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Apple recently announced updated iPads. These are the first updates to the product since 2022.
This indicates that many people who have iPads don’t replace or upgrade them as often as their phones. It also indicates that Apple was waiting as well. For what, remains to be seen.
There are a few clues. First, the new iPads get Apple’s newest chip. In the past few years, Apple has developed its own line of chips to run its hardware. For the computers and iPad, those chips are designated with an M. The first was M1, then M2, and then for iPads M4.
The astute reader will immediately notice the missing 3. In a move that surprised almost everyone, Apple put a chip in the new iPad Pros that hadn’t been otherwise announced. The capabilities of this chip are impressive, but the speculation is that Apple has something in the works from an AI perspective that will harness the power of the chip and these devices will be ready.
What that looks like, remains to be seen, of course. But, it’s important for lawyers to keep up with changes in technology and the practice of law.
If you have an iPad already, you likely know both what it is good at and where it is limited. The key is to figure out how or if it works in your practice.
My practice is now largely transactional, but there are still times I am involved with litigation. iPads are great for litigation due to their legal pad-like capabilities with an Apple Pencil and easy to use presentation tools like Lit Suite (https://www.litsoftware.com/).
The new iPads come in various configurations and Jeff Richardson of iPhone JD has a great run down of the various models and explains why lawyers will love the new iPads. Visit: https://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2024/05/2024-ipad.html.
If you are considering an iPad upgrade, be sure your accessories will work with the new iPad. If you’ve had Apple products before, you know that things change and the cables you had before may not work with this new device.
If you are getting an iPad for the first time, consider what you want to do with it. Are you mostly reviewing documents? Do you need a keyboard? Do you want to use the Apple Pencil to take notes? Be aware that each accessory for the iPad will quickly add to the cost of the iPad.
If you expect the iPad to do everything a laptop or computer can do, you will be disappointed. It can, but there’s often too many hoops to jump through and it discourages you from using the device.
Instead, use it for a particular purpose.
As an example, consider going to mediation. You likely have your mediation statement, but you may also want to refer to matter-related files during the mediation. An iPad is great for accessing cloud-based file storage for documents you may need to review and/or present at mediation. It’s easy to email those files to the mediator/opposing counsel if needed right from the iPad.
Perhaps you created a spreadsheet to calculate different options at mediation. An iPad can run an iPad version of Excel. So long as the spreadsheet isn’t too complicated, you can update the spreadsheet during the mediation from the iPad.
While the mediation is happening, you will likely take notes. An iPad comes with the Apple Notes app and you can write on that iPad using the Apple Pencil.
Once the parties have reached a settlement, you can draft or revise the settlement agreement in Word on the iPad. The challenge here is formatting. Word on iPad is not quite the same as on your main computer. If you use a standard font that isn’t available in Word for iPad, your document will look a bit different. Not the end of the world at mediation, but maybe not a good idea for an appellate brief.
So, which iPad do you get? To me, it depends on cost and size preference. The newest iPad Pros are so thin and light, it’s really a question of screen size. Did I mention they are thin? The 13” screen will be just about the size of a piece of paper. This is the “larger” iPad. The 11” is a “normal” size iPad. Note, there are other iPad options available, this article is primarily focused on the iPad Pros.
The Apple Pencil now has a Pro option and there are updated keyboard/case offerings. The Apple Pencil is a great tool and this Pro update makes it better, adding Find My support so if it gets misplaced, you can find it using the Find My app on another device.•
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Seth R. Wilson is an attorney with Adler Attorneys in Noblesville. In addition to practicing law, he helps manage the day-to-day technology operations of the firm. He writes about legal technology at sethrwilson.com and is a frequent speaker on the subject.
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