iPad Pro 2020 iPad Pro users: Still happy?

[cateye]

Hi folks. I'm in the market for a new (to me) iPad Pro. I currently have a 2017 10.5 iPad Pro that's served me well, but the 4GB of ram has become unworkable. Too many app/browser refreshes, drives me nuts.

I know I need: 256GB of storage (not more, not less) and more than 4GB of memory. I know I want: ProMotion.

An iPad is useful to me for couch browsing, email, note-taking (both with and without the Pencil), Slack, and media consumption. Some artwork. Not much else. As a result, I don't want to spend any more than I have to. I've been looking at the 2021 M1 iPads either as a refurb or used, but... pretty expensive, imo.

Then I noticed Apple still sells 2020 A12Z-based iPad Pros as refurbs closer to my budget. Still $$$, but: new battery, case, and warranty, which is worth paying a little more for to me. That model seems to be the closest to ticking all my boxes at a semi-reasonable price.

Those of you who are still using the 2020 iPad Pro 11" as your daily iPad driver, how do you feel about it?

Would you buy another one today if the price was right? Are you disappointed in its performance in any way? I realize there's minimal difference between the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pros, but the A12Z brought with it 6GB of usable system memory for every model which is really what I'm after.

I appreciate any and all feedback, but am mostly looking to hear from current 2020 iPad Pro owners. Thank you!

 

[Digitalguy]

I have the 2018 1TB, which has 6GB RAM and it's basically a 2020 one with a smaller camera.
I also have the 10.5, the 2018 4GB and the M1.
You definitely have less reloads with 6GB, but of course you have even less with 8.
Performance is very smooth, definitely smoother than on the 10.5.
If the price is right I would say go for it. I am pretty happy with it, definitely better than the 4GB models.
But this is the situation now, things may change in the a couple of years. So if you are one of those who always want to have the latest iPadOS version, M1 is more future proof as RAM usage may increase over the years.

 

[cateye]

Wow, nice, you're basically the perfect person to reply since you've got the full suite of iPads Thank you for commenting.

I appreciate your thoughts about how long before an older SoC like the 12Z or 6GB of RAM are no longer enough. Totally get that an M1 would be far more future proof. I just have a hard time paying that much for a device that's so overkill for what I use it for. I try to always find the perfect meeting point of price, utility, longevity, and power, which I realize is a bit of a guessing game, hence why I'm trying to make sure that going with a 2020 model isn't being penny wise but pound foolish.

 

[emembee]

I went from my old 10.5 to new M1 Air last year but made the mistake of only getting 64g storage and have found it quite limiting. Not wanting to overspend again I got a refurb 2020 256g significantly cheaper than the M1 and am very happy with it. Versus the Air it has a better screen IMO plus superior speakers and feels just that much better made. The performance drop to A12z is hardly noticeable though for future proofing the M1 would be better but I don’t think you will be disappointed with the 2020 model, and the refurbs seem like new machines.

 

[rui no onna]

$619 iPad Pro 11 A12Z/6GB 256GB
$719 iPad Pro 11 M1/8GB 256GB

For the $100 difference between the 2020 and 2021, I’m more inclined to go with 2021. Should last longer plus it already supports iPadOS features like swap file that the 2020 model doesn’t have.

 

[Digitalguy]

$619 iPad Pro 11 A12Z/6GB 256GB
$719 iPad Pro 11 M1/8GB 256GB

For the $100 difference between the 2020 and 2021, I’m more inclined to go with 2021. Should last longer plus it already supports iPadOS features like swap file that the 2020 model doesn’t have.

I agree on this, it's all a matter of price difference. Although we don't really know if swap helps with RAM management or is only used for Stage Manager or for some RAM intensive apps... and may have no impact, say, on Safari... Apple has given zero details...

