Recommended PC Hardware for affinity photo and affinity designer!

[Ghaeth wardeh]

10 minutes ago, R C-R said:

It sounds to me like you really want an iPad Pro, regardless of any other considerations, so I think that is what you should get. 

i think i can start learning with ipad version, it is quite different, but i will have the same features

[Ghaeth wardeh]

14 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3280095/components-processors/intels-limited-edition-5ghz-core-i7-8086k-40-anniversary.html

i think i will not buy it

[toltec]

1 hour ago, Ghaeth wardeh said:

i think i can start learning with ipad version, it is quite different, but i will have the same features

The iPad is not cheap and only has a cut-down version of Affinity Photo. There are very different ways of doing things because there is no mouse and a number of Photo (Desktop) features are missing.

Have you considered just buying the Affinity Workbooks and studying those? You will probably want them anyway. When you are ready, decide what machine to buy.

[SrPx]

The PC would be even cheaper (although not really portable...), but as R C-R says, if that is what you want, that is what counts. Motivation, (well, in everything) specially in learning is the 99%.   (he didn't say that. I do.)

With that out of the way and decided in your side, a fun anecdote... I was always chased with jokes among friends 'cause I'd always said my 17" CRT monitor + big Pentium (the old ones) tower, dunno if 40 Kg of weight,  was a "mobile" solution, because I would load it in the back of the car, and I would "move" it, every single weekend...  To go see the family when I worked at other town...  is "portable" technology, you know.... In a smaller scale, many years later, at another job, I was again the target of jokes (I laugh myself about it, no issue)  'cause I'd call my small tower back then a "mobile computer", as was small enough to bring it like a large box under my arm in the bus...Some weeks EVERY DAY.... I tell ya, those weeks in the year,  I wouldn't do any OTHER exercise...

To each his own... an ipad is amazing, and you get all in one: A sRGB compliant monitor, now also capable of a wide color space (P3),  and perhaps can help you work in many environments, keep motivation up, and all time learning...Just beware leaving it forgotten...it flies. So much of a temptation for the friends of others people's private property.

Oh, and some other advice. If you want to do design, illustration, etc, IMO (well, all the time I'm supposing you are after an iPad PRO, or I hope so...), don't go for the 10.5 or 9.7...12.9 is already too small... Go for the 12.9, even if some bucks more. Also, Truetone is nice for regular use, as it varies according to lighting and all, but for working with design and some color accuracy, disable it or it can be a problem. At least for that stage of the project.

It is also a wacom-like device, just, my POV, in some aspects, kind of better. In other aspects, Wacom pens are superior. But wacom yet to develop a so compact and so round portable device. I really recommend the Pencil, more than the keyboard, even if that's key for a lot of work in college, too.  Plus is not low in power. It lacks of a real file system, IMO, although that's not a huge issue, and I don't particularly like iOS, compared to Mac OS or Windows, but not a big issue for you.

 

[SrPx]

Quote

Have you considered just buying the Affinity Workbooks and studying those? You will probably want them anyway. When you are ready, decide what machine to buy.

That would be perhaps a good advice.

Also, thinking twice.... about purchasing an iPad or a PC (I'd totally buy a PC, no matter what, I personally would never have a doubt about that) , one of the main considerations is if you are going to need to be constantly moving. I know I'm not lazy to move an entire office, I do this very often, even these days, so , got used to it. But I recon is a hassle, and not everybody is fine with that as I am. In the other side, a 700 $ (maybe 900 with an average-fine monitor, but this would be quite a good PC) pc will do more FULL service than any iPad, unless you work making exterior sketches all the time. If your plan would be to leave it at home, work in there when you are at home, 2 - 3 hours a day, there's no question, the PC is a better buy.  If you are moving from flat to flat, ie, like every year or every 6 months, and need to carry to the college (as mentioned, has its risks, tho depends on the country and even province) for some reason, well, then a laptop it is, or an ipad. I purchased in i ts day a small Intuos (today, even for carrying I'd only recommend a medium, or better, an XP-PEN Deco 03 at 99$, which is even bigger than a Wacom Medium, as small size, no good for a lot of tasks) , a medium fits in most carrying bags, together with the laptop (I purchased a 18 inches one...long years ago, to carry it and the small wacom to public libraries, draw there using the books' refs. In illustration you need to know how XVII clothing was, or how a certain bridge would look like, etc). And that's a real complete OS...With "full" software... I tend to see an iPad as clever to have add-on, the best tablet possible, an amazing first-stage concept art device, but not really a substitute of a full computer, but that's me... Also, usually in a PC, I can add easily ram, a new card, I can even change the CPU later on. A bit harder to do so to an ipad... Plus, have a feeling the PC, one way or the other is less punished by (programmed?) obsolescence... That was the feel I totally had with my only ipad I had, and  back then it was less of an accussed issue than what am seeing lately....

