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I have bought a 9.7 2017 3 months old and a 2018 new sealed in last week, both 32gb 4G and sold both our 10.5 pro’s, and picked up $820aud change over. Didn’t really see the value in the pro models for what we use them for. Got out while their was some value in them.
 
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I would say if the 10.5. The RAM, processor performance jump, and display tech are well worth the extra money over the next several years of usage. It’s a better long term buy.
 
If you like to upgrade every 1-1.5 yrs you can buy the iPad 2018. But if you’re looking to use for a minimum of 2-2.5+ yrs stick to the Pro.
 
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If you do not need the 4GB ram and intend to update more frequently, then the 2018 iPad is fine.

Update: I replaced my 12.9 iPP with the 2018 iPad. Happy. No issues with Procreate, I can roll with the screen and speakers just fine. So I deleted my bit about needing another Pro.
 
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To me, the regular iPad is the most cost effective and just as rewarding an experience. I don’t think longevity has much to do with the choice, as both will hold up and perform well over the next few IOS releases. I just don’t want to sink 2 1/2 times the cost of the regular iPad into a model that also has a limited life and doesn’t give me the equivalent back in value.
 
To me, the regular iPad is the most cost effective and just as rewarding an experience. I don’t think longevity has much to do with the choice, as both will hold up and perform well over the next few IOS releases. I just don’t want to sink 2 1/2 times the cost of the regular iPad into a model that also has a limited life and doesn’t give me the equivalent back in value.

I agree that longevity may not be an important factor. The pro is so much faster at everything over the regular iPad. Unless you don't do much with it, in which case an Air 2 is just as good.
 
Not to mention a much faster lightening port, the pro has a 3.0 vs the 2018 2.0, if your going to hook up perpherials ( audio interfaces, video & picture transfers) that's a big difference.

QUOTE="aakshey, post: 26032677, member: 1033353"]iPad Pro 10.5 is way better and will probably be better than even the 2019 budget iPad. And will probably trade blows with even the 2020 budget iPad at the very least.

Why to go with iPad Pro 10.5:

Significantly faster CPU that is likely to age a bit better.

Twice the amount of RAM and that will help a LOT after 12-24 months or so.

ProMotion is good. 120 Hz.

Quad speakers are amazing.

A better display feels nice.

Is lighter and thinner.

More real estate in a similar package.

Better battery life as per reviews out there.

Option to fast charge.

You might need a smart connector one day perhaps.

Then there is TrueTone.

And the list goes on.

IMO just the RAM alone is worth the price difference.

IMO all 2 GB iDevices (iPhones and iPads that is) will run iOS 13 terribly. But current 3/4 GB RAM devices may still do okay.[/QUOTE]
 
To me, the regular iPad is the most cost effective and just as rewarding an experience. I don’t think longevity has much to do with the choice, as both will hold up and perform well over the next few IOS releases. I just don’t want to sink 2 1/2 times the cost of the regular iPad into a model that also has a limited life and doesn’t give me the equivalent back in value.
True.

Besides, I find the people who require the Pro model already know why they need/want it (enough to justify 2x pricing). Most would be served just as well by the basic iPad.
 
Quite frankly, I don't view any of those as being particularly interesting. They still look like the same old rectangular glass slab with varying size and bezels to me. Except for the iPhone X. I really don't like that notch.

Until ya turn em on. Displays from the front have also looked fairly similar. Turn a laptop from the 90s, 2000s, & the latest HiDPI displays.
It’s what’s inside

iPads are not to be upgraded every year unless their is some major breakthrough in design. Form factor is subjective choice so as the primary usage. Such as iPad Pro has laminated display, meaning no parallax when using Apple Pencil while new 2018 iPad has a glass panel on top of display.

iPad Pro 10.5" is the best choice.

Good point but seemingly Apple’s been doing just that. There’s no rhyme or reason to Apple’s iPad distribution timelines and each iteration has indeed improved over the last. And not insignificant updates. 1-2 was huge. 2 was around another 4 years. 3 gave us retina, 4 gave us the engine to run a Retina display - 5 (Air) slicker than ....& the Air2, another big update w/display, faster radios, much quicker A processing RAM, did they double it on A2 or iPad Pro 1 (9.7”)? To 2GB with the excellent True Tone displays pencil support and silly fast processor. But 2GB v the 4GB RAM in the earlier released 12.9” was puzzling (other that video RAM questions) the new 12.9” introduction was huge, literally and similarly the 9.7” Pro. The next year 10.5 & 12.9” models followed without the sacrifices between models and with the same abilities.
Again with silly fast processing, at the time compared with Intel coreM and slower i3 processors. In some cases the core i5s!

