The portability of the iPad doesn’t start when you leave the house. The ease of using it on the couch or in bed will make you never want to lift a full-sized laptop again. Apple made its iWork suite and iLife suite free for new iPad users, which adds a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, a music studio, and a video editor to your mobile toolkit. You’ll find a ton of free apps in the App Store, and even when an app has a price tag, it is lower than prices for apps made for laptops or desktop computers. Like most of the apps on the iPad, games tend to be cheaper than their console counterparts. A lot of great games are priced at $5 or less. Apple also offers a free 1-month trial of its Apple Arcade gaming subscription service, which includes unlimited access to more than 180 games. Apple doesn’t clutter the main screen with clocks and widgets and other features you may not want. Instead, the main screen is filled with apps—the main reason you purchased the iPad. Tap an app and it opens. Click the Home button (on iPads that have one), which is the only physical button on the front of the iPad, and the app closes, or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on iPads that don’t have a physical Home button. Swipe from right to left or from left to right, and you move between screens. It’s that simple. The iPad also expands your music possibilities. In addition to the music you can buy in the iTunes store, you have access to Apple Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and other music streaming services. Among the many things you can use Siri for is to set reminders, whether for taking out the trash in the morning or when preparing for an upcoming meeting. Speaking of meetings, Siri can keep track of your daily schedule. Need a quick timer? It has it. It can also set your alarm clock, text people without you touching the on-screen keyboard, place telephone calls, play music, update Facebook, search the web, and launch apps for you. Apple has a refurbished section on its website. The offerings change daily, but refurbished iPads are less expensive than brand new ones, and they come with the same 1-year Apple warranty as new devices.
