iPad Buy iPad 9th gen for $200 now or wait for potential 11th gen?

[Kendo]

iPad 9th gen with A13 Bionic is on sale everywhere for $200.

iPad 11th gen will likely release next month with A15 Bionic at $450 (or $400 if we're lucky). This is going by when iPad 11th gen first released in 2022 for $450.

iPad 10th gen with A14 Bionic will probably stay the same at $350 or maybe get a price drop to $300 (if iPad 11 sells for $400).

Is it worth paying nearly double for a little increase in performance? I don't mind the 10.2" form factor with the home button (I almost prefer it because the side bezels are thinner).

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Is it worth paying nearly double for a little increase in performance? I don't mind the 10.2" form factor with the home button (I almost prefer it because the side bezels are thinner).

We have no idea if they’ll charge the iPad 11 at a higher price, or simply replace the 10th gen for the same price. Theres rumors for an October Event so we gotta wait next month to see what they’ll do.

Since you said you prefer the 10.2 form factor, I say go ahead and get the iPad 9. $200 for a brand new iPad is a steal. It’s not the latest design, but its still a good and capable tablet.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

For that price, you really can't go wrong. Just realize that it's a three-year-old design, so it's going to be unsupported much sooner than the 11th gen. If you're okay with that, go for it.

 

[Digitalguy]

iPad 9th gen with A13 Bionic is on sale everywhere for $200.

iPad 11th gen will likely release next month with A15 Bionic at $450 (or $400 if we're lucky). This is going by when iPad 11th gen first released in 2022 for $450.

iPad 10th gen with A14 Bionic will probably stay the same at $350 or maybe get a price drop to $300 (if iPad 11 sells for $400).

Is it worth paying nearly double for a little increase in performance? I don't mind the 10.2" form factor with the home button (I almost prefer it because the side bezels are thinner).

iPad 11 will likely get A16 with 6GB RAM. The price is unknown, could rage from $350 to $450.
The RAM alone should be a very decent improvement, more than the CPU/GPU performance increase (I have 3, 4 and 6GB RAM iPads and 6GB is night and day in terms of Safari tab reloads).
In terms of support iPad 9 should stop at iPadOS 20, iPad 10 at 21 and iPad 11, if it comes this year, at 23.
I would wait. iPad 10 will probably go to $250 or less on Black Friday if the 11 is out by then.

 

[Kendo]

iPad 11 will likely get A16 with 6GB RAM. The price is unknown, could rage from $350 to $450.
The RAM alone should be a very decent improvement, more than the CPU/GPU performance increase (I have 3, 4 and 6GB RAM iPads and 6GB is night and day in terms of Safari tab reloads).
In terms of support iPad 9 should stop at iPadOS 20, iPad 10 at 21 and iPad 11, if it comes this year, at 23.
I would wait. iPad 10 will probably go to $250 or less on Black Friday if the 11 is out by then.

Curious why you think iPad 11 will get 6GB RAM? Both the base Pro and Air models have 8GB. 9th gen has 3GB, and 10th gen has 4GB. You really think they'll increase it to 6GB?

As far as A16, I'm really hoping for it but the pessimist in me is expecting the A15 since the mini 6 has the A16.

 

[Digitalguy]

Curious why you think iPad 11 will get 6GB RAM? Both the base Pro and Air models have 8GB. 9th gen has 3GB, and 10th gen has 4GB. You really think they'll increase it to 6GB?

As far as A16, I'm really hoping for it but the pessimist in me is expecting the A15 since the mini 6 has the A16.

The mini 6 has A15 with 4GB, but that device will be replaced very soon. The A16 has come with 6GB so far, so it makes sense not to make a different version with less RAM. The mini 7 will get 8GB with likely A18, so the iPad 11 will still be the one with less RAM and no Apple Intelligence.
After skipping 1 year for the first time since 2017, it makes sense for Apple to jump from A14 to A16. Especially as the A16 will be kept around for longer with the iPhone 15, compared to the A15 in the iPhone 14, which will certainly be discontinued next year.

 

[Richard8655]

I think it's a toss up. The 9th is great (I have 2) and $200 for a relatively recent new iPad with a still fast processor and a few years left of support is pretty good. However, with the 11th just around the corner one needs to give pause. It depends on finances and how long before desired upgrade. I keep mine for quite a long time.

 

[deaglecat]

Would Apple release new iPad without support for Apple Intelligence e.g. enhanced Siri ?

If so, it might quickly be seen as obsolete and a significant shortfall.

It's actually difficult because that would suggest 8Gb RAM.

So maybe no updated base model in October...

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I have a 9th Gen and it still handles any of the websites that are demanding such as CBSSports.com but like others have mentioned, you might want to wait because the 9th Gen iPad's only have 3GB of RAM and next year could be the last OS update. However I would not be surprised if the price goes up on the 11th Gen iPad's.

 

[JPack]

A13/3GB is just too old. That’s an SoC from 2019. For a tablet, 3GB won’t cut it unless you’re really frugal with tabs and apps.

 

[Airplaines]

The 10th generation was on sale at Amazon and other places for $300 for most of last month. There's no way that the 11th generation gets released without a price drop from Apple. I except places like Amazon to discount even further in November.
Then the choice becomes 10 or 11, not 9 or 10.