During my hands-on time with the iPad Pro, I’ve been able to identify several apps that I believe all iPad Pro owners should have in their stable of apps. Inside, you’ll find details about a popular email client, an awesome text editor, a podcast recording studio, a visual drawing, sketching and painting app, and an awesome iPad Pro-optimized Twitter client. Have you tried them all?
Outlook
I love the look and feel of Microsoft’s iPad Pro offerings. In a lot of ways, Microsoft offers more functionality and forward-thinking than Apple’s own iWork suite. The downside of using Microsoft’s apps is that some of them require a monthly subscription fee. That’s okay if you’re all-in on its ecosystem, but it might be a bitter pill to swallow for iPad-only users who occasionally need to edit documents and spreadsheets.
The good news is that Microsoft’s email app, Outlook, is absolutely free to use. Not only is the app free, but it’s also really good. With Outlook, you can sign in and manage email from a variety of providers. Of course, support for Microsoft’s own email offerings are there, including Exchange, as is support for Google, Yahoo, and even Apple’s own iCloud email. It’s a true replacement for the stock Mail app.
Outlook also supports cloud providers like Dropbox and Google Drive for quickly attaching documents to email, as well as Spotlight search support, which works extremely well for quickly searching all email without opening the app. And other iOS 9-centric features are there, including Split View, which allows for side by side multitasking with another app where possible. There’s even support for Apple Watch, which makes managing incoming email right from your wrist a possibility.
Price: Free
Drafts 4
As visually appealing as an app like 1Writer is, you’d be hard-pressed to find a writing app that’s as capable and as versatile as Drafts is. I still think the app could use more configuration options to change the look of the writing layout to be more usually appealing, but the sheer depth and utility of Drafts remains second-to-none. It’s simply a must-have app for anyone who needs to regularly manipulate text, and works great as a Markdown editor.
Price: $9.99
Ferrite Recording Studio
Ferrite is an app that’s built from the ground up with podcasting in mind. It’s possible to record a podcast with the app, but the real power of this offering rests with its ability to competently edit and export good-sounding podcast episodes.
I’ve used Ferrite to both record a podcast and edit and mix a podcast. I was especially impressed with the post-processing capabilities of the app. Never before have iPad users seen an app that was solely focused on creating podcasts in such a way that the results may rival desktop workflows, but Ferrite is it.
This is an app that not only allows you to record and arrange multiple tracks, but it also features handy effects, such as a Noise Gate, Compression, High and Low Pass Filters, and more. Effects can be applied on a track-by-track basis, or globally to all tracks on the timeline. The app is free, but to truly unlock the power of all Ferrite has to offer, you should pony up for the $19.99 in-app purchase.
Price: Free, but includes In-App Purchase
Procreate
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not huge on digital artistry, but the value of Procreate is readily apparent. Mated with the Apple Pencil, Procreate on the iPad Pro can turn the super-sized tablet into a serious digital sketchbook that’s fully capable of helping churn out digital masterpieces. If there’s one app that’s a no brainier for iPad Pro users who own an Apple Pencil, it’s this one.
Price: $5.99
Tweetbot 4
I’ve been known to waffle between the stock Twitter app and Tweetbot, but when it comes to the iPad Pro, it’s a no-brainer. Tweetbot is fully optimized for the iPad Pro’s 12.9″ screen, and it works great with many of the new iOS 9 features such as Split View. In fact, Split View is how I mainly use Tweetbot on the iPad Pro. The small Split View window in landscape mode can accommodate your Twitter timeline, mentions, lists, and more.
Price: $4.99
The are other apps for the iPad Pro that I use for specific workflows, but these are five easy-to-identify apps that will resonate with lots of users.
Are there any other must-have apps that you believe every iPad Pro owner should try? If so, drop us a line down below in the comment section with the deets.