iPad Pro 11 or 12.9 Pro ?

[vapourtrails]

Love the 12.9" as I've said, but after using the 12.9" for hours and grabbing the 11", the 11" feels like a cold drink of water in the desert.

I notice the poll is suddenly running ahead with the 12.9 in the lead. Multiple votes perhaps? Lol

 

[Greenmeenie]

For any artists or budding artists out there who want to use the iPad Pro as a digital sketchbook. Most people are saying get the 12.9”. I can see why. The 12.9” is a little smaller than an A4 sketchbook, arguably the most popular sketchbook size. However, the 11” is actually slightly bigger than the A5 sketchbook, arguably the most popular size sketchbook for travel(at least the A5 is my favorite sketchbook size to travel with). So both are valid digital sketchbook sizes. I ultimately chose the 11” because of this. Again, tough decision. But you really can’t go wrong with either size if you are an artist.

* I was almost tempted to get the 12.9” to sketch with at home, and the updated iPad Mini with pencil support for when I travel....lol...um...but there is no guarantee the next iPad mini is coming anytime soon(regardless what Ming Chi Quo says)...or if it will even have pencil support when it does come. Which makes me wonder. Will Apple keep making TWO pencils? Or will they update the next regular 9.7” iPad and possibly iPad mini with support for the new Apple Pencil? Hmm

 

[Mt44]

I was sure I was getting an 11.

I bought the 12.9.

The screen is phenominal.

It’s only been a couple of days, but so far so good.

 

[MagicTorch]

I finally made a visit to my local Apple Store today, to check out the new iPad Pros in person. I’ve held back from ordering the new Pro over the past few weeks, as I really did not know whether I wanted the 11” or 12.9” & wanted to see both before placing an order. It is true to say that I prefer the more compact versions of Apple products (I currently have a Mini4, 40mm Watch & iPhone X), but I was intrigued to see if I could be tempted by the 12.9” display in a smaller chassis than the previous model.

Based on comments/opinions on MacRumors, I was expecting to find it tough to make a decision, but for me personally, the decision was easy - as soon as I seen them both side by side, I knew that 11” was the model for me. Visually, I thought the 11” looked the nicer of the two & it kind of reminded me of the iPad Mini. The 12.9” still looked a little too large for my liking (a vast improvement on the earlier version though).

Absolutely nothing wrong with the 12.9” & I fully understand that others prefer the larger model, but for little me (all 5ft 2inches of me!), 11”, is definitely the way to go, so I have ordered an 11” from John Lewis & will collect tomorrow.

Still curious to find out how I get along with the 11” Pro in everyday use though, as back in 2013, to replace an iPad 4, I purchased an iPad Air & an iPad Mini 2, thinking I would get usage out of both (Air for general use, Mini for travelling & in bed)...to my surprise, I barely ever used the Air & found myself using the Mini all the time, Ended up giving the Air to a family member, then upgrading to a Mini4 in 2015, which I have used solidly for 3 years. It is lack of updates to the Mini which has led me back to a larger iPad. A 9” Pro, or even a 9” ‘non Pro’ iPad in the form factor of the Pro would have been the perfect iPad for me - hoping such an iPad will materialise in the future, but for now, hoping I will get along with the 11” Pro (still keeping my Mini4 though, I love it, even if it is getting a bit old!)

 

[PuntNL]

I just can’t believe how torn I am on the screen size decision. Just can’t make my mind up, but returning periode is ending soon, so have to decide if I stick with my 11 inch..

 

[Stokkes]

I just can’t believe how torn I am on the screen size decision. Just can’t make my mind up, but returning periode is ending soon, so have to decide if I stick with my 11 inch..

I'm in the same boat. I need to return one on Tuesday.

I am leaning towards the 11" because the 12.9" is just a bit too big in some situations, while the 11" is rarely too small. As I wrote above, when I'm using the 12.9 for a long period of time and then pick up the 11" it feels like relief. So as much as I love using the 12.9", the feeling I get after picking up the 11" makes me think I'll be happier with the 11.

 

[Jacoblee23]

Got a 10.5 and 12.9 last year an I will receive my 11 and 12.9 lte on Monday. I suspect the 12.9 will be used at home and the 11 on the go for work similar to last year. For those who can afford it, I recommend getting both.

 

[Codeseven]

Got a 10.5 and 12.9 last year an I will receive my 11 and 12.9 lte on Monday. I suspect the 12.9 will be used at home and the 11 on the go for work similar to last year. For those who can afford it, I recommend getting both.

