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fratmo01

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2020
3
0
Italy
I have a question to ask you, I don't know whether to buy the iPad Pro just released or wait for the end of the year/beginning of 2021, since I believe that the new update is not sufficiently "innovative", on the other hand, who gives me the certainty that Apple brings out a further update within a year?
 

ericwn

macrumors G5
Apr 24, 2016
12,121
10,912
Nobody can give you absolute certainty. On the other hand, an iPad like any computer is a tool and you should get the tool when you have a need for it.

From that perspective what does it matter that the next one comes out on 12 or 18 months?
 

AutomaticApple

Suspended
Nov 28, 2018
7,401
3,378
Massachusetts
I have a question to ask you, I don't know whether to buy the iPad Pro just released or wait for the end of the year/beginning of 2021, since I believe that the new update is not sufficiently "innovative", on the other hand, who gives me the certainty that Apple brings out a further update within a year?
Buy the iPad Pro that Apple just released. It will last a long time.
 

fratmo01

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2020
3
0
Italy
I expressed myself wrong I think, my English is not perfect, sorry. What I wanted to say is: I don't know if it makes sense to buy it now when there are rumors that say there will be a revolutionary update, from the screen to the internal chip, that is, I would not make a purchase considered "unintelligent"

As buying an iPad is not like buying an iPhone where every year, it gets better and better .. in the case of the iPad Pro, it is changed once every two years with revolutionary updates
 

jettie1767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2003
587
225
New Jersey, USA
If you need it now, then, buy it. It's useless to keep on wondering whether you should buy or not based on what Apple will or will not do in the future.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,977
12,941
I am waiting for 5G. I just can't get myself to buy the last LTE model. iPads have been LTE for 8 years now, and it's time to move on to 5G.

That said, as I mentioned elsewhere in this forum, if I was buying a WiFi model, I'd get it by May, when the new keyboard comes out.
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
3,466
5,397
What would an even better ipad do in the future that you cant do today? Personally, my needs are basic as hell. I could have an ipad from 2014 and still take care of my business just fine. I read, email, YouTube, stream stuff and go on reddit and places like this. would an upgraded processor make ANY difference what so ever for my uses? Nope.

Unless you have some seriously taxing uses for the ipad, just go get one and be happy. Best bang for your buck is buying something and keeping it until it just doesn’t work anymore
 
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Lobwedgephil

macrumors 603
Apr 7, 2012
5,792
4,757
If you are looking for the 11 inch model, I would buy. If you are looking at the 12.9 model, I would probably wait. At least that is what I am doing.
 
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fratmo01

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2020
3
0
Italy
In the end, you are all a bit right, as it is true that there will always be a better product, however on the other side, one must also look at their needs and the configuration they would like on their device. In any case, it is not easy to decide since on the one hand the 5G, miniLED or a14x or whatever they want to put it will surely be a plus on the new iPad Pro, on the other hand, are these rumors worth the wait?
Do for now, from my point of view, it is not convenient to buy anything until May, then I will evaluate them on the basis of new information
 

kyriostrife

macrumors regular
Sep 19, 2010
139
29
Is a 2018 12.9” 3rd gen 64gb WiFi + Cellular with an Apple Pencil 2 and Smart Keyboard and AppleCare left on it for $800 a good deal?
 

lugolo

macrumors member
Feb 11, 2014
32
23
Spain
In the end, you are all a bit right, as it is true that there will always be a better product, however on the other side, one must also look at their needs and the configuration they would like on their device. In any case, it is not easy to decide since on the one hand the 5G, miniLED or a14x or whatever they want to put it will surely be a plus on the new iPad Pro, on the other hand, are these rumors worth the wait?
Do for now, from my point of view, it is not convenient to buy anything until May, then I will evaluate them on the basis of new information
Wait and buy the new one next year. It would be first new design. With your kind of thinking, better to get first one of each generation
 
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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,977
12,941
Sorry thought it was obvious, the rumored update is for the 12.9 iPad Pro, no rumors on the 11 yet that I have seen.
Yes and no. There is the rumoured mini-LED update which so far has only referenced the 12.9" iPad Pro, but some people believe that is yet another iteration that won't appear until later in 2021. In contrast, others believe that the iPad Pro line (not specifically the 12.9") will get 5G and A14X before it gets mini-LED.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,977
12,941
whats the significant benefit of miniLED?
Most significantly, better black levels and contrast, due to finer grained local control of the LED backlights.

