FaceID is one of the biggest things keeping me on the Pro and not considering the Air.
If this changed that would be interesting.
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All iPads Anyone else planning to downgrade from Pro to Air? Why?
- Thread starter darthbane2k
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If this changed that would be interesting.
FaceID is one thing I’d give up in a heartbeat on iPad Pro… and I sure would love if it were more reliable on iPhone (bright sunlight = non-function)
Why would someone be an idiot for not buying an OLED iPad? Haven’t we learned from the iPhone? All that fuss about OLED and when we all had it we realised it was a huge load of fuss over nothing. It not like the retina screens are bad anyway and perfectly decent enough for watching content.
Agree. I'm not a screen-o-file. Jelly, 60hz, blooming. Never bothered by any of it. And OLED just doesn't light my noodle.
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I’ll be opting for a 12.9” Air. The screen quality isn’t important to me. I like to close my eyes when I’m doing music production to focus my mind on what I’m hearing rather than seeing (it can be a trap). I don’t need all of the power of the Pro, but I do need the screen size, so the 12.9” Air is a bit of a god-send in that regard. The other thing I’ll be using it for is mathematics, so I’m hoping they keep developing that new whiteboard app into a Notability killer (it’s a great program for doing maths on, but there is a subscription fee, and I’m already paying a premium for a 2TB iCloud account). Again, I don’t need the highest screen quality for the maths, as long as I can scribble formula, it’s a great chalk-board replacement IMHO.
This is an interesting proposition. I recently gave my sister my 2021 12.9" iPad Pro and took her 2021 iPad Air. I am planning to upgrade to the new iPad Pro and was curious what it would be like to use an iPad Air and if I could possible save myself some $$ and a new Air instead. After using the iPad Air for a couple months here are the reasons I am sticking with the Pro:
1. I prefer FaceID over the TouchID - I was surprised with how much the touchID irritated me since I was so used to not even thinking about unlocking my Pro with FaceID.
2. The smaller size of the Air made working in email less enjoyable and in general productivity apps felt a little cramped. Watching videos, playing games, etc. the smaller size was no issue. Granted I think this excuse will go away with a 12.9" Air coming this year.
3. Sure the Air the lighter and smaller and more convenient to use on a plane, coffee shop, etc. but never once did I take the Air to a place I would not take my Pro due to size/weight.
4. The screen on the Air just doesn't get as bright as the Pro screen. Most of the time this isn't important though to get the same level of brightness I had to turn up the brightness on the Air more impacting battery life. Outside though it's a bigger issue.
5. Promotion and Mini-LED were not a factor for me. If I concentrated on it, sure I could tell a difference in scrolling but real world everyday use both screens look fantastic.
1. I prefer FaceID over the TouchID - I was surprised with how much the touchID irritated me since I was so used to not even thinking about unlocking my Pro with FaceID.
2. The smaller size of the Air made working in email less enjoyable and in general productivity apps felt a little cramped. Watching videos, playing games, etc. the smaller size was no issue. Granted I think this excuse will go away with a 12.9" Air coming this year.
3. Sure the Air the lighter and smaller and more convenient to use on a plane, coffee shop, etc. but never once did I take the Air to a place I would not take my Pro due to size/weight.
4. The screen on the Air just doesn't get as bright as the Pro screen. Most of the time this isn't important though to get the same level of brightness I had to turn up the brightness on the Air more impacting battery life. Outside though it's a bigger issue.
5. Promotion and Mini-LED were not a factor for me. If I concentrated on it, sure I could tell a difference in scrolling but real world everyday use both screens look fantastic.
Honestly i cant see myself buying another iPad for many years (possibly even a decade) since i brought my day 1 iPad Air 4. Just no real point to upgrade as you cant really use the power of the M chips on iPads compared to Macs. Only near future iPad i would consider is the iPad Mini 7.
No. I use my iPad for photo editing in Lightroom and 256GB isn’t enough space for me. I really like the Mini LED screen so I wouldn’t downgrade to the Air’s regular screen. I’m spoilt by my 16” MBP’s speakers so I find the Pro’s speakers to be lacking bass-wise; I almost always use a BT speaker with my iPP.
I really don’t think the new iPad Pros will be unnecessarily more expensive
It is highly likely the base storage would move up to 256 GB, that, along with the OLED display would lead to a certain modest hike. For those who anyway buy the 12.9 that’s at least 256 GB or more, the price difference would be minimal or none
Here‘s what I feel the pricing for base iPad Pros would be like for Wifi variants that are OLED and 256 GB
11” - USD 1200+-100 exclusive of taxes (will definitely cost at least 999 and I really doubt it would cost over 1399, though I’m quite confident it will end up being 1200+-100)
12.9” - USD 1400+-100 exclusive of taxes
Currently there’s a 300 buck price difference between the two sizes, that’s because the 11” inch uses a much cheaper lower grade display, since both would be OLED, the difference would come down to 150+-50 bucks
Since the base itself is likely to be 256 GB for many people that would be enough
I don’t see a problem if the above is true
I do understand it’s an extremely expensive device with limited use cases, but given the technology, experience offered and history of previous devices and price points, Apple isn’t really increasing the pricing much nor unnecessarily
Pls refer to this page once the iPad Pros get released or their price announced
It is highly likely the base storage would move up to 256 GB, that, along with the OLED display would lead to a certain modest hike. For those who anyway buy the 12.9 that’s at least 256 GB or more, the price difference would be minimal or none
Here‘s what I feel the pricing for base iPad Pros would be like for Wifi variants that are OLED and 256 GB
11” - USD 1200+-100 exclusive of taxes (will definitely cost at least 999 and I really doubt it would cost over 1399, though I’m quite confident it will end up being 1200+-100)
12.9” - USD 1400+-100 exclusive of taxes
Currently there’s a 300 buck price difference between the two sizes, that’s because the 11” inch uses a much cheaper lower grade display, since both would be OLED, the difference would come down to 150+-50 bucks
Since the base itself is likely to be 256 GB for many people that would be enough
I don’t see a problem if the above is true
I do understand it’s an extremely expensive device with limited use cases, but given the technology, experience offered and history of previous devices and price points, Apple isn’t really increasing the pricing much nor unnecessarily
Pls refer to this page once the iPad Pros get released or their price announced
When it comes time to replace my 2018 12.9" iPad Pro, there's a good chance I'll select the 12.9" Air (if it is released at that time). Having a 12.9" screen is important to me, but I don't care about the other expensive iPad Pro features. Of course I can't be certain; Apple might surprise me. For example, I'd be very tempted by an iPad with a less slippery pencil, that was easier to write neatly with.