 

[Silly John Fatty]

I have the 3rd generation 12.9 Pro (2018) with 256 GB, and I have to say I'm very happy with it and can't complain, because it is fast as hell. It feels like brand new (weirdly enough, it seems to be bent. Someone at the Apple Store pointed it out, I don't even know how that happened, but it works perfectly).

The thing, however, is, that I'm still running the last version of iOS 14 on it and should update to iOS 16 now. I was actually just thinking of doing it tonight.

And this is where there might be a problem, because it doesn't have a lot of RAM.

Later models have more RAM and can handle the update without problems (from what I've heard). So believe a 2020 model will be good. I hope this update won't kill it. I use it so intensely that even a slight speed bump would annoy the hell out of me. 🥶

 

[rui no onna]

I agree on this, it's all a matter of price difference. Although we don't really know if swap helps with RAM management or is only used for Stage Manager or for some RAM intensive apps... and may have no impact, say, on Safari... Apple has given zero details...

As far as I can tell, Safari doesn’t make use of swap.

I reckon it’s better to have the option though. Plus having an extra 2GB is useful in itself (2x RAM of 2017 iPP instead of just 1.5x).

If the gap was $200+ and one has light usage, then I’d gear more towards the 2020. At $100 (16% more) for 4-5 years (maybe even longer) instead of 3-4 years useful life (25-33% longer), I’d rather have the 2021.

 

[cateye]

This is all super helpful, thank you everyone.

My hope for longevity is probably 3 years. That's how long I've had my 10.5. At the time, I wasn't really looking to buy a new iPad, but found it for some ridiculous price on Facebook Marketplace so it was hard to pass up. So the value I've gotten out of it is tremendous. Lucking into a similarly choice deal is unlikely, which is why I'm trying to make sure I'm not spending money I don't have to. Hard for me to say just how much "future proofing" I'm willing to pay for, even of the price delta is minor (e.g. $100). That $100 would also pay for the Apple Pencil 2 I'm going to need, for example.

 

[Isamilis]

2021 has more RAM (8gb) than 2020. I have both (2020 for my daughter). Speed wise I didn’t see noticeable difference for light tasks. But 2020 reload web pages more often than 2021. Also, my 2020 is still in iPadOS 14 which make it faster than if it uses 16.x like my 2021.

 

[Digitalguy]

I have the 3rd generation 12.9 Pro (2018) with 256 GB, and I have to say I'm very happy with it and can't complain, because it is fast as hell. It feels like brand new (weirdly enough, it seems to be bent. Someone at the Apple Store pointed it out, I don't even know how that happened, but it works perfectly).

The thing, however, is, that I'm still running the last version of iOS 14 on it and should update to iOS 16 now. I was actually just thinking of doing it tonight.

And this is where there might be a problem, because it doesn't have a lot of RAM.

Later models have more RAM and can handle the update without problems (from what I've heard). So believe a 2020 model will be good. I hope this update won't kill it. I use it so intensely that even a slight speed bump would annoy the hell out of me. 🥶

I have a 2018 256 on iPadOS 16.5, a 2018 512 on 15.7.2 and a 2018 on 16.5 1TB (and an M1 128)
For me moving from 14 to 15 was worth it because of Universal Control and things like live text.
There was a RAM penality but not huge.
With 15 to 16 I have less incentive to move and while there is a RAM difference, it's again minimal (I compare both iPads and I really need to push hard to find differences in reloads)
There is zero slowdowns unless you count reloads as slowdown.
2018 pro is just as fast on 16 as it was on it's original OS version (12 I think), only 2GB RAM devices are somewhat slower due to lack of RAM, not even 3GB are any slower than they were, they just reload a lot.

 

[GMShadow]

For three years I expect you'll be fine. The only time I start noticing the age on mine is for ML heavy tasks, and most people don't do those.

And to be clear, it's not "oh it can't", it's "oh this takes longer than my iPhone/iPad mini".