Guess what. Buy both. A powerful (yet inexpensive) PC, and an iPad.    . That way you don't go wrong.

And if you go wrong.... Shame on you !!!!!

Am kidding... freedom consists in each one's personal way to get it wrong, I heard...

(but if you get it right from the start, much better, I tend to add....)

 

[SrPx]

in the ipad  pro line, it is more than 1k $, once added the Pencil and Keyboard, to compare fairly....

A pc with quite less than 1k you get a lot more functionality. I only mean, just think it very well , and consider your particular circumstances, which none of us do actually know.

[IanSG]

16 hours ago, R C-R said:

Not to muddy the waters with even more things to consider but since next year @Ghaeth wardeh plans on attending a university, I think it is worth finding out what kind of computing device(s) they recommend for their graphic arts students. Plus, for many university curriculums a laptop they can take to their classes would be a good idea.

That's an excellent point and it prompts the question "what other software will be needed?".  At the very least I'd expect to need an office suite and some sort of rudimentary DAM.

[Scungio]

I do agree that the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is the way to go if you do indeed want to go that route. I had the first gen 9.7 inch iPad Pro and the screen was just too small for me, it made such a big difference when I upgraded.

I usually keep my iPad for 18 months to 2 years and then sell it to Gazelle or Usell and then take that money and put it towards the new iPad, to subsidize it if you will. That is the crazy thing about Apple hardware the resell value is incredible as long as you take good care of it. That first iPad that I bought way back when, the first model, I paid full price for that, but the 3 iPads that I have gotten since have been way less. My current 12.9 iPad Pro I bought for $700 on Ebay through a respected seller and I got $225 from Gazelle for my old 9.7 inch iPad Pro, so $700-$225 = $475. That is how I do it every couple years, sell the old one and use it to buy the new one.

I have always loved the iPad from day one. The portability, the versatility to be used in a number of ways. There simply is no better way for me to read my comic books than on my 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Or to read books. And now the software is finally coming. Affinity Photo, soon Affinity Designer, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint. Want to do Video Editing, Lumatouch's LumaFusion is pretty awesome. Sound Editing? Wooji Juice's Ferrite Recording Studio is sweet. Want to do some ZBrush type of work on the go? Try Forger.

I think many of the complaints of a file system or issues with workflow are sort of moot if you know what apps to get/use. Stratospherix File Browser and/or Readdle's Documents along with a nifty clipboard app like Yoink are a pretty good solution. I don't really use Apple's Files app. 

I do think that the younger generation CAN use the iPad Pro as a replacement for a PC. Us old farts want to hang on to our desktops probably because it is so deeply ingrained.

Anyway, I always recommend people don't waste their time getting the Cellular iPad Pro models, why pay more for that? When I am not in range of wifi when I am out and about, I just use my phone as a hotspot for the iPad Pro to connect to, works fine, just didn't see the need to pay for another plan for my iPad. Also, yeah, more storage is nice but 64 GB is very doable if you are smart with how you work, Stratosherix File Browser allows me to access hard drives on my Mac Pro and Ryzen PC, as well as a NAS, and my various cloud services, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, etc.

In terms of a keyboard, it really isn't that necessary to buy the smart keyboard. I have a Logitech, an Anker mini Bluetooth keyboard and an older Apple Bluetooth keyboard (that was used previously with an iMac) that all work with my iPad Pro. 

[Alfred]

50 minutes ago, Scungio said:

Want to do some ZBrush type of work on the go? Try Forger.

Forger seems to have attracted very mixed reviews on the App Store.

