iPad 12.9 (2021) iPad Pro Owners: 2+ Months in, How Do You Feel About Your Purchase?

[16bitplus]

Just curious how other 2021 12.9” iPP owners are feeling after 2+ months with the hardware. Has the MiniLED grown on you?

Overall happy with the hardware, battery life and where iPad OS 15 is going?

 

[fwmireault]

I love it! The display is way better than the previous regarding contrast ratio. Of course there is blooming, but most of the time I don’t notice it. The HDR content on iPad Pro is beautiful. I think overall I would prefer OLED over mini-LED. But it’s still an upgrade that I’m happy with.

M1 processor doesn’t make a difference for me, 5G neither. I like Center Stage, although I find that the camera crops too much my face. Battery life is a little bit less than the previous gen from my experience, but nothing dramatic.

That said, it’s still a pretty incremental update compared to the 2020 or even the 2018. But it’s a very good machine, and like many people said, the hardware on pretty much any iPads is overkill compared to the baby software that run them. I have my share of mixed feelings about iPadOS 15, but I would have them regardless to my iPad upgrade.

 

[sparksd]

Really happy with it as an upgrade to my previous 2018 12.9. MiniLED has been fine for me. Is there blooming? Yes. But it hasn't really been a bother to me.

 

[Isengardtom]

I love mine. It’s extremely fast when opening apps which they stay in memory for a long time. Mini LED is nice. The blooming is no issue for me in my use cases and HDR is beautiful. Definitely an improvement.

Battery life is ok but nothing amazing. Especially in brighter conditions the iPad drains fairly fast.

I love everything about iPadOS15 except one thing. The free placement of widgets is great, but it’s limiting the app grid to a borderline silly 6x4 which looks pretty bad in my view.
I do love the multitasking / multi windowing with the new menu and shelf. Very helpful and more dynamic than the options before and a bigger improvement than what I first thought after WWDC. Also great are the new system wide keyboard shortcuts with the globe key.
Also like the new Safari design even if it took some getting used to.

 

[BarredOwl]

It’s the best iPad ever. The only sour points for me are the weight (especially with MKB) and the battery drains far too quickly.

 

[bscheffel]

Really happy with it as an upgrade to my previous 2018 12.9. MiniLED has been fine for me. Is there blooming? Yes. But it hasn't really been a bother to me.

I am on the fence about whether to upgrade from the 2018 12.0". What do you like about it? I don't watch many videos on my iPad so I feel the mini-LED upgrade would mostly go unnoticed. Outside of that there isn't really anything that I would notice other than less reloading of apps. Does the additional weight and thickness bother you at all?
I just wish that iPadOS or some third party app would offer a reason to upgrade the hardware. Having an OS that needs to support base iPad with A12 and 3GB ram is hindering functionality at the top of the range.

 

[sparksd]

I am on the fence about whether to upgrade from the 2018 12.0". What do you like about it? I don't watch many videos on my iPad so I feel the mini-LED upgrade would mostly go unnoticed. Outside of that there isn't really anything that I would notice other than less reloading of apps. Does the additional weight and thickness bother you at all?
I just wish that iPadOS or some third party app would offer a reason to upgrade the hardware. Having an OS that needs to support base iPad with A12 and 3GB ram is hindering functionality at the top of the range.

The extra weight and thickness - I honestly don't notice at all. I see better performance in heavy lifter apps like Lightroom & LumaFusion - they worked on the 2018 but are faster at exporting on the 2021. I watch a lot of videos so the display upgrade is nice. If you don't feel the need for additional performance and don't really care about the display change, then the upgrade could be hard to justify. There may be later changes to apps and/or iPadOS that make the upgrade really appealing to you but at this point, you could end up with a "That's it?" reaction.

I should note that I'm a poor reference point - I'm a retired S/W & H/W engineer and these things are my "toys" and I like to get (and can generally afford) the latest and greatest to "work" with. My purchases of these things are driven more by want than need. My gut tells me that the need for this 2021 upgrade is likely limited to a minority of users; and want is very subjective.

 

[rui no onna]

I should note that I'm a poor reference point - I'm a retired S/W & H/W engineer and these things are my "toys" and I like to get (and can generally afford) the latest and greatest to "work" with. My purchases of these things are driven more by want than need. My gut tells me that the need for this 2021 upgrade is likely limited to a minority of users; and want is very subjective.

True. I appreciate all the upgrades the 2021 Pro brings over my older 2017 Pro. Definitely more want than need, though. I've spent more on weekend/week-long trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World and frankly, a maxed out iPad Pro is much better entertainment bang for the buck.

