Which tablet for arty stuff

[Beagle 2]

I'm looking to get a tablet and a stylus to get into digital art and use it in my design workflow (I've read you're meant to say that, it makes you sound like you know what you're on about. Basically I do loads of photoshopping and simple after effects animations for work and I could certainly use the ability to be able to draw my own icons instead of searching for the perfect one, and also cut things out a lot more precisely).

I would also like to be able to use it for music, I have an ancient iPad which runs Korg Gadget but barely, and I'd like a new one that I could make beats on to use as backing for my band when we get back to practicing.

Basically, I need an iPad, don't I? Android tablets won't cover the music side but they're just so much cheaper for the arty stuff. I was thinking of getting an iPad Air, but they're about to fucking release a new all new one, so... should I get that? And an apple pencil? Hey why not throw in a magic keyboard while I'm at it. That's, let's see... oh, a thousand pounds.

Any thoughts on how I can save a few bob? 

[Bently Sheds]

FWIW there's an app called Bandlab for Android which is great for loops and beats and stuff. It's collaborative an'all, so you can swap ideas with people all over. It's made by the people who make Cakewalk.

[Neomod]

Isn't procreate on the ipad what everyone uses for art creation on the go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAos8yZsIZU

I bang on about it all the time when given a chance but Caustic 3 on android is very intuitive and easy to use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86OrU-E7RU

[Huxleys Babkins]

iPad Air and the pencil are what you need. The iPad Pro is even better, but the price is a lot to swallow. Google's dreadful handling of Android tablets means it's slim App pickings on the Galaxy tablets, plus if you buy the wrong one (particularly cheap ones) you can have very noticeable display and audio lag which is no good for your use case.

To keep the cost down, you might want to go for the 64GB Air and use an external drive or a cloud storage solution. The Air has a proper USB-C port now so no need for any proprietary Lightning adapters.

The Magic Keyboard is nice, but not worth bothering with unless you want to do a lot of typing on your lap. If you're intending to use it at a table/desk, you can use any old USB (via an adapter/hub) or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Keep an eye out around Black Friday for deals on the hardware and any software you fancy using. For example, Serif's Affinity suite of brilliant Adobe alternatives usually goes on sale for 30% off the already reasonable £20 for each app.

[QDRPHNC]

I just bought a used Wacom Bamboo for $50, downloaded a homebrew driver to get it working, and it's great.

At work I had one of those big bastard Wacoms, big fucker, stuck it in a drawer never used it. Could have nicked it when we got acquired, but got fired before I could bring it home.

[Ignatius_S]

Huxleys Babkins has given great advice - from what you've said, iPad is the way to go.

As they mention, worth keeping an eye out for Black Friday deals. Also, the Apple refurbished store is another way to save.

Usually, I would also recommend going to a John Lewis is you have one near you - in-store, they sell refurbished kit (i.e. returned purchases) with a 20% discount and their usual warranty - however, with the current situation no idea how that's affecting stock, but still might be worth a go. I was helping a friend buy one as as we checked out, the assistant mentioned that they had one of the same model returned that morning that they hadn't put out yet and were they interested? As it was 20% off and hadn't been removed from the packaging (the purchaser had decided they preferred another colour) the answer was a definite yes. When the third generation of iPad Pros just came out, got a second generation 512GB 12.9" model from JL for 50% of the cost of the new version, which made the purchase a lot less traumatic.

[Beagle 2]

I bang on about it all the time when given a chance but Caustic 3 on android is very intuitive and easy to use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86OrU-E7RU

Thanks, yes I'm very familiar with Caustic and it's decent (in fact here's an old tune I made in it) but the stuff I've found on iOS is next level really.

Thanks also to Huxley and Iggy, I think only the new iPad air is going to be USB-C isn't it? Not sure if it's worth waiting for one of those, in which case it's basically £700 with a compatible Apple Pencil, or whether actually all I need is a current iPad Air (don't really save much), or even better a basic iPad.

[Huxleys Babkins]

The current Air will probably be discounted quite heavily once the new one is out. You can still do most of the same things, just bear in mind it's Lightning and not USB so you'll need (different) adapters. It also uses the first generation pencil which is cheaper than the new one, so that's another potential saving.

The basic iPad is cheaper, but has a horribly weedy 32GB as standard, the screen is a bit smaller (10.2" vs 10.9) and it lacks the laminated screen of the Air. This means there's a gap between the glass and the screen, so there's a slight disconnect when using the pencil compared to the Air or Pro. It's by no means a bad machine, though, and a budget's a budget.

I know it's not an ideal time, but it's worth going to an Apple store, John Lewis or Currys to have a play with all of them to see what you can and can't live with. Just take plenty of sanitiser.

[Beagle 2]

Thanks, having watched a few vids I think I would actually be fine with the basic iPad for what I need, but definitely worth waiting until the new Air is out, if the old ones come down even £50 or so it makes sense to go with that.

Cheers all!