For students, except art students, i still think there is nothing better than a boring 13" macbook air
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
10.5 or 12.9 IPad Pro for a student?
- Thread starter linkmon99
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not sure why you want an iPad for school, but if it’s college you would be better off checking t see what is actually needed for class before buying and iPad. Normally most university type classes really need a full featured laptop and may have actual program requirements that are not available on an iPad.
Before you spend $$ you might also check with the school and see if they have recommendations about what hardware and software is required.
Before you spend $$ you might also check with the school and see if they have recommendations about what hardware and software is required.
Have you seen them both side to side ? I’ve been on the 12.9 bandwagon for close to 6 months now. (Also going back to uni btw) and has convinced myself that this is my next main computing device. I’ll change my workflow from laptop to iPad.
Here’s the deal though. I managed to hold one in person yesterday with the 10.5 right next to it. The 10.5 looks TINY compared to the big guy. The keyboard seemed a little cramped as well but it worked so well in the hand as an iPad to read, browse the web etc.
The 12.9 (remember I was sold on this and ready to buy sight unseen ) on the other hand, seemed a little too big. It’ll be great in landscape as a laptop replacement but in the hand? Not sure. I can’t see myself using this as a normal iPad. It’s got nothing to do with weight it’s the actual footprint of the device and the size of the screen in your hands. It’s comically large as an iPad.
The 10.5 is too small to replace a laptop and the 12.9. Well. If I can’t use it as an iPad comfortably then maybe a laptop/iPad combination may be the best.
It’s back to square one for me. I’d love something in the middle. Footprint of my workshorse the 11.3 inch MacBook Air.
As it stands if I go the 12.9 route I may also pick up an iPad mini for tablet duties.
The 10.5 may be the sweet spot for a lot of users. Problem is it’s a bit too small for “actual work” for me and when you see it next to it’s big brother it’s comically tiny. I’d have instant buyers remorse that I didn’t manage to fit the 12.9 into my life.
My suggestion is to go to a store and spend some time with both. Reading reviews isn’t enough. You have to live with this device and opinions are subjective and everyone’s needs and perception is different.
Here’s the deal though. I managed to hold one in person yesterday with the 10.5 right next to it. The 10.5 looks TINY compared to the big guy. The keyboard seemed a little cramped as well but it worked so well in the hand as an iPad to read, browse the web etc.
The 12.9 (remember I was sold on this and ready to buy sight unseen ) on the other hand, seemed a little too big. It’ll be great in landscape as a laptop replacement but in the hand? Not sure. I can’t see myself using this as a normal iPad. It’s got nothing to do with weight it’s the actual footprint of the device and the size of the screen in your hands. It’s comically large as an iPad.
The 10.5 is too small to replace a laptop and the 12.9. Well. If I can’t use it as an iPad comfortably then maybe a laptop/iPad combination may be the best.
It’s back to square one for me. I’d love something in the middle. Footprint of my workshorse the 11.3 inch MacBook Air.
As it stands if I go the 12.9 route I may also pick up an iPad mini for tablet duties.
The 10.5 may be the sweet spot for a lot of users. Problem is it’s a bit too small for “actual work” for me and when you see it next to it’s big brother it’s comically tiny. I’d have instant buyers remorse that I didn’t manage to fit the 12.9 into my life.
My suggestion is to go to a store and spend some time with both. Reading reviews isn’t enough. You have to live with this device and opinions are subjective and everyone’s needs and perception is different.
That’s the thing—if you want a device to be both a laptop replacement AND a traditional iPad, one or both functions will invariably suffer because the two functions (work/productivity vs. portable comfortable consumption) are in direct contention with one another in regard to size. They each require a different size for optimal functionality.
For some people, the advantage of having a single device outweighs the compromises that accompany whichever device size they choose (the compromises differ from size to size of course). For others, the compromises are not tolerable, therefore they are better off with two specialized, uncompromised devices. It just depends on the person’s needs and preferences.
I fall squarely in the latter category. I’ve had a 12.9 iPP + iPad mini combination for almost two years now and I’ve never wished for a single compromised device instead. I have no desire to use a device smaller than my 12.9 iPP for work, nor a device bigger than my iPad mini for comfortable consumption.
As for choosing between a 12.9” iPP and a lightweight MacBook for work—assuming you have an additional smaller iPad for casual use—it’s my opinion that a 12.9 iPP is better for those who need to use the Pencil (as is the case for me) or someone who needs to use the device while holding it (standing/walking). Personally, if I didn’t need the pencil, I would have opted for a 12” MacBook. I find Mac hardware and software more conducive for work than iPads, except in the aforementioned cases.