 

[smooth0906]

I upgraded this month from a 2nd Generation IPAD 12.9 to the 2021 M1 Ipad 12.9. It's a nice difference. The games hold up better in the M1 vs. the 2nd Generation heat wise. The screen is noticeably better also in the M1. I'm enjoying it so far.

 

[aacemyan]

For me it’s probably been my most questioned and regretted purchase when it comes to iPads in recent memory. I’ve owned every single iPad Pro over the years but this one for some reason feels like Apple way over promised on the marketing side and under delivered. Doesn’t substantially feel different than my 2020 iPad Pro other than the screen. Screen has been a blessing and a curse because of the noticeable blooming in dark settings which I notice every day since I watch TV in bed at night. Weight and thickness is still noticeable 2 months in. M1 processor, increased RAM, 5G have all been mostly moot points on a day to day bassis. I turned off centerstage mostly because it constantly pans and shifts during videoconferences and people on the other side find it somewhere annoying. I guess it’s my fault for being lured by the trade in value of my last iPad as well as $200 t-mobile promo.

iPadOS 15 beta has been a joke and hasn’t offered anything tangibly better than ios14 when it comes to the user experience of working with multiple apps/windows. At this point I won’t buy another iPad until iPadOS changes drastically as it feels like im still pulling teeth doing the most basic of tasks.

 

[The Game 161]

For me it’s probably been my most questioned and regretted purchase when it comes to iPads in recent memory. I’ve owned every single iPad Pro over the years but this one for some reason feels like Apple way over promised on the marketing side and under delivered. Doesn’t substantially feel different than my 2020 iPad Pro other than the screen. Screen has been a blessing and a curse because of the noticeable blooming in dark settings which I notice every day since I watch TV in bed at night. Weight and thickness is still noticeable 2 months in. M1 processor, increased RAM, 5G have all been mostly moot points on a day to day bassis. I turned off centerstage mostly because it constantly pans and shifts during videoconferences and people on the other side find it somewhere annoying. I guess it’s my fault for being lured by the trade in value of my last iPad as well as $200 t-mobile promo.

iPadOS 15 beta has been a joke and hasn’t offered anything tangibly better than ios14 when it comes to the user experience of working with multiple apps/windows. At this point I won’t buy another iPad until iPadOS changes drastically as it feels like im still pulling teeth doing the most basic of tasks.

Sounds like you might be better off with a mac?

 

[DMG35]

I'm very happy with mine. Its a solid device only held back by the software we are given.

 

[roberthodgson]

Im happy with my 12.9” 5G I love the screen and the larger format and I have gotten use the the extra weight, I just wish Rogers would allow access to the 5G network currently they do not allow Tablets to use the 5G just LTE

 

[NARadyk]

Considering I came from the 9.7 iPad Pro, I’m very happy with it.

 

[bscheffel]

The extra weight and thickness - I honestly don't notice at all. I see better performance in heavy lifter apps like Lightroom & LumaFusion - they worked on the 2018 but are faster at exporting on the 2021. I watch a lot of videos so the display upgrade is nice. If you don't feel the need for additional performance and don't really care about the display change, then the upgrade could be hard to justify. There may be later changes to apps and/or iPadOS that make the upgrade really appealing to you but at this point, you could end up with a "That's it?" reaction.

I should note that I'm a poor reference point - I'm a retired S/W & H/W engineer and these things are my "toys" and I like to get (and can generally afford) the latest and greatest to "work" with. My purchases of these things are driven more by want than need. My gut tells me that the need for this 2021 upgrade is likely limited to a minority of users; and want is very subjective.

I can relate - these are my "toys" too and I like to have the latest and greatest but lately I it has gotten harder to justify since the expense has grown because, well, if I'm going to upgrade I want the 16GB RAM model so the price is $2000 - hard to swallow for the benefit over 2018 model which cost me $1300. Coincidently I think this is the first year the I am going to sit out upgrading my iPhone as well - nothing in the 13 Pro Max is likely going to be worth the upgrade price.

 

[Soccerrick10]

I’ve owned ever version of the iPad Pro 12.9” except the 2020 model. The M1 is by far the best I’ve owned. Originally, I was going to get a new MacBook when they came out And stick with my 2018 Pro. But, once I saw the mini LED display I was sold.

I use mine for black and white photo editing and could not be happier with all the additional capability and screen. I’m also running iOS 15 beta and the complaints I had with iPad OS are MOSTLY resolved.

