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watchmainspring

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 2, 2005
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Boston
dont want to miss any major features. The buying guide suggests we won't get an updated pro this year. Should I wait to be safe?
 
The answer to this question whenever it comes up is usually the same.

If you aren't in a pressing need for a new device of any kind, why not wait and get the latest?

If you can wait, if a new iPP does get released, you will get it with iPadOS already installed. Win Win.
 
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No one knows for sure.

It is up to you!

There is your answer - wait.

The answer to this question whenever it comes up is usually the same.

If you aren't in a pressing need for a new device of any kind, why not wait and get the latest?

If you can wait, if a new iPP does get released, you will get it with iPadOS already installed. Win Win.

Thanks. I can definitely manage with my iPad 6 for the time being. Though I share with my kids ha
 
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No don’t wait. The present iPad Pro is near perfect (particularly with iOS 13), and Apple tends to only update the iPad about every 18 months. So unlikely to be update until 2020.

My guess is when they do update it will just be an S tweak after the major advances last year.
 
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dont want to miss any major features. The buying guide suggests we won't get an updated pro this year. Should I wait to be safe?
Doesn’t seem like we’ll see any substantial update this fall if there is one (major feature-wise)— but as doboy suggested... keep your eye out for a discount, there have been some decent sales lately— $150-$300 off even.
 
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I’m waiting myself. I’m fine with either Q4 2019 or H1 2020. I’m expecting 6 GB RAM with A13X, and I’m hoping for a 128 GB at the entry level.

5G will not make an appearance, but I don’t care since I’ll most likely be getting a WiFi model.
 
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Amazon has them on sale for $150 off at least, and if you're in Florida, it's tax free until tomorrow. That's a great price for what the iPad Pro has to offer and in my opinion, outweighs any new features (likely marginal) that a new release would include.
 
dont want to miss any major features. The buying guide suggests we won't get an updated pro this year. Should I wait to be safe?
Good advice given already in this thread.

I recommend waiting... but with strong parameters otherwise you'll be in the endless cycle of waiting.

If you have the opportunity to buy a new 2018 iPad Pro @ $200 off, then I'd recommend buying THAT. I'm still predicting that there will be a minor spec bump in Oct/Nov to the current Pros... by minor, I mean storage models less than 1TB receiving 6 GB RAM, with a lesser possibility of a processor bump.

But if you wait until then and nothing is new or updated, then have a plan of what you'll do because there will then be the drum beats of new models for March 2020. My suggestion would be, if there are no new/updated models in the Fall, then jump on the first sale on current Pros that are $125 or more off.
 
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Amazon had the 12.9" 256 on sale for $949, with free financing of $190 for 5 months - which I jumped on.
 
Given the rumours, unless you're absolutely desperate no reason not to wait a couple more months and see?
 
Amazon had the 12.9" 256 on sale for $949, with free financing of $190 for 5 months - which I jumped on.
Decent deal but in the used market I've found some arguably better deals. But they're used.

Given the rumours, unless you're absolutely desperate no reason not to wait a couple more months and see?
fair enough.
The Air 3 is better value for money than the Pro, IMO.
Already have a 6th gen which is the same processor, correct? It's technically my kids'.
 
Wow. Can't imagine faster than this.
Here’s a little table I created when we were speculating about what iOS 13 would require:



IMO, even for surfing you can notice a speed difference between the A10X iPad Pros and the slower iPads, but anything with A8X and above is acceptable. I have both the A10X iPad Pro 10.5” and the A8X iPad Air 2, along with an A10 iPhone 7 Plus, and A9 iPhone SE and iPhone 6s. I don’t have an A12 iPad but we have an A12 XR and while it isn’t a great comparison since it’s not an iPad, overall it doesn’t feel noticeably speedier than my iPad Pro 10.5.

OTOH, A12X in the 3rd generation iPad Pros is blistering fast, and at least if you’re comparing side-by-side against the A10X iPad Pro 10.5”, I can notice that it is indeed faster even for surfing. However, in reality for surfing, right now A12X is probably overkill.

IOW, I think of three major classes of speed when it comes to iPads compatible with iPadOS 13:

Class 1 (Good): A8X, A9, A9X, A10
Class 2 (Excellent): A10X, A11, A12
Class 3 (Outstanding): A12X
 
IOW, I think of three major classes of speed when it comes to iPads compatible with iPadOS 13:

Class 1 (Good): A8X, A9, A10
Class 2 (Excellent): A10X, A11, A12
Class 3 (Outstanding): A12X
I'd actually insert another class there:

Class 1 (Good): A8X
Class 2 (Better): A9, A10
Class 3 (Excellent): A10X, A11, A12
Class 4 (Outstanding): A12X

I know A9 scores the same as A8X in Geekbench 4 Multi-Core but it's noticeably faster in a number of tasks. Could be due to a number of things: faster single-core, LPDDR4, faster storage.
 
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I'd actually insert another class there:

Class 1 (Good): A8X
Class 2 (Better): A9, A10
Class 3 (Excellent): A10X, A11, A12
Class 4 (Outstanding): A12X

I know A9 scores the same as A8X in Geekbench 4 Multi-Core but it's noticeably faster in a number of tasks. Could be due to a number of things: faster single-core, LPDDR4, faster storage.
Yeah, I think that’s reasonable. A8X does slow down from time to time, and I did just call it “acceptable” earlier in the post. A10 is sometimes noticeably faster. OTOH, I’m not quite as convinced about A9. While you’re not wrong, I’d say A9 maybe is closer to A8X than it is A10. Thus, perhaps I’d rearrange it slightly, like this:

Class 1 (Good): A8X, A9
Class 2 (Better): A10
Class 3 (Excellent): A10X, A11, A12
Class 4 (Outstanding): A12X

But I have no big qualms with your classification either.

In any case, my preferred performance cutoff in an iPad is A10X in 2019, but I think A10 is OK too. Interestingly, I have no major issue with the performance of my 2017 Core m3 MacBook for surfing and business use, and it falls in between A10 and A10X for its multi-core scores, at around 7000. OTOH, I found the 2015 Core m3 MacBook noticeably slower, sometimes annoyingly so, and that MacBook scores closer to A9, at around 4500-4900 or so.
 
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