iPad Pro 10.5″ or iPad 10.2″ (9th generation) - which is the smarter purchase now?

[addictive]

I'm considering buying an iPad but given the current iterations have not been renewed in the past 12 months and there won't be new models released until 2024 I am reluctant to spend near full price on year old tech specs.

Therefore I'm looking at buying a cheap refurbished/renewed iPad with despite these being old models. Therefore I ask you fine people would you purchase an iPad Pro 10.5″ or iPad 10.2″ (9th generation) - which is the smarter purchase?

iPad Pro 10.5″
A10X Fusion chip.
Retina display
10.5-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Multi-Touch display
2224-by-1668 resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
ProMotion technology
Wide color display (P3)
True Tone display
Fully laminated display
Antireflective coating
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating


or

iPad 10.2″ (9th generation)
A13 Bionic chip
Neural Engine
Retina display
10.2-inch (diagonal) LED backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
2160x1620-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
True Tone display
500 nits brightness
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating

In short the way I understand it the iPad Pro 10.5 has the better display while the iPad 10.2 has the more recent CPU but an inferior display.

If I do make this purchase then I would use it as a content machine for browsing, reading and watching. I can't see myself creating anything on it probably not even replying to emails.

This isn't an essential purchase more a kind of want rather than a need or must have.

I'm interested in hearing your views and what price you think I should be looking at if you have that type of intel.

 

[iStorm]

For your use case, I would go with the 9th generation. It has more than enough power for your needs. You can find new ones on sale for $250 at a lot of places right now for Black Friday (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart). Not sure if you can find a refurbished one for less than that.

My mom got a new 9th gen a few days ago and it came with iOS 17.0.3, so it was basically fresh from the factory. FWIW, she cannot tell the difference between the display on hers compared to my iPad Pro with Pro Motion. (I can't either.)

 

[addictive]

For your use case, I would go with the 9th generation. It has more than enough power for your needs. You can find new ones on sale for $250 at a lot of places right now for Black Friday (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart). Not sure if you can find a refurbished one for less than that.

My mom got a new 9th gen a few days ago and it came with iOS 17.0.3, so it was basically fresh from the factory. FWIW, she cannot tell the difference between the display on hers compared to my iPad Pro with Pro Motion. (I can't either.)

Thanks for your reply, I was wondering how much I would notice the differences in the display.