iPad. Worth it for MBA?

Hey guys,

So I am joining IIM this year and while I have a good enough laptop - Asus TUF F15 w/ NVIDIA GTX 1650Ti - there are some small inconveniences I face with it:

1. Battery life: With a full charge, it works on silent mode ie. least power consuming and no GPU usage mode, for around 1.5 - 2 hours give or take. So carrying the big ass charging brick around with it is a non-negotiable

2. Weight: It weighs around 2.3 kgs and with the charging setup, around it would weigh around 3kgs so carrying it around is a task in itself for my shoulders (good exercise though and to be completely fair, I have gotten pretty used to it in the last 5-6 years)

So apart from the above 2, there are only praises I can sing about my laptop.

Now changing the laptop isn't something I'm considering. It works as good as it did the first day I bought it. I'm very much used to the layout of the keyboard. And overall, it's a great laptop. The heaviest software I might use in MBA would be excel, SPSS, or maybe opening more than 10 chrome tabs simultaneously.

Now my dilemma is that for general reading and note taking purpose, should I go for an iPad. Mind you, an iPad would be the only Apple device I'd be owning so no use of the whole ecosystem.

But I have seen that there are generally a lot of reference books, case materials, and other reading materials that people use in MBA and an iPad 11th Gen would be a good addition to keep everything to just one system. Of course I would be going for a Keyboard and pencil so that would basically be a mini laptop for me, leaving my current laptop being used mostly for heavy excel and ppt work.

Also, since I'm going for an education loan at minimal interest rate (6.75%) which has the option of reimbursing electronic costs in the loan itself, it would be paid over a period of 10 years (if I don't pay it early). The EMI addition to the Edu Loan would just be 1k/month. Negligible.

But my question is more regarding the actual use case of an iPad. So overall, would it be worth it? Or is pen and paper just fine? There is no question of changing my laptop. So having this extra device, would it in any case be a financially sound decision (I hate unnecessary spending which won't add any value to my life).

TL;DR: Already have a perfectly functional laptop and don't plan to replace it. Considering an iPad (with Pencil + Keyboard) purely for reading PDFs/case materials, note-taking, and reducing the need to carry a heavy gaming laptop everywhere. MBA students/alumni: did an iPad meaningfully improve your experience, or is pen-and-paper sufficient? Is it a worthwhile addition or an unnecessary expense?