iPad Pro Buying iPad Pro 12.9 2015 model in 2019. Is it worth it?

[legionsunited]

Hello all, I currently own iPad Air 2 and I love this device for reading and marking up PDFs. Also, I love to takes notes with notability app.The issue is the screen size 9.7 is small for me and also lack of pencil support.

I’m not gonna consider 2018 models as I don’t need that much power and as a student I can’t shell out that much.

The thing is I only use my iPad for is - taking notes heavily in notability and reading and annotating PDFs also in notability only. I’m not gonna use it for any media consumption nor for any designing purpose or apps like photoshop or procreate. In a nutshell I’ll only use notability for notes and pdf, safari for reading tech blogs and study related material and little bit of YouTube occasionally! So you see, I don’t that processor power at all as these tasks are even very fluid on my current iPad Air 2.

Anyways comparing gen 1 vs gen 2 the only 2 things I’m concerned about is …

1) The 120 Hz refresh rate, will that make such a big difference or show up in my work flow? I mean, how important is 120hz refresh rate while taking notes with Apple Pencil?

2) The thing that concerns me the most that iOS 13 may be the last update gen 1 will have and then I’ll be missing out on latest iOS releases and feel like buying an obsolete product.

Now, I’m confused whether I go for generation 1 or generation 2? The only difference I see, the promotion 120 Hz refresh rate

I’m getting generation 1 12.9 used with Apple Pencil at a price 590$ whereas new iPad Pro 2018 11 inch without Apple Pencil is 1010 $ in my country and so does 12.9 2nd generation without Apple Pencil is like 900 bucks! So, the new 11 inch model when add cost of Apple Pencil 2nd gen makes the price almost double compare to 12.9 1st gen used and that too with pencil.

Please don’t suggest 10.5 or 9.7 iPad as lack of screen real estate is a deal breaker for me.

Please pitch in your valuable suggestions? Which iPad Pro should I buy and how’s your gen 1 is holding?

 

[PBG4 Dude]

My 2015 12.9” model still trucks along today. Definitely usable from a tech specs standpoint. That being said, I prefer my newer model pros because of the better pencil tracking I get with the 120Hz display. Also, the first gen 12.9 is heavier than the second gen 12.9, which is an issue for some people.

 

[legionsunited]

My 2015 12.9” model still trucks along today. Definitely usable from a tech specs standpoint. That being said, I prefer my newer model pros because of the better pencil tracking I get with the 120Hz display. Also, the first gen 12.9 is heavier than the second gen 12.9, which is an issue for some people.

Do you think that pencil latency will bother so much in simple note taking in Goodnotes or notability? I’m not talking from a artist POV in apps like procreate.

 

[Seed101]

Yep. Definitely.

1. I don’t think you’ll notice difference if you don’t have the 2018.
2. If that were the case, it will still perform the task’s you require.

3. At 590 with the pencil you will love it. Enjoy!

 

[legionsunited]

Yep. Definitely.

1. I don’t think you’ll notice difference if you don’t have the 2018.
2. If that were the case, it will still perform the task’s you require.

3. At 590 with the pencil you will love it. Enjoy!

Thank you so much!

 

[sracer]

Do you think that pencil latency will bother so much in simple note taking in Goodnotes or notability? I’m not talking from a artist POV in apps like procreate.

The difference in latency between the Pencil 1 and Pencil 2 is exaggerated IMO. The latency of the Pencil 1 when it was first released was professional quality and better or on par with what was offered by the competition. It was only when Apple produced the Pencil 2 that people started to complain about the Pencil 1.

The 2015 12.9 Pro is still outstanding and will have a long life ahead of it. It was the first iPad to include 4GB RAM. It is still a beastly tablet and will easily handle even the most complex GoodNotes or Notability files.

 

[legionsunited]

The difference in latency between the Pencil 1 and Pencil 2 is exaggerated IMO. The latency of the Pencil 1 when it was first released was professional quality and better or on par with what was offered by the competition. It was only when Apple produced the Pencil 2 that people started to complain about the Pencil 1.

The 2015 12.9 Pro is still outstanding and will have a long life ahead of it. It was the first iPad to include 4GB RAM. It is still a beastly tablet and will easily handle even the most complex GoodNotes or Notability files.

Thank you for input. I’ll get 1st gen.
[doublepost=1550098186][/doublepost]

The difference in latency between the Pencil 1 and Pencil 2 is exaggerated IMO. The latency of the Pencil 1 when it was first released was professional quality and better or on par with what was offered by the competition. It was only when Apple produced the Pencil 2 that people started to complain about the Pencil 1.

