I got the iPad I wanted to check out how easy (Or hard) it was to write from it for Medium. Here are some of my findings.
Writing from the Medium mobile app
I first tried writing in the medium app but found that everything felt different. Like, I couldn’t add a photo from unsplash like I could on the web. I did like that there was a menu bar at the bottom of the screen that gave me some quick access to certain features like quotes or bullet points. Overall the app is really cool, but It will take some time to learn how to effectively write in the app opposed to the website which I am more used to.
Writing from the Medium Website
After trying the app I switched to the Medium website to write this blog. The website is a lot better and I am more familiar with it. One problem I ran into was that when navigating the website from a mobile device like the iPad is that it will try to forward you to the app when you don’t want to leave the website. It was not a deal breaker. And once I started my new post on the website I could continue it on the app without many problems. The website does give me the most features like finding photos from Unsplash and I just know where everything is.
Writing on the iPad WITHOUT the Magic keyboard
This part of the blog I am typing on the onscreen keyboard on my iPad while laying on on my bed. I found that it was a lot easier to hold the iPad upright like a giant phone and type with my thumbs (I have long fingers). It is very doable but not the best solution. If you don’t want to spend the money on the magic keyboard for your iPad Pro the just get a Bluetooth keyboard and that would work fine also.
Writing on the iPad WITH the Magic Keyboard
I love the magic keyboard on my iPad Pro. Especially the trackpad. The Trackpad makes the iPad Pro more like a MacBook the ever. I never really liked having to reach up and touch the screen every time I needed to interact with content. The trackpad is near my hands when I am typing and so much like a MacBook trackpad that it feels natural to use.
Depending on how the iPad is sitting on your lap it could be harder to find a balance for it. It wobbles on my lap and it’s something I had to get used to.
Overall I really like using the magic keyboard with the iPad Pro. I think it justifies the $300 price. If you don’t feel the need for the trackpad (which is the best part) then just get a Bluetooth case from amazon (here) and save some money.
Writing on the iPad with the Apple Pencil
“This section of the blog i wrote with The Apple Pencil.”
Ok.. I switched back to the keyboard because I was having lots of trouble writing with the pencil. Words would be incurrent, and it was hard to edit a word once you made a mistake.
I don’t write with my hands much so maybe with practice I could get better at it. I prefer a good old keyboard and Trackpad over using the pencil.
Conclusion
Ok, so would I recommend the iPad over a MacBook for writing medium posts?
I think each have their own place. For now, I think I would use a MacBook Air or Pro to write because I would just use the web browser to write my Medium posts. But there are times when I don’t want to bring my MacBook Pro around. In those cases a 11” iPad Pro is great, it’s small enough to fit almost anywhere and it does get the job done.
I have enjoyed writing this blog post on my iPad Pro and will probably write many many more on it.
If you have any questions about the iPad Pro just let ask me on Twitter.
