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20% increase in viewable area is indeed significant, with only a marginal increase in size and weight. It's a very noticeable improvement in the form factor.
 
Meh I have a Note Pro 12.2 and it is heaver than the Ipad 12.9 so is my SP4 and I carry either one of those every day with me to work with my tank of a laptop. I've seen the 12.9 in person and I own the 10.5. The 10.5 is nice, but I just like large screens for reading magazines and comics. The 10.5 is going back and the 12.9 will be here on Monday.

Heavy is relative.
 
The bigger the better for me. If the pro came in bigger I would still buy it. Being able to use my Pro as a giant remote control for Audirvana's A+ Remote to control the Audirvana plugin on my Mac is cool. These iPads are a nice piece of tech.
 
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I was so hoping they would have done this with the new 12.9. That would have been awesome.
Probably see that in the next generation.

+1

Further to your point, I think that Apple will significantly alter iPads after iOS 11.

With the new launch bar and multitasking/control center, who needs to go to the home screen ? That topped by keyboard use and Siri always on should eliminate the need for a physical home button (aka iPhone 8/X/edition).
 
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I'm all about the 12.9" iPad but it wasn't a small increase in screen size going to the 10.5" screen. People are too hung up on .8" when they should be concerned about screen area. The 10.5" model added 17% of visual real estate over the 9.7".
 
I was so hoping they would have done this with the new 12.9. That would have been awesome.
Probably see that in the next generation.

I do say the one downside with the 10.5 so far is that I am getting more spurious touches trying to hold the thing than I did with the 9.7". The smaller bezels are not always a plus, unfortunately. It's still fine, but there are some types of grips that work with the 9.7" and 12.9" that don't work with the 10.5" at all.
 
Most arguments here regarding the screen size of the 10.5 sound like confirmation bias. Today I had all three models here: my old iPad Air 2, a 12.9 Pro and also the 10.5 Pro. And to me, the 10.5 feels exactly as small as the old 9.7.

So, personlly I have another kind of dilemm: Keep the 12.9 or stick with the 10.5. The latter is not really an option for me because for my use case the regular iPad is more than enough.
I think those people who didn't see any difference in screen size between 10.5 and 9.7 absolutely needs Eye glasses. Especially even for the Physical Size. The 10.5" iPad is actually HALF INCH TALLER it's more noticeable than iPhone 4S to iPhone 5. If you are one of them might as well get your eyes checked and is telling you need some grasses
 
I owned two 9.7” iPads in my life and I never really used them. First it was the 1st generation iPad and even though I was super excited about the idea of ultra portable computing, everything felt too cramped and I ended up jumping either to my iPhone or my 15” MacBook. Then I got the first iPad Air thinking that maybe they fixed up a few things after many generations of iPads and nothing, it stayed in my night stand’s drawer for almost three years until I sold it.

Then I got the new 12.9” iPad Pro and I think I’ve used it in the past weeks as much as I used the iPad Air in half a year. I’m really happy with it and I don’t think 10.5” would have been enough to make a difference. Firstly because I find the 10.5” smart Keyboard cramped while the 12.9” one is just as big as my laptops’s.

Portability? Well, it doesn’t fit in my pocket so if I will be carrying a bag I don’t mind it being slightly bigger. Holding it in your hand is definitely more uncomfortable but I didn’t find holding my 9.7” iPad comfortable either.

Also the price diference is negligible, I traded 4G conectivity for the extra size and I don’t regret it at all. iOS’s easy way to activate the hotspot functionality of your phone from the settings of your iPad makes it a no brainer to give up an extra data plan and saving 100$.
 
Once they shrink down the casing of the 12.9 to be more similar to the 10.5 I think it will be pretty gold standard - they’ve already managed to reduce the weight slightly with the second gen, hopefully that would take it even lower!
 