 

[Scungio]

Yeah, it is tricky going by reviews. For example, hey, we all love Affinity Photo for iPad, but those that are using it on an iPad Air 2 or last year's iPad without an Apple Pencil? Brutal. I have tried using other bluetooth digital stylus from Adonit to Wacom, etc and they just can't compare to the Apple Pencil. So, yeah, I can read reviews of software on the app store and I have to take it with a grain of salt sometimes because I do no know that person's use case. Do they have a lower spec iPad? Are they trying to use an app that can barely run on their hardware? Do they have their iPad filled to the brim with junk? I know so many people that will literally use up nearly all of their available storage and then wonder why things are so slow or why apps don't work right, etc.

I know many people that will trash an app because they just can't figure it out right away, or that it should come easily. I will admit that from time to time I am guilty of this too, being frustrated that I can't figure things out quickly, not trashing the app though. 

Anyway, just a lot of factors go into my buying an app, the reviews are really a small part of it at the end of the day. For example, in choosing Ferrite Recording Studio, I read many bad reviews from people that are used to perhaps old ways of doing things. The idea of using a touch based input device and the Apple Pencil in editing just really chaffed some people the wrong way and they ended up with a negative review. Me? I like that it was different, the whole experience of the iPad for me is hoping app developers think outside the box and work to the strengths of the device, of the OS.

I see Apple just moving forward with the iPad, making it better and better. And I think actually the success of the A-series chips and the power of the iPad convinced Apple to decide to move from Intel chips and develop their own desktop chips for laptops and desktops.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, Scungio said:

That is the crazy thing about Apple hardware the resell value is incredible as long as you take good care of it.

That also goes for iMacs & MacBooks, but it is harder to take good care of a laptop than a desktop.

 

1 hour ago, Scungio said:

I do think that the younger generation CAN use the iPad Pro as a replacement for a PC. Us old farts want to hang on to our desktops probably because it is so deeply ingrained.

Desktop computers still offer much more screen space (a real time saver for graphics work), easy 'plug 'n play' connections to unlimited storage space via cheap & fast USB 3 hard drives, & better support for keyboard shortcuts. And of course, they offer "real" file systems.

[Scungio]

No, I agree with you about the inherent advantages of a desktop, but for many younger people their phone is their computer. They spend more time consuming media, surfing the internet and their phones are in a lot of cases their only camera, the only thing they have to shoot video, etc. I know many that when they are faced with moving on to something with a little more oomph, or complementing their phone, they are looking at the iPad.

For what now, $299 (at Best Buy, in the US) for the latest 9.7 inch Apple iPad. You go to Apple's refurbished section on their website and you can pick up an Apple Pencil for $85. OWC or elsewhere you can pick up that smaller Apple Bluetooth keyboard for $35 or less. Throw in $40 for Affinity Designer and Photo. Procreate is $10. LumaFusion is $20, Ferrite Recording Studio is $20, Stratospherix FileBrowser is $6, Yoink is $3. $99 for the software, and with that you get an image editor, a vector drawing app, a painting app, a video editor, a sound editor, and a file system that makes things more manageable. And that $99 can sometimes be negotiable as those companies have sales from time to time. If you were to buy a laptop or desktop and got comparable software wouldn't it be significantly more than $99?

That comes out to $518 in all for the hardware and software. Yeah, throw in a case and the assorted odd and end and you are maybe up to $600. For many people I know, younger people I know, the iPad is more compelling. There are even a lot of older people that I have seen the past couple years that are ditching their laptops because they can do everything they want with 'just' an iPad. My mom being one of them.

I know there are many on this forum that question Serif's decision to make an iPad version of Photo and Designer, but to me it is brilliant. This can be a nice revenue stream for them because the competition is rather meager and there are so many users looking for quality, high end software on iOS.

[R C-R]

34 minutes ago, Scungio said:

There are even a lot of older people that I have seen the past couple years that are ditching their laptops because they can do everything they want with 'just' an iPad.

OK, but young or old, how many of them are planning on doing much graphics work with them? (This is not a rhetorical question. I have no idea even how to estimate that.)

But more to the point here is what is the best choice for someone planning on doing university coursework in a year? I don't know the answer to that either, but I think it is something worth considering.