I’ve never seen a new iPad without a better display than the last and its your controller for everything

Interesting off? Nah, turn it on to realize worlds of possibilities

The parallax effect on the 2018 iPad vs. what is present on the 10.5 and 12.9 has been a bit exaggerated. Obviously having a laminated display is preferable over one that is not, but what each needs to assess is, is it $325 preferable? (yes, there are other things like faster processor, refresh rate, smart connector, etc. that go with the 10.5)

Entry level to entry level, the 10.5 is twice the price of the 2018 iPad. Even those of us who can easily afford a 10.5 totally maxed out should be wise with our purchasing decisions.

Agreed, and some of us use them as money making tools which make wise purchasing decisions to invest (a year earlier) in the fastest, most efficient and effective use of our money
In these cases the 10.5 & 12.9” models are wise

Those that hang @ home w/em and read, play light games and read the paper, check Facebook email & texts - even some light drawing and editing the ‘18 9.7” is perfect!

For some of us it’s not & the successor to the 10.5 & 12.9” can’t come quick enough!


Having just picked up a 2018 "base" iPad a week and a half ago, I can tell you that there isn't much difference.

Since it appears you're budget conscious, I'd go with the entry-level iPad. Sounds like it'll do everything you need it to do without the extra cost.

Isn’t much difference compared with what?

IMO, people are crazy to pay new prices for iPads, esp the iPP. I just got a 3 mo old 10.5 cellular 64 on CL for $400. Mint as new. A good deal, but others were heavily discounted too. Demand is low for iPP and the used prices reflect it. good luck tho, I know some people only want new items, I just wanted a cheap iPP.

I’m crazy then, but then again, they’ve been paid off dozens of times over as tools. I don’t buy second hand but have no problem with refurbished Apple. No clue how the Craigslist user treated it. And I’m sure it was much longer than 3 months ago I got my iPad 10.5. Maybe time flies, got it @ release


To me, the regular iPad is the most cost effective and just as rewarding an experience. I don’t think longevity has much to do with the choice, as both will hold up and perform well over the next few IOS releases. I just don’t want to sink 2 1/2 times the cost of the regular iPad into a model that also has a limited life and doesn’t give me the equivalent back in value.

It’s not 2.5x the cost when using similar storage prices. Doubling the RAM ensures future support. ½ the RAM doesn’t. Displays on iPads are much larger than iPhones and larger iPhones have used 3GB RAM for a couple generations
 
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It’s not 2.5x the cost when using similar storage prices. Doubling the RAM ensures future support. ½ the RAM doesn’t. Displays on iPads are much larger than iPhones and larger iPhones have used 3GB RAM for a couple generations

Most people don’t need that much storage. And even if they do, paying that premium dollar amount for the Pro over the iPad 6 128gb is not worth it (IMO). Doubling RAM for longevity is questionable, as most people upgrade in a few years anyway, and many don’t keep current with the latest IOS releases for stable performance purposes.

The iPad 6 will be good for the next few IOS releases, regardless. In addition, iPad Pro owners tend to upgrade way before they have RAM constraints as they tend to want the latest Pro technology. What iPhones have or do is really irrelevant to this iPad discusssion.
 
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If you like to upgrade every 1-1.5 yrs you can buy the iPad 2018. But if you’re looking to use for a minimum of 2-2.5+ yrs stick to the Pro.
The 2018 iPad should easily last 3-4 years. I think it depends on what you want to use the device for although to be honest apart from needing a bigger display I’m still not convinced that the iPad pros are anymore productive than the entry model iPad. The 2018 iPad works with Apple Pencil now, so unless you are are a professional artist/graphic designer then the pro motion isn’t going to make a difference.

I have the 10.5 inch pro and I’m not convinced that it’s any better for ‘Work’ than the entry model iPad. Sure it’s a lot nicer but I could just as easily get a third party keyboard for the entry model iPad and type up documents in the same way I can with my iPad Pro 10.5 and the Smart Keyboard.

I prefer the 10.5 because it is larger, has better internals, a better display and quad speakers but I don’t think it makes it anymore productive. I wouldn’t buy the 2018 model because the hardware on the pro is better and I want the best possible experience but I don’t think for me personally the iPad pro is anymore productive than the 2018 iPad.
 
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Until ya turn em on. Displays from the front have also looked fairly similar. Turn a laptop from the 90s, 2000s, & the latest HiDPI displays.
It’s what’s inside



Good point but seemingly Apple’s been doing just that. There’s no rhyme or reason to Apple’s iPad distribution timelines and each iteration has indeed improved over the last. And not insignificant updates. 1-2 was huge. 2 was around another 4 years. 3 gave us retina, 4 gave us the engine to run a Retina display - 5 (Air) slicker than ....& the Air2, another big update w/display, faster radios, much quicker A processing RAM, did they double it on A2 or iPad Pro 1 (9.7”)? To 2GB with the excellent True Tone displays pencil support and silly fast processor. But 2GB v the 4GB RAM in the earlier released 12.9” was puzzling (other that video RAM questions) the new 12.9” introduction was huge, literally and similarly the 9.7” Pro. The next year 10.5 & 12.9” models followed without the sacrifices between models and with the same abilities.
Again with silly fast processing, at the time compared with Intel coreM and slower i3 processors. In some cases the core i5s!