Definitely is big and for me, I found it less holdable and useable. I know everyone's use case is different but for how I use the tablet the 10.5 is a great form factor.
the 12.9 is a better choice when going as a complete laptop replacement route, where as the 10.5 works well along side a laptop. For me the iPad cannot and will not replace my laptop so that reason and few others I like the 10.5
If I was a student, I would start with a good laptop. When it comes time to have multiple files and windows open, it is really hard to beat a laptop with a good trackpad for precision pointing and text/cell manipulation. On an iPad, you can’t have two files from the same app open simultaneously. So, as an example, no copy paste from one Pages doc to another. That seems pretty limiting for a student.
I am not knocking the iPad. I love my iPad. But, it just doesn’t seem to be the optimal tool for a college student. With the holiday sales going on, you can get a MBA ($800) plus an iPad 2017 ($250) for a little over a grand. This combo should easily last 4 years through university. Not a bad deal for a student. With iCloud, your content is synced, so there is very little downside to having two devices.
I am not knocking the iPad. I love my iPad. But, it just doesn’t seem to be the optimal tool for a college student. With the holiday sales going on, you can get a MBA ($800) plus an iPad 2017 ($250) for a little over a grand. This combo should easily last 4 years through university. Not a bad deal for a student. With iCloud, your content is synced, so there is very little downside to having two devices.
I agree with your conclusions and thoughts completely, with the exception that you can, pretty easily view two of the same file types at the same time. If it were Word docs for example, you can open one in Word & the other in Pages, and copy, paste between the two. Even if you don’t pay for the functioning copy of word, you can use that as the file you copy from. To do that with a Pages, document, you’d need to export one to word format, but the same principle applies. Same thing with spreadsheets, PowerPoints, pdf’s etc.
With all that said, I agree that the Laptop or laptop/ipad combo would make life easier than just an iPad. I used an iPad as my main device for my MBA, but there are use cases where it either couldn’t run the software I needed, or else the ipad software didn’t have all of the functionality I needed (like making Tables of contents in Word). A combo like the MacBook Air/ 2017 iPad you mentioned would be way better than a $1,050 iPad.
Unless you are the child or grandchild of someone mega wealthy who is subsidizing your education, get the 10.5 inch. While the 12inch is nice, it size and bulk become very inconvenient as others have stated above. I know three individuals (two women, one man) funding their own educations and each bought and said they regretted the 12 inch because of the large size.
The larger size means you can use a larger smart keyboard that results in more accurate typing. However, using a third-party Bluetooth keyboard with the smaller iPad (many available online for less than 40 dollars) will more than meet the needs of typing. Besides, repeated studies have shown typing lecture notes reduces knowledge retention.
Having a larger iPad does not provide additional features to any iPad application. The only upside to the larger iPad is if you are a digital artist needing the more canvas and saving time scaling images up and down. And if you are an art major then you know you most likely working low paying jobs after graduation and will be struggling paying off those student loans.
Being in debt is not a requirement of higher education and saving money is not a crime.
The larger size means you can use a larger smart keyboard that results in more accurate typing. However, using a third-party Bluetooth keyboard with the smaller iPad (many available online for less than 40 dollars) will more than meet the needs of typing. Besides, repeated studies have shown typing lecture notes reduces knowledge retention.
Having a larger iPad does not provide additional features to any iPad application. The only upside to the larger iPad is if you are a digital artist needing the more canvas and saving time scaling images up and down. And if you are an art major then you know you most likely working low paying jobs after graduation and will be struggling paying off those student loans.
Being in debt is not a requirement of higher education and saving money is not a crime.
That's what I always said about iPads. Really, I hated big time on them, especially because of the lack of keyboard. But if you made me chose now between my 15" rMBP and my 12.9" iPad with Smart Keyboard I'd rather give up on the MacBook. I don't think it's crippled at all, yeah sure if you are a programming student or something more complicated than word processing the iPad is not for you. But if you just need a device for notes the iPad is far more useful.
Yeah, you CAN do more with a MacBook, but will you? How often will you? It all comes to that, and I rarely use my MacBook anymore.
