iPad Pro Give me reason to upgrade (or not)

[kristalsoldier]

I have an IPad Pro 10.5 since July/Aug 2017 (EDIT: Its the 64 GB version of which I find only 32GB used. I use OneDrive a lot). I also have and use the Pencil a lot.

I use my iPad fairly frequently and mainly for reading (ePub/ pdf), heavy annotations on PDF, notes taking on OneNote, light email work, light browsing. I also travel quite a bit and my iPad accompanied me everywhere. It’s in a Tech 21 case with a leather Smart Cover.

My reason for buying the iPad mainly was for the reading, annotating, and note taking work, which is critical for my day job.

Currently, the battery lasts for as long as I need it to, that is to say, it is more than adequate for my use (approx 7 to 9 hours) on days I am pushing it but normally for 3 to 4 hours.

i have seen and handled the 11” Pro and i quite like the profile.

I can afford without a pinch to upgrade. So, should I?

what are your views?

i should also add, no white spots, no bends, nothing of the sort on my 10.5 Pro (at least as of now).

 

[Ghost31]

If you like what you got and have no issues, only reason to upgrade is because there might be some cool nifty feature that will change your life. Is there? i dont know.

I can tell you from my own personal experience: i upgraded from the 10.5 to the 11 in 2018 and it was already a hell of an upgrade. Face id and the new design alone killed it for me. The extra .5 inches of real estate was noticeable (.5 inches is noticeable. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Especially women) and the Apple Pencil, though i dont use it, was noticeably better. wirelss charging that thing alone was huge, but then the texture, the tapping on it to switch modes and the better latency makes it feel like a legit upgrade.

But for me and this is the whammy of them all its gotta be the Mac daddy of all accessories: the magic keyboard. I dont know if you really care about it, but for me? This is as big of an accessory in my mind as the AirPods were in 2016. This is a big deal. THIS is the product I’ve waited almost 10 years for. The product we’ve talked about in forums wanting and it’s finally come to fruition and its everything we dreamed of and more. Typing on it right now. The way it makes your iPad float. The pleasure to type on. The backlighting! The trackpad. Drooool. Its just amazing.

If i were you? Who knows. But i’m me. And me says if someone forced me to use my old 10.5 and took away all the features AND the magic keyboard, I’d feel like i was missing Out. Big time

 

[mr_jomo]

IMHO 0% reason to upgrade based on your usage. The newer iPad Pros will not provide measurable improvements compared to your 10.5 Pro. My use is almost 1-1 compared to yours.

The wife took possession of my 10.5 Pro when I got a iPad Pro 12.9, 2018. Apart from marginally better iPad Pen, I could have saved me the large investment and been perfectly content even the next 1-2 years.

 

[AutomaticApple]

i should also add, no white spots, no bends, nothing of the sort on my 10.5 Pro (at least as of now).

This is why you should upgrade before it's too late.

 

[Angler]

It depends what you value. For me I had the 10.5 and upgraded in 2018. It was a great move. The screen is bigger, it’s feels better in hand, pencil better, face id, better screen, smaller bezels, to name just a few of the improvement. It wouldn’t be an incremental upgrade. They are two different animals.

 

[zhenya]

IPads have an extremely long functional life and relatively low resale value so upgrading often is expensive. I went from the 9.7” Pro to the 11” in 2018, and just added the Magic Keyboard. @Ghost31 hit most of the main points. From the 9.7” the screen size update was substantial. It will be less so from the 10.5, but still noticeable, and for me, the equal size bezels make a big difference in how “modern” the device feels.

Honestly though, I would probably only update if you really want the Magic Keyboard. Otherwise I suspect it’s the next round of updates (which may be another year for the 11”) that will significantly change the Pro again.

 

[LibbyLA]

I had an iPad Pro 9.7, got the iPP 10.5 when it came out, and the iPP 11 when it came out. I still have both the 10.5 and the 11 and use them both at the same time when grading papers. If you use the pencil a lot, the pencil 2/iPP 11 combo is much more convenient. The pencil stays with the iPad, doesn’t have to be charged separately, and there’s no cap to come loose or lose. The slightly larger screen space in about the same physical space is nice, as well.

