iPad 10.5" iPad Pro or 10.5" iPad Air?

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

I too thought this but then when apple released its very latest iPad in 2019 (10.2) with a Soc a full generation behind the A10X I figured these processors have little to do with age and even capability.

I’ve posted this before and am still adamant the a10x chip in my (now daughters) pro 2nd gen runs identical, in some cases faster than my 12.9 pro 3rd gen which has an a12x chip. I can’t get my head around it but it’s there and I’ve side by side tested on several occasions. That a10x is a beast imo.

Newer is not always better. See MacBook Pro post 2015 😂

 

[rui no onna]

And they’re only selling it for $719 refurb. The gen 6’s are going for $229 refurb.

What's $719? Only model I saw at that price right now was the 2017 Pro 12.9 256GB Wi-Fi.

I dunno if Apple gives higher trade-in value based on configuration but the 2017 Pro 12.9 512GB LTE is $999 if buying as Apple certified refurbished (US). Verified just now and Apple only gives $290 for that (in good condition).

Mind, I bought the iPad 6 for $250 brand new so $120 trade-in is pretty good considering how little I paid. Wouldn't do it though since it's a very capable device and I have a lot of relatives (some still on iPad 2-3) who would be perfectly happy getting one as a hand me down.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I too thought this but then when apple released its very latest iPad in 2019 (10.2) with a Soc a full generation behind the A10X I figured these processors have little to do with age and even capability.

I’ve posted this before and am still adamant the a10x chip in my (now daughters) pro 2nd gen runs identical, in some cases faster than my 12.9 pro 3rd gen which has an a12x chip. I can’t get my head around it but it’s there and I’ve side by side tested on several occasions. That a10x is a beast imo.

I agree with the performance aspect. I have a 10.5 inch iPad Pro and it runs just as fast as my iPad mini 5 with the A12 chip.

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

What's $719? Only model I saw at that price right now was the 2017 Pro 12.9 256GB Wi-Fi.

I dunno if Apple gives higher trade-in value based on configuration but the 2017 Pro 12.9 512GB LTE is $999 if buying as Apple certified refurbished (US). Verified just now and Apple only gives $290 for that (in good condition).

Mind, I bought the iPad 6 for $250 brand new so $120 trade-in is pretty good considering how little I paid. Wouldn't do it though since it's a very capable device and I have a lot of relatives (some still on iPad 2-3) who would be perfectly happy getting one as a hand me down.

I thought it was the 256. The 512 is more. If my daughter didn’t need it, and my company didnt offer me $300 towards a new one, I’d be keeping my Gen 6. Funny how when someone hands you $300 towards somethung..and your daughter needs your old one, upgrade options suddenly “appear“ with the “found money”. I could get away with a Gen 7 and be happy.

 

[rui no onna]

I thought it was the 256. The 512 is more. If my daughter didn’t need it, and my company didnt offer me $300 towards a new one, I’d be keeping my Gen 6. Funny how when someone hands you $300 towards somethung..and your daughter needs your old one, upgrade options suddenly “appear“ with the “found money”. I could get away with a Gen 7 and be happy.

Lol, part of my justification for my initial iPad upgrades was giving the old ones to mom, grandma and dad.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Newer is not always better. See MacBook Pro post 2015 😂

What about the 16-inch MacBook Pro?

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

What about the 16-inch MacBook Pro?

Looks like they fixed it finally, thank goodness. I was getting concerned when it came to replace my 2015 rMBP.. not for a while yet hopefully.

 

[CHunger]

This age old question. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.
[/QUOTE
OR you can go WRONG with both. I ADORED my deeply researched absolute bargain 10.5 Pro (256mg cellular) (for $400, free shipping, no tax) until it developed the dread and super well-known “screen disease”, which is not fatal but does take the thrill off a much beloved “score.”. AND BUT... IF I had got the Air, I would be lamenting and regretting the loss of that Pro... We love what we got, or we have nothing to love.

 

[EugW]

I went with the Air 3. In my opinion it has the better CPU, and enough RAM (the current 10.2 iPad also has 3GB of RAM) . I admit that the Pro‘s GPU should be better, but in Antutu Benchmark the Air 3 gets better scores for GPU than the 10.5 Gen 2 Pro, maybe because of the better CPU to “feed“ the GPU fast enough. The Pro has more (better?) speakers but i usually use headphones if i need sound output. I usually do not use the camera on my iPad, so no comment. Better refresh rate: Pro is nicer to scroll, but not a deal breaker.