[SrPx]

Well, I work in illustration and design....I don't see how I could work with less than 22/24 inches in the screen, color (hardware) calibrated and all... Plus, drawing... The Pencil is great, but even a great device gets penalized for line accuracy when using a small surface. (IMO, having both the size of a ~22/24 inches tablet (~ L or XL), or directly a Huion/XP-PEN/Artisul/Yiynova of 22  inches (pricey but you are buying both a good monitor and a good tablet for same price), or,  simply an old second hand cintiq 22/24 or even an arcane 21wx, makes a HUGE difference compared to an iPad Pro, having drawn with both kind of things..... ). I understand also that professional work is not a pair of hour per day as much....

Not that everyone has the money for cintiq 27 QHD or Dell Canvas, but that would be the ideal. If not, I see a very good replacement a 22 -24 good monitor, and a Wacom L. This simple setup is quite cheap for providing a totally professional solution, and for work, IMO, am sorry to disagree, but imo a PC (of these characteristics) is much better for work, specially long sessions and complex illustrations, big and detailed compositions where you'd better not work zoomed in all the time.  For design is a bit less so, but even there... (ie, there are important exceptions, for UI/UX, and as now people is again sub-specializing a lot in what is getting converted in a larger field, those more focused in UX areas, need less of a big screen, and indeed, could prefer iPad/Surface as in many cases they are often on the move between companies. For working with illustration, FX, video editing, big 3D scenery, or simply complex high end detailed models, of millions of polygons, I do see necessary a large screen and big enough drawing tablet. Or pen-display)

The OP wants to learn design... As for "learning" the iPad might be even great. For working steadily even on first projects... well I have my opinion. Yeah, for reading books, or comics, is ideal. Or for browsing, etc. For heavy graphics work, I don't see a PC a worse tool, quite the opposite. Young kids may prefer the ipad and phones, but they still gotta work with desktops in most places... Like a CAD engineer will still be needing big screens to see well all the wireframes well, or a DTP professional better if not working only with 12,9 inches, and in the actual companies where I worked at for long time (games stuff) I don't see the desktop being replaced by small tablets.... My take at it, tho...

If at some point Apple or someone makes a 22  inches tablet with similar style than the  iPad Pro, then I'd be convinced, for work. But that'd be just a bit lighter and compact version of an AIO, in reality...

As consumers, no doubt these generations do not see the desktop like we saw it. or don't use it at all... But that seems to hurt them when they get into jobs, I've seen that happening already, and is not good..... For professional work, of our kind, I have serious doubts there could be a replacement... Unless the tablets do adapt to professional needs completely. You see things like Dell Canvas, or MS Studio, but that's obviously not a move in the world of tablets for graphic pros, is indeed a bet again for the desktop, with big and gorgeous screens...

This said, if he likes iPads, is a motivation for him, might be a good idea, as is for the learning stage. And as a sketching platform, it has no rivals. But for steady graphics work (in graphics, at least), I keep my recommendation on the PC, though.

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, SrPx said:

If at some point Apple or someone makes a 22  inches tablet with similar style than the  iPad Pro, then I'd be convinced, for work.

A 22 inch tablet would be a bit large & unwieldy to lug around to use in university classes (or for that matter anywhere else) don't you think?

[toltec]

15 minutes ago, R C-R said:

A 22 inch tablet would be a bit large & unwieldy to lug around to use in university classes (or for that matter anywhere else) don't you think?

SrPx is somebody use to lugging a 17" CRT Monitor and a Pentium tower around. A 22" tablet would seem like a sheet of paper  

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, toltec said:

SrPx is somebody use to lugging a 17" CRT Monitor and a Pentium tower around. A 22" tablet would seem like a sheet of paper  

Not in a high wind. Back in the day I saw people carrying 17" MacBooks get spun around or almost knocked down when the wind caught the flat side of those things.

But more seriously, imagine trying to find places when you are out & about where you could set a jumbo sized tablet down to work with it without disturbing people around you or worrying about a passerby accidentally (or not so accidentally) knocking it to the ground. It is just way too big for that, or for more than very brief periods of handheld use.

If nothing else, imagine being in a cramped coach cabin on a 2+ hour flight & trying to get anything done ... or worse, being the person sitting next to someone trying to do that. 

[SrPx]

does he really need to carry the tablet to college ? Somehow I understood he could work at home, use the material at the class, attend to classes and all, do the whatever the home work, studies, projects, etc, in the flat. But of course, if it's one of those student rooms, shared, the iPad or a laptop is the thing to carry. Again, I just don't know how is the deal. In my country, is not typically requested to carry a tablet with you to classes/college (not in art/design schools/Fine Arts...at least, that I know!).... I didn't find that in the OP, but  maybe is understood as a need.

