This isn’t the correct forum/thread for this topic. it should be posted in the Macbook forum.
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.
iPad Pro 11 or 12.9 Pro ?
- Thread starter George Dawes
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Loving the 12.9 for my laptop replacement and for general tablet usage. Perfect combo really and when i just want to browse laying down on the sofa just get my phone out. So I would say I use both devices at different points...
I’ve always used the “middle” sized iPads, and I’ve had all the Pro models (9.7, 10.5, 11”) but for some reason my 11” started to look “small”. Kinda like when the iPhone 6 came out, and you were still using the 5s... it just felt like things would be better with more screen real estate.
So, I ordered a 2020 base model 12.9”. I’ll keep my 2018 11” Pro. It has LTE and I have an active SIM for it, so it still might be best for travel purposes. Eventually, assuming I enjoy the 12.9, I’ll pass the 11” to one of my kids when their Air 2 gives up the ghost.
So, I ordered a 2020 base model 12.9”. I’ll keep my 2018 11” Pro. It has LTE and I have an active SIM for it, so it still might be best for travel purposes. Eventually, assuming I enjoy the 12.9, I’ll pass the 11” to one of my kids when their Air 2 gives up the ghost.
I have a 2017 iPP 10.5 that I donated to my Mom. I just couldn't make use of it when I went to my workplace. At the time, there was not trackpad / mouse support for iOS. So, I went and bought a MB Air for that use case. I don't bother using it at home on the couch.
I have a Mac mini for heavy work. I have my iPhone 11 Pro Max for casual use too.
I still would like an iPad - now that trackpad / mouse support is available is making me have thoughts of a major purchase
I think I'm inclined to go with the 12.9.
I have a Mac mini for heavy work. I have my iPhone 11 Pro Max for casual use too.
I still would like an iPad - now that trackpad / mouse support is available is making me have thoughts of a major purchase
I think I'm inclined to go with the 12.9.
In my opinion, the 12.9 is the perfect size. Yes, it is a bit bigger and heftier than the 11, but the screen size allows you to view full size web pages, which feels so much more natural and comparable to a laptop or even iMac.
The larger footprint also gives you a more natural feeling full sized keyboard, whether it is on-screen or via a keyboard accessory.
Everything is bigger, more spacious, and a bit more vibrant in my opinion on the 12.9.
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with 11 or 12.9, but personally, having had both, I am now firmly in the 12.9 camp and don’t see myself ever going back. (Keep in mind I’m also in the “Pro Max” camp for iPhones, so you could say I gravitate to the larger screens.)
The larger footprint also gives you a more natural feeling full sized keyboard, whether it is on-screen or via a keyboard accessory.
Everything is bigger, more spacious, and a bit more vibrant in my opinion on the 12.9.
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with 11 or 12.9, but personally, having had both, I am now firmly in the 12.9 camp and don’t see myself ever going back. (Keep in mind I’m also in the “Pro Max” camp for iPhones, so you could say I gravitate to the larger screens.)
In my opinion it all depends on your needs and what you use it for. If you use it mainly on your desk, instead of a laptop and mainly to work then better 12.9". If you use it in a more casual way, maybe reading in bed or on the plane, sometimes to work and you own a Mac, then the 11" is a better choice.
But on the other hand, consider using an 11-inch model attached to an external monitor at your desk, and then having the more mobile device for use elsewhere. The mirroring means that there will be differences between how an 11 and a 12.9 show up on the external monitor, but I’m not sure either is better than the other in that regard.
I just got the 12.9 2020. Coming from the 2018 11. I’m very happy so far. It’s actually not bad using in bed and using the on screen keep board in landscape is actually easier and faster than the 11 in portrait. I do want to keep both ideally lol but I’ll likely sell the 11 and keyboard cover to try and recoupe some of the costs of getting the new 12.9.
