iPad I’m worried about needing ProMotion

[Techsmash]

When I switched from my iPhone 11 to a 13 Pro Max I was immediately amazed by what I believe is ProMotion. Everything was so clear as I scrolled down the page. It was a night and day difference and I really liked it.

Now I am looking to purchase an iPad, I will be doing a lot of consuming and surfing on it. For my uses the base model iPad would be more than enough. I’m not a super power user and I don’t need lots of processing power. But my only concern is I feel like I’ll be going backwards and I might not like it without ProMotion.

Am I going to be unhappy when I put down my 13 Pro Max and pickup the base model iPad? It just seems like a waste to spend over twice as much money on the Pro model iPad just for one feature.

 

[fwmireault]

I recommend you just order the base iPad, and you take a few days to assess of much you really need promotion. It makes a difference indeed, but at the same time it really depends how much you want to use your iPad and for what purposes (e.g. Promotion doesn't bring a lot of value in media consumption). I don't think anyone really needs promotion, but if you feel like this is an important feature to you, you can alway bring back the base iPad and go for an iPad Pro.

If you're looking for a cost-effective promotion iPad, look at older iPad Pro models

 

[Techsmash]

I recommend you just order the base iPad, and you take a few days to assess of much you really need promotion. It makes a difference indeed, but at the same time it really depends how much you want to use your iPad and for what purposes (e.g. Promotion doesn't bring a lot of value in media consumption). I don't think anyone really needs promotion, but if you feel like this is an important feature to you, you can alway bring back the base iPad and go for an iPad Pro.

If you're looking for a cost-effective promotion iPad, look at older iPad Pro models

Thank you for the response, what you said makes a lot of sense.

I definitely don’t -need- ProMotion, it’s just that it is the only thing that I have ever noticed being better when I purchased a newer model iPhone. And it stood out so much. And now it almost feels like going backwards.

I’m going to order the base model like you said and worst case scenario I’ll return it.

 

[estabya]

The is the sort of thing that seems to vary person to person. For what it’s worth I switch regularly between a 13 Pro and 13 mini, iPad Pro 11 and iPad mini 6. The lack of high refresh rate on the non pro devices does not bother me at all.

 

[teh_hunterer]

I'm not going back to 60hz. If you can afford it, 120hz especially on touch screen devices, is worth it.

 

[sparksd]

Different people have different sensitivities to it, something akin to jelly scrolling on the Mini 6. I don't really notice jelly scrolling or the presence or lack of ProMotion but both are readily noticeable to others.

 

[Surfsalot]

Of course anyone who has spent the $$ on the overpriced mini 6 ain't going to notice lack of pro motion.

 

[sparksd]

Of course anyone who has spent the $$ on the overpriced mini 6 ain't going to notice lack of pro motion.

I’m happy with it irrespective of your snark.

 

[The Game 161]

When I go from mini 6 to iPad Pro I do notice it but I wouldn’t say it’s as big a deal as on a phone. That said all my other devices are pretty much 120hz and it is a more enjoyable experience

 

[curnalpanic]

Yes it’s funny. Before I tried a promotion iPad I thought the old one was great and buttery smooth. But now, if I turn it off the screen immediately looks very choppy and weird to me. Once you try it, you can’t go back.

 

[Techsmash]

When I go from mini 6 to iPad Pro I do notice it but I wouldn’t say it’s as big a deal as on a phone. That said all my other devices are pretty much 120hz and it is a more enjoyable experience

So you’re saying that promotion is more noticeable on a phone?

 

[ppetrovic]

This varies from person to person, but in my own experience, once you see ProMotion it's very, very hard to go back to anything less than.

It's one of the reasons why I switched from MacBook Air M1 to MacBook Pro 16" M1, and I did the same with the iPad Pro - the 12.9" M2 is crazy expensive but a real joy to use with all that smooth scrolling. I won't be upgrading my devices any time soon and I was willing (and able) to pay the premium for the amazing screens on all my devices, for me it's totally worth the cost.

 

[one more]

OP, when you switched from your iPhone 11 (LCD screen) to iPhone 13 Pro (OLED) screen, ProMotion was not the only thing - you actually experienced a totally different screen tech.

About 10 days ago I was looking at iPad Pro 11” (M2) and iPad Air 5 (M1) side by side in an Apple Store and could not perceive much difference between the two. Yes, the scrolling is indeed faster, but you need to pay a lot of attention to notice. The Apple Store specialist I was talking too said that in his experience ProMotion benefits were best seen in very high-paced action movies or high speed games, the rest was not so obvious. I guess it might also make a difference if you edit high-end video material, yet this is not my case.