Basic LCDs have a single backlight that lights up the entire screen, so blacks end up looking like dark greys. Computer IPS screens are generally built this way. A more advanced LCD will have multiple backlights arranged in a checkerboard pattern, that can be individually controlled. The Apple XDR monitor is built this way. With this technology, black areas can be black and bright areas can be bright because the brightness of the local backlights in those areas would be set differently, appropriate for the content on screen at the time. A mini-LED has even more backlights arranged in a finer checkerboard pattern, again with each backlight that can be individually controlled, and there may even be thousands of them in the screen size of a large iPad.

I'd be very tempted to wait for mini-LED, because right now the biggest drawback I find with the 2017 and 2018 iPad Pros (and probably the 2020s as well), is the mediocre black level performance. However, I'm not sure I want to wait that long, and we have no idea how great the mini-LED performance will be if/when it appears in the iPad Pro. Will it be a big upgrade, or will it be a marginal upgrade? The thing about mini-LED is it could be anywhere along that range. I suspect both power utilization and cost will factor into the decision by Apple on how far they want to go when exploiting this technology.

EDIT:

BTW, for reference, I'll provide some ballpark brightness and contrast ratio numbers:

iPad Air 2: 420 nits max brightness, 0.39 nits min brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio.
iPad Pro 2017: 600 nits max brightness, 0.37 nits min brightness, 1600:1 contrast ratio.
iPad Pro 2018: 600 nits max brightness, 0.37 nits min brightness, 1600:1 contrast ratio.
Apple XDR monitor: 1600 nits max brightness, 0.04 nits min brightness, 40000:1 contrast ratio.
iPhone OLED: 600 nits max brightness, 0.0 nits min brightness, ∞ contrast ratio.
 
Last edited:

Deliro

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2011
1,143
1,337
It depends what you have now. No iPad? Get it. It’ll last a long time. I wouldn’t get into the wait mentality. Tech always improves so why not wait for a 2021? 2022? Surely they’ll be the “best iPad ever” when it’s released. The 2020 is a beast. Comes down to what to have now and your sense of urgency to get one.
 

pdoherty

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2014
1,491
1,736
People telling him there’s no difference between buying now than any other time are being a bit disingenuous, IMO. The iPad Pro has barely changed in two years - this latest update is minor. Unless no one thinks history, or logic, applies, there’s very likely to be a much bigger jump coming.
 
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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,977
12,941
People telling him there’s no difference between buying now than any other time are being a bit disingenuous, IMO. The iPad Pro has barely changed in two years - this latest update is minor. Unless no one thinks history, or logic, applies, there’s very likely to be a much bigger jump coming.
I'm guessing the next jump might be even smaller arguably. It won't get another doubling of entry level storage (64 GB to 128 GB this year), nor will it get another 50% boost in RAM (4 GB to 6 GB this year). What it will likely get is a new SoC (which for most people will actually be gross overkill), and 5G.

The wild-card now is mini-LED, but I'm predicting it won't come with the next iteration. I'm thinking it will be 2 iterations from now, but I'd love to be proven wrong.
 

1rottenapple

macrumors 601
Apr 21, 2004
4,759
2,774
I think if you are having doubts don’t buy it. its a purchase that is sometimes half of people rent so I think you should trust your gut And hold off. Because if you buy it and keep it for 3-4 yrs then get the best. But if you need an iPad you can’t go wrong with the current model or 2018 model.
 

brentsg

macrumors 68040
Oct 15, 2008
3,579
936
Nobody knows when the next iPad will land, nor what it'll add. It will likely get a new SoC but aside from that it's unknown. We also don't know when.. it could easily be 2021, especially in light of the current health crisis.
 
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ofarlig

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2015
931
1,148
Sweden
Im getting it now since im going up in size, hopefully they release a new one later this year so I can get 2 new fun devices this year
 
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jpadhiyar

macrumors regular
Oct 15, 2012
170
24
Ahmedabad, India
It depends what you have now. No iPad? Get it. It’ll last a long time. I wouldn’t get into the wait mentality. Tech always improves so why not wait for a 2021? 2022? Surely they’ll be the “best iPad ever” when it’s released. The 2020 is a beast. Comes down to what to have now and your sense of urgency to get one.

I totally agree with this, the 2020 iPad Pro is a beast. If there is another iPad Pro launching in 2020 end or 2021, it will obviously be faster and sport some amazing must-have feature.

But in the end, it all depends on your needs. Do you really need something super fast right now or you need something super-duper fast that may or may not arrive in a few month's time.

If the 2020 iPad Pro specs satisfy your professional and personal needs then go for it. But if you will be making a compromise because there's nothing better in the market, then you might wait.
 
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