 

[Silly John Fatty]

I have a 2018 256 on iPadOS 16.5, a 2018 512 on 15.7.2 and a 2018 on 16.5 1TB (and an M1 128)
For me moving from 14 to 15 was worth it because of Universal Control and things like live text.
There was a RAM penality but not huge.
With 15 to 16 I have less incentive to move and while there is a RAM difference, it's again minimal (I compare both iPads and I really need to push hard to find differences in reloads)
There is zero slowdowns unless you count reloads as slowdown.
2018 pro is just as fast on 16 as it was on it's original OS version (12 I think), only 2GB RAM devices are somewhat slower due to lack of RAM, not even 3GB are any slower than they were, they just reload a lot.

Thanks man, that was very helpful. I've been looking to find out how it would behave if I updated.

I already have plenty of reloads. But then again I've had over 130 Safari tabs open, and plenty of other apps. I think reloads will stay, even will less tabs open and less apps open (I managed to close them all now).

But yeah, I expect it to be worse with the update. Sometimes I don't mind the reloads, it really depends what site you're on and what you've been doing there.

Also, you said you really need to push it to find differences. How exactly do you push it or what falls under "pushing it" in your book?

Also good to hear there's zero slowdowns. I think this would bother me more than the reloads. The apps etc. are just super snappy, just like when it was new. I would miss that enormously …

And all of what you said counts for the 256 GB model? Because usually, the larger the drive, the higher the read and write speeds. Are these all pros? I'm a little confused as to which device you're referring to sometimes. Maybe you could clarify that, would be of huge help! I have the 2018 12.9 Pro with 256 GB.

 

[dumastudetto]

The 2022 iPads Pros are truly performance beasts that you should consider buying. They can handle all the most advanced iPadOS features and functionality, and they are engineered to remain relevant for many years in the future.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I bought 2018 ipad pro in 2020, kids use it. My spouse uses 2020 iPad pro, and I use M1 iPad pro. For causal use, iPad 2020 or even a 2018 does well. I use M1 iPad for work, for me its much better than 2020.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Another question that should be asked is… Do you plan on connecting any external accessories to this iPad?
The 2020 iPad Pro only has a USB-C port, while the 2021 has a thunderbolt port. So you get slightly more flexibility.
You also get access to certain features that aren’t available on the 2020, such as external display support in stage manager, the ability to run finalCut pro for iPad, swap memory, etc.
Also, certain features of iPadOS 17 don't support the A12 series of chips, including FaceTime hand reactions, improved AutoCorrect and in-line predictions.
If none of this matters, the 2020 is still a great machine.

 

[Digitalguy]

Thanks man, that was very helpful. I've been looking to find out how it would behave if I updated.

I already have plenty of reloads. But then again I've had over 130 Safari tabs open, and plenty of other apps. I think reloads will stay, even will less tabs open and less apps open (I managed to close them all now).

But yeah, I expect it to be worse with the update. Sometimes I don't mind the reloads, it really depends what site you're on and what you've been doing there.

Also, you said you really need to push it to find differences. How exactly do you push it or what falls under "pushing it" in your book?

Also good to hear there's zero slowdowns. I think this would bother me more than the reloads. The apps etc. are just super snappy, just like when it was new. I would miss that enormously …

And all of what you said counts for the 256 GB model? Because usually, the larger the drive, the higher the read and write speeds. Are these all pros? I'm a little confused as to which device you're referring to sometimes. Maybe you could clarify that, would be of huge help! I have the 2018 12.9 Pro with 256 GB.