First of all, browsing the web and reading stuff is way nicer on the iPad in portrait mode than on any device. It's actually as tall as an iMac screen, it's not an e-reader, but the iPad has reduced my kindle usage dramatically because it's less clunky and its brightness settings make it really decent for reading. It's also nice that the screen is almost exactly the size of a sheet of paper. I use it to open text books that are on PDF (those that people usually print just to read a few pages and then abandon it somewhere in their house) so I'm saving the trees and a lot of wasted money per year.
The smart keyboard is great, it's on par with my MacBook keyboard, I am required to type really fast at school and it's no issue at all. And for courses where I need to make a few notes I use the pencil and it's great, my notes are actually beautiful compared to my usual writing. I am a lefty and I always smudge everything and that's a non issue with the iPad. The iPad definitely makes me keep my crap together at school, I've never really done so well in the past 4 semesters thanks to it.
Entertainment is also great, the speakers are great and Netflix is great too, it's actually better than on a laptop because you can actually save stuff offline for when you are traveling.
I guess this iPad really turned me from being a casual laptop user into an iPad power user. On paper, it doesn't make sense at all, but it's much much better and it's not really that hard to get used to work productively with the iPad. I also feel like it's a more peaceful device for writing, it's harder to get distracted because it's not such a windowy user interface as Mac OS or windows. But don't get me wrong, multitasking on the iPad is great.
[doublepost=1512575175][/doublepost]
I don't really get how you almost need to be part of the 1% in order to spend 150$ more on an iPad.
I respect everything you said about loans and struggling to pay them and not wasting money. But
using to the maximum your investment is also really important. In my case I would have "wasted" more money buying the smaller one because it would have ended unused and in a drawer, like the last 9.7" iPad I had. I actually considered getting the 10.5" one and I'm glad I didn't. Size is definitely what made me stay with this one, 9.7" or 10.5" to me seems like a tiny cramped computer, like those older netbooks and this thing feels like a full on laptop.
Last edited:
6 in 10 Americans don't have 500 dollars to cover emergency expenses Think about that. That is not 1%.
None. I got the iPad Pro 12.9 and I barely use it. Worst mistake I’ve made. Nothing can replace a real laptop for me. If you attend a school that requires its student to have an online portfolio for documentation, notes and presentation you sure don’t want to use your iPad for that. Last summer I planned to use my new iPad for school and noting with the pencil and it never happened because our teachers forced us into using google drive and google doc.
For college students, I strongly favor a laptop. College students spend a lot of time working on documents, building spreadsheets, and doing research online. MacOS, paired with a goood Keyboard and trackpad, is just superior to iOS touch based interface for working with multiple windows and documents.
For most students, I think the MBA is the best value in terms of reliability and price. They are frequently on sale for $800, not including student discounts. My college and High School aged children had no problem getting 4 years of solid performance from their MBAs. They are still going strong. I would be very cautious about buying the rMB or MBP for college. Reliability is very important for students, and the documented keyboard failures due to the tight tolerances and butterfly mechanism would be of concern to me.
As for cost, you will probably be spending between $100k-$150k on your undergrad degree, so get the right device for the job. Even if you spend a few hundred bucks more, a solid reliable laptop will pay for itself many times over.
For most students, I think the MBA is the best value in terms of reliability and price. They are frequently on sale for $800, not including student discounts. My college and High School aged children had no problem getting 4 years of solid performance from their MBAs. They are still going strong. I would be very cautious about buying the rMB or MBP for college. Reliability is very important for students, and the documented keyboard failures due to the tight tolerances and butterfly mechanism would be of concern to me.
As for cost, you will probably be spending between $100k-$150k on your undergrad degree, so get the right device for the job. Even if you spend a few hundred bucks more, a solid reliable laptop will pay for itself many times over.
I’m switching my workflow to the iPad Pro (author here) but I’m comfortable doing that because I KNOW I have a backup MacBook Air and a desktop iMac for “real” work if needed. Not sure I’m ready for just an iPad Pro.
I think the other guys are right. College student, only ONE device... you’re going to need a clamshell old fashioned laptop.
Option 2 would be to go with a new state of the art iPad Pro. Get the big one. And spend 3 to 400 bucks on a used Mba. Or downsize to the 10.5 Pro and use the savings towards , again, a used MacBook Air.
The ideal combination for a student would be a iPad Pro for notes lectures entertainment textbooks etc and a Mac mini (Mac nano) at home with an external monitor. Apple doesn’t seem to be doing anything on that end though.
One device ... get a laptop. If you can save up a bit then an iPad Pro / desktop (clamshell) combination would be great.
