iPad 12.9" owners - buy new 10.5", updated 12.9" or stick with current model?

[sracer]

Nice review by Viticci.

This picture kind of blew me away - physically the 10.5 still seems so much smaller than the 12.9. And it gives a good idea of what split screen looks like on both:

That's a terrific image to capture the difference between splitwindow on both form factors and the difference between regular and compact modes. It also shows that there really isn't THAT much that can be done to reduce the bezel size of the 12.9. (I never understood the complaints about the bezel)

 

[Ludatyk]

Nice review by Viticci.

I’ve checked out the review along with The Verge as well. I plan on checking out CNET review later.

But the consensus is iOS 11 will be what to judge this hardware on. I feel Apple has a dilemma on their hands. Checking out Apple’s own site about the iPad Pro it’s really pushing iOS 11 on it, yet it’s not even out. The public beta will soon come out later this month, but is the average user aware of this.

I know for my family they have no clue about the public beta, we have iPads... I have to manage them myself. Even my friends are not aware of the public beta. But any who, these reviews of the 10.5” iPP on iOS 10 can’t really do it justice.

I’m waiting to see some 12.9” iPP 2nd gen reviews.

 

[thomasfxlt58]

I’m trying both. Hoping the 10.5 is enough but I’m skeptical.

 

[Adelphos33]

Honestly the iPad Pro reviews are stellar. I will upgrade my 12.9", likely to another 12.9".

 

[igluck00]

My resistance to upgrading my 4 mo. old 12.9 is crumbling.

I know there is no compelling reason to do so, but the excitement of new Apple tech is wearing me down.

 

[zackerysmith]

Well I've crumbled just ordered my 12.9 cellular 512gb reviews seem great and I'll maximise the sell on value of my current 128 12.9 whilst I can.

 

[profets]

My resistance to upgrading my 4 mo. old 12.9 is crumbling.

I know there is no compelling reason to do so, but the excitement of new Apple tech is wearing me down.

Stay strong. I know the reviews have been talking about the 120hz screen making everything else feel old and choppy when scrolling, almost a near retina type of improvement to the display, but try not to give in to the dark side.

 

[gui0312]

Nice review by Viticci.

This picture kind of blew me away - physically the 10.5 still seems so much smaller than the 12.9. And it gives a good idea of what split screen looks like on both:

I second that, awesome article from Macstories! Makes me more inclined to go with the 10.5 now!

 

[profets]

I second that, awesome article from Macstories! Makes me more inclined to go with the 10.5 now!

He did do a very nice review. Especially coming from someone who does all his computing on an iPad, mainly the 12.9.

I'm pretty torn. The 10.5 looks like such a nice update and would have such a good portable feel to it. Though with iOS 11 I'm drawn more than ever to having as large a screen as possible.

 

[Rogifan]

Nice review by Viticci.

This picture kind of blew me away - physically the 10.5 still seems so much smaller than the 12.9. And it gives a good idea of what split screen looks like on both:

Thanks. I'll have to check out the review. I can't go 10.5 because according to Serenity Caldwell at iMore in 50/50 split view mode it renders the iPhone UI. That would drive me nuts.

 

[jaw3net]

I currently have a 1st gen 128GB 12.9 iPP with about 100GB still available. I bought it in Nov of 2016 so it's still pretty "new" and in impeccable shape.

I’m considering upgrading to the new 12.9 iPad Pro. Prime reasons being the upgraded storage capacities and the display enhancements. I’m beta testing iOS 11 on my current iPP and I could definitely see myself using an iPad solely over my aging 2011 256GB MBA going forward. But, I’m questioning if the new iPP is really worth it given the still "newness" of my existing iPP and my current usage. For example, most of my docs are stored in the cloud (I have a 200GB iCloud account that’s no where near maxed out) in addition to a seedbox with plex installed where most of my media is stored. Apple hasn’t fully activated the new Files app in iOS 11 beta so I can’t fully test the seamlessness of other server options (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc) nor can I currently test the functionality of saving files to the device itself. I suppose if I ever truly needed additional space, I could always upgrade my iCloud Drive or even use a lightning drive.

Based on this thread, it seems most other current 12.9 users will stick with it. But are there any truly compelling arguments to be made for upgrading?

 

[The Game 161]

I currently have a 1st gen 128GB 12.9 iPP with about 100GB still available. I bought it in Nov of 2016 so it's still pretty "new" and in impeccable shape.

I’m considering upgrading to the new 12.9 iPad Pro. Prime reasons being the upgraded storage capacities and the display enhancements. I’m beta testing iOS 11 on my current iPP and I could definitely see myself using an iPad solely over my aging 2011 256GB MBA going forward. But, I’m questioning if the new iPP is really worth it given the still "newness" of my existing iPP and my current usage. For example, most of my docs are stored in the cloud (I have a 200GB iCloud account that’s no where near maxed out) in addition to a seedbox with plex installed where most of my media is stored. Apple hasn’t fully activated the new Files app in iOS 11 beta so I can’t fully test the seamlessness of other server options (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc) nor can I currently test the functionality of saving files to the device itself. I suppose if I ever truly needed additional space, I could always upgrade my iCloud Drive or even use a lightning drive.

Based on this thread, it seems most other current 12.9 users will stick with it. But are there any truly compelling arguments to be made for upgrading?

true tone display is a great feature and one i would miss if it didn't have it. I'm coming from a 9.7 pro so for me this is a different type of upgrade.

 

[Sanlitun]

Based on this thread, it seems most other current 12.9 users will stick with it. But are there any truly compelling arguments to be made for upgrading?

