iPad Pro For those that complain about iPad Pro being "too much" or "not needed" - there are other iPads

[Adelphos33]

More than any other product, the iPad Pro seems to be a topic of these philosophical debates about what the platform should be, is there too much power in the iPad Pro, should the OS change, etc.

Luckily, you can still buy an iPad and not really have to deal with any of this. New iPads start at $329, and new iPad Airs start at $599. These machines are wonderful for more basic iPad use and are legitimately good deals.

I have gotten a ton of good use out of my 12.9" iPad Pros in recent years and look forward to the upgrade. Those that use the big, powerful iPads know why they have them. If you want an iPad but don't want to spend more money than you think is necessary, or think the power is wasted for your needs, lucky Apple has already accommodated you. No need to complain

 

[gorkt]

The iPad Air is legit perfect for most people. Heck, even the 10.5 is amazing for the price.

 

[Warped9]

The mainstream 10.2 is more than sufficient for how most people use their tablets. The Air is nice if you want to watch lots of video, have more storage and like the Pro look without the Pro price.

The Pro is the best tablet hardware you can get and for those who feel they need that power and capability. Or for those who simply want the latest and greatest.

The 12.9 is a gorgeous beast and I would love to have one, but for my needs I cannot justify the price. Maybe if I win the lottery. I can justify spending a good chunk of change on a new iMac, but I find it hard to wrap my head around spending over a grand for a tablet. The key is the iMac is likely to last several years, as my current one is still kicking ten years on, but a tablet isn’t expected to be serviceable that long. Although you do hear of folks with 1st and 2nd generation iPads still being used even though they long cannot be updated.

 

[rui no onna]

Luckily, you can still buy an iPad and not really have to deal with any of this. New iPads start at $329, and new iPad Airs start at $599. These machines are wonderful for more basic iPad use and are legitimately good deals.

And these tablets are also quite powerful in their own right.

The entry level iPad 8th gen is comparable to the 2017 iPad Pros. I've found the A12/3GB is even snappier/more responsive than the A10X/4GB in some cases.

The iPad Air 4th gen has comparable performance to the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pros.

Buying previous generations discounted is also an option. I opted for the 2017 10.5" 512GB LTE for $650 (iirc) on sale because I couldn't stomach the $1700 asking price for the 2018 11" 1TB LTE at the time.

The 12.9 is a gorgeous beast and I would love to have one, but for my needs I cannot justify the price. Maybe if I win the lottery. I can justify spending a good chunk of change on a new iMac, but I find it hard to wrap my head around spending over a grand for a tablet. The key is the iMac is likely to last several years, as my current one is still kicking ten years on, but a tablet isn’t expected to be serviceable that long. Although you do hear of folks with 1st and 2nd generation iPads still being used even though they long cannot be updated.

For me, it boils down to usage. For personal use, I'm at ~80-90% iPad, ~5-10% iPhone and ~5% PC. Hence, I often prioritize the iPad over iPhone or PC.

iPads are more than fast enough now and the latest iteration is no longer RAM-starved. I can easily see getting at least 5 years of great performance from the 2021 iPad Pro. Besides, it seems to me that iPads are starting to receive OS updates for almost as long as Macs. I expect the Air 2 will be dropped from iPadOS 15 but it's still gotten 7 years worth of OS updates. Heck, even the 2013 OG Air is still receiving iOS 12 security updates.

 

[Warped9]

I’m not entirely sure, but I believe iPads generally have a longer service life than Samsungs or anything else on the market. Once again justifying the investment—you get more out of it.

