Admit it - you miss the hearty feel of an IBM punchcard machine keyboard. (I'm at 51 years myself ...).
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iPad iPad 9th Gen: What a difference 3 years make
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Admit it - you miss the hearty feel of an IBM punchcard machine keyboard. (I'm at 51 years myself ...).
I’m with you on all of this. I’m in “cold dead hands” mode regarding my 2016 iPad Pro 9.7. Touch ID, 4:3, Smart Keyboard, Pencil. It’s all good. I wish mine had the internals of yours though; the A9X and particularly the 2GB of RAM are harder to get by with these days.
I have the iPad 9 myself coming from the iPad 6 and what a difference it has been I like it a lot I decided to go with the iPad 9 Because the price was good and I can use all the same accessories with it and I did not have to buy new cables or a new Apple pencil it works with what I already have I a13 Bionic is very fast and can handle anything I need it to do and I really like having True Tone on it as well and 64 gigabytes is more then good enough for me to store stuff on what I like the most is you get a lot of the older iPad Pro features on it which I really like ??
Had my iPad 9 for about a month. It replaced a mk1 iPad Air that I didn't see any point in upgrading from.
My spidey-senses hinted that the iPad 9 is likely to be the last iPad with a Lightning port: important for me because I have my iPad permanently attached to a Sony bedside clock/dock through which I watch YouTube videos and read news articles before I go to sleep. I won't do anything on this iPad that I didn't do with my old one, but the fact it's a current model gives me faith that I've now reset the obsolescence-clock for a few years.
My spidey-senses hinted that the iPad 9 is likely to be the last iPad with a Lightning port: important for me because I have my iPad permanently attached to a Sony bedside clock/dock through which I watch YouTube videos and read news articles before I go to sleep. I won't do anything on this iPad that I didn't do with my old one, but the fact it's a current model gives me faith that I've now reset the obsolescence-clock for a few years.
I think this design will stick around for one more iteration. The education market is key for the base iPad and that is going to be price-sensitive, besides which, a 10th generation device that looks similar to the Air would damage that model’s sales too much.
It’s possible that the 10th generation iPad could get the A15 SoC. The Air moving to the M1 has created some space in the lineup for that to happen. The rumoured changes to iPadOS could also point in that direction. Also, the A14 wasn’t a huge advance over the A13, it isn’t used in many current devices, and there could be economies of scale in moving to the A15.
The Mini would be the outlier, but I would expect that to end up with the A16 at some point and it's not as if the current Air and Pro models don't share the same SoC, even if that's only likely to be for a short period of time.
I’ve used my mother’s 6th generation iPad and whilst the device might look outdated, once you start using it that’s quickly forgotten. The base iPads offer tremendous value for money and are capable of meeting most people's requirements.
It’s possible that the 10th generation iPad could get the A15 SoC. The Air moving to the M1 has created some space in the lineup for that to happen. The rumoured changes to iPadOS could also point in that direction. Also, the A14 wasn’t a huge advance over the A13, it isn’t used in many current devices, and there could be economies of scale in moving to the A15.
The Mini would be the outlier, but I would expect that to end up with the A16 at some point and it's not as if the current Air and Pro models don't share the same SoC, even if that's only likely to be for a short period of time.
I’ve used my mother’s 6th generation iPad and whilst the device might look outdated, once you start using it that’s quickly forgotten. The base iPads offer tremendous value for money and are capable of meeting most people's requirements.
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This was an interesting read.
But the last image, with the ship peeking through the gap, seems so nicely aligned that it pleases my eyes ?
I knew that. Ah, it’s 256gb: partly why the price went up. That’s even better. Thank you obviously spaced on that.
A little update after another week of heavy usage....
I picked up a matte screen protector. Supershieldz ($9.88 for 3). Although I prefer iCarez brand, I've used Supershieldz in the past and they have performed well. These protectors only came with a swatch of lint-free cloth. No other application tools/assists were included. It had a very strong, "here ya go kid... good luck applying them" vibe.