I said in my previous reply that I much prefer the 12.9”, that’s because my main use for it will be at home (I also bought the Smart Keyboard and pencil for that reason), however, my ol” 9.7” Air 1 will be used for the road. If I didn’t already have the Air, and planned to use the new IPP for the road, then I would have considered the 12.9” too large and cumbersome, and I would have purchased to smaller 11”.

 

[MDePew24]

Good decision I would say stick with it. That is exactly my philosophy if I would have the 15" rMBP I would go for 11" iPad Pro and a iPhone XS not the (XS MAX). And I am all sorted

That’s my setup. I have a 27 inch iMac, 15 inch rMBP, iPhone X and now my 11 inch iPad Pro. Seems to hit all of the sizes that work. My watch, AirPods, Apple TV’s and some other stuff round out my ecosystem

 

[shareef777]

Returned my 12.9” earlier today. Then spent two hours on the phone with Apple trying to re-apply a promo code from the returned 12.9” on an 11”, SMH.

At the end they gave me another promo code to use and got the 11” ordered.

Just for the heck of it I tried calling back to order the folio and pencil using the original promo and it worked! No clue why it’s such a convoluted mess using the promo codes with Apple.

 

[UnclePaulie]

After returning the 12.9 and deciding to stick with my 10.5, the apple bug bit me and I bought an 11 yesterday. Not a huge change from 10.5 but since I’m mostly a portrait orientation user the 11 is way easier to hold and two thumb type versus the 12.9. And the new aspect ratio is welcome for the apps that use it. For example, more vertical data per website in Safari, easier to see more photo wirh the toolbar on the side in Lightroom.

 

[PanAm-L1011]

I went into Best Buy this morning intent on buying the 11 inch. I took one look (didn’t even touch it) at the 12.9 inch and bought it.

 

[6749974]

No clue why it’s such a convoluted mess using the promo codes with Apple.

Wait...so how does one get a promo code? I don't think I've ever seen an Apple promo code in the wild. Please share with us your secrets.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Wait...so how does one get a promo code? I don't think I've ever seen an Apple promo code in the wild. Please share with us your secrets.

I have never seen a "promo" code but I did purchase my pro with an education discount of $50 lol yayyy. Still have my college email address

 

[mosesming]

12.9 here

 

[Sumter]

It’s been slightly over a week since I got my 12.9, so I got to test it out in various situations for work and for casual use. Multitasking is fantastic — split screen that I never used when I had 10.5 I am utilizing way more. Big screen is absolutely gorgeous.

I am finding some issues with having only ASK and will be switching to a regular smart folio + magic keyboard combo instead. I realized that in my head, I was going to be typing a lot to capture everything that was discussed in meetings at work with the Pencil being used as an annotating device, but in reality, I found that I still preferred taking notes in handwritten form (I’m a recent college graduate who relied on handwritten notes on 10.5 for studies).

I feel conscious of using 12.9 and feel a little unwieldy when I am trying to use it primarily for handwriting notes during meetings. Lots of people use a small, portable laptop (smaller than my iPad, lol) or carry a tiny notepad to jot down casual notes during discussion. While same size as a standard A4 paper for 12.9, it being entirely made up of a touchable screen makes it seem somehow bigger or ‘humongous.’ This is the only thing making me reconsider my previous choice to grab a 12.9. Whenever I am called into a discussion with my boss I try to grab my 12.9 for any notes I might have to write and I just feel that it’s not convenient.

Otherwise it’s been perfect. Casual use has been fantastic and working on the iPad by myself on the desk has been fantastic as well.

I am going to be picking up a 11” with magic keyboard and smart folio today and compare my use cases on the smaller screen over the weekend and see if I can live with it. The size of 11 I think is better for portability with some compromise (due to screen size and split screen multitasking ability). Another con I am seeing for 11 is that I don’t think a lot of the games I play will update to fit the new resolution and will always look outdated.

I never planned on my iPad replacing my work-issued laptop for productivity (I really just wanted to lightly browse on the iPad, write and organize meeting notes, and become paperless as much as I can with my PDF converter app, everything else is done on the laptop — making powerpoints, excel, data analysis, etc...) so I wonder if I really need the bigger size screen. It sure is nice to have and if it was strictly for casual use I would not be conflicted at all, I don’t mind the big screen at home.

