iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?

[Macpiglet]

I listened to the Air speakers today and while they are okay hubby did say they were a bit tinny, tbh they were”just” okay.

Anyway after much dithering about i’ve decided to try the Pro 10.5. Its £30 cheaper in the Apple refurbished store compared to the same configuration of the Air 3, 256GB WiFi, with AppleCare. £668 vs £698. I’ve just ordered a different colour for ease of telling them apart. I have at least a week before deciding which one i’m keeping. I got the Air on Monday, the Pro is coming tomorrow.

I keep waiting for my credit card to flag apple up as fraud my transactions are in, out, in, out..........

FWIW, I’ve just got a Pro 10.5. Quad speakers didn’t form any part of my decision-making as I didn’t think it would be important to me, but I have to say that I’ve been hugely impressed by the quality of sound, and even though I’ve only had the new iPad a few days I know I’d notice the difference if going back to just a two-speaker setup. YMMV of course

 

[Fenhalls]

FWIW, I’ve just got a Pro 10.5. Quad speakers didn’t form any part of my decision-making as I didn’t think it would be important to me, but I have to say that I’ve been hugely impressed by the quality of sound, and even though I’ve only had the new iPad a few days I know I’d notice the difference if going back to just a two-speaker setup. YMMV of course

Four speakers good, two speakers bad.

BTW, did you manage to get the battery business sorted out?

 

[Macpiglet]

Four speakers good, two speakers bad.

BTW, did you manage to get the battery business sorted out?

Heh...

Re: battery (thanks for asking), no. It’s continuing along the same path. However, I’m wondering whether perhaps it’s just because I’ve been using the new toys almost constantly since they arrived. I’ve been too busy playing/working with the Pencil and Notability that I’ve not yet looked into the possibility of keyboard-case drain. Must check later today.

 

[jameseld82]

I listened to the Air speakers today and while they are okay hubby did say they were a bit tinny, tbh they were”just” okay.

Anyway after much dithering about i’ve decided to try the Pro 10.5. Its £30 cheaper in the Apple refurbished store compared to the same configuration of the Air 3, 256GB WiFi, with AppleCare. £668 vs £698. I’ve just ordered a different colour for ease of telling them apart. I have at least a week before deciding which one i’m keeping. I got the Air on Monday, the Pro is coming tomorrow.

I keep waiting for my credit card to flag apple up as fraud my transactions are in, out, in, out..........

I keep changing my mind. One minute its the new Air 3... the next it's the 10.5 Pro.... then it's the 11" Pro.

I think what keeps taking me away from the Air is Pro-Motion and the quad speakers. I didn't think it would be a big dealbreaker but the more I think about it the more I really want an iPad that has both these features.

 

[Josieb1]

I keep changing my mind. One minute its the new Air 3... the next it's the 10.5 Pro.... then it's the 11" Pro.

I think what keeps taking me away from the Air is Pro-Motion and the quad speakers. I didn't think it would be a big dealbreaker but the more I think about it the more I really want an iPad that has both these features.

I’ll definitely keep one of them i’m Just scared of getting the bright spot in the pro, but I also want the best iPad my money can buy and I know Ram is very important. I wanted the larger screen partly for video so having good sound is important too. I won’t know for sure until I have them both in front of me.

 

[jameseld82]

I’ll definitely keep one of them i’m Just scared of getting the bright spot in the pro, but I also want the best iPad my money can buy and I know Ram is very important. I wanted the larger screen partly for video so having good sound is important too. I won’t know for sure until I have them both in front of me.

The white spot is also one thing that is a con towards the 10.5 pro for me. I had it on my old 10.5 pro. At the time I didn't know it was a common fault I thought it was something I had done to damage it. I would like to get one within the next 2 weeks as I go away on holiday and would like the iPad for it as my flight is 9 hours.

I think another trip to the Apple store is going to happen this weekend

 

[Fenhalls]

Heh...