I have plenty of experience applying them so I wasn't too concerned. But I burned through the first 2 trying to get a dust-free application. It was quite difficult without any of those aids. I then remembered that I had a few items left over from the iCarez protectors so I used the positioning tape from that to line up this last protector.
It worked a bit better but there were still a few stubborn specs of dust. I peeled back a part of the protector and used some 3M brand double-sided tape to pull off the final dust specs. That was successful but 3 specs still remained. I was resigned to accepting those specs, but then after about an hour or so, I tried gently pressing down and around those specs... and they disappeared. What started out as a train wreck ended up with a perfect application.
The protector is thinner and "clearer" than those I've purchased in the past. There is always some sort of halo effect caused by a matte protector, but iCarez and Supershieldz have traditionally been the better ones and worth the trade off, but this newest protector is noticeably better. (I wonder if THAT is why they didn't include application aids... higher quality protector but eliminate the extras to keep the cost down)
=======
There are scenarios where I find chromebooks to be my device of choice. But after a week of using Google's iPadOS apps on this iPad, I'm at the point where this iPad has now replaced my chromebooks. I found that quite surprising. iPads still don't offer the desktop-style functionality with regard to filesystem and support for peripherals, but the apps do a great job at their tasks and I get to enjoy the other benefits of the iPad.
Filesystem. The filesystem support on iPadOS is a chronic annoyance for me, but it is actually better than the Chrome OS situation. iPad OS sandboxes storage on a per-app basis, but Chrome OS sandboxes storage on an OS platform basis. The filesystem for Chrome OS apps is sandboxed from the filesystem for the Android container on Chrome OS and those are sandboxed from the filesystem for the Linux container.
Although it's a bit convoluted to use the Files.app on iPad OS, at least it is consistent. Using 3 different file managers on a single Chrome OS device (each working and looking differently) is crazy-making.
App types. To make the best use of chromebooks, you need to use Android apps to supplement the native Chrome OS apps. Because of the instability of the Linux container, I don't rely too much on Linux apps.
Chrome OS does a terrible job of visually differentiating between web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. Part of the Chrome OS life is to be prepared for those occasions where internet access isn't available. The typical approach to that is to install the Android counterpart where it exists for web apps.
The icons for web apps and their respective Android apps are virtually indistinguishable from each other and so unless you remember where you put which icon where, you may not select the desired app. Also, seeing what appears to be duplicate icons seems messy.
I rely on Google Keep as a "productivity portal" of sorts. Google has improved Keep on iPad OS since the last time I used it heavily. It actually works better on iPad OS than on Android or the web.
I heavily use MS Office, iWork, LibreOffice, and Google suite for productivity. Here's my project gantt chart that I created in Google Sheets. It looks great, works great.
Oh, did I mention how much I appreciate the smart cover and smart keyboard cover?
So great to be able to quickly and easily pop off the cover and use the iPad for reading magazines and catalogs. Here I've loaded the 1982 Radio Shack catalog.
I've got more experimenting to do... it's been a long while since I've had so much fun on an iPad.
I picked up a matte screen protector. Supershieldz ($9.88 for 3). Although I prefer iCarez brand, I've used Supershieldz in the past and they have performed well. These protectors only came with a swatch of lint-free cloth. No other application tools/assists were included. It had a very strong, "here ya go kid... good luck applying them" vibe.
I have plenty of experience applying them so I wasn't too concerned. But I burned through the first 2 trying to get a dust-free application. It was quite difficult without any of those aids. I then remembered that I had a few items left over from the iCarez protectors so I used the positioning tape from that to line up this last protector.
It worked a bit better but there were still a few stubborn specs of dust. I peeled back a part of the protector and used some 3M brand double-sided tape to pull off the final dust specs. That was successful but 3 specs still remained. I was resigned to accepting those specs, but then after about an hour or so, I tried gently pressing down and around those specs... and they disappeared. What started out as a train wreck ended up with a perfect application.