The 2015 12.9 Pro is still outstanding and will have a long life ahead of it. It was the first iPad to include 4GB RAM. It is still a beastly tablet and will easily handle even the most complex GoodNotes or Notability files.

Hi, just one more thing, for long (till which year) do you think iPad Pro 2015 will get iOS updates?

 

[sracer]

Thank you for input. I’ll get 1st gen.
[doublepost=1550098186][/doublepost]

Hi, just one more thing, for long (till which year) do you think iPad Pro 2015 will get iOS updates?

It's hard for an outsider to tell. The 2017 iPad has the same A9 chip as that 12.9 Pro so that could mean at least another 2 years of iOS updates. Add in the fact that it has 4GB RAM, it could add another year or so beyond that.

I think that you'll end up having issues with battery life before Apple stops supporting it with iOS updates.

 

[AlexJoda]

Thank you for input. I’ll get 1st gen.
[doublepost=1550098186][/doublepost]

Hi, just one more thing, for long (till which year) do you think iPad Pro 2015 will get iOS updates?

For very long because it has the same amount of RAM as the recent 2018 iPP....The 2015 iPP is a killer iPad and it’s main feature is the amazing 12.9 screen size. That did not change till today. I had the 2015 and gave it away to my brother hoping Apple is releasing something totally revolutionary in 2018. They didn’t and I got a used 2017 12.9 iPP again. The difference to my first 2015 is irrelevant for the things you want to do with it....

 

[legionsunited]

It's hard for an outsider to tell. The 2017 iPad has the same A9 chip as that 12.9 Pro so that could mean at least another 2 years of iOS updates. Add in the fact that it has 4GB RAM, it could add another year or so beyond that.

I think that you'll end up having issues with battery life before Apple stops supporting it with iOS updates.

Dry well, thank you!
[doublepost=1550115435][/doublepost]

For very long because it has the same amount of RAM as the recent 2018 iPP....The 2015 iPP is a killer iPad and it’s main feature is the amazing 12.9 screen size. That did not change till today. I had the 2015 and gave it away to my brother hoping Apple is releasing something totally revolutionary in 2018. They didn’t and I got a used 2017 12.9 iPP again. The difference to my first 2015 is irrelevant for the things you want to do with it....

Thanks Alex, for your input, super helpful.

 

[Donnation]

I think you will be fine with it. I can tell you that I enjoy using the 2018 model much much more than I did the 2015 model. From a performance standpoint I think there is a difference for sure, but not one that would make the 2015 iPad unusable. The biggest difference to me is the form factor. the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” is what a tablet should be in my opinion. It’s very easily holdable and I use it sooo much more now simply because its not so freaking awkward to hold like the previous 12.9” model was.

Again, for your particular situation the 2015 will be great. I would check out the newer ones though if you get a chance as the form factor is really wonderful and makes it even more of a joy to use.

 

[legionsunited]

I think you will be fine with it. I can tell you that I enjoy using the 2018 model much much more than I did the 2015 model. From a performance standpoint I think there is a difference for sure, but not one that would make the 2015 iPad unusable. The biggest difference to me is the form factor. the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” is what a tablet should be in my opinion. It’s very easily holdable and I use it sooo much more now simply because its not so freaking awkward to hold like the previous 12.9” model was.

Again, for your particular situation the 2015 will be great. I would check out the newer ones though if you get a chance as the form factor is really wonderful and makes it even more of a joy to use.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[AlexJoda]

I think you will be fine with it. I can tell you that I enjoy using the 2018 model much much more than I did the 2015 model. From a performance standpoint I think there is a difference for sure, but not one that would make the 2015 iPad unusable. The biggest difference to me is the form factor. the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” is what a tablet should be in my opinion. It’s very easily holdable and I use it sooo much more now simply because its not so freaking awkward to hold like the previous 12.9” model was.

Again, for your particular situation the 2015 will be great. I would check out the newer ones though if you get a chance as the form factor is really wonderful and makes it even more of a joy to use.

As a 2015 and 2017 iPP 12.9“ user it is hard to imagine that the 2018 iPP is so much better to hold. The side bezels (if you hold it in landscape mode) are somewhat useful to hold the relatively heavy iPad without covering the display and the top and bottom bezels are not that much different to the 2018 version. There is even no weight and thickness advantage if you have a Smart Cover/Folio attached.

I only checked the 2018 iPP for a short time in store but it did not impress me that much to spend at least $1000 to upgrade my 512 GB Cellular gen 2 with all accessories....