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I think those people who didn't see any difference in screen size between 10.5 and 9.7 absolutely needs Eye glasses. Especially even for the Physical Size. The 10.5" iPad is actually HALF INCH TALLER it's more noticeable than iPhone 4S to iPhone 5. If you are one of them might as well get your eyes checked and is telling you need some grasses

There is no significant size increase between the 9.7 and 10.5. If 1 inch is that noticeable to you, that's great. Otherwise it truly is not significant say like going from the 9.7 to the 12.9. My eyes are just fine :)
 
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Went from a 9.7 to a 12.9 and I love it. For my work (annotating/pdfs) it's so much better. Tried the 10.5 in the store and it didn't seem that much bigger. Don't regret having the larger iPad at all. But hey, totally get that some people don't like the larger size.
 
I have them both, and for my eyes 12.9 is miles ahead of 10.5. If Apple would release a 15” ipad, I will buy that in a heartbeat.
 
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Not sure why the OP is so emphatic. “PLEASE try the 10.5!”? Why should he/she care? People are so strange.
 
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Not sure why the OP is so emphatic. “PLEASE try the 10.5!”? Why should he/she care? People are so strange.

I'd say its halfway between just wanting to be helpful to others facing a similar purchase decision, and seeking affirmation for their own choice.

Based on the replies, its still probably more subjective than anything how much of a difference people will perceive. Simultaneously I can agree I'd have probably gone for the 10.5 if it'd been an option when I got my 9.7, but I've also tried it out in the store, and even after owning a 9.7" tablet since 2012, I can't immediately tell if I'm picking up a 9.7 or 10.5 model until I scroll and see promotion.

Promotion is a bigger display draw than the real estate in my case, but I have no faith in apple to deliver any sustained value on that front, as they've already pushed unoptimized updates that make single generation old hardware struggle to deliver remotely smooth UI. My iPad Pro 9.7" is struggling with responsiveness and performance issues that are reminiscent of the incredibly disappointing iPad 3rd gen. I can only imagine how disappointing it would be to have one of the tentpole features be "smooth ui" and have it undermined when they can't be bothered to maintain it after next year's update.
 
Not sure why the OP is so emphatic. “PLEASE try the 10.5!”? Why should he/she care? People are so strange.
First of all she does not CARE she is just WORRIED about the future consumer that wants to upgrade their 9.7" iPad to the iPad Pro 12.9 because its Too Big. It is called SUGGESTING a 10.5 " iPad product to avoid Size Adjustment Shock. Again, She don't care she's just WORRIED.
 
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First of all she does not CARE she is just WORRIED about the future consumer that wants to upgrade their 9.7" iPad to the iPad Pro 12.9 because its Too Big. It is called SUGGESTING a 10.5 " iPad product to avoid Size Adjustment Shock. Again, She don't care she's just WORRIED.

If you have a 9.7" iPad and want a bigger screen... PLEASE try the 12.9 before going 10.5!

I doesn't care I am just WORRIED.
 
It’s all personal.

I have all four sizes and, from my point-of-view, the 10.5 just is NOT a significant increase and isn’t even noticeable over the 9.7. In fact, if the 10.5 wasn’t a work device, I probably would not have purchased one to replace my 9.7.
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It comes down to consumer choice. I honestly do not believe their is a wrong choice between the 10.5 or 12.9.

I agree. Both are excellent machines, it just comes down to your needs.
 
My wife has a 10.5 that works very well for her. I have the 12.9 gen2. The larger screen has helped my old guy eyes a bunch. My only difficulty so far is that it is too big for the sleeve in my backpack. For me, that's not such a big deal.
 
i just got my 512gb 12.9 yesterday, my god the sound and screen are great, comics and mags look fantastic, HDR on the video pops I'll be keep my 9.7 2017 ipad for out and about, but i'll be using the 12.9 anytime else its fantastic
 
Recently I upgraded from Air 2 to the iPad Pro 10.5. As much as I like the big screen of the 12.9, I didn’t like the weight and it wasn’t as easily portable as the 10.5. I wish the next iteration of 10.5 will maintain the overall size and weight, but have a larger screen with slimmer bezels and without a home button (just like iPhone X).
 
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