College students who had iPads when they were younger may equate them with building worlds in Minecraft or beating different levels in Roblox, but these devices are increasingly being used in college classrooms.
Tablet sales are at an all-time high, reaching 41 million units in the second quarter of 2022, according to Digital Information World. About 12.6 million of those tablets were Apple iPads.
Julia Iacovella ’24 started using an iPad this year after watching study tip videos on YouTube where students used their iPads for studying.
“I always like to look at how other people study, and a lot of people used iPads, and they said it was more efficient and easier to go back to notes two years down the line,” Iacovella said. “I thought it looked super helpful.”
Iacovella, who is a biology major, said she finds her iPad useful for studying for her science classes.
“If we have anything open-note, I can command-F all of my notes even if they’re written,” Iacovella said. “It’s so much easier to go back to find things when I’m studying if I just want to quickly find something.”
Julia Oseka ’25, who is a physics major and with minors in theology and religious studies, said her iPad is also much easier than a laptop to carry around campus.
“It’s convenient because it’s lightweight,” Oseka said. “I also have a keyboard case to it so that I can type on it just as I type on a laptop, so it’s very useful when I’m doing notes in history class.”
The iPad Pro, which is a favorite among college students, is available for purchase online and in stores. The pro costs about $749 for the 11-inch display and 128GB, but reaches up to $1,799 for 2TB. For the 12.9-inch display, 128GB costs $999, with the largest available storage of 2TB costing $2,099. Samsung Galaxy tablets, a popular choice for Android users, sell for between $200-$350 with 128GB tablets coming in at about $329, and are other alternatives to the iPad.
But Iacovella said her iPad is worth every penny.
“If it’s in your budget, I think it’s totally worth it,” Iacovella said. “Honestly, it’s been a game changer for me and my studying.”
For students who are interested in purchasing a tablet, a used iPad might be a more affordable option, said Jason Green, an employee at McMobile Inc, a computer store in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Green said the sale of used tablets is up at McMobile Inc.
“We primarily sell Macintosh computers, but we do see a lot of purchases of used iPads from us,” Green said. “We don’t sell new ones, but there is a large prevalence of the use of iPads in schools and around everywhere.”
One of the iPad’s biggest perks is its touchscreen, making the device versatile.
“You can do a lot of things with them,” Green said. “I think a big thing that is enticing to people is the touchscreen factor. Regular Macs don’t have a touchscreen.”
With the touchscreen, Iacovella is able to combine her notes with the drawings she does of diagrams.
“We’re constantly drawing on diagrams, pathways and stuff like that,” Iacovella said. “It’s very nice to have that visual and be able to draw and write right on top of it. Whereas when I used paper notes, I had to draw out the whole diagram and then put my notes on top, so it was very time consuming.”
In addition to its functionality with note taking, Oseka said the touch screen element to the iPad allows students to directly annotate PDF presentations, making it even more versatile in its uses.
Green said that functionality gives the iPad an advantage over desktops or even laptops.
“Macintosh or a PC has a whole Windows interface, whereas an iPad is a very simple interface,” Green said. “Because of the simplicity of it, I think, is why a lot of people have gotten into them and why they’re so popular. It doesn’t take as much of an understanding of computers to use an iPad.”