I’m glad the latest version of beta cleaned up the messy Safari interface. All in all, a very satisfying purchase.

 

[Davidalan]

Love mine, only issues are software related, not hardware. Fastest iPad ever.

 

[sparksd]

I can relate - these are my "toys" too and I like to have the latest and greatest but lately I it has gotten harder to justify since the expense has grown because, well, if I'm going to upgrade I want the 16GB RAM model so the price is $2000 - hard to swallow for the benefit over 2018 model which cost me $1300. Coincidently I think this is the first year the I am going to sit out upgrading my iPhone as well - nothing in the 13 Pro Max is likely going to be worth the upgrade price.

Yeah, with a 2021 512GB 12.9 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max here, I doubt I'll be doing another upgrade for some time; I can't think of any new offering that would draw me in.

 

[bscheffel]

Yeah, with a 2021 512GB 12.9 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max here, I doubt I'll be doing another upgrade for some time; I can't think of any new offering that would draw me in.

iPad and iPhone upgrades used to be automatic for me, I guess this is a sign that tablet and smartphone markets have reached a maturity stage where new advancements are going to be more on par with notebooks - upgrades only warranted every 2-5 years depending on your circumstances. Is it less exciting? Sure, but ill enjoy the saved $$ and realize the FOMO is just fear.

The one feature that could come to iPad that would get me to upgrade mid cycle is if they started allowing virtualization programs like Parallels on the App Store. Being able to run Windows ARM on an M1 iPad would be cool and the 4GB in my current iPad Pro would not be enough. I've resigned myself to the fact that Apple is going to go deliberately slow on the iPadOS enhancements themselves.

 

[Woodstockie]

Came from a 9.7 pro and love the extra screen space. Speed/Ram is obviously faster at the moment compared to a 5 year old iPad. Have the Logitech keyboard/trackpad case and like that one better over the Apple Keyboard as you can detach it and has an extra row of keys for brightness, etc. Hope that iOS15 can evolve a bit more with file handling, but we will see.

 

[rui no onna]

Yeah, with a 2021 512GB 12.9 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max here, I doubt I'll be doing another upgrade for some time; I can't think of any new offering that would draw me in.

Same when it comes to iPads. Well, the 2021 12.9" 1TB 5G wouldn't need upgrading for some time but I still need to replace the 2017 10.5" 512GB LTE with 11" 1TB 5G. Waiting for face masks to stop being required at work before I do that though.

However, the iPhone SE2, I'll probably upgrade if rumors of a 4.7" SE3 with 5G are true. I'm hoping that one remains LCD. I get migraines with OLED.

 

[UBS28]

I am very happy with it. It has:
- better battery life (I have the Wifi model, so the bigger battery actually translates into a better battery life as there is no 5G that drains power)
- much better display
- much faster
- less reloading of apps in the background.

However I bought it to replace my previous 12.9 iPad Pro, not one of my MacBook Pro. Else I would not be happy ofcourse. Because the iPad Pro is too limited to replace a MAC.

 

[tarsins]

First iPad I've bought for a few years. It's a welcome return to the world of speed, smoothness and ease of use. I've been using a Galaxy Tab for a couple of years and I'd forgotten the pleasure of just getting on with rather than having to stop every now-and-then because password autofill has stopped working.

 

[D3ggy]

I am on the fence about whether to upgrade from the 2018 12.0". What do you like about it? I don't watch many videos on my iPad so I feel the mini-LED upgrade would mostly go unnoticed. Outside of that there isn't really anything that I would notice other than less reloading of apps. Does the additional weight and thickness bother you at all?
I just wish that iPadOS or some third party app would offer a reason to upgrade the hardware. Having an OS that needs to support base iPad with A12 and 3GB ram is hindering functionality at the top of the range.

I just upgraded and it was the screen that swung it for me. Go into a store and open photos on the 12.9 and 10” iPads side by side. Apple kindly have the same images on both devices so you can do a direct compare. The difference is astounding especially on B&W images.

Do I see much difference elsewhere? No but stuff does open quicker. Most things on computers now a days function faster than you can interact with them.

 

[yabeweb]

Very happy camper here, went from the Air 4 to the Pro 12.9, mostly for the screen size, it is my only device, no computer, and do not feel the need for one.

Running Affinity Designer / Photo, Procreate, Word and Excel, and some other productivity (PDF Expert and such), loving it so far.

Wish the battery was a little longer but it's not a huge issue I can fully cover the day, but seeing what the M1 could do on the MacBook Air I expected a bit more (not comparable but more than it currently last).