 

[kristalsoldier]

This is why you should upgrade before it's too late.

hmm...have not had any of these issues since 2017, why should I expect them now?
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I had an iPad Pro 9.7, got the iPP 10.5 when it came out, and the iPP 11 when it came out. I still have both the 10.5 and the 11 and use them both at the same time when grading papers. If you use the pencil a lot, the pencil 2/iPP 11 combo is much more convenient. The pencil stays with the iPad, doesn’t have to be charged separately, and there’s no cap to come loose or lose. The slightly larger screen space in about the same physical space is nice, as well.

This is true. The 1st gen Pencil is a pain to charge and manage. This is one point in favour of upgrading. Though I wonder if it is enough of a reason to. But thanks. Valid point.
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IPads have an extremely long functional life and relatively low resale value so upgrading often is expensive. I went from the 9.7” Pro to the 11” in 2018, and just added the Magic Keyboard. @Ghost31 hit most of the main points. From the 9.7” the screen size update was substantial. It will be less so from the 10.5, but still noticeable, and for me, the equal size bezels make a big difference in how “modern” the device feels.

Honestly though, I would probably only update if you really want the Magic Keyboard. Otherwise I suspect it’s the next round of updates (which may be another year for the 11”) that will significantly change the Pro again.

Again, very valid points. I rarely use an external keyboard. I use a Logitech K380 on the rare occasions that I need to. Plus, I don’t carry the KB around usually, unless I know I will be needing it.
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It depends what you value. For me I had the 10.5 and upgraded in 2018. It was a great move. The screen is bigger, it’s feels better in hand, pencil better, face id, better screen, smaller bezels, to name just a few of the improvement. It wouldn’t be an incremental upgrade. They are two different animals.

Better Pencil, yes. I already noted my preference for the profile (which includes the smaller bezels). Face ID is irrelevant to me. But are they, as you put it, really “two different animals”? Hmm...not yet convinced. But thanks for your points. Thought provoking.

 

[frankdogg]

I think if you have someone in your life that you could pass this iPad down to, I’d use it an opportunity to upgrade.

 

[kristalsoldier]

IMHO 0% reason to upgrade based on your usage. The newer iPad Pros will not provide measurable improvements compared to your 10.5 Pro. My use is almost 1-1 compared to yours.

Tha wife took possession of my 10.5 Pro when I got a iPad Pro 12.9, 2018. Apart from marginally better iPad Pen, I'd could have saved me the large investment and been perfectly content even the next 1-2 years.

Yeps... precisely my dilemma. Maybe waiting for the next iteration is a wiser corse of action. Let’s see. Thank you!
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If you like what you got and have no issues, only reason to upgrade is because there might be some cool nifty feature that will change your life. Is there? i dont know.

I can tell you from my own personal experience: i upgraded from the 10.5 to the 11 in 2018 and it was already a hell of an upgrade. Face id and the new design alone killed it for me. The extra .5 inches of real estate was noticeable (.5 inches is noticeable. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Especially women) and the Apple Pencil, though i dont use it, was noticeably better. wirelss charging that thing alone was huge, but then the texture, the tapping on it to switch modes and the better latency makes it feel like a legit upgrade.

But for me and this is the whammy of them all its gotta be the Mac daddy of all accessories: the magic keyboard. I dont know if you really care about it, but for me? This is as big of an accessory in my mind as the AirPods were in 2016. This is a big deal. THIS is the product I’ve waited almost 10 years for. The product we’ve talked about in forums wanting and it’s finally come to fruition and its everything we dreamed of and more. Typing on it right now. The way it makes your iPad float. The pleasure to type on. The backlighting! The trackpad. Drooool. Its just amazing.

If i were you? Who knows. But i’m me. And me says if someone forced me to use my old 10.5 and took away all the features AND the magic keyboard, I’d feel like i was missing Out. Big time

You are right. Like I mentioned, my use of the keyboard is minimal. For KB intensive work, I always rely on my Thinkpad, which boasts of one of the best keyboard experiences as you may already know. Thanks for your inputs. Very valuable and though provoking.
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I think if you have someone in your life that you could pass this iPad down to, I’d use it an opportunity to upgrade.

Well, I don’t have anyone in my life as you put it. So either I would sell it to Apple or on some other platform. Thanks.