 

[007p]

Which one runs macOS? Everything I see has a giant keyboard attached to it that I can’t remove

 

[dasjati]

Very well put. But these discussions don't have much to do with logic. People seem to be offended as soon as Apple presents a device that doesn't exactly match their specific usecase. And that's pretty much always, because people on these kind of forums are a teeny tiny subset of Apple's actual customers. Same with a lot of tech bloggers and tech YouTubers. If it's not for them, it's crap. Pretty annoying, but not much anyone can do about it besides ignore it

 

[cupcakes2000]

Which one runs macOS? Everything I see has a giant keyboard attached to it that I can’t remove

You’ll want a Mac to run macOS. iPads run iPadOS 👍

 

[sracer]

Why are there so many 12.9 iPad Pro owners who appear to be insecure in owning one that they feel the need to justify to others why they have one?

 

[HarryV]

I don’t get the complain. Seriously it’s not for you don’t get I it.
For example I’m perfectly fine with me 12.9 2020, thought I wish that the air came at 12.9. I have a tablet that I’m not using to its full potential only for the screen 😏

 

[cupcakes2000]

Why are there so many 12.9 iPad Pro owners who appear to be insecure in owning one that they feel the need to justify to others why they have one?

By “so many” i assume you mean the few vocal ones on mr? I’ll tell you why - its because for every one of them there are ten trolls posting fud about them.

 

[AutomaticApple]

The iPad Air is legit perfect for most people. Heck, even the 10.5 is amazing for the price.

The 10.5 is great if you want a white spot.

 

[thomstarboy]

I know I'm in the minority, but I want an iPad with at least 512gb if not more. I just wish that Apple wouldn't reserve those capacities to Pro models only. I would love a 1tb iPad Mini.

 

[calstanford]

I understand the complainers. Yes there are other iPads but the distinction Apple makes is sometimes non-sensical. 90% of people I know with the 12.9" iPad got it for one reason.
And for one reason only.

Screen size.

Not higher performance, not more RAM, not LIDAR scanners, not 120Hz, not Thunderbolt ports. They literally need no "pro" stuff. They just need a bigger screen.

Yet Apple doesn't sell a non-"Pro" with a bigger screen.

 

[rui no onna]

I understand the complainers. Yes there are other iPads but the distinction Apple makes is sometimes non-sensical. 90% of people I know with the 12.9" iPad got it for one reason.
And for one reason only.

Screen size.

Not higher performance, not more RAM, not LIDAR scanners, not 120Hz, not Thunderbolt ports. They literally need no "pro" stuff. They just need a bigger screen.

Yet Apple doesn't sell a non-"Pro" with a bigger screen.

True. I'd actually rather get 12.9 A14 + 8GB + 1TB for ~$400 less than the iPad Pro.

 

[Broadus]

I understand the complainers. Yes there are other iPads but the distinction Apple makes is sometimes non-sensical. 90% of people I know with the 12.9" iPad got it for one reason.
And for one reason only.

Screen size.

Not higher performance, not more RAM, not LIDAR scanners, not 120Hz, not Thunderbolt ports. They literally need no "pro" stuff. They just need a bigger screen.

Yet Apple doesn't sell a non-"Pro" with a bigger screen.

Agree. That’s why I opted for a discounted 2020 12.9” 128GB. Even on my 256GB 10.5 iPP I was using only 60GB. I dropped to the 128GB and the 2020 instead of 2021 because I was after the larger screen.

It was discounted to $799, so I was getting into the 2020 iPad Air price range had that line a larger screen.

 

[Serban55]

i still remember when the ipad air was released...and users said that is too close to the ipad pro....the old ipad pro..
now, the difference is a little bit higher and thats the way to go
For consumers ipad air is brilliant, for, very light users or for school that require an ipad...the budget one is also brilliant
Apple just made the ipad for everyone
Next its time Apple do the same for the mac segment...they already have the consumer mac segment check out..now starting (hopefuly) with WWDC, Apple will address and bring the devices for those who needs more from their mac
So by the end of the year...we will get at least 4 new macs (mac mini, 14 and 16" mbp and the bigger imac)

 

[bluecoast]

Agree with OP. The pitch/marketing sequence in the Apple Event a few weeks ago went over some specific use cases for the 2021 IPP - and they were all to do with cutting edge professional work using AV and AVR.