Here are the specs of my iPad pros from more recent to least recent:
12.9 M1 cellular 128GB (8GB RAM)
11 2018 cellular 1TB (6GB RAM)
12.9 2018 512GB
12.9 2018 256GB
10.5 cellular 256GB
9.7 cellular 128GB

(I have also had the 2015 pro but sold it and I have several mini generations)

By pushing it I mean:
I turned off both 2018 12.9 iPads to put them on the same level.
Then open Safari with no tabs and started opening tabs and switching among them. I opened 5-6. Zero reloads.
I then started opening other apps and back to safari, no reloads. Only after a while and after opening heavier apps like Lumafusion the iPad on iPadOS 16 started reloading tabs in Safari, while the one on iPadOS 15 still didn't. Took it some more opening apps etc to finally make it reload.
Mind you when Safari started reloading it wasn't just a random tab, but ALL of them. Like all or nothing. So there was a certain threshold beyond which all of Safari started reloading.
So the results is iPadOS 16 uses more RAM but the difference is not huge. I couldn't get my 6GB RAM iPad to reload at all with the same test. At least not in the same day. So the difference between 4 and 6 GB is huge, way more than any difference in OS version.
Finally I doubt disk speed makes any perceivable difference....

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Here are the specs of my iPad pros from more recent to least recent:
12.9 M1 cellular 128GB (8GB RAM)
11 2018 cellular 1TB (6GB RAM)
12.9 2018 512GB
12.9 2018 256GB
10.5 cellular 256GB
9.7 cellular 128GB

(I have also had the 2015 pro but sold it and I have several mini generations)

By pushing it I mean:
I turned off both 2018 12.9 iPads to put them on the same level.
Then open Safari with no tabs and started opening tabs and switching among them. I opened 5-6. Zero reloads.
I then started opening other apps and back to safari, no reloads. Only after a while and after opening heavier apps like Lumafusion the iPad on iPadOS 16 started reloading tabs in Safari, while the one on iPadOS 15 still didn't. Took it some more opening apps etc to finally make it reload.
Mind you when Safari started reloading it wasn't just a random tab, but ALL of them. Like all or nothing. So there was a certain threshold beyond which all of Safari started reloading.
So the results is iPadOS 16 uses more RAM but the difference is not huge. I couldn't get my 6GB RAM iPad to reload at all with the same test. At least not in the same day. So the difference between 4 and 6 GB is huge, way more than any difference in OS version.
Finally I doubt disk speed makes any perceivable difference....

I just updated and I'm surprised about the snappiness. In some ways it even feels more snappy. But it also feels kind of artificially snappy. I've only used it for 10 minutes, will see in the long run. I did see some very, very, very slight glitching or freezing of some sort too.

But all in all my first impression is good and I believe it's the least worse update I've done so far, for such a big jump.

As for reloads, I've always had them with my constant 100+ open Safari tabs. I think this will change the least for me, I'm sadly already used to it.

 

[FeliApple]

I just updated and I'm surprised about the snappiness. In some ways it even feels more snappy. But it also feels kind of artificially snappy. I've only used it for 10 minutes, will see in the long run. I did see some very, very, very slight glitching or freezing of some sort too.

But all in all my first impression is good and I believe it's the least worse update I've done so far, for such a big jump.

As for reloads, I've always had them with my constant 100+ open Safari tabs. I think this will change the least for me, I'm sadly already used to it.

As somebody who was forced to update my 9.7-inch iPad Pro from iOS 9 to iOS 12 four years ago, is still disappointed with battery life (not so much with performance, although it is worse) and still wishes to go back to iOS 9, I’m very interested in how your experience as someone with similar performance requirements finds this update.

Let us know how it goes when the dust settles!

 

[Silly John Fatty]

As somebody who was forced to update my 9.7-inch iPad Pro from iOS 9 to iOS 12 four years ago, is still disappointed with battery life (not so much with performance, although it is worse) and still wishes to go back to iOS 9, I’m very interested in how your experience as someone with similar performance requirements finds this update.

Let us know how it goes when the dust settles!

Yeah, I totally get what you mean. I must say, I was always scared of doing updates (because of my first bad experience, which was updating my iPhone 4 to I think iOS 7 - it was an absolute catastrophe for I believe absolutely everyone). So since then I've been very sceptical about Apple's updates.

I have to say that this iPad Pro is the first device that's swallowed all updates until now without me having noticed anything, I believe. I think this update is the first one where I can feel some changes. While typing this text, it very, very shortly froze a few times. I don't think I've had this before.