 

[1rottenapple]

Your reasons don’t seem big enough to warrant an upgrade unless you truly want to. But if you have to ask strangers on the net to convince you, then you probably should not upgrade. Your reasons don’t seem to warrant it.
I upgrade from 2018 12.9 to 2020 11 Cause I wanted something smaller and wanted to give it to the wife cause she needed it. I could have gone 2018 11 instead of the 2020... but I didn’t pull the trigger on the 2018 refurbished sale and missed it.

 

[rui no onna]

I had an iPad Pro 9.7, got the iPP 10.5 when it came out, and the iPP 11 when it came out. I still have both the 10.5 and the 11 and use them both at the same time when grading papers. If you use the pencil a lot, the pencil 2/iPP 11 combo is much more convenient. The pencil stays with the iPad, doesn’t have to be charged separately, and there’s no cap to come loose or lose. The slightly larger screen space in about the same physical space is nice, as well.

I often have to annotate multiple documents side by side so I actually went with iPad Air 3 (one of my primary iPads) + iPad 7th gen ($230 dedicated for work) + Logitech Crayon.

The Crayon doesn't require pairing so I could easily write on either iPad just like I can with pen and sheafs of paper. Saves me from printing out ~900 pages per month plus no more lost/misplaced pages and GoodReader makes finding annotated pages easy (no more Post-it flags).

Coronavirus has affected finances though so I'm putting off my planned 1TB iPad Pro upgrades (more of a minor want than need).

 

[metalcyclone]

I had the 10.5” iPad Pro (which I loved), since the day it was released and I bought an 11 in 2018 on the day that was released as well... I did however sell my 10.5 in order to buy the new Apple Pencil and a Red UAG Metropolis case for my 11” Pro shortly after getting it.

I would say upgrade. The design on the new iPads (2018 and 2020) are so much more modern IMO and the convenience of the pencil charging on the side and Face ID are pluses as well. The whole package just feels more up to date. Plus with the 2020 models you’ve got more base storage with 128GB should you ever need it in a pinch, I know you said you use OneDrive but it’s always good to have and it increases the resale value too. Plus the A12z is supposed to be a little faster than the A12x and I’m sure it’s miles beyond the A10x in the 10.5. For me though, it was mostly just about the design. I like my tech to be futuristic looking and feeling. And that, the new design certainly is.

In the end it’s your decision and no one can tell you what you should or shouldn’t do but what we CAN do is recommend the new iPad Pros and from a design stand point, coming from someone with a 2018 model, I definitely recommend them!! Hope that helps you make a good decision.

 

[sparksd]

I upgraded from the 10.5 to the 2018 12.9 not because I needed to - I just wanted to and could afford it. I liked the larger screen and small bezel. I’m also a retired engineer and tech stuff are my toys. Enough justification for me. And I’m really glad I did it. You said you liked the new device and can afford it - buy it, try it out and see if it’s worth it to you and if not, return within the return window.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I upgraded from the 10.5 to the 2018 12.9 not because I needed to - I just wanted to and could afford it. I liked the larger screen and small bezel. I’m also a retired engineer and tech stuff are my toys. Enough justification for me. And I’m really glad I did it. You said you liked the new device and can afford it - buy it, try it out and see if it’s worth it to you and if not, return within the return window.

Thanks. I might just do that...buy it, try it, and see how it may feel. Would have Ben a hell of a lot convenient if the Apple store, which is a short walk away would have been open though...sadly it not due to this virus nonsense.
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I had the 10.5” iPad Pro (which I loved), since the day it was released and I bought an 11 in 2018 on the day that was released as well... I did however sell my 10.5 in order to buy the new Apple Pencil and a Red UAG Metropolis case for my 11” Pro shortly after getting it.

I would say upgrade. The design on the new iPads (2018 and 2020) are so much more modern IMO and the convenience of the pencil charging on the side and Face ID are pluses as well. The whole package just feels more up to date. Plus with the 2020 models you’ve got more base storage with 128GB should you ever need it in a pinch, I know you said you use OneDrive but it’s always good to have and it increases the resale value too. Plus the A12z is supposed to be a little faster than the A12x and I’m sure it’s miles beyond the A10x in the 10.5. For me though, it was mostly just about the design. I like my tech to be futuristic looking and feeling. And that, the new design certainly is.