The protector is thinner and "clearer" than those I've purchased in the past. There is always some sort of halo effect caused by a matte protector, but iCarez and Supershieldz have traditionally been the better ones and worth the trade off, but this newest protector is noticeably better. (I wonder if THAT is why they didn't include application aids... higher quality protector but eliminate the extras to keep the cost down)
=======
There are scenarios where I find chromebooks to be my device of choice. But after a week of using Google's iPadOS apps on this iPad, I'm at the point where this iPad has now replaced my chromebooks. I found that quite surprising. iPads still don't offer the desktop-style functionality with regard to filesystem and support for peripherals, but the apps do a great job at their tasks and I get to enjoy the other benefits of the iPad.
Filesystem. The filesystem support on iPadOS is a chronic annoyance for me, but it is actually better than the Chrome OS situation. iPad OS sandboxes storage on a per-app basis, but Chrome OS sandboxes storage on an OS platform basis. The filesystem for Chrome OS apps is sandboxed from the filesystem for the Android container on Chrome OS and those are sandboxed from the filesystem for the Linux container.
Although it's a bit convoluted to use the Files.app on iPad OS, at least it is consistent. Using 3 different file managers on a single Chrome OS device (each working and looking differently) is crazy-making.
App types. To make the best use of chromebooks, you need to use Android apps to supplement the native Chrome OS apps. Because of the instability of the Linux container, I don't rely too much on Linux apps.
Chrome OS does a terrible job of visually differentiating between web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. Part of the Chrome OS life is to be prepared for those occasions where internet access isn't available. The typical approach to that is to install the Android counterpart where it exists for web apps.
The icons for web apps and their respective Android apps are virtually indistinguishable from each other and so unless you remember where you put which icon where, you may not select the desired app. Also, seeing what appears to be duplicate icons seems messy.
I rely on Google Keep as a "productivity portal" of sorts. Google has improved Keep on iPad OS since the last time I used it heavily. It actually works better on iPad OS than on Android or the web.
I heavily use MS Office, iWork, LibreOffice, and Google suite for productivity. Here's my project gantt chart that I created in Google Sheets. It looks great, works great.
Oh, did I mention how much I appreciate the smart cover and smart keyboard cover?
So great to be able to quickly and easily pop off the cover and use the iPad for reading magazines and catalogs. Here I've loaded the 1982 Radio Shack catalog.
I've got more experimenting to do... it's been a long while since I've had so much fun on an iPad.
I'd like to see if they have fixed the problems when interfacing with attached exFAT storage - data corruption, etc.
That is a reasonable assumption, but I have a way of eeking out the most of my devices. There would be no advantage to me, and a few disadvantages (as described in my original post) by moving up to a 12.9" M1.
When you have a spare moment, check out my thread here on MacRumors describing my experience with the Amazon Fire HD 10. It was able to properly support dual display years before iPad OS 16 and an M1 iPad.
Fair enough, but you are pretty much using a updated iPad 3 we had 10 years ago? where is the fun in that lol
Good to see someone using the bible on their iPad
I kinda have to use the Bible on my iPad... I'm a pastor.Fair enough, but you are pretty much using a updated iPad 3 we had 10 years ago? where is the fun in that lol
Good to see someone using the bible on their iPad
The longevity of the platform is a testament to the original design. Things like Pro-Motion, quad-speakers, Face ID, etc. don't affect the usefulness of the device. But they're great for those folks who enjoy those things and see enough value in them to pay the extra it costs to get them.
The "fun" in using these type of devices (entry-level) is in seeing how far I can go with them. My experimentation with the Fire HD 10 gave me the knowledge to be able to help friends and family who couldn't afford an iPad (but COULD afford a $100 Fire HD 10) get some productivity and enjoyment.
My current exploration with the 9th gen iPad has piqued the interest of friends and family as they see the need to downsize their hardware and are curious if this iPad could suit their needs.
