All iPads Help me decide the right iPad for me

[maverick786us]

I was considering an 11 inch M2 iPad Pro having 256GB storage and Cellular network. But looking into the budget I realize that I have to wait bit more to gather money to buy it. I want to use iPad for....

1. Watching Media like YT, Netflix and so on where my M1 MacBook can be too difficult to hold
2. Use pencil for drawing graphs which can simultaneously sync with my MacBook Pro.
3. Gaming mostly 3D third person shooter and racing games.
4. Reading, mostly iBook and more

But my purpose of having an iPad is not to replace my MacBook

Is there a cheaper alternative? Latest generation iPad Air with 256GB Cellular seems to prize reasonable. But lack of Quad Speakers, the fact that it doesn't supports third generation pencil and I don't know how good it is for latest 3D gaming. I have fingers crossed.

What's your suggestion?

PS: This thread has nothing to do with the previous thread I posted about iPad Pro. I am just considering bit budget friendly alternatives to M2 Pro.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Speakers are certainly not as strong on the Air. Not sure what you’re referring to by “third generation pencil”, iPad Air and iPad Pro both use the 2nd gen. There is no 3rd gen. Air has an M-series CPU so I’d assume gaming is fine; I’m not a gamer.

 

[maverick786us]

Speakers are certainly not as strong on the Air. Not sure what you’re referring to by “third generation pencil”, iPad Air and iPad Pro both use the 2nd gen. There is no 3rd gen. Air has an M-series CPU so I’d assume gaming is fine; I’m not a gamer.

Apple unveils brand new 'affordable' Apple Pencil that costs $79 and has a USB-C port

A nice surprise...

www.imore.com

This pencil that Apple recently announced. I am not a hard core gamer, but sometimes I like playing 3D games

 

[ericwn]

Apple unveils brand new 'affordable' Apple Pencil that costs $79 and has a USB-C port

A nice surprise...

www.imore.com

This pencil that Apple recently announced. I am not a hard core gamer, but sometimes I like playing 3D games

I’m not sure I’d like to use the pencil for gaming at any decent pace. But you can also work with joypads on many games.

Apple offers a generous return policy so I’d encourage you to get the device that you have in mind and give it a go. Any M1 device should be more than decent for tablet gaming.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Apple unveils brand new 'affordable' Apple Pencil that costs $79 and has a USB-C port

A nice surprise...

www.imore.com

This pencil that Apple recently announced. I am not a hard core gamer, but sometimes I like playing 3D games

That pencil works on both Air and Pro. It’s not called the “3rd Gen” but just “Apple Pencil (USB-C)” - it’s… I’m not sure what the point of it is really ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ versus a $20 3rd party pencil. I use a 2nd gen with my iPad.

 

[maverick786us]

That pencil works on both Air and Pro. It’s not called the “3rd Gen” but just “Apple Pencil (USB-C)” - it’s… I’m not sure what the point of it is really ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ versus a $20 3rd party pencil. I use a 2nd gen with my iPad.

That was something recently announced so I thought that it was third generation

 

[Username-already-in-use]

The Air 5 will run games fine because it has an M1 8-core GPU. It will however be locked at 60Hz refresh rate, if frame rates matter. If being capped at 60fps is fine, then go for the Air. A reconditioned M1 Pro is also an option if you want a 120Hz screen and 120fps gaming.

The M2 iPad Pro has a 10-core GPU (35% increase in performance over M1) and supports the 120Hz refresh rate which will give you the best gaming experience at up to 120fps.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

That was something recently announced so I thought that it was third generation

It's a separate low-end Pencil that competes with the Logitech Crayon.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

I was considering an 11 inch M2 iPad Pro having 256GB storage and Cellular network. But looking into the budget I realize that I have to wait bit more to gather money to buy it. I want to use iPad for....

1. Watching Media like YT, Netflix and so on where my M1 MacBook can be too difficult to hold
2. Use pencil for drawing graphs which can simultaneously sync with my MacBook Pro.
3. Gaming mostly 3D third person shooter and racing games

But my purpose of having an iPad is not to replace my MacBook

Is there a cheaper alternative? Latest generation iPad Air with 256GB Cellular seems to prize reasonable. But lack of Quad Speakers, the fact that it doesn't supports third generation pencil and I don't know how good it is for latest 3D gaming. I have fingers crossed.