Yeah, in the back of the car trips of 300 km in one go, through the mountain cr4ppy roads and the one place I'd almost always stop to have a coffee and a large baguette, I'd choose one which I could sit in a table just besides the car... Is very rare to have stuff robbed in those mountain villages, but u never know... I indeed also ported in the seat my trusty wacom 1. Too much money in that back seat to leave it alone. The internal disc was an Ultra wide SCSI II (with its controller), rare to see in a PC, but was for video editing. back then only macs had scsii (normally)...And first weekends I even carried as well my backup tape device... And now kids complain a 6 inches phone is "too big" to carry...lol...  (I connected to inet to not loose the gigs while at that job in the middle of nowhere, and the thing needed to connect to the tower by a serial cable...!   One of the first models to arrive here that "connected to internet"... at 9600 bps)

The worst happened one day, a cloud of flies (actually, mosquitos), really, filled the entire region....that could be one of those movies about horror plagues, evening/night, I could not even see the road ahead, just some meters, had to go super slow... And the freaking beasts got into the car filled all hardware..... :-S (and yep, a big tower is NOT hermetic, the little zombies got inside...)

 

[SrPx]

BTW, Artisul and XP-PEN have made very recently two 16 inches pen-displays, that -supposedly! I'd need to calibrate and test that to believe it, but hey-  support 94% and 92 % (respectively) of Adobe RGB color space (I've even wrote them kindly asking why they do not apply this tech to the 22 inches models (now both count on one at 22, luckily), but I suspect is due to it's harder to add it to larger panels, or sth. or some production issue, etc). That is outstanding for Cintiq alternatives. 16 inches is maybe yet portable enough, and you are buying so a - it seems- great, accurate monitor, even if tiny, but also a tablet of enough accuracy and size (I still think it's small, but...) that you can connect in the future to whatever the pc laptop/mac book/pc tower/mini-pc, etc. That can go as low as 700 or 800 bucks as much, and you can later on make potentially  more varied use of it, for more "situations".

But yep, for portable, it'd be silly to go for other than an iPad. The only scenario I think would be clever the new idea above, would be to connect that pen-display in his family house if he goes there by the summer, or, for a case when one is going to be one more year only, or two as much, as if so, you might want to have purchased sth that would last for a more pro usage, like connecting it to a powerful PC/Mac. (to be honest, u can do this withg the ipad, too, through that special software, and use it like a cintiq, but it goes through wifi...)

Just ideas. He does not go wrong with the iPad, anyway, as I guess when he'd save some bucks, he'd buy a tower, a laptop or sth,....

I was quite in favor of the iPad Pro in the past... until I could access and use one for more than the typical first minutes of wowness. For more serious use.... and was quite a deception, for realistic drawing/illustration.  I mean, I found it pretty good, but I understood I would never change that for a cintiq, or cintiq alternative, ever, and not even for a wacom L and a regular PC/Mac (my favorite setup, right now, not even counting on the price advantage). But this is just me, I recon that.

 

[Ghaeth wardeh]

9 hours ago, toltec said:

The iPad is not cheap and only has a cut-down version of Affinity Photo. There are very different ways of doing things because there is no mouse and a number of Photo (Desktop) features are missing.

Have you considered just buying the Affinity Workbooks and studying those? You will probably want them anyway. When you are ready, decide what machine to buy.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

[Ghaeth wardeh]

8 hours ago, SrPx said:

The PC would be even cheaper (although not really portable...), but as R C-R says, if that is what you want, that is what counts. Motivation, (well, in everything) specially in learning is the 99%.   (he didn't say that. I do.)

With that out of the way and decided in your side, a fun anecdote... I was always chased with jokes among friends 'cause I'd always said my 17" CRT monitor + big Pentium (the old ones) tower, dunno if 40 Kg of weight,  was a "mobile" solution, because I would load it in the back of the car, and I would "move" it, every single weekend...  To go see the family when I worked at other town...  is "portable" technology, you know.... In a smaller scale, many years later, at another job, I was again the target of jokes (I laugh myself about it, no issue)  'cause I'd call my small tower back then a "mobile computer", as was small enough to bring it like a large box under my arm in the bus...Some weeks EVERY DAY.... I tell ya, those weeks in the year,  I wouldn't do any OTHER exercise...