Most tech YouTubers focus on the mid to upper-tier devices. There's a large audience for that. One of my favorite tech YouTubers is ETA Prime. If I were to do a tech channel, it would be nearly identical to his. Since he already does a great job and I have other pursuits, I just direct people to his channel.
Nice. Most pastors I know have a MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, pencil, keyboard, iPhone maxI kinda have to use the Bible on my iPad... I'm a pastor.
What denomination?
I have done a similar journey that you did before. Gave up on the full-sized iPads multiple times in favor of the iPad minis, only to then circle back. Though, in my cases, each iPad size has a completely different use case:
My mini, which I almost exclusively buy the cellular versions of, is for serious on-the-go use and having Internet on something larger than my phone anywhere.
My Air, which I always get the Wi-Fi only versions of, is for when I'm at home and just want to consume media.
My 12.9" Pro, which I always equip with a Smart Keyboard Folio, is for note-taking (as I've never found a better note-taking device for me out there, iPad, iPhone, pad of pen and paper, or otherwise).
I think if I had to choose only one of them to keep, it'd be the mini. But they all serve uses.
What's kind of interesting about your particular use case when compared to mine is that the mini is the only iPad that I prefer the older form factor on. I think the sixth generation mini does bring some cool things to the table, but the headphone jack on it (and not having to buy a $10 adapter dongle or more expensive USB-C splitter) is too useful. Incidentally, the mini is the only classic form factor iPad that I'm okay with not having speakers on both the top and bottom of the iPad. Watching movies with a larger sized classic iPad form factor iPad has always been awkward without headphones (which I don't necessarily need if it's just me and I'm watching movies while lying in bed).
That said, I do believe that 9th Gen is probably the end of the line for the classic body style, as well as Lightning, and the first generation Apple Pencil. I'm wondering what the 10th generation will bring. I just hope that they don't cheapen the experience too much. Hell, they could just re-release the Fourth Generation Air at that price point and it'd be the perfect upgrade.
My mini, which I almost exclusively buy the cellular versions of, is for serious on-the-go use and having Internet on something larger than my phone anywhere.
My Air, which I always get the Wi-Fi only versions of, is for when I'm at home and just want to consume media.
My 12.9" Pro, which I always equip with a Smart Keyboard Folio, is for note-taking (as I've never found a better note-taking device for me out there, iPad, iPhone, pad of pen and paper, or otherwise).
I think if I had to choose only one of them to keep, it'd be the mini. But they all serve uses.
What's kind of interesting about your particular use case when compared to mine is that the mini is the only iPad that I prefer the older form factor on. I think the sixth generation mini does bring some cool things to the table, but the headphone jack on it (and not having to buy a $10 adapter dongle or more expensive USB-C splitter) is too useful. Incidentally, the mini is the only classic form factor iPad that I'm okay with not having speakers on both the top and bottom of the iPad. Watching movies with a larger sized classic iPad form factor iPad has always been awkward without headphones (which I don't necessarily need if it's just me and I'm watching movies while lying in bed).
That said, I do believe that 9th Gen is probably the end of the line for the classic body style, as well as Lightning, and the first generation Apple Pencil. I'm wondering what the 10th generation will bring. I just hope that they don't cheapen the experience too much. Hell, they could just re-release the Fourth Generation Air at that price point and it'd be the perfect upgrade.
Just picked up 11” 256 for $1349AUD, it’s a nice iPad BUT, I just can’t get over the price for what it is and what I use if for.
Books
Browsing
check email
imessage
some apps
I have 150 of photos in iCloud
64gb iPad 9 would be plenty using icloud and at $479AUD is a big difference.
For those uses would it be ok, going back to a home button is scary though lol.
Books
Browsing
check email
imessage
some apps
I have 150 of photos in iCloud
64gb iPad 9 would be plenty using icloud and at $479AUD is a big difference.
For those uses would it be ok, going back to a home button is scary though lol.