In the end it’s your decision and no one can tell you what you should or shouldn’t do but what we CAN do is recommend the new iPad Pros and from a design stand point, coming from someone with a 2018 model, I definitely recommend them!! Hope that helps you make a good decision.

thank you! Yes, the aesthetics of the 11” does appeal to me as I noted in my original post.
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Your reasons don’t seem big enough to warrant an upgrade unless you truly want to. But if you have to ask strangers on the net to convince you, then you probably should not upgrade. Your reasons don’t seem to warrant it.
I upgrade from 2018 12.9 to 2020 11 Cause I wanted something smaller and wanted to give it to the wife cause she needed it. I could have gone 2018 11 instead of the 2020... but I didn’t pull the trigger on the 2018 refurbished sale and missed it.

Correct. The reason to upgrade does not appear to be an imperative in my specific case. It’s more a question of satisfying my aesthetic tendencies more than anything else. The question is, is it worth it? Depending on the stance I take, there are pros and cons to either side of the decision.

 

[LibbyLA]

I often have to annotate multiple documents side by side so I actually went with iPad Air 3 (one of my primary iPads) + iPad 7th gen ($230 dedicated for work) + Logitech Crayon.

The Crayon doesn't require pairing so I could easily write on either iPad just like I can with pen and sheafs of paper. Saves me from printing out ~900 pages per month plus no more lost/misplaced pages and GoodReader makes finding annotated pages easy (no more Post-it flags).

Coronavirus has affected finances though so I'm putting off my planned 1TB iPad Pro upgrades (more of a minor want than need).

If I hadn’t already had the two iPad Pros, I would certainly have considered picking up a 7th generation as a second tablet. You may have given me an excuse to pick up a Logitech Crayon, though. I like my Apple pencils, but I don’t need pressure sensitivity for marking papers. Not having to swap pencils could be very handy.

One of my students commented that he liked marked up PDFs because he could tell very easily where the comments were and go straight to them, unlike with paper.
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I often have to annotate multiple documents side by side so I actually went with iPad Air 3 (one of my primary iPads) + iPad 7th gen ($230 dedicated for work) + Logitech Crayon.

The Crayon doesn't require pairing so I could easily write on either iPad just like I can with pen and sheafs of paper. Saves me from printing out ~900 pages per month plus no more lost/misplaced pages and GoodReader makes finding annotated pages easy (no more Post-it flags).

Coronavirus has affected finances though so I'm putting off my planned 1TB iPad Pro upgrades (more of a minor want than need).

A quick search of Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Apple turns up no new crayons in stock. Apple says 10-12 weeks. I wonder if it’s a supply chain issue or whether there will be a new model.

Added later: crayon doesn’t work with iPP 10.5 so getting one wouldn’t save me any pencil swapping. Never mind! It’s something to keep in mind at some point when I upgrade to a new iPP and the 11” 2018 becomes my backup but that probably won’t be soon.

 

[marty1980]

Main reason I could see for you to upgrade is for the 12.9” for the bigger screen which could improve your annotating and note taking experience. But you have to weigh that with how you feel about holding the larger device for reading.

if you’re looking at the 11” I say wait another year or 2. You won’t regret upgrading now, but I believe you’ll get more value out of the upgrade if you wait a while longer.

 

[rui no onna]

If I hadn’t already had the two iPad Pros, I would certainly have considered picking up a 7th generation as a second tablet. You may have given me an excuse to pick up a Logitech Crayon, though. I like my Apple pencils, but I don’t need pressure sensitivity for marking papers. Not having to swap pencils could be very handy.

Added later: crayon doesn’t work with iPP 10.5 so getting one wouldn’t save me any pencil swapping. Never mind! It’s something to keep in mind at some point when I upgrade to a new iPP and the 11” 2018 becomes my backup but that probably won’t be soon.

I actually already had the 2017 iPP 12.9, iPP 10.5, Air 3 and two Apple Pencils. I'd already lost the tiny Lightning male-female adapters and was just charging the Pencil via iPad which is pretty ugly and an accident waiting to happen.

When one of my Pencils died, I borrowed a 2018 iPad 9.7" from family and got the Crayon instead. Liked that setup so much (one Crayon, two iPads) that when Target ran sales on the iPad 7th gen for $229, I decided it was cheap enough to buy as a dedicated work iPad.

Right now, I still need to use AP1 on my iPP 12.9. Being able to use the same Crayon on all my iPads is one of things I'm looking forward to when I eventually upgrade to the new iPad Pros.

