iPad Pro Apple should make the iPad Pro bigger to make it smaller

[MF878]

I know the title makes no sense at first but bear with me.

Is it just me or do a large majority of iPad Pro buyers go for the 12.9" model these days, even in spite of the $300 price difference? Obviously miniLED plays a role in that, but everyone I know seems to choose the 12.9" due to feeling like the 11" is too compromised, e.g.:

• Split-screen apps displaying in Compact view
• The outer keys (Return, Shift, Caps Lock, etc) being awkwardly small on 11" keyboard accessories
• The screen being small for drawing (much smaller than an 8.5" x 11" or A4 sheet of paper)

Ideally I would prefer an iPad slightly smaller than my 12.9" model, but I couldn't see myself downsizing all the way to 11" because I do use split-screen a lot. I feel like I mustn't be the only person in the "I would prefer a smaller model if it were less compromised" boat.

The obvious solution is to increase the iPad Pro sizes, but the challenge is maintaining a decent difference between them without making the larger model too niche or unwieldy. I think these two new display sizes would make sense:

12.0" 2600x1820 (approx. 10:7)
This maintains the current 11" aspect ratio, which is slightly wider in landscape than the 12.9" 4:3. This brings the landscape width only 132px/0.5" shy of the 12.9", more than enough width to eliminate Compact view in split-screen and to make the outer keyboard keys almost full-size. However, because of the aspect ratio differences, the overall footprint is actually still closer to the 11" than the 12.9".

14.0" 3020x2114 (approx. 10:7)
The biggest issue with increasing the size from the 12.9" is that it is already very wide in the portrait orientation due to being 4:3. Standardising the aspect ratio with the smaller model would largely concentrate the increase to the landscape orientation, which I think is more beneficial. It would also align with the rumors that future iPad Pros are going to be more landscape-centric (eg. camera and logo placement). Interestingly, assuming the same size bezels as today, this would have a very similar footprint to the original 12.9" iPad Pro with home button. 12.9" to 14.0" sounds like a bigger jump than 11.0" to 12.0", but due to the aspect ratio change it would actually be a smaller increase in terms of overall footprint.

Out of these two, I would almost definitely go for the 12.0", because 16:9 video and split-screen width would be close to the 12.9", but the overall footprint and weight of the device would be noticeably lessened. By eliminating some of the compromises of the smaller model, making the iPad Pro size options larger could actually make many people's iPads smaller.

 

[Digitalguy]

I don't think that changing the aspect ratio on the larger iPad would make it less unwieldy. One thing I have learnt by having the 14.6in 16:10 S8 ultra, the 3:2 surface book 15in, 2015 12.9 and 2018 12.9 is that the more you make a tablet wider the heavier it feels when holding it in landscape.
The 15in Surface book is 100gr heavier than the ultra but feels the same weight in landscape (while the ultra feels much lighter in portrait, it actually feels as light as the 100gr lighter 2018 12.9 pro).
I guess it's called leverage in physics but it has made me realize that the squarer aspect ratio is actually better since it does not feel heavier in landscape and has benefits in portrait.
The only disadvantage is the black bars for videos (but personally I don't care)

 

[MF878]

I don't think that changing the aspect ratio on the larger iPad would make it less unwieldy. One thing I have learnt by having the 14.6in 16:10 S8 ultra, the 3:2 surface book 15in, 2015 12.9 and 2018 12.9 is that the more you make a tablet wider the heavier it feels when holding it in landscape.
The 15in Surface book is 100gr heavier than the ultra but feels the same weight in landscape (while the ultra feels much lighter in portrait, it actually feels as light as the 100gr lighter 2018 12.9 pro).
I guess it's called leverage in physics but it has made me realize that the squarer aspect ratio is actually better since it does not feel heavier in landscape and has benefits in portrait.
The only disadvantage is the black bars for videos (but personally I don't care)

Aspect ratio and the result in terms of perceived weight in different orientations is an interesting conversation. This is where I think 16:9 tablets (like the first couple gens of Surface) got the balance completely wrong. They felt light when held in portrait, but the display was so narrow you would never actually want to use it that way, so instead you'd constantly use them in landscape which felt like holding a surfboard.