What's your suggestion?

PS: This thread has nothing to do with the previous thread I posted about iPad Pro. I am just considering bit budget friendly alternatives to M2 Pro.

Based on what you would like to have on an iPad, M2 ipad Pro is the best choice. Be patience to get it until you get enough money to buy it. Do not rush to get the one not meeting what you are looking for, as you will not be happy with it. Wish the best!

 

[FeliApple]

The best pencil is the 2nd-gen. The USB-C pencil is a cheaper, magnetic alternative for the 10th-gen iPad. Therefore, from your requirements, and considering that the M1 won’t struggle for gaming at all, the Air 5 is only missing Quad Speakers.

Is the difference in speakers worth the upgrade to the iPad Pro? In my opinion, no. You can get far better Bluetooth speakers for far less than the price difference. I’d just get the Air. See how you like it. If you do and would rather have better speakers, I’d just get decent Bluetooth speakers. I have the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and I’d take my Bluetooth speakers any day, even though the Pro’s speakers are significantly better than my Air 5’s speakers.

 

[darngooddesign]

Apple unveils brand new 'affordable' Apple Pencil that costs $79 and has a USB-C port

A nice surprise...

www.imore.com

This pencil that Apple recently announced. I am not a hard core gamer, but sometimes I like playing 3D games

Apple released an entry level Pencil; think of it as a Pencil-0.75 not a Pencil-3. Compared to the Pencil-2 it does not have pressure sensitivity or magnetic charging, but it will stay attached to the iPad magnetically. I think the magnetic charging is a really great feature so I'd recommend waiting for a discounted or used Pencil-2 instead of trying to save $40 by getting the new Pencil.

Back to your original question, I think the 256GB M1 Air would be a great iPad for you, just wait for a sale.

 

[MBAir2010]

I spent 4 months selecting an iPad.
the gen 10 blue with usb c does everything and more!
the ipad air gen 5 seemed great but too much, since i only need a tablet.
one week in August, i spent 60 hours a week drawing cartoons with the apple pencil.
the 9th is great as well, but does not have the improvements of the 10.

hoped this helped!

 

[960design]

I was considering an 11 inch M2 iPad Pro having 256GB storage and Cellular network. But looking into the budget I realize that I have to wait bit more to gather money to buy it. I want to use iPad for....

iPad Pro 11 M2, 256GB storage + 2nd gen pencil for wireless charging = YES.
This is my daily driver

I do not understand the Air, either get the Pro for power or not. The 10th gen iPad is pretty powerful. I think designing it with a 1st gen pencil was a bad idea, but they did not ask me.

PS: I have never heard my pro's speakers. I only use it with headphones.

 

[maverick786us]

Apple released an entry level Pencil; think of it as a Pencil-0.75 not a Pencil-3. Compared to the Pencil-2 it does not have pressure sensitivity or magnetic charging, but it will stay attached to the iPad magnetically. I think the magnetic charging is a really great feature so I'd recommend waiting for a discounted or used Pencil-2 instead of trying to save $40 by getting the new Pencil.

Back to your original question, I think the 256GB M1 Air would be a great iPad for you, just wait for a sale.

What's do you think about M1 iPad Pro? The 256GB Variant with cellular costs 250$ less than M2 variant with the same configuration.

From my understand the big advantage of M2 is specifically that it has better media encoder and decoder engines, and I am not using iPad for editing video, so will it matter?.

 

[darngooddesign]

What's do you think about M1 iPad Pro? The 256GB Variant with cellular costs 250$ less than M2 variant with the same configuration.

From my understand the big advantage of M2 is specifically that it has better media encoder and decoder engines, and I am not using iPad for editing video, so will it matter?.

I think the M1 is a great iPad. The M2 also has hover for the Apple Pencil, but if neither of those features are important, save some money. Woot occasionally has massive discounts on the Pros, but you would have to wait for that.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Is the difference in speakers worth the upgrade to the iPad Pro? In my opinion, no. You can get far better Bluetooth speakers for far less than the price difference.

Indeed - or AirPods, which have utility beyond their use with iPad.