I’d also try out the Smart Keyboard. Reviews online have been saying it’s great. I had my first hands on yesterday and didn’t like it at all. Again, author here, lots of typing, I couldn’t use one.
True, I would also feel vulnerable just with the iPad Pro and no laptop/desktop computer on the daily however, I've taken 2-3 week longs trips with the iPad and I hadn't really had issues. I also write a lot and I am a strong supporter of the Smart Keyboard, it's great, it takes you 30 minutes to get used to how it feels and I bet you won't miss a laptop keyboard at all. On the other hand if you want to type on your lap, the experience isn't as good as on a laptop but it's bearable.
If I didn't have my macbook and my desktop I'd live perfectly with a cheap used iMac and an iPad Pro.
That's because of how Americans manage their money (or rather don't) and how much they rely on credit, I can list you probably 10 countries with a fraction of the US's GDP per capita that 9/10 have over 500$ to cover emergency expenses and cannot afford to have an iPad at the same time.
In my opinion, spending any money on electronics before having a decent buffer for emergencies is highly irresponsible. But those extra 150$ are not the issue, the issue is the lack financial education.
I’ll have to try the Smart Keyboard again then. Thanks. Only used it for 2 mins and had a WTF moment. The brydge Keyboard looks great too btw. Heavier but more like an actual laptop. I could always just use the on screen keyboard for casual use and grab the brydge for serious notes. Smart Keyboard is definitely lighter and the fact that it’s always there is much easier. Will try and take the demo one home for a couple of days before making a decision.
The thread is to compare the 10.5 vs the 12.9. Although discussing laptops is interesting, it’s not what the OP asked and it’s been covered relentlessly in many other threads in this forum.
After months of use of the 12.9 iPad for my degree (except for programming units), it’s felt like the equivalent to carrying an A4 pad of paper. If an A4 pad of paper is too much of a burden to those using them on desks or are too heavy to carry, I worry what else you might complain about!
Before you buy the 10.5 or the 12.9, try using something that mimmicks the dimensions/measurements of each to gauge how you feel about it.
Put it this way, if you can carry a 13” laptop, you can carry a 12.9” iPad. If you have room for a 13” laptop, you have room for a 12.9” iPad. (Not that I want to start discussing ipad vs laptop but rather suggest that the physical dimensions should give some perspective)
[doublepost=1512771077][/doublepost]
After months of use of the 12.9 iPad for my degree (except for programming units), it’s felt like the equivalent to carrying an A4 pad of paper. If an A4 pad of paper is too much of a burden to those using them on desks or are too heavy to carry, I worry what else you might complain about!
Before you buy the 10.5 or the 12.9, try using something that mimmicks the dimensions/measurements of each to gauge how you feel about it.
Put it this way, if you can carry a 13” laptop, you can carry a 12.9” iPad. If you have room for a 13” laptop, you have room for a 12.9” iPad. (Not that I want to start discussing ipad vs laptop but rather suggest that the physical dimensions should give some perspective)
[doublepost=1512771077][/doublepost]
That’s why they call it a LAPtop
If you have Poor eyesight (nearsightedness) or if you are 40 years too old senior and above get the iPad Pro 12.9" its also best for movie marathon, and graphic designing artist.
Cons; but kinda ankward for some mobile gaming.
More expensive
If you are you have Perfect eagled eyesight then the 10.5" is fine for you. Its also best for students even with their glasses on cuz its the same size as regular books and not as heavy as 12.9"
Cons: 4 years old design
Looks like an iPad air 1st gen with touch id sticker
[doublepost=1514986715][/doublepost]
Like others, i have everything like iPad Pro 12.9", iPad Mini 4 for social media and reading book, iPhone X for sms and calling, macbook pro with touchbar for editing clips and doing microsoft word
See??!! If they make iPad to run OS like macbook im pretty sure macbook would go extinct and sales drop..
Cons; but kinda ankward for some mobile gaming.
More expensive
If you are you have Perfect eagled eyesight then the 10.5" is fine for you. Its also best for students even with their glasses on cuz its the same size as regular books and not as heavy as 12.9"
Cons: 4 years old design
Looks like an iPad air 1st gen with touch id sticker
[doublepost=1514986715][/doublepost]
Maybe because shes too poor and cannot afford and does not have the money to get multiple device at a time.
Like others, i have everything like iPad Pro 12.9", iPad Mini 4 for social media and reading book, iPhone X for sms and calling, macbook pro with touchbar for editing clips and doing microsoft word
See??!! If they make iPad to run OS like macbook im pretty sure macbook would go extinct and sales drop..