Other notes: much nicer when using split screen and multitasking. Size is really thin and light for the screen real estate trade off
Other notes: much nicer when using split screen and multitasking. Size is really thin and light for the screen real estate trade off
Agree 100%. I switched from the 11 to the 12.9 last week and I couldn’t be happier. The first few days I used the 12.9 it seemed bulky compared to the 11, but the weight/size sort of disappear after a few days. It’s just such a joy to use for everything from watching movies to a full on laptop replacement. I think if I were to want a smaller iPad I would save the money and just get an iPad Air.
This quarantine/social distancing is shredding my normal, highly mobile use cases. Although with kids home, I still end up using it outside on my lap and hand or bouncing around the house.
It’s also way better at Zoom/Teams meetingsthan my awful corporate laptop, so it’s getting a lot of use there also.
It’s also way better at Zoom/Teams meetingsthan my awful corporate laptop, so it’s getting a lot of use there also.
Having had the 12 before with no fans it throttles performance by a wide margin. So don’t expect a speed demon. Beat use case would be casual not heavy use only.
... I have now seen that the 11-inch model fills up a bit more of most external displays than the 12.9, because its aspect ratio is closer to that of most monitors.
That's fascinating, and a bit unexpected upon first glance. But makes sense once you consider the aspect ratio differences. It's a pretty cool advantage of the 11" - may have a smaller screen, but provides better external display. I suspect though that eventually iPad Pros will get proper external display support, and then it won't matter whether you have 11" or 12.9", just what generation/how powerful your iPP is.
This thread is really making me want to upgrade my 9.7" IPP.
I upgraded from that and it it is such a nice upgrade! (I got the 11). I kept my old iPad and Touch ID just feels so primitive to me for both the failure rate and how the home button eats up so much screen space.
This topic is really interesting for me. Apart from office/mail usage, I’m looking for best multimedia experience (mainly video streaming). Due to aspect ratio, some reviews say that 11” shows movies in size similar to 12.9” but with less black bars. But other talk about superior and more immersive experience with 12.9” version.
As a screen enthusiast, I really appreciate contrast more that peak brightness and for that, I’ve never enjoy enough Ipad screens since Apple launched Super Retina Displays (oled) in iphones. Right on the black bars is where you can notice more the lack of contrast seeing grey-ish tones more than black.
Having said this, would you recommend me trying 12.9” model?
Maybe you have an iphone x/XS/11pro to compare black bars in order to solve this matter.
THANKS!!
I do have the 11 Pro Max to compare the new 12.9" iPad Pro with. Since you are a screen enthusiast, you will certainly notice a difference between those two difference given that the former is OLED. I, too, love the rich deep blacks & contrast of OLED. It's a game changer, frankly. (I just updated my TV to OLED too and WOW!)
A few of my notes:
-One thing that makes a difference is whether you will be watching content in "full screen"/"edge to edge" mode or if you will be preserving the aspect ratio of the content. Obviously, 12.9 will be much bigger than 11 if you are watching in that zoomed in mode.
-The 12.9 DOES have some chunky black bars when watching content with preserved aspect ratio. The height is the iPad pro's limiting factor, whereas with the 11 Pro Max for example, the black bars actually appear left/right of the content, indicating the width is the limiting factor.
-12.9 will be better than the 11 for multimedia (in my opinion), regardless of whether you zoom in or not. Even with thicker black bars than the 11, it still results in a larger content window area.
-No surprise, but you are absolutely going to see a difference between the display and bezel on the iPad Pro, whereas with the 11 Pro Max, that etch is stunningly seamless with OLED.
Personally, I do recommend that you consider trying the 12.9" model. If there is any doubt, try to view in a store before your purchase if possible. Otherwise you can always order to your door and return if necessary.
I think the short of it is: iPhone Pros have a better display, but iPad Pros have a beautiful display too given its much larger form factor. 12.9 for multimedia/full laptop feel, 11 for portability. 12.9 is still very portable too keep in mind, but less so. Both 11 and 12.9, while not OLED, have more than adequate contrast & brightness levels - still a LCD stunning display to be sure.