3 GB is decent as a baseline, and I just bought an iPad 7 with 3 GB RAM, but it's unfortunate they didn't pair the speedy A12 with 4 GB RAM, esp. since it directly replaced the iPad Pro 10.5" with 4 GB RAM.

In my experience, at least for general usage, the amount of RAM is more of a bottleneck than the CPU if the CPU is a decent one, and both A10X and A12 are very decent.

I do also really appreciate the quad speakers on the iPad Pro, even though I only use them occasionally. Our iPad 7 also has just two speakers, and it reminded me just much I hate having the sound coming out of only one side in landscape mode. (I have Apple Smart Keyboard for both the iPad Pro 10.5" and iPad 7, and that's generally how we use them on the table.)

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

3 GB is decent as a baseline, and I just bought an iPad 7 with 3 GB RAM, but it's unfortunate they didn't pair the speedy A12 with 4 GB RAM, esp. since it directly replaced the iPad Pro 10.5" with 4 GB RAM.

In my experience, at least for general usage, the amount of RAM is more of a bottleneck than the CPU if the CPU is a decent one, and both A10X and A12 are very decent.

I do also really appreciate the quad speakers on the iPad Pro, even though I only use them occasionally. Our iPad 7 also has just two speakers, and it reminded me just much I hate having the sound coming out of only one side in landscape mode. (I have Apple Smart Keyboard for both the iPad Pro 10.5" and iPad 7, and that's generally how we use them on the table.)

Yeah.. I’m picking mine up this morning and I still may change my mind but I doubt it. I really want the Pro although I cannot cost justify it, especially since I’m looking at $400 next month for the maintenance contract on my network hardware... which I’m still not sure I’m keeping.. its not really Apple friendly.

 

[Shanghaichica]

3 GB is decent as a baseline, and I just bought an iPad 7 with 3 GB RAM, but it's unfortunate they didn't pair the speedy A12 with 4 GB RAM, esp. since it directly replaced the iPad Pro 10.5" with 4 GB RAM.

In my experience, at least for general usage, the amount of RAM is more of a bottleneck than the CPU if the CPU is a decent one, and both A10X and A12 are very decent.

I do also really appreciate the quad speakers on the iPad Pro, even though I only use them occasionally. Our iPad 7 also has just two speakers, and it reminded me just much I hate having the sound coming out of only one side in landscape mode. (I have Apple Smart Keyboard for both the iPad Pro 10.5" and iPad 7, and that's generally how we use them on the table.)

The iPad 7 isn’t a replacement for the iPad Pro 10.5. It’s an upgraded version of the iPad 6.

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

The iPad 7 isn’t a replacement for the iPad Pro 10.5. It’s an upgraded version of the iPad 6.

Yes, but neither is the Air. It’s just re-using the 10.5 case.

 

[EugW]

The iPad 7 isn’t a replacement for the iPad Pro 10.5. It’s an upgraded version of the iPad 6.

I was referring to the iPad Air 3 as the replacement for the iPad Pro 10.5. That's why I said A12. In retrospect I can see how my post was confusing. Sorry it was not clearer.

Yes, but neither is the Air. It’s just re-using the 10.5 case.

Yes, the Air 3 replaced the iPad Pro 10.5". Remember, before the Air 3, there were 3 tiers of 10-11" iPads:

Tier 3: iPad 6 9.7"
Tier 2: iPad Pro 10.5"
Tier 1: iPad Pro 11"

After the iPad Air 3, there were still 3 tiers of 10-11" iPads:

Tier 3: iPad 6 9.7"
Tier 2: iPad Air 3 10.5"
Tier 1: iPad Pro 11"

And then the iPad got updated, and there are still 3 tiers of 10-11" iPads:

Tier 3: iPad 7 10.2"
Tier 2: iPad Air 3 10.5"
Tier 1: iPad Pro 11"

In fact, iPad Pro 10.5" was discontinued the same day the iPad Air 3 was released as its replacement.