iPad Anyone wish they would have kept the 9.7 iPad?

[ssledoux]

I typically don’t complain about devices/sizes, but I’m a little frustrated that the base model iPad is bigger and heavier. The base model is an affordable device to buy for kids, but the current size is a bit much for younger ones, and though the mini is great, it’s pricier and a good bit smaller for those used to the 9.7 screen.

I’m likely gonna upgrade a couple of 6th gens in the next year or so, and I’m just bummed I won’t have that size option.

 

[*~Kim~*]

Yes. I’m likely to buy an iPad for someone for Christmas, and they have said that they find my Mini too small. They have also seen the Air in the Apple Store and found that too big. The footprint of the 10.2 is the same so I’ll be hoping a refurb 6th Gen comes up. We seem to get less refurb availability in the UK than the US does.

 

[s2mikey]

I do love the size of my 9.7" iPad but in practice trying out newer models that are larger, they dont really feel that much larger or burdensome. I dont want the trend to be that they keep getting bigger and bigger though. You can always find great deals on used or refurbished 9.7" models for the kiddies too

 

[AutomaticApple]

I’ll be hoping a refurb 6th Gen comes up.

Have you checked Amazon?

Apple iPad Early 2018 (9.7-inch, Wi-Fi, 32GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)

Now with Apple Pencil support, the Apple 9.7" iPad allows you to take full advantage of the multi-touch Retina Display. Draw pictures, jot down notes, and sign documents with the Apple Pencil (sold separately). The iPad also has an A10 Fusion chip, which is powerful enough to run augmented realit...

www.amazon.com

 

[spiderman0616]

Both the iPad mini and the 9.7” iPad models were becoming far too small for me, and that became evident when the 9.7” Pro came out. It was a great iPad, very powerful, and I liked the keyboard cover well enough, but my goodness it was cramped for typing and any other kind of productivity. When the 10.5” and then 11” Pros came out, I jumped on those right away, and they were both great, but it was still pretty obvious in a lot of use cases that I needed the big boy. So here I am on the 12.9”. Haven’t regretted it yet.

 

[rui no onna]

I do love the size of my 9.7" iPad but in practice trying out newer models that are larger, they dont really feel that much larger or burdensome. I dont want the trend to be that they keep getting bigger and bigger though.

Same more or less. It's a greater stretch trying to touch certain points depending on how I'm holding the device but it's still workable.

Of course, I'm an adult (on the short side though: 5'2") and kids might have a bigger problem with the size increase.

I replaced my dad's WiFi iPad 5th gen with LTE iPad 7th gen, used the same style/color case and restored from iCloud backup. He didn't even notice that his iPad had changed.

 

[ThrowerGB]

Still using and loving my 9.7 Pro. Don't want anything heavier, but a larger screen size would be useful. But then it really all depends on the user's physical characteristics/needs and the use cases. I have older person eyes. I have mine next to the chair where I watch TV. I use it for reading email, search engines, news articles. I don't really like it for writing email or other text. I haven't got the hang of typing on an iOS keyboard like younger people. I prefer looking at photos, etc on the iPad rather than on an iPhone. I use iMac for more serious stuff.

 

[ssledoux]

Yes. I’m likely to buy an iPad for someone for Christmas, and they have said that they find my Mini too small. They have also seen the Air in the Apple Store and found that too big. The footprint of the 10.2 is the same so I’ll be hoping a refurb 6th Gen comes up. We seem to get less refurb availability in the UK than the US does.

We got a brand new 6th gen recently (well, a few months ago) on Amazon I think. It was a 128 gig and I think we paid $300 - still sealed in box.

I prefer the Air 3 over the 10.2 base. It seems the same size, but it is thinner and lighter (and of course has much better specs). It’s frustrating that they sell cases saying they’ll fit both because certain cases will NOT fit the 10.2 if made for the Air.

 

[ssledoux]

I do love the size of my 9.7" iPad but in practice trying out newer models that are larger, they dont really feel that much larger or burdensome. I dont want the trend to be that they keep getting bigger and bigger though. You can always find great deals on used or refurbished 9.7" models for the kiddies too

Yeah as I posted above, we got a really good deal on a brand new. It’s just that by the time they need replacing, I’ll want better/newer processors, and I’ll have to go bigger for that. Right now I have 2 grandkids with Air 3s, 4 with 6th gens, and 1 with a mini 5. When I do have to replace some of the 6th gens, I’ll probably wind up looking for refurb Air 3s.