 

[1rottenapple]

Thanks. I might just do that...buy it, try it, and see how it may feel. Would have Ben a hell of a lot convenient if the Apple store, which is a short walk away would have been open though...sadly it not due to this virus nonsense.
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thank you! Yes, the aesthetics of the 11” does appeal to me as I noted in my original post.
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Correct. The reason to upgrade does not appear to be an imperative in my specific case. It’s more a question of satisfying my aesthetic tendencies more than anything else. The question is, is it worth it? Depending on the stance I take, there are pros and cons to either side of the decision.

Ok if one reason is aesthetics I say UPGRADE Do you watch the show Westworld? They have these thin tablets and the current iPad Pro especially the 11, remind me of that. It’s a really neat gadget and it’s my favorite purchase since 2018, even better than my current iPhone.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Ok if one reason is aesthetics I say UPGRADE Do you watch the show Westworld? They have these thin tablets and the current iPad Pro especially the 11, remind me of that. It’s a really neat gadget and it’s my favorite purchase since 2018, even better than my current iPhone.

i don’t watch TV. But I get your point.
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Main reason I could see for you to upgrade is for the 12.9” for the bigger screen which could improve your annotating and note taking experience. But you have to weigh that with how you feel about holding the larger device for reading.

if you’re looking at the 11” I say wait another year or 2. You won’t regret upgrading now, but I believe you’ll get more value out of the upgrade if you wait a while longer.

Ah...no... the 12.9” screen would be too big for me.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Thanks all. I considered your comments and weighed the pros and cons. I have decided to wait it out for a bit longer. As I mentioned, the 10.5” is serving,y current purposes well. The Pencil, however, is an irritating sticking point...inconvenient. i also think over the course of another year the battery may see some degradation at which point it may make a lot more sense to upgrade to whatever is current at the time. Again, thanks for your comments and insights.

 

[lax28]

If you have no need for and don’t plan to get the MK, and would definitely get the 11”, then I would say hold out to the fall or next spring. If rumors hold we may see next upgrade quicker than usual and it will most likely be more of a significant one. The 10.5 (as long as you don’t have one with any of the common issues) is a great iPad.

 

[Zaino]

I have the same "problem". I have an Ipad 10.5 pro 64 slightly bent and with a bright spot on the screen. I can't decide between staying with this Ipad or upgrade for Ipad Pro 11 inch. I need an apple pen but still can't decide in buying a pen or a new ipad +pen.

 

[kristalsoldier]

If you have no need for and don’t plan to get the MK, and would definitely get the 11”, then I would say hold out to the fall or next spring. If rumors hold we may see next upgrade quicker than usual and it will most likely be more of a significant one. The 10.5 (as long as you don’t have one with any of the common issues) is a great iPad.

Thanks. I was thinking along similar lines.
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I have the same "problem". I have an Ipad 10.5 pro 64 slightly bent and with a bright spot on the screen. I can't decide between staying with this Ipad or upgrade for Ipad Pro 11 inch. I need an apple pen but still can't decide in buying a pen or a new ipad +pen.

Well, your machine has that spot problem and a bend. If mine had that I would probably upgrade. But mine doesn’t which makes the matter a bit more complicated. But I have decided not to do anything right now and hold off for a bit. Good luck with what you decide to do in due course.

 

[Christopher Kim]

Just a few weeks ago, I upgraded from the 10.5 iPP to the 2018 11 iPP. I was able to get a BNIB on local secondary marketplace. Saved quite a bit (~25% off the new price of the 2020 iPP, and no tax) which helped me justify it, as it also was more of a "nice to have" vs a "need" as the 10.5 iPP was still totally great for my use case.

Now, I had a few other reasons that spurred the upgrade (could pass 10.5 iPP to kid whose OG iPad Air was really getting slow), but I liked that it's essentially the same as the 2020 iPP (biggest difference for me was 4GB vs 6GB RAM, only real consideration for me, better camera wasn't a factor) and compatible with Magic Keyboard should I get in the future.

Took me a few weeks to find the right BNIB for sale at the right price (and stayed patient since it was a want vs a need), but could be another option for you (and as you mentioned, you could also sell your 10.5 iPP to recoup additional costs).
I also could afford it, but during these unique quarantine times, minimizing costs on "wants" helps nudge the decision.