I’ve never seen a new iPad without a better display than the last and its your controller for everything

Interesting off? Nah, turn it on to realize worlds of possibilities



Agreed, and some of us use them as money making tools which make wise purchasing decisions to invest (a year earlier) in the fastest, most efficient and effective use of our money
In these cases the 10.5 & 12.9” models are wise

Those that hang @ home w/em and read, play light games and read the paper, check Facebook email & texts - even some light drawing and editing the ‘18 9.7” is perfect!

For some of us it’s not & the successor to the 10.5 & 12.9” can’t come quick enough!




Isn’t much difference compared with what?



I’m crazy then, but then again, they’ve been paid off dozens of times over as tools. I don’t buy second hand but have no problem with refurbished Apple. No clue how the Craigslist user treated it. And I’m sure it was much longer than 3 months ago I got my iPad 10.5. Maybe time flies, got it @ release




It’s not 2.5x the cost when using similar storage prices. Doubling the RAM ensures future support. ½ the RAM doesn’t. Displays on iPads are much larger than iPhones and larger iPhones have used 3GB RAM for a couple generations

Performance and experience-wise, at least for the "standard" user.

I'm not a pro user so I can't comment there.
 
I chose the 10.5 Pro over the 2018 iPad for several reasons. I wanted an iPad with 4 gigs ram and also the better screen. I will likely add the pencil soon but I doubt I will ever buy the keyboard.
 
Not to mention a much faster lightening port, the pro has a 3.0 vs the 2018 2.0, if your going to hook up perpherials ( audio interfaces, video & picture transfers) that's a big difference.

QUOTE="aakshey, post: 26032677, member: 1033353"]iPad Pro 10.5 is way better and will probably be better than even the 2019 budget iPad. And will probably trade blows with even the 2020 budget iPad at the very least.

Why to go with iPad Pro 10.5:

Significantly faster CPU that is likely to age a bit better.

Twice the amount of RAM and that will help a LOT after 12-24 months or so.

ProMotion is good. 120 Hz.

Quad speakers are amazing.

A better display feels nice.

Is lighter and thinner.

More real estate in a similar package.

Better battery life as per reviews out there.

Option to fast charge.

You might need a smart connector one day perhaps.

Then there is TrueTone.

And the list goes on.

IMO just the RAM alone is worth the price difference.

IMO all 2 GB iDevices (iPhones and iPads that is) will run iOS 13 terribly. But current 3/4 GB RAM devices may still do okay.
[/QUOTE]

A lot of users will stay on iOS 12 for a long time. You'll be surprised how well a 2GB device runs on iOS 12. :apple:
 
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If I had never had a pro I would definitely go with the 2018 iPad as it's more than good enough (as far as I could tell by playing around with one in the shop), but if you like having 'the best/newest/great specs' then it would be hard to go backwards. Logic says the 2018 is the best deal and gives the best bang for your buck.

The way that new products are released relatively quickly (although infuriatingly not on a regular schedule allowing people to plan ahead for their purchases) means that for me it's best to get it as soon after release day as possible so that it feels new for longer. I personally wouldn't want to buy mid-cycle and would prefer to wait for the next release and then either buy that or the reduced price last generation model.

I have the 10.5 and love it and plan to keep it. Still waiting for the next generation 12.9 or whatever it ends up being though...
 

A lot of users will stay on iOS 12 for a long time. You'll be surprised how well a 2GB device runs on iOS 12. :apple:[/QUOTE]
If history is any indication, there won't be a "lot of users" who will stay on iOS 12. With each new release of iOS, Apple likes to tout the adoption rates of the new version. With Apple's draconian notification scheme for informing users that a new version of iOS is available, to the requirement of that new version of iOS (in order to install the latest version of an app), an overwhelming majority will upgrade... unless their devices are not supported by versions after iOS 12.
 
After selling my 12.9 2nd gen, bought the 2018 iPad on educational discount as I needed something this week and refused to pay full price for a 10.5.

I thought about my previous post and the RAM and things, and decided I would skip the bells and whistles. When things quiet down here, if I feel I need an iPP, will buy one on sale and mom will get the 2018. Win-win. Honestly, given the build quality lately I think I will be better off.
 
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