How many iPads DO YOU NEED?
If you’re a normal person, it’s quite possible that you don’t need one at all. If you’re a sound engineer, and you have different mixing consoles, then probably at least two. However, if you want to maintain the compatibility and optimize your investment in audio equipment, it is sensible to do a thorough research before making your next purchase. That’s what I had to do me recently… we have one old iPad (model: MD329HCA) that is compatible with the Mackie DL1608 mixer. This iPad fits in the mixer, gets powered through the connector, and when plugged in, also records the stereo stream onto the iPad. It is also compatible with wireless control via wi-fi for now… Although it refuses to connect to more modern routers (we have A1 mobile internet at home), and we can only connect it with internet through mobile phones and hotspots. But it works. Sometimes it overheats if it’s too hot and you get a message that it’s too hot and the iPad needs to cool down. In the middle of a concert, of course, this is not a pleasant message to see. In this case, we take it out of the slot and carry it somewhere as cold as possible. This happens even when the sun is shining on it, so it is imperative that you provide your mixer and iPad with a pleasant shade. Then it will work.
Then we had another iPad of a newer generation, which was also compatible with the Apple Pencil, the first generation. It worked great, I mixed a lot of gigs through it, audio signals went through the Presonus Studio Live III mixer. It worked great (although it didn’t like the heat either), I was able to control the mixer on it flawlessly remotely, and it was also extremely fun to draw digitally with the Apple Pencil and Procreate app. Then, on one fine day, it fell into darkness. It could no longer be woken up, recharged, or reset with advanced key combinations for restore, update, recover, not even with the firmware update. By the way, if you want to restore your iPad, you need to hold down the home and power button at the same time. If you need the firmware update mode, then you add the volume up button to the gesture combination, hold for a long time, and then when the icon with the bitten apple appears, release the volume up button and you are in a mode where you can update the firmware.
Unhappy that none of my manoeuvres didn’t work, I took the iPad to a local service company. There I was told that the motherboard is often the problem with these models, and that this was also the problem this time. Somewhat ironically, the older iPad still works today and I use it at concerts, while the newer model went to down in history as the one that never woke up.
I decided to buy a new one rather than repair the unfortunate iPad. I currently have a iPad Pro 11-inch that has an M2 chip. So far, everything is ok, except for the price, the two-year-old model is still suitably high priced. Usually, when it comes to technology, I always want to get the latest and most powerful gear, because the nature of our work requires reliability and high performance. This time, I decided to be a bit “reasonable” anyway and try to provide more compatibility by buying an older model from 2022, the iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation), which is still in the price range above €1000. The latest ones with a larger capacity go up to 3000 €, and at that price range, I prefer to buy the new MacBook Pro. I realize I’ll probably have to get my hands on this new model soon, but with Open Core Legacy Patcher support for now, I’m keeping my 12-year-old MacBook Pro alive with Apple’s latest operating system and running like clockwork. More about this topic in a future post.
However, I can accept that this new iPad is no longer compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil because it has a different connector. But, given that it works via Bluetoot, and can be charged via a magnet, or through other devices that have the same connector (via an older iPhone for example), there should certainly be a way to maintain compatibility. It’s funny how Apple manages time and time again to cause more unnecessary electronic waste with incompatible connectors. The fact that European regulation, which advocates the unification of connectors and promotes the “Right to repair”, is certainly not the best philosophy for profit, but it is a protection for the Consumer Rights. In Slovenia, we have ZEOS and “I’m still a useful” Page on Facebook, which carry out repairs and workshops on this topic. But maybe we ask them something sometime!