To each his own... an ipad is amazing, and you get all in one: A sRGB compliant monitor, now also capable of a wide color space (P3),  and perhaps can help you work in many environments, keep motivation up, and all time learning...Just beware leaving it forgotten...it flies. So much of a temptation for the friends of others people's private property.

Oh, and some other advice. If you want to do design, illustration, etc, IMO (well, all the time I'm supposing you are after an iPad PRO, or I hope so...), don't go for the 10.5 or 9.7...12.9 is already too small... Go for the 12.9, even if some bucks more. Also, Truetone is nice for regular use, as it varies according to lighting and all, but for working with design and some color accuracy, disable it or it can be a problem. At least for that stage of the project.

It is also a wacom-like device, just, my POV, in some aspects, kind of better. In other aspects, Wacom pens are superior. But wacom yet to develop a so compact and so round portable device. I really recommend the Pencil, more than the keyboard, even if that's key for a lot of work in college, too.  Plus is not low in power. It lacks of a real file system, IMO, although that's not a huge issue, and I don't particularly like iOS, compared to Mac OS or Windows, but not a big issue for you.

 

i chose an ipad pro because i am an artist and i like to do a lot of drawings and it is portable and tuch... i like the desktop but i chose the ipad pro

[Ghaeth wardeh]

8 hours ago, SrPx said:

in the ipad  pro line, it is more than 1k $, once added the Pencil and Keyboard, to compare fairly....

A pc with quite less than 1k you get a lot more functionality. I only mean, just think it very well , and consider your particular circumstances, which none of us do actually know.

i am confused... i just want to enjoy myself by using affinity software

[Ghaeth wardeh]

6 hours ago, Scungio said:

I do agree that the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is the way to go if you do indeed want to go that route. I had the first gen 9.7 inch iPad Pro and the screen was just too small for me, it made such a big difference when I upgraded.

I usually keep my iPad for 18 months to 2 years and then sell it to Gazelle or Usell and then take that money and put it towards the new iPad, to subsidize it if you will. That is the crazy thing about Apple hardware the resell value is incredible as long as you take good care of it. That first iPad that I bought way back when, the first model, I paid full price for that, but the 3 iPads that I have gotten since have been way less. My current 12.9 iPad Pro I bought for $700 on Ebay through a respected seller and I got $225 from Gazelle for my old 9.7 inch iPad Pro, so $700-$225 = $475. That is how I do it every couple years, sell the old one and use it to buy the new one.

I have always loved the iPad from day one. The portability, the versatility to be used in a number of ways. There simply is no better way for me to read my comic books than on my 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Or to read books. And now the software is finally coming. Affinity Photo, soon Affinity Designer, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint. Want to do Video Editing, Lumatouch's LumaFusion is pretty awesome. Sound Editing? Wooji Juice's Ferrite Recording Studio is sweet. Want to do some ZBrush type of work on the go? Try Forger.

I think many of the complaints of a file system or issues with workflow are sort of moot if you know what apps to get/use. Stratospherix File Browser and/or Readdle's Documents along with a nifty clipboard app like Yoink are a pretty good solution. I don't really use Apple's Files app. 

I do think that the younger generation CAN use the iPad Pro as a replacement for a PC. Us old farts want to hang on to our desktops probably because it is so deeply ingrained.

Anyway, I always recommend people don't waste their time getting the Cellular iPad Pro models, why pay more for that? When I am not in range of wifi when I am out and about, I just use my phone as a hotspot for the iPad Pro to connect to, works fine, just didn't see the need to pay for another plan for my iPad. Also, yeah, more storage is nice but 64 GB is very doable if you are smart with how you work, Stratosherix File Browser allows me to access hard drives on my Mac Pro and Ryzen PC, as well as a NAS, and my various cloud services, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, etc.

In terms of a keyboard, it really isn't that necessary to buy the smart keyboard. I have a Logitech, an Anker mini Bluetooth keyboard and an older Apple Bluetooth keyboard (that was used previously with an iMac) that all work with my iPad Pro. 

thank you for sharing your opinion with me

[SrPx]

iPad it is ! Sorry, I like PCs too much, I get carried on ....  

[Ghaeth wardeh]

really i am confused between ipad vesion and desktop version