If they’d make a 11.7 inch Pro I’d be all in and just keep my ancient 2011 MBA around for editing docs. As it stands (just went to the shop again yesterday) the 10.5 is too cramped and the 12.9 is too big. It’s not about weight. We can all carry a can of Coke Its more about footprint as a mobile device.
I’d also like to use it as a “normal” tablet and holding it in portrait mode is simply unwieldy. Again nothing to do with Weight, it’s the dimensions, inability to type properly on keyboard to navigate sites or reply like this to a forum post.
I’d end up using my iPhone 7plus or X for couch browsing and it’s sometjing I’m trying to get away from.
A 12.9 and iPad mini combination would be superb. My ideal though is a bezelless 11.7 iPad Pro. One device to do it all.
For reference I hated carrying the larger MBA and my favorite computer was the 11” version. Now I carry a thinkpad yoga 12” as my main typing and editing machine. Don’t think I’d ever want to cross 12 inches. For the work I do either 12 inches is fine (writing editing researching) or I need a 27” external (cmparong docs, heavy editing, screenplay flows etc )
I’d also like to use it as a “normal” tablet and holding it in portrait mode is simply unwieldy. Again nothing to do with Weight, it’s the dimensions, inability to type properly on keyboard to navigate sites or reply like this to a forum post.
I’d end up using my iPhone 7plus or X for couch browsing and it’s sometjing I’m trying to get away from.
A 12.9 and iPad mini combination would be superb. My ideal though is a bezelless 11.7 iPad Pro. One device to do it all.
For reference I hated carrying the larger MBA and my favorite computer was the 11” version. Now I carry a thinkpad yoga 12” as my main typing and editing machine. Don’t think I’d ever want to cross 12 inches. For the work I do either 12 inches is fine (writing editing researching) or I need a 27” external (cmparong docs, heavy editing, screenplay flows etc )
Actually if they make an iPad with 3:2 aspect ratio it won't be cramped any more of all sizes from Mini 7.9" to 12.9" Pro.
4:3 Aspect ratio of an iPad is the reason why it feels cramped, it is less wider but soo much taller, 3:2 for at least the safe zone not too narrow and too tall. 4:3 nowadays is soo 90's like my grandmothers old black and white TV
Try 16:10. HORRIBLE. I bought a thinkpad yoga convertible with grand ideas of reviewing docs in tablet mode and using it to browse the web. Nonsense. It’s sinply too long and narrow.
That’s why I can’t see myself using the 12.9 as a tablet. Needs to be a bit smaller I think.
10.5 too small just hoping there’s a 11.7 bezelless this year. Then I’ll switch to an all iPad workflow for mobile but will always have to have a “computer” handy. Either my old MBa or ideally a Mac mini or iMac desktop.
As a student I don’t think I could get away with just an iPad. The post above lays it out clearly. Editing, multiple docs open, excel cell manipulation etc just can’t be done only with an iPad. A used MBA paired with an iPad Pro 10.5 if the budget allows or the MBA / basic iPad combination mentioned above is pretty essential. What will you be studying btw? That’s important too.
I'm a 10.5 user, and even with graphic design and art projects, the ability to pinch and zoom-in or zoom-out on the screen made it as useful to me as a 12.9 inch, for what it's worth.
In general though, to echo earlier posters in this thread, the 12.9 is best for lots of real-estate and handling multiple apps simultaneously. The 10.5 is best for portability. For me, portability won.
In general though, to echo earlier posters in this thread, the 12.9 is best for lots of real-estate and handling multiple apps simultaneously. The 10.5 is best for portability. For me, portability won.
The key imo is keeping case weight to a minimum. I have the ASK and Khomo back cover off amazon, and when i want to use it as a tablet i just remove the ASK. And as far as taking it out of the house i either throw it in my backpack or my carry bag. And for me the bigger size has made me want to use it more not less, i find myself only using my desktop for gaming now.
If i was still in school having to bang out spreadsheets, docs, presentations etc. i don’t see how i could use the 10.5/9.7 and not be miserable having to do all that on a screen that size constantly.
Links for my setup:
Fintie Apple Pencil holder
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KYXM2R6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Khomo 12.9 back cover
https://www.amazon.com/KHOMO-iPad-1...515078228&sr=1-3&keywords=khomo+ipad+pro+12.9
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.