The reason why I think the larger model should also move to 10:7 is less about ergonomics and more about maximising the value of a larger display. 10:7 would ergonomically be not much different to 4:3 (and identical to 4:3 iPads before they lost their forehead and chin), but concentrates the display increase more towards landscape width, keeping in mind that the 12.9" size is already as tall in landscape as the 14.2" MBP. A 14" 4:3 display would be even taller in landscape than the rumoured 15.2" MacBook while still being narrower than the current 13". Those aren't great proportions for landscape/split-screen apps to take advantage of.

 

[Digitalguy]

Aspect ratio and the result in terms of perceived weight in different orientations is an interesting conversation. This is where I think 16:9 tablets (like the first couple gens of Surface) got the balance completely wrong. They felt light when held in portrait, but the display was so narrow you would never actually want to use it that way, so instead you'd constantly use them in landscape which felt like holding a surfboard.

The reason why I think the larger model should also move to 10:7 is less about ergonomics and more about maximising the value of a larger display. 10:7 would ergonomically be not much different to 4:3 (and identical to 4:3 iPads before they lost their forehead and chin), but concentrates the display increase more towards landscape width, keeping in mind that the 12.9" size is already as tall in landscape as the 14.2" MBP. A 14" 4:3 display would be even taller in landscape than the rumoured 15.2" MacBook while still being narrower than the current 13". Those aren't great proportions for landscape/split-screen apps to take advantage of.

So your point of "maximizing the value" is split screen, fair enough. I don't use it, I rarely use it in any device, as I much prefer multiple screens (something that is still missing from iPad). Having said that, something else that is missing is "horizontal" split screen, which could be particularly useful in portrait mode (something that is possible on Samsung tablets).

 

[chabig]

Is it just me or do a large majority of iPad Pro buyers go for the 12.9" model these days, even in spite of the $300 price difference?

Everything you said makes sense, but I would bet that the 11" model outsells the 12.9" model by a very large factor.

 

[darngooddesign]

The 11" is the perfect size compliment to laptop because it is smaller and therefore doesn't feel to bulky when carried with a laptop. I'm not interested in a 12" iPad in the same way that Im not interested in a 13" iPad; its too big and heavy to be casually convenient in my regular day bag. What I've gathered from these forums is that the 13" iPad usually stays at home while the 11" and smaller iPads are more likely to leave the house.

 

[MF878]

The 11" is the perfect size compliment to laptop because it is smaller and therefore doesn't feel to bulky when carried with a laptop. I'm not interested in a 12" iPad in the same way that Im not interested in a 13" iPad; its too big and heavy to be casually convenient in my regular day bag. What I've gathered from these forums is that the 13" iPad usually stays at home while the 11" and smaller iPads are more likely to leave the house.

If this scenario occurred, I would expect the iPad Air would stay at 11". With the Air and 11" Pro being so similar, increasing the Pro to 12" would help to differentiate them a bit more, especially as 120Hz won't be a Pro-only feature forever.

As iPads get more capable (Apple will surely move the needle on iPadOS eventually), it would make sense to position the Pro models as laptop replacements and the non-Pro models as laptop companions (or laptop replacements for those with relatively simple needs).

 

[darngooddesign]

If this scenario occurred, I would expect the iPad Air would stay at 11". With the Air and 11" Pro being so similar, increasing the Pro to 12" would help to differentiate them a bit more, especially as 120Hz won't be a Pro-only feature forever.

I disagree. I think it's going to be a while before the Air gets Promotion because the small iPP will need something really tangible besides two extra speakers to justify its $150 higher price. I don't think Apple wants to bump the Air into premium pricing territory, it currently sits evenly between the base iPad and the iPP, which is what adding Promotion will do.

Besides, if the 12" iPP eliminates compact view in split-screen, that removes one reason why people get the 13" iPP.

 

[MF878]

I disagree. I think it's going to be a while before the Air gets Promotion because the small iPP will need something really tangible besides two extra speakers to justify its $150 higher price. I don't think Apple wants to bump the Air into premium pricing territory, it currently sits evenly between the base iPad and the iPP, which is what adding Promotion will do.