Yes, but not if connected to an external display. Then the 11 is likely to have a larger content window area.
So, I guess I’ll finally contribute after following this thread since about when it started. Let me give you some background.
I have the 10.5” Pro. I typically use an iPad mostly for consumption, but I’ve always wanted to make it my productivity device. I find the iPad to be a more fun, interactive, and exciting device to use compared to laptops. The sheer number of capabilities and transformations the iPad is able to make blows my mind. Being able to transform the device from an eReader or media viewer in relaxation, to a traditional laptop form for documents and office work, to an art canvas with Apple Pencil, along with a video editor, a music studio, and much more, while still being a single sheet of glass and metal only 1-1.5 lbs is insane. It’s so futuristic.
So, I did try out the 2018 12.9” Pro. I wanted to go bigger because I often multitask and found the 10.5 to be too cramped. I wanted a more immersive experience as well. I was hoping it’d finally give me the ability to maybe go iPad-only and make it my full work and play device.
I loved the 12.9” at first. It made my 10.5” seem like a toy, and I never understood how I’d go back again. However, towards the end of my 2-week trial period, it started feeling cumbersome, heavy, and obtuse when trying to use it in relaxation as just a tablet. Additionally, I didn’t feel right spending over $1000 when I really didn’t notice any performance improvements compared to my 10.5” Pro. Furthermore, I ran into the usual limitations of iPad software that just didn’t have the capabilities that desktop/laptop versions had. I also wished it had an OLED, or at least some kind of noticeable contrast improvement compared to my 10.5”, which it didn’t.
So now, I’m using my 10.5” mainly as a consumption device alongside my MacBook Pro, and I’m really enjoying it. I think the 12.9” size will be my next iPad size though. At every iPad or iPadOS update, everyone hopes it will be the one to make it replace laptops. Well, I’m hoping by the time I’m ready to upgrade, I really will be able to use it as my only device besides my iPhone. The iPad really does seem like the future of computing, but we’ve been saying that for years now, haven’t we?
I have the 10.5” Pro. I typically use an iPad mostly for consumption, but I’ve always wanted to make it my productivity device. I find the iPad to be a more fun, interactive, and exciting device to use compared to laptops. The sheer number of capabilities and transformations the iPad is able to make blows my mind. Being able to transform the device from an eReader or media viewer in relaxation, to a traditional laptop form for documents and office work, to an art canvas with Apple Pencil, along with a video editor, a music studio, and much more, while still being a single sheet of glass and metal only 1-1.5 lbs is insane. It’s so futuristic.
So, I did try out the 2018 12.9” Pro. I wanted to go bigger because I often multitask and found the 10.5 to be too cramped. I wanted a more immersive experience as well. I was hoping it’d finally give me the ability to maybe go iPad-only and make it my full work and play device.
I loved the 12.9” at first. It made my 10.5” seem like a toy, and I never understood how I’d go back again. However, towards the end of my 2-week trial period, it started feeling cumbersome, heavy, and obtuse when trying to use it in relaxation as just a tablet. Additionally, I didn’t feel right spending over $1000 when I really didn’t notice any performance improvements compared to my 10.5” Pro. Furthermore, I ran into the usual limitations of iPad software that just didn’t have the capabilities that desktop/laptop versions had. I also wished it had an OLED, or at least some kind of noticeable contrast improvement compared to my 10.5”, which it didn’t.
So now, I’m using my 10.5” mainly as a consumption device alongside my MacBook Pro, and I’m really enjoying it. I think the 12.9” size will be my next iPad size though. At every iPad or iPadOS update, everyone hopes it will be the one to make it replace laptops. Well, I’m hoping by the time I’m ready to upgrade, I really will be able to use it as my only device besides my iPhone. The iPad really does seem like the future of computing, but we’ve been saying that for years now, haven’t we?