What I don't understand is why it's being slowed down. I don't see any new features that would need more RAM or something. I think it's just Apples Gangster approach at forcing you to buy another device. Apple is a company and has shareholders. They're not shareholders for fun, they want to sell you something.

 

[FeliApple]

Yeah, I totally get what you mean. I must say, I was always scared of doing updates (because of my first bad experience, which was updating my iPhone 4 to I think iOS 7 - it was an absolute catastrophe for I believe absolutely everyone). So since then I've been very sceptical about Apple's updates.

I have to say that this iPad Pro is the first device that's swallowed all updates until now without me having noticed anything, I believe. I think this update is the first one where I can feel some changes. While typing this text, it very, very shortly froze a few times. I don't think I've had this before.

What I don't understand is why it's being slowed down. I don't see any new features that would need more RAM or something. I think it's just Apples Gangster approach at forcing you to buy another device. Apple is a company and has shareholders. They're not shareholders for fun, they want to sell you something.

Funnily enough, keyboard lag is the first step in degradation. I never had them back on iOS 9, and they started (very occasionally) on iOS 12. Like I said, this happened in 2019, it was forced because Apple deactivated the device and wouldn’t let me use it on iOS 9 without updating, and I never updated it again. According to reports, performance severely worsened on iPadOS 13 for that model. Keyboard lag seems like the beginning of the end. If it happens sparingly, it’s mostly harmless, but it’s very likely the prelude of a massive degradation on iPadOS 17 onwards.

My 9.7-inch iPad Pro only shows a very infrequent, practically negligible keyboard lag. I genuinely hope your experience to be like that, too.

Also let us know how’s battery life, I experienced a pretty significant, about 25% irreversible degradation on iOS 12. From 14 hours to around 10.5. iPadOS 16 users of that model frequently report 5 hours at best, so it was practically obliterated afterwards. iPadOS 13 users reported a massive decrease in both aspects. Like I said: it seems keyboard lag is the beginning of the end. Hopefully it’s not like that this time, but I’d be very, very cautious in updating further (speaking about major versions, iPadOS 17 onwards).

Of course, I have no clue whether iPadOS 17 will be abhorrent, all I’m saying is that this closely resembles past history.

I think they get worse because of more concurrent features. Newer iOS updates do more with the same battery and the same processing power, so both performance and battery life worsen after enough updates. Whether it’s on purpose we’ll never know. It’s a very contentious issue, for sure.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Funnily enough, keyboard lag is the first step in degradation. I never had them back on iOS 9, and they started (very occasionally) on iOS 12. Like I said, this happened in 2019, it was forced because Apple deactivated the device and wouldn’t let me use it on iOS 9 without updating, and I never updated it again. According to reports, performance severely worsened on iPadOS 13 for that model. Keyboard lag seems like the beginning of the end. If it happens sparingly, it’s mostly harmless, but it’s very likely the prelude of a massive degradation on iPadOS 17 onwards.

Yeah, keyboard lag is always there at some point it seems. But I really wonder why. I wonder if this whole slowing down of devices is a thing done consciously by Apple. It seems like they've done similar things in the past, according to Wikipedia:

Phone slowdown class action​

Apple was claimed to intentionally slow down old iPhone models by adjusting their operating systems in order to encourage users to buy new products. The company confirmed these suspicions but said that the slowdown is exclusively due to the fact that the performance of old lithium-ion batteries decreases over time. Nevertheless, users were forced to spend extra on battery replacement to restore their phones' former speed. After the issuance of a class-action lawsuit in 2017 and lengthy litigation, in 2020, Apple agreed to pay the compensation of $500m (about $25 for each affected user).[72]

My 9.7-inch iPad Pro only shows a very infrequent, practically negligible keyboard lag. I genuinely hope your experience to be like that, too.