Besides, if the 12" iPP eliminates compact view in split-screen, that removes one reason why people get the 13" iPP.

The rumor mill suggests no changes to iPad Pro displays at the next release which is expected to be late this year, so if a size change were to happen it would be late 2023 at the earliest, more likely early-mid 2024. I don't think its unreasonable to assume an iPad Air in 2025 could get 120Hz, eventually it's going to become an industry standard and Apple won't be able to gatekeep it as a premium feature forever. It's already starting to trickle down to the upper-midrange on the Android side.

I also wouldn't expect the iPad Pro to still be $799 by then, its likely that the reason the 11" is still $799 and not $899 is because it didn't get a miniLED display. A 12" and 14" would be at least $899 and $1099. Apple knows that making the sizes larger would move some volume to the smaller size, but they'd price them accordingly to maintain average margin. Who knows how that would affect the Air, but the Pro having a larger display would help to justify a bigger price gap than now.

 

[darngooddesign]

The rumor mill didn't expect an M1 Air 5, Mac Studio with M1-Ultra, and was up until recently convinced that this year's 11" iPP would get mini LED, so I wouldn't place too much weight on what they say right now. At some point the design or sizes will change, I just don't think it will happen for a while. Be a shame because the small iPP will end up being too large and heavy to be conveniently tossed in my bag; it will become a stay at home iPad just like the the current 13" is.

 

[MF878]

Everything you said makes sense, but I would bet that the 11" model outsells the 12.9" model by a very large factor.

I can't find sales numbers that break down the sizes so I did some very crude research by visiting a few online retailers and sorting the iPad Pros by "Best Selling".

Best Buy - #1 is 11" 128GB WiFi (cheapest), but 7 of the top 10 (incl. #2, #3 and #4) were 12.9" models
B&H Photo - #1 and #2 are 12.9" models, 5 of the top 10
Micro Center - #1 is 11" 128GB WiFi, but again 7 of the top 10 are 12.9"

Without knowing the sales of each config, this isn't enough info to determine which size sells more, but I'd say it suggests the 12.9" is at *worst* in the ballpark of the 11". It seems if you go beyond the base config you are more likely to choose 12.9", and considering Apple offers 5 storage tiers all with or without cellular, I would figure they do decent volume of non-base configs.

 

[darngooddesign]

I think B&H makes sense because they primarily serve photographers.

I checked Walmart and 1/2 were 11" iPPs, 3/4 were 13" iPPs, and 5/6 were pencils. Ignoring the pencils, there were as many 11s as there were 13s in the displayed best selling list.

 

[kierennyc]

I REALLY want the 12.9 but I can’t make the switch because it’s almost impossible to type holding it in portrait mode using only your thumbs. Why did apple remove the split keyboard? I have fairly large hands and this method is only just comfortable on the 11 inch that I currently have.

 

[rui no onna]

11” is the limit that would fit in most of my purses so I’m personally not looking forward to the smaller iPad Pro going 12”.

Oh well, I don’t see the need to upgrade from the 2021 11” 1TB for a long time.

 

[darngooddesign]

I REALLY want the 12.9 but I can’t make the switch because it’s almost impossible to type holding it in portrait mode using only your thumbs. Why did apple remove the split keyboard? I have fairly large hands and this method is only just comfortable on the 11 inch that I currently have.

My 9.7" iPP is on 15.4 and when I press and hold the keyboard-with-down-arrow "key", the one which can hide the onscreen keyboard, I get the option to split in landscape or portrait.

 

[MF878]

I REALLY want the 12.9 but I can’t make the switch because it’s almost impossible to type holding it in portrait mode using only your thumbs. Why did apple remove the split keyboard? I have fairly large hands and this method is only just comfortable on the 11 inch that I currently have.

Completely with you on this one, I never use the “floating” keyboard they currently have and would much prefer split to return.

 

[marcel500]

I know the title makes no sense at first but bear with me.