Update to those who care, so I got a 11 to compare to my 12.9 because of slight inconveniences I was facing trying to use it at work. I fooled around with 11 for 24 hours and ultimately decided that the trade off of a smaller screen is not worth it for me for the gains in portability. I’d rather be slightly inconvenienced with bigger iPad and gain a lot more in terms of self-satisfaction from having such a big beautiful display as well as the ease on the eyes of viewing documents on split screen and take notes on the side, etc. I returned the 11 today and stuck with 12.9. Apple really outdid themselves with the redesign this year, I would not have considered 12.9 if it was the same size as last year’s model. That was the reason I went from 12.9 to 10.5 last year.

I also returned 12.9 ASK and got a Magic Keyboard but it’s way louder than I thought it would be. I ended up returning Magic Keyboard as well and got a Logitech K380 — it’s heavier but looks better (imo) and quieter in typing.

 

[shareef777]

Wait...so how does one get a promo code? I don't think I've ever seen an Apple promo code in the wild. Please share with us your secrets.

I recently sent in my 2016 MBP for repair for the known defect of the keyboard. They took two weeks to get it back to me (when they said it'd take 5 days). As such they provided a promo code for a one time credit.

 

[6749974]

I recently sent in my 2016 MBP for repair for the known defect of the keyboard. They took two weeks to get it back to me (when they said it'd take 5 days). As such they provided a promo code for a one time credit.

Ah. Sorry to hear that. Is your 2016 MBP still with us? Keyboard still holding up?

I’m still holding onto the 2014 MBP until they sort this keyboard mess and get 10nm intel chips (est. 2019).

 

[shareef777]

Ah. Sorry to hear that. Is your 2016 MBP still with us? Keyboard still holding up?

I’m still holding onto the 2014 MBP until they sort this keyboard mess and get 10nm intel chips (est. 2019).

Yeah, replaced the entire top case. So got a new keyboard and battery. Laptop feels as good as new. During the two weeks it was out I was using the newest top end 2018 15” pro. Surprised how little difference I found with the 2016 I got. And the fact that I got the two promo cards for the new iPad made the hassle worth it ;-).

 

[UnclePaulie]

If your age is divisible by 3, go with the 11"
If it's divisible by 2, go with the 12.9"
It it's both divisible by 2 AND 3, then sorry you have to buy the regular iPad.

What if your age is a prime number?

 

[dljor]

The volume up button on my new 12.9 is not working. Thought about switching for a 11 as I did find the 12.9 as large and almost as heavy as my 13 MacBook Pro with the folio case. However, I decided to just get it replaced with the same 12.9.

Too much trouble to return all the accessories and AppleCare purchase.

Also, I didn’t get much use out of my 9.7 since I found it too small for reading PDFs and taking notes. Going to try the bigger one this round.

But it did Give me headache thinking about what to pack for the upcoming trip. Ideally, I want to just take the iPad. But I am not sure if I can do everything with it. I used to travel with the 9.7 and MacBook Pro 15. Bought the new 13 for travel recently.

 

[6749974]

What if your age is a prime number?

You ascend to an Ubuntu tablet running gnome-terminal from a brandless Chinese manufacturer. A true envy for any real tech enthusiast.

 

[aeronatis]

I have just got an iPad Pro 11" 256 GB and I would like to note a few things:

1) If you use a desktop computer with an iPad as your main and only portable device, 12.9" will be a better option with the keyboard case and the pencil. If you use a laptop computer with an iPad as your secondary portable device, then 11" will be great, especially its new 3-2 aspect ratio being a nice sweet spot between 4-3 and 16-9. For 11" users, I recommend non-keyboard folio case and the pencil. I can connect any BT or USB keyboard like my Apple Magic Keyboard for something that requires it and it is a quite rare scenario for me. It is only a matter of time before Logitech and other manufacturers come up with new keyboard cases.

2) Those who would like to pay for a 1 TB option just because it has more RAM but not because they need more storage should stick with 256 GB. The price difference between the two configurations would better be kept for a future upgrade when a new device is announced with more RAM. Selling the current device plus that unspent money will be enough to buy a new device in two years.

 

[Sportpoz]

IMO at this moment, there is no point in buying an iPad 12.9 ", at least as long as it has an iOS limiting device. Maybe when Apple prepares iOS, which will compete with Surface

 

[ValO]

Apple should have stuck with the old models of 10.5 en 12.9 inch with the newer soc , and release one new (this) design version of 11.8-12.2 inch. Would have been a no brainer. The choice between screen size , weight, portability is very difficult , there is no sweet spot right now.