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