I would recommend experiencing both screens first-hand, as otherwise you would still worry that you might have missed out.

 

[randomthoughts]

If you are able to go to an Apple Store or even a Best Buy, they should have both on display where you could try them both before you buy. Good luck with whichever you decide on!

 

[dmr727]

I don't own any devices with ProMotion, and on a day to day basis I don't miss it. But when I end up playing with a device that has it - doesn't matter whether it's an iDevice or a Mac - I notice it immediately. IMO it's definitely a nicer experience, especially on an iPhone or iPad. But if I'm not comparing devices side by side, I don't think about it otherwise.

But to your specific question, as impressed as you were between the difference from your 11 to 13 Pro, I think you should spend the extra money on the iPad Pro.

 

[Weed]

I personally wouldn't spend a cent on a device without ProMotion. That base model also has another nasty quirk: non-laminated display.

 

[Falhófnir]

I don't find I notice it on the iPad. The mini LED displays Apple use on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro have quite poor response times, so it really disguises it compared to the iPhone Pro, which uses an OLED panel with very fast response times - it's very noticeable on the iPhone.

 

[mectojic]

I can't tell the difference. Truly. Not everyone can. I regularly swap between devices, including vintage tech, and the only difference I can tell is between retina and non-retina displays.

 

[antiprotest]

Of course anyone who has spent the $$ on the overpriced mini 6 ain't going to notice lack of pro motion.

All Apple products are overpriced. All lack certain expected features. All have users making excuses for them.

 

[hch720]

Get a refurbished m1 iPad Pro

 

[xxray]

Welcome to the club, my friend. ProMotion and high contrast screens (OLED, mini-LED) are pretty much the main reasons I buy the Pro devices. I don’t really need the extra power anymore.

Also, I don’t know if it’s just because I experienced it on the iPad first and the longest, but I will argue that the iPad is actually the device that needs ProMotion most. Since an iPhone is a smaller display, it feels easier to go without ProMotion. It doesn’t make a huge difference to me on the Mac since I have a 16” screen where content is static quite often or slower scrolling, and trackpad is the main input. But on an iPad, you have a larger display AND the main input is touch where you’re doing lots of scrolling and swiping and multi-finger gestures. To me, the iPad is the device that feels the worst without ProMotion.

But I will say, it’s way easier to go without ProMotion now when you haven’t had it than to have it and have to get rid of it. Even when I had ProMotion on my iPad, I never felt the need for ProMotion on my iPhone even though I wanted it. Now, it’s a lot harder to deal with my iPhone screen when the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz in lower power mode. It makes me wonder how I dealt with it for years without it.

 

[Techsmash]

Thank you everyone for such great advice and spending your time trying to help me with this.

Instead of just ordering one I am going to spend some time at an Apple store to see the difference in real life.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I’ve had pro motion on my iPad since 2017. Up until I got my iPhone 13 Pro Max I was using an iPhone without pro motion. I also have had several iPad mins since then. None had pro motion. I could not tell a difference between the iPads with pro motion and the devices without. Maybe it’s what I do or what I do doesn’t have much significance for pro motion.

 

[0339327]

When I switched from my iPhone 11 to a 13 Pro Max I was immediately amazed by what I believe is ProMotion. Everything was so clear as I scrolled down the page. It was a night and day difference and I really liked it.

Now I am looking to purchase an iPad, I will be doing a lot of consuming and surfing on it. For my uses the base model iPad would be more than enough. I’m not a super power user and I don’t need lots of processing power. But my only concern is I feel like I’ll be going backwards and I might not like it without ProMotion.

Am I going to be unhappy when I put down my 13 Pro Max and pickup the base model iPad? It just seems like a waste to spend over twice as much money on the Pro model iPad just for one feature.

I use my iPhone 13 Pro and an iPad Pro and have no issues between them. The standard iPads are a bit of a drag but you get used to it within 2 seconds of use.

 

[Digitalguy]

These things are so subjective.... I move between promotion and non promotion devices with no issues. I can see the difference if I look for it, but I couldn't care less. I guess it's more important for people who scroll al lot rather than people like me who use the iPad for videos, as a monitor or for annotating document, where promotion barely makes any difference.