So I think if you weren’t watching that marketing sequence and jumping out of your seat about how this was going to change your 9-5… You probably don’t need it.

However, Apple will sell it to you if you want that gorgeous new screen/bragging rights, of course!

 

[nrvous1]

This is the type of thread I’m looking for. So, I’ve wanted an iPad ever since I’ve joined Apple’s ecosystem; iPhone (xr, 11 pro, 6s, se2, Series 5 AW, AirPods V2 and currently 12 and 12 mini). I’ve had a few Amazon fire tablets that I mainly use for media consumption as well as news feeds and emails. But, they’re terrible after about a year of use. My current fire tablet is just over 3 months old and it’s already sluggish.

My question is, for my use would 10.2” 32gb iPad ($329) be best for me? I don’t plan on doing any editing or professional work. I just really enjoy the ecosystem and the reliability of Apple’s products. How future proof is the 10.2” iPad? Will it still receive updates over the next couple of years? I currently have 50gb of iCloud storage as well. Can I backup anything that I may need on my iCloud account to keep space free on the iPad?

 

[Warped9]

iPads are often long lived. It's not uncommon to find 1st and 2nd generation iPads still in use even though the OS can no longer be updated (we're talking about ten years). iPad should last 5-6 years without issue. My mother uses a 6 year old iPad that still gets OS updates.

 

[rui no onna]

My question is, for my use would 10.2” 32gb iPad ($329) be best for me? I don’t plan on doing any editing or professional work. I just really enjoy the ecosystem and the reliability of Apple’s products. How future proof is the 10.2” iPad? Will it still receive updates over the next couple of years? I currently have 50gb of iCloud storage as well. Can I backup anything that I may need on my iCloud account to keep space free on the iPad?

Storage is the iffy part on that config. iOS has gotten bloated over the years. Right now, around 14GB is used up by System+Other on our 32GB iPad so there's pretty much just half available for your own apps and data. Otherwise, performance is pretty great for typical usage.

Both my parents want the Home button so the $395-399 iPad 8th gen 10.2" 128GB on sale at Amazon or Costco would be my choice for them should they need to upgrade.

With that said, they still seem to be perfectly content with their current iPads (2017 iPad 5th gen 32GB and 2016 iPad Pro 9.7 128GB).

 

[nrvous1]

How much safer in storage would I be going to the 64gb iPad Air instead of the 32gb iPad (10.2”)?

Edit: Nevermind, Best Buy has the 8th gen 10.2” iPad 128gb in stock for $430. Not bad at all. I’m set for curbside pickup tomorrow.

 

[Caviar_X]

I was so happy to get rid of my 2017 Pro 64 gig with all the white spots. The new 256 12.9 is literally life changing for me. Yeah it's $1399 and I have no plans to use any Pro apps, but I wanted the biggest screen size money could buy since I will have this for at least 5 years.

 

[rui no onna]

How much safer in storage would I be going to the 64gb iPad Air instead of the 32gb iPad (10.2”)?

Depends on what you do. Everything streaming or on cloud? You could probably get away with 32GB albeit that might feel super cramped if iPadOS gets more bloated. 64GB would probably be fine but again, this is dependent on what Apple does with future firmware updates.

 

[Warped9]

In terms of bang for the buck a 128GB 10.2 iPad is a better buy than a 64GB 10.9 iPad Air. You should save about $200 which would more than cover the cost of a decent case and even AppleCare+ if that interests you.

I would recommend the 10.9 Air mostly if you want something like the Pro without paying extra for one.

It all comes down to how you want to use the device and what you want. Certainly most people will likely never fill 128GB storage unless they store lots of videos and/games or an insane amount of photos. Note, too, there are also USB drives with a Lightning connector built-in allowing you to load and offload stuff from your iPad to wherever if you don’t want to use the cloud. You just need to install an appropriate free app from the App Store to use the USB drive.