 

[satchmo]

I just sold my 6th gen iPad this week. While it was certainly usable, it's 2gb or RAM was sometimes frustrating if you have multiple tabs open. I know I'll need something that's more future proof.

That said, I wouldn't mind if Apple kept it around and lowered the price to $199 and make it the perfect entry-level tablet.

 

[Richard8655]

I've got 5th and 6th gens and am convinced that 9.7" is the perfect size for me. The larger Pro models are just too unwieldy and bulky for my tastes. No 7th gen here either. Getting free MS Office suite on the 9.7" models is also a definite plus for me.

So yes, not a great future for us <10" fans. But always have the Mini to fall back on.

 

[ssledoux]

I've got 5th and 6th gens and am convinced that 9.7" is the perfect size for me. The larger Pro models are just too unwieldy and bulky for my tastes. No 7th gen here either. Getting free MS Office suite on the 9.7" models is also a definite plus for me.

So yes, not a great future for us <10" fans. But always have the Mini to fall back on.

I don’t think the dimensions of the 11“ pro are much more than the 9.7 iPad, and it definitely doesn’t seem any heavier, but I haven’t looked at the specs to compare. I just know having the smaller bezels on the 11” pro really keeps the overall size down.

My issue is the change from the 9.7 base iPad to 10.2 I think for the base now. That 1/2” makes a pretty big difference in the overall size, especially for younger kids. It’s why I wound up going with the Air 3 for some of my older grandkids. It’s not really smaller, but it is noticeably thinner and lighter.

 

[rui no onna]

I don’t think the dimensions of the 11“ pro are much more than the 9.7 iPad, and it definitely doesn’t seem any heavier, but I haven’t looked at the specs to compare. I just know having the smaller bezels on the 11” pro really keeps the overall size down.

My issue is the change from the 9.7 base iPad to 10.2 I think for the base now. That 1/2” makes a pretty big difference in the overall size, especially for younger kids. It’s why I wound up going with the Air 3 for some of my older grandkids. It’s not really smaller, but it is noticeably thinner and lighter.

The 11 Pro, 10.5 Pro and 10.2 iPad are very close in size.

The 10.2 iPad is pretty much the 10.5 but with bigger bezels and slightly thicker/heavier.

The 11 Pro is pretty much the 10.5 with TouchID removed for smaller bezels.

9.7: 9.4 x 6.6 in (240 x 169.5 mm)

10.2 & 10.5: 9.8 x 6.8 in (250.6 x 174.1 mm)

11: 9.74 x 7.02 in (247.6 x 178.5 mm)

 

[satchmo]

I don’t think the dimensions of the 11“ pro are much more than the 9.7 iPad, and it definitely doesn’t seem any heavier, but I haven’t looked at the specs to compare. I just know having the smaller bezels on the 11” pro really keeps the overall size down.

The 11 Pro, 10.5 Pro and 10.2 iPad are very close in size.

I'm having difficulty getting the 11" Pro because it's not that big of a change from the 9.7" but it costs more than double.
IMO, the Pro's should be 12" and 14"...a better separation from the 10.2" entry level iPad.

That said, maybe a new more affordable iPad Air will come this fall (instead of a new iPad Pro).

 

[Tsepz]

I'm having difficulty getting the 11" Pro because it's not that big of a change from the 9.7" but it costs more than double.
IMO, the Pro's should be 12" and 14"...a better separation from the 10.2" entry level iPad.

That said, maybe a new more affordable iPad Air will come this fall (instead of a new iPad Pro).

Maybe they should add a 14” iPad Pro, but I say No to getting rid of 11, for me coming from the 9.7” Air 2 I love the 11” iPad Pro, it’s the perfect overall size to screen ratio and i can use it while sitting on the couch or in bed without needing to do hand gymnastics lol. I am typing this on my 2020 iPad Pro 11” in landscape, as soon as I am done i flip it back to portrait and continue browsing with easy, I love it 😁

it’s the power of a Pro in the size of a normal iPad that makes it so great.

 

[rui no onna]

I'm having difficulty getting the 11" Pro because it's not that big of a change from the 9.7" but it costs more than double.
IMO, the Pro's should be 12" and 14"...a better separation from the 10.2" entry level iPad.