I'm an existing 12.9 user who has ordered the new model. I have the 9.7 pro as well, and the display and especially the anti-reflection coating on it is just so much better that it is unpleasant to use the older 12.9. Side by side the older 12.9 is a purple tinted mess. The display is that much inferior.

So I am hoping that the display experience on the new model matches the 9.7 pro, and if it does I will be happy.

 

[44267547]

I'm an existing 12.9 user who has ordered the new model. I have the 9.7 pro as well, and the display and especially the anti-reflection coating on it is just so much better that it is unpleasant to use the older 12.9. Side by side the older 12.9 is a purple tinted mess. The display is that much inferior.

So I am hoping that the display experience on the new model matches the 9.7 pro, and if it does I will be happy.

I think with these new 120 Hz Promotion displays with the added brightness, P3 Gamut and Tru-Tone will set the apart these new Pro's easily.

 

[Daliman67]

I think with these new 120 Hz Promotion displays with the added brightness, P3 Gamut and Tru-Tone will set the apart these new Pro's easily.

I agree

 

[Wildkraut]

I think with these new 120 Hz Promotion displays with the added brightness, P3 Gamut and Tru-Tone will set the apart these new Pro's easily.

I never had to turn the brightness to 100% on my iPad Pro 12.9 1st gen, 100% brightness even hurts the eyes.
So a brightness increase is no must have feature for me.

 

[Daliman67]

I never had to turn the brightness to 100% on my iPad Pro 12.9 1st gen, 100% brightness even hurts the eyes.
So a brightness increase is no must have feature for me.

I use my 12.9 pro outdoors a lot, so any increase in Brightness and a less reflective screen, plus the higher refresh rate, should be a massive improvement, I'm going to Apple Store tomorrow to get one in hand to see how it performs

 

[44267547]

I never had to turn the brightness to 100% on my iPad Pro 12.9 1st gen, 100% brightness even hurts the eyes.
So a brightness increase is no must have feature for me.

I don't think it's must have or main feature. But it is a nice advantage for situations where ambient lighting is fairly bright and you have the extra brightness if you need it with the new 12.9 Pro.

 

[bscheffel]

I'm leaning towards upgrading... Plan to go to Apple store tomorrow and compare new 12.9" side by side with old one. I am primarily interested in the brightness. The first gen 12.9" ipad had maximum brightness of 424 nits. The new one has 600 nit maximum. If the display is brighter at 50% I will likely upgrade. Sure i could just crank up the brightness past 50% of the current model but i don't want to sacrifice battery life. The other feature im interested in is 2nd generation touch ID. I am embarassed by how slow/flaky the touch ID is on the old model. Do i need to upgrade???? No, the current one is fine but im a sucker.

 

[ssledoux]

I'm leaning towards upgrading... Plan to go to Apple store tomorrow and compare new 12.9" side by side with old one. I am primarily interested in the brightness. The first gen 12.9" ipad had maximum brightness of 424 nits. The new one has 600 nit maximum. If the display is brighter at 50% I will likely upgrade. Sure i could just crank up the brightness past 50% of the current model but i don't want to sacrifice battery life. The other feature im interested in is 2nd generation touch ID. I am embarassed by how slow/flaky the touch ID is on the old model. Do i need to upgrade???? No, the current one is fine but im a sucker.

I'm not real fond of the Touch ID on mine either; definitely hoping for a big improvement in that area. That's not my main reason for getting the new one, but it's a bonus.

 

[richpjr]

Leaning towards upgrading to a 12.9. I think the 12.9 is a bit too big, the 9.7 was way too small and 10.5 is still not big enough. If they would have come out with an 11.5 I would have jumped all over it - but they didn't. I just think that for me, 10.5 is too small for split screen use.

 

[KadMac]

I am starting to think that the iPad Pro isn't too bad with its bigger size. I have to use a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 at work and its not too bad to carry around to meetings. The iPad Pro 12.9 inch isn't much bigger, right

 

[missbing]

I might actually buy a 10.5” from Costco to find out if features are useful despite iOS but we still get true tone, upgraded processor, display colors, nits etc. I cannot really imagine the 10.5 not slaughtering my current 12.9 pro though.

Why Costco? 90 day returns. I repeat, 90 day returns!

I didn't even think of Costco until this post. I already purchased the new 12.9 iPad from Apple which will be here tomorrow. I just checked out Costco and unfortunately they don't have the 12.9, but they do have the 10.5 and it's $160 cheaper than the Apple stated price, so I just purchased it just in case it's a typo. I'm not completely convinced if I want the 12.9 or the 10.5 inch, so I can try them both out for a few weeks. I love the 12.9 inch screen and how it looks multitasking, it's just so big. I'm hopeing I fall in love with one over the other, preferably the 10.5 since I just got it for so much cheaper and Costco extends the manufacturers warranty to 2 years so that would save money on not having to buy AppleCare.

 

[person123]

I didn't even think of Costco until this post. I already purchased the new 12.9 iPad from Apple which will be here tomorrow. I just checked out Costco and unfortunately they don't have the 12.9, but they do have the 10.5 and it's $160 cheaper than the Apple stated price, so I just purchased it just in case it's a typo. I'm not completely convinced if I want the 12.9 or the 10.5 inch, so I can try them both out for a few weeks. I love the 12.9 inch screen and how it looks multitasking, it's just so big. I'm hopeing I fall in love with one over the other, preferably the 10.5 since I just got it for so much cheaper and Costco extends the manufacturers warranty to 2 years so that would save money on not having to buy AppleCare.

How much did you get it for? I'm seeing it only 30$ cheaper.

 

[ibookg409]

Keeping the original 12.9". Not upgrading.