OLED is nice but I’m not interested in paying more just for OLED. The iPad is already a luxury device. I don’t need it. I have it because I want it. Because it’s a luxury device I have to set price limits so that I can justify it. I’m not paying £1,000 for a luxury device that I’m really using for web browsing.
I did last time around.
I miss the better laminated display of my 2018 Pro on my 2022 Air.
But I really can't stomach the pro cost for what is an entirely secondary / tertiary device for me.
Until or unless they put out an iPad Pro that can actually run macOS things, or give iOS more of the capabilities of macOS, I'll need a MacBook as well. And I'm not spending over. 1000 AUD (including a pencil and keyboard) on a tablet when I also need to supplement it with a MacBook.
There's no hardware reason the iPad Pro can't be more capable. It's just apple trying to maintain two product lines via artificial segmentation. I don't want to be one of those "but Steve would never do this" people, but in this instance, I believe Jobs would have had zero issues enabling the 12.9" iPad Pro to completely supplant the MacBook Air line now they're running M series chips in the higher end iPads. He stated publicly before that apple was not afraid of cannibalising their own products with other products because if they don't someone else will.
Clearly under Tim Cook, this is no longer the case.
The fact that it has not is purely due to apple artificially crippling the iPad lineup.
Yeah it’s one of those things I wouldn’t really notice to be honest. All that fuss was made when OLED first came to the iPhone like it was life changing and now we all have it and realise it was just a slightly better screen. I’ve never watched a YouTube video on my iPad and thought ‘ooh that black bit could be a bit blacker’ lol. I wouldn’t pay extra for it, that’s for sure.
I have an Air now and that’s overkill for watching YouTube and browsing the web. I like how light it is to hold but could get by with an entry level iPad in all honesty. I don’t do any productivity tasks on mine
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Until it runs more than dinky little ipad apps - no i won't. Well, not significantly more. I think my air was something in the order of 1200-1300 with a pencil and keyboard case.
I never get the “artificially crippling the iPad”. Making iPadOS unlike MacOS is a decision you might disagree with, but there is no one behind thinking “let’s make the iPad a worse product than it could be”.
I do think that macOS (or more macOS-like features) would make the iPad a worse product. It has nothing to do with cannibalization, I think Apple would sell fewer units overall.
I’d say the iPad has performed much better than the Mac lately. Revenue is similar, but the iPad has received minor updates, while the Mac has gone through a chip and redesign revolution. That is very telling. And since ASP is lower, in terms of units the iPad is much bigger.
Maybe i should clarify.
I don't want iOS to BECOME macOS.
But things like running multiple applications reliably without them being terminated in the background, improved window management, etc. are all things heading in the right direction. Even if the background termination is only disabled when docked on a desk perhaps?
I actually don't care as much as some for things like "omg the filesystem" - but it is capable of running full fledged macOS applications and multitasking with the M1.
Right now the hardware is capable of doing everything i need in a single device, but as it is i am carrying a macbook and ipad around everywhere because of artificial restrictions placed on iOS.
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My 2018 11” Pro is one of my most used devices but I really don’t see a pressing need to upgrade it. It’s still relatively performant and the battery holds a decent charge despite it being 5+ years old. OLED might make me cave, but dropping potentially 4 figures to replace a perfectly functional device doesn’t sit well with me.
My 2018 is still great but the 4GB ram and degrading battery life are starting to get noticeable. May upgrade to an M1 iPad for minimal cost and maintain accessory compatibility
I ditched my pro and went with an Air last year. I had a 12.9 pro and a mini, but got another iMac, so I consolidated my iPads into a 5th gen Air (I had an 11” pro in the past, so I knew I liked the size). I haven’t missed anything except Face ID, but not sure I’m willing to go back pro just for that. I am possibly gonna upgrade my Air depending on the camera layout because I love how it’s situated on the base iPad - makes so much more sense.
I love the speakers on the Pros too much to downgrade to an air or base iPad.
Welp, today's the day I see if the Pro is worth the extra money over the Air. But it seems likely I'm gonna chicken out and get the more expensive one, like I did when I chose the iPhone 12 over the iPhone 12 Mini, a decision I'm still very conflicted about three years later 