Is it just me or do a large majority of iPad Pro buyers go for the 12.9" model these days, even in spite of the $300 price difference? Obviously miniLED plays a role in that, but everyone I know seems to choose the 12.9" due to feeling like the 11" is too compromised, e.g.:

• Split-screen apps displaying in Compact view
• The outer keys (Return, Shift, Caps Lock, etc) being awkwardly small on 11" keyboard accessories
• The screen being small for drawing (much smaller than an 8.5" x 11" or A4 sheet of paper)

Ideally I would prefer an iPad slightly smaller than my 12.9" model, but I couldn't see myself downsizing all the way to 11" because I do use split-screen a lot. I feel like I mustn't be the only person in the "I would prefer a smaller model if it were less compromised" boat.

The obvious solution is to increase the iPad Pro sizes, but the challenge is maintaining a decent difference between them without making the larger model too niche or unwieldy. I think these two new display sizes would make sense:

12.0" 2600x1820 (approx. 10:7)
This maintains the current 11" aspect ratio, which is slightly wider in landscape than the 12.9" 4:3. This brings the landscape width only 132px/0.5" shy of the 12.9", more than enough width to eliminate Compact view in split-screen and to make the outer keyboard keys almost full-size. However, because of the aspect ratio differences, the overall footprint is actually still closer to the 11" than the 12.9".

14.0" 3020x2114 (approx. 10:7)
The biggest issue with increasing the size from the 12.9" is that it is already very wide in the portrait orientation due to being 4:3. Standardising the aspect ratio with the smaller model would largely concentrate the increase to the landscape orientation, which I think is more beneficial. It would also align with the rumors that future iPad Pros are going to be more landscape-centric (eg. camera and logo placement). Interestingly, assuming the same size bezels as today, this would have a very similar footprint to the original 12.9" iPad Pro with home button. 12.9" to 14.0" sounds like a bigger jump than 11.0" to 12.0", but due to the aspect ratio change it would actually be a smaller increase in terms of overall footprint.

Out of these two, I would almost definitely go for the 12.0", because 16:9 video and split-screen width would be close to the 12.9", but the overall footprint and weight of the device would be noticeably lessened. By eliminating some of the compromises of the smaller model, making the iPad Pro size options larger could actually make many people's iPads smaller.

Gives us a 10 inch finally.

There is such a big GAP between the mini and the air / pro.

 

[darngooddesign]

Gives us a 10 inch finally.

There is such a big GAP between the mini and the air / pro.

The regular iPad is 10" and one of the best bargains in all tablet land considering it has the A13 when the previous IPPs had the A12.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

Around 11” seems to be the sweet spot for the iPad user base, although personally I’d be all in for a 16” iPad Pro.

 

[julesme]

"Is it just me or do a large majority of iPad Pro buyers go for the 12.9" model these days"

It's just you?

I love my 11" iPad Pro. It's a companion device & not meant to replace my 14" laptop or my 27" monitor.

 

[darngooddesign]

Completely with you on this one, I never use the “floating” keyboard they currently have and would much prefer split to return.

Split is still in 15.4

 

[MF878]

Neither split nor undock have been available on the 12.9” for a couple years now. Don’t know about the 11” as I don’t have one.

 

[MF878]

"Is it just me or do a large majority of iPad Pro buyers go for the 12.9" model these days"

It's just you?

I love my 11" iPad Pro. It's a companion device & not meant to replace my 14" laptop or my 27" monitor.

“It’s just you?” yet your rebuttal is… just you?

All jokes aside, I’m not saying there aren’t people who prefer the 11” model, I’m simply saying I believe the trend is bending more towards the larger size.

 

[darngooddesign]

Neither split nor undock have been available on the 12.9” for a couple years now. Don’t know about the 11” as I don’t have one.

It's crazy that they removed split on the 13". I watched a video showing the small floating keyboard is still available on the 13" by pinching in, but I suppose no split-keyboards is one more reason not to want a 12" iPad in case Apple removes it for the same dumb reason.

 

[one more]

There is no perfect iPad size, as we all use them in different ways and for different tasks. I personally would not go bigger than 11”, as I travel for work, so the lighter and smaller iPad is, the better. Obviously a bigger screen makes using apps in a split-screen better, same goes for drawing and illustration, yet it won’t probably be universally useful or welcome. A similar principle applies to iPhone sizing, I guess.