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Mojer

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 30, 2011
150
8
So I use my current 2020 Pro 11” for minor tasks like email, web surfing, Google Drive, etc. Is it worth upgrading to the 2021? I’m having a hard time finding any significant changes between the two models. Thanks for any advice!
 

Tsepz

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2013
4,888
4,698
Johannesburg, South Africa
Having sobered up from what I saw yesterday I am thinking I should rather wait for an 11” iPad Pro with MiniLED in 2022, hopefully it will have M2.

I want to still try the 12.9 2021 iPad Pro though and see if I can compromise some comfort.

With the above being said, no from a functionality standpoint there is not much between 2020 and 2021 for your usage.

The 2021 iPad Pros seem to be built mostly for content creators who love a touchscreen, Apple have pretty much created the perfect device for them, it’s the YouTubers iPad if they can just get all the Mac OS Content tools on iPad OS.
 

SkiHound2

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2018
458
377
Quite simply, no. The M1 is way overkill for most folks and the A14z in the 2020 is more than sufficient for anyone doing routine tasks. From what I can tell the screen remains unchanged. Unless you can identify some specific feature of the 2021 that would be of real value to you, or money is simply not object, I don't see any reason to upgrade from a 2020 (or 2018 for that matter) 11" Pro to a 2021 11" Pro.
 

sonicrobby

macrumors 68020
Apr 24, 2013
2,493
552
New Orleans
If your 2020 iPad Pro is not giving you any issues, then there is no reason to upgrade. If for whatever reason its lacking in processing power or something of that sort, then may be worth getting.
 
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Christopher Kim

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2016
768
741
Agree with others - if you're sticking with the 11" model, there's not a whole lot different between the 2018 / 2020 versions.

- M1 vs A12X (2018) or A12Z (2020) - until there's changes to iPadOS, you won't notice the difference. Even moreso given your use case isn't very cpu/gpu-intensive
- 8gb ram vs 6gb (2020)
- Better front-facing camera with the Center Stage feature
- Thunderbolt (really most useful if you're attaching high-speed storage, or high-resolution external monitor

For most ppl with the 2018/2020 11", probably not worth the upgrade. And at a minimum, I'd wait to see what happens at WWDC to see what changes to iPadOS are being made, and whether the 2021's will have an advantage over your 2020.
 

mdjasrie

macrumors regular
Dec 26, 2009
169
98
Singapore
Agree with others - if you're sticking with the 11" model, there's not a whole lot different between the 2018 / 2020 versions.

- M1 vs A12X (2018) or A12Z (2020) - until there's changes to iPadOS, you won't notice the difference. Even moreso given your use case isn't very cpu/gpu-intensive
- 8gb ram vs 6gb (2020)
- Better front-facing camera with the Center Stage feature
- Thunderbolt (really most useful if you're attaching high-speed storage, or high-resolution external monitor

For most ppl with the 2018/2020 11", probably not worth the upgrade. And at a minimum, I'd wait to see what happens at WWDC to see what changes to iPadOS are being made, and whether the 2021's will have an advantage over your 2020.
Yeah colour me intrigued. It seems like the upgrades to the new 12.9 inch iPad Pros are a little bit overkill. I am sure they are preparing for something big in their upcoming software update for iPadOS at WWDC. I think its a little bit speculative at this moment but worth something to think about.
 

Wags

macrumors 68020
Mar 5, 2006
2,239
1,701
Nebraska, USA
Generally, I would say no. Especially 2020 ipp. Only point would be with trade in might be only $500/600 for new model. If you would want to upgrade with an upgraded display and that might happen next year then another reason. Really not much difference between ipp and ipa right now too.
 

kevjen888

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2008
767
236
Quite simply, no. The M1 is way overkill for most folks and the A14z in the 2020 is more than sufficient for anyone doing routine tasks. From what I can tell the screen remains unchanged. Unless you can identify some specific feature of the 2021 that would be of real value to you, or money is simply not object, I don't see any reason to upgrade from a 2020 (or 2018 for that matter) 11" Pro to a 2021 11" Pro.
2020 is still using A12Z.
 

svish

macrumors G4
Nov 25, 2017
11,693
29,741
No. Not worth upgrading from 11" 2020 to 11" 2021. Besides more RAM, there is not much difference. Also the 6GB RAM in 2020 models are more than enough for the current needs of iPadOS. I have the 2020 11" Pro and I am not upgrading.
 
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EssModelsRule

macrumors 6502
Dec 28, 2017
317
237
I use my 2018 11” similarly to you and for movies in bed and such and it’s overkill for that, so I’m sticking with it. That decision is made easier for me because I also have a 2019 MBA with a mighty 1.6GHz dual core intel processor and butterfly keyboard - for similar money I could get my M1 fix there which would be much more noticeable in day to day use I suspect.
 

Serban55

Suspended
Oct 18, 2020
2,153
4,344
So I use my current 2020 Pro 11” for minor tasks like email, web surfing, Google Drive, etc. Is it worth upgrading to the 2021? I’m having a hard time finding any significant changes between the two models. Thanks for any advice!
minor task => no, of course is not worth it...its the 11" ipad pro, it will be the same for you
If you want the bigger one...maybe, bigger display and better display and thats all
but if you use it with external display and external acc/fast storage, that thunderbolt alone it is worth it
But, since the new ipads pro are coming after mid May...I WOULD wait another 2 weeks to SEE WHATS the future for ipadOS at WWDC in June and decide after
 
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