That said, maybe a new more affordable iPad Air will come this fall (instead of a new iPad Pro).

I prefer the current sizes. Any bigger than 11" and it would no longer fit in my purses. The older style 9.7" iPad 1-4 are already too big to fit.

I'm fine with the differentiators being just features and performance.

 

[spiderman0616]

I'm having difficulty getting the 11" Pro because it's not that big of a change from the 9.7" but it costs more than double.
IMO, the Pro's should be 12" and 14"...a better separation from the 10.2" entry level iPad.

That said, maybe a new more affordable iPad Air will come this fall (instead of a new iPad Pro).

I actually agree with this for the most part, and have thought the same thing at times when it comes to the size options. At the same time though, there is much more difference between the two models than size and FaceID. The audio, screen, processor, and many other things are huge improvements. At this point I would hate going back to any iPad that doesn’t have quad audio, FaceID, Pencil 2 compatibility, Magic Keyboard support, etc. That’s just me though—I use the iPad Pro as my main computer, so I always want the nicest models. That’s obviously not the only way to go and not even what I would recommend for all types of users.

 

[Richard8655]

I don’t think the dimensions of the 11“ pro are much more than the 9.7 iPad, and it definitely doesn’t seem any heavier, but I haven’t looked at the specs to compare. I just know having the smaller bezels on the 11” pro really keeps the overall size down.

My issue is the change from the 9.7 base iPad to 10.2 I think for the base now. That 1/2” makes a pretty big difference in the overall size, especially for younger kids. It’s why I wound up going with the Air 3 for some of my older grandkids. It’s not really smaller, but it is noticeably thinner and lighter.

I haven't had experience with the 11" Pro, so maybe you're correct on the minimal size difference. All I can say is I had both the 9.7" (5th and 6th) and 10.5" Pro, and returned the Pro. And not because of a cost issue. The 9.7" size just felt better and didn't really need the Pro features.

 

[Robbosan]

I could never go back to a 9.7, i didn't even like the Silver Air 3 i just had for 3 months that much, just swapped it for a 2018 11 month old 11" 4G pro with apple care. So so much better ipad.

 

[ssledoux]

I could never go back to a 9.7, i didn't even like the Silver Air 3 i just had for 3 months that much, just swapped it for a 2018 11 month old 11" 4G pro with apple care. So so much better ipad.

I have an 11” pro myself, and it’s a fantastic device for sure!

I’m just disappointed that the base iPad is bigger/heavier now, as the 9.7 pads are what I’ve bought for my grandchildren. At some point I’ll have to update them, and the base iPads are now just kind of big for young kids. I always put big, rubber cases on their iPads for protection, and on the 2019 base iPad, it makes it quite a large thing for a 5yo to lug around.

 

[Digitalguy]

Personally I use ipads 99% of the time with the smart keyboard or cover. The 11in one is quite a bit heavier, not by itself, but with the keyboard / cover, because the new connector requires the back to be covered too. So the 9.7 and 10.5 are fine for me, the 11 not so much.... unless it's on the desk, but at that point the 12.9 is better.... What's more this different smart keyboard makes the 11in almost impossible to use on the lap, contrary to the 9.7 and 10.2/5. The magic keyboard solves the issue, but makes it even heavier (and not by little...). The 9.7 pro is the lightest of all, with or without a keyboard and is a joy to move around the house in one hand, even with the keyboard, while using the other to carry something else...

 

[sracer]

Having switched from my 12.9 Pro to a 9.7 6th gen, I can easily say that overall, the 9.7 is my favorite size and aspect ratio. As much as I thoroughly enjoy my Mini 4, it doesn't quite match up to the 9.7 6th gen.

Apple really did nail it the first time, IMO.

 

[ssledoux]

Having switched from my 12.9 Pro to a 9.7 6th gen, I can easily say that overall, the 9.7 is my favorite size and aspect ratio. As much as I thoroughly enjoy my Mini 4, it doesn't quite match up to the 9.7 6th gen.

Apple really did nail it the first time, IMO.

I agree, and I really think it’s a nice mid-size iPad. You have the mini, then a 9.7, then you can go bigger with an Air 3 or pro. I really just wish they hadn’t messed with it.

 

[subjonas]

Apple really did nail it the first time, IMO.

I really just wish they hadn’t messed with it.

That’s how I feel about the original iPhone size 😆.