I cannot say for sure yet, but I think it goes in that direction, yes. In the past I was able to keep my old iPhones for pretty long, by turning off a lot of the extra features, like background animations and I don't know what. I might try something like this on the iPad if it really bothers me.

Also let us know how’s battery life, I experienced a pretty significant, about 25% irreversible degradation on iOS 12. From 14 hours to around 10.5. iPadOS 16 users of that model frequently report 5 hours at best, so it was practically obliterated afterwards. iPadOS 13 users reported a massive decrease in both aspects. Like I said: it seems keyboard lag is the beginning of the end. Hopefully it’s not like that this time, but I’d be very, very cautious in updating further (speaking about major versions, iPadOS 17 onwards).

Of course, I have no clue whether iPadOS 17 will be abhorrent, all I’m saying is that this closely resembles past history.

I think they get worse because of more concurrent features. Newer iOS updates do more with the same battery and the same processing power, so both performance and battery life worsen after enough updates. Whether it’s on purpose we’ll never know. It’s a very contentious issue, for sure.

I don't think I'll be upgrading to iPadOS 17 with this one. Unless we hear it's much faster than iPadOS 16 and proven for sure.

I don't know if I'll be able to tell about the battery life, unless I can read it from those stats in the battery settings. Because I already recharge it pretty often, sometimes multiples times a day. I use it a lot, and it's not that it doesn't hold its charge (until now it did very well), but it's rather that I never want it to come even close to be uncharged.

But I'll keep an eye out! It's certainly an important factor for me too.

 

[FeliApple]

Yeah, keyboard lag is always there at some point it seems. But I really wonder why. I wonder if this whole slowing down of devices is a thing done consciously by Apple. It seems like they've done similar things in the past, according to Wikipedia:

It’s very odd. Because the rest of the device is perfectly smooth, it’s just the keyboard. It seems like it’s the first thing that breaks after updates, and I really don’t know why.

I cannot say for sure yet, but I think it goes in that direction, yes. In the past I was able to keep my old iPhones for pretty long, by turning off a lot of the extra features, like background animations and I don't know what. I might try something like this on the iPad if it really bothers me.

I don’t know your tolerance levels, but I found that if the only issue is infrequent keyboard lag, then it’s quite tolerable. If the rest works fine, perhaps that isolated incident won’t bother you too much.

I don't think I'll be upgrading to iPadOS 17 with this one. Unless we hear it's much faster than iPadOS 16 and proven for sure.

This has only happened on iOS 12 and only when compared with iOS 11 and only on some devices. iPhone 6 and iPad Air 1 users don’t have good things to say about iOS 12, and Apple actually advertised better performance on older devices. That won’t happen.

I don't know if I'll be able to tell about the battery life, unless I can read it from those stats in the battery settings. Because I already recharge it pretty often, sometimes multiples times a day. I use it a lot, and it's not that it doesn't hold its charge (until now it did very well), but it's rather that I never want it to come even close to be uncharged.

You can share a screenshot of a partial charge if you like, too. I can more or less have an idea with that.

But I'll keep an eye out! It's certainly an important factor for me too.

Yeah, when it drops too quickly it’s very annoying, on iPads but especially on iPhones. Nobody likes to chase power outlets or to have to carry a power bank everywhere. Some people may be fine with it but I’m sure they’d prefer not to have to carry one!

 

[Aniseedvan]

I’m looking to upgrade my 2020 IPP to an m2 (just waiting for back to school to kick in here in the UK). To be honest it runs well enough but the battery life is shocking, I recharge it twice daily now.
I’ve got a mini (for mostly a lot of note taking at work) and this doesn’t experience anywhere near the same battery drops.

 

[Digitalguy]

I’m looking to upgrade my 2020 IPP to an m2 (just waiting for back to school to kick in here in the UK). To be honest it runs well enough but the battery life is shocking, I recharge it twice daily now.
I’ve got a mini (for mostly a lot of note taking at work) and this doesn’t experience anywhere near the same battery drops.

have you thought about a battery service from Apple?