Re: battery (thanks for asking), no. It’s continuing along the same path. However, I’m wondering whether perhaps it’s just because I’ve been using the new toys almost constantly since they arrived. I’ve been too busy playing/working with the Pencil and Notability that I’ve not yet looked into the possibility of keyboard-case drain. Must check later today.

Thought you'd pick up on the reference. After all, members of your family had starring roles in that novel.

If you can't get it sorted out, you should obtain a replacement without delay.

 

[Josieb1]

The white spot is also one thing that is a con towards the 10.5 pro for me. I had it on my old 10.5 pro. At the time I didn't know it was a common fault I thought it was something I had done to damage it. I would like to get one within the next 2 weeks as I go away on holiday and would like the iPad for it as my flight is 9 hours.

I think another trip to the Apple store is going to happen this weekend

The Air is nice, and it will have OS updates for longer than the Pro, it’s just the Pro has more Ram and the extra speakers. I can’t comment on Promotion yet as i’ve never seen or used it. Everything depends on how I actually feel when using both devices. Plus i’d want a recent build date for the Pro ideally. I bought AppleCare so at least I’ll have two years insurance. I just want the iPad to last longer than two years.

 

[Fenhalls]

The white spot is also one thing that is a con towards the 10.5 pro for me. I had it on my old 10.5 pro. At the time I didn't know it was a common fault I thought it was something I had done to damage it. I would like to get one within the next 2 weeks as I go away on holiday and would like the iPad for it as my flight is 9 hours.

I think another trip to the Apple store is going to happen this weekend

A glutton for punishment?

 

[EugW]

The Air is nice, and it will have OS updates for longer than the Pro, it’s just the Pro has more Ram and the extra speakers. I can’t comment on Promotion yet as i’ve never seen or used it. Everything depends on how I actually feel when using both devices. Plus i’d want a recent build date for the Pro ideally. I bought AppleCare so at least I’ll have two years insurance. I just want the iPad to last longer than two years.

AppleCare is cheaper on the iPad Air.

However, I personally will rely upon my credit card extended warranty for one extra year of coverage on my iPad Pro.

 

[Josieb1]

AppleCare is cheaper on the iPad Air.

However, I personally will rely upon my credit card extended warranty for one extra year of coverage on my iPad Pro.

Even with Applecare the Pro is £30 cheaper. Air £629 + £69 vs Pro £549 + £129. Both 256GB WiFi.

My credit card doesn’t have insurance unfortunately.

 

[Macpiglet]

Thought you'd pick up on the reference. After all, members of your family had starring roles in that novel.

Correct! But not one of our more auspicious outings...

 

[Fenhalls]

Correct! But not one of our more auspicious outings...

 

[cambookpro]

Wow this thread got big. I'll add my two pennies' worth: if you like specs on paper, get the new Air. If you like a nice experience, get the Pro. The 120Hz display far outweighs, for me, a slightly faster processor.

I wish it didn't have a camera bump, but apart from that it's a brilliant device. It's really hard to go back to a non-Pro Motion iPad after using one.

 

[trillionaire]

If you're a regular user, then why pay the premium for a Pro. I would go for the Air as it should totally have all the features you need and it will also be a newer, quicker machine due to newer components (A12 chip being one of them).

 

[zaxdude]

The newly released Air got me to consider updating my iPad. Did I really need it? No. But I wanted to so I decided to go ahead and do the investigation between the new Air and the 10.5 Pro.

I read and read and read the pros/cons between the two. One post would convince me to go with the Air, and the next would convince me to run with the Pro. I was almost at the point to just flip a coin.

But I happened along a deal I couldn't refuse -- an open box at BestBuy for the 512gb cellular iPad Pro. It was marked as "excellent" and I got it for $606. Original purchaser bought it on 3/29 and I bought it on 4/2. It was manufactured in mid-December. 2018. I am pretty sure I got a solid deal on it....original retail on it was $1029 I think.

I received it 3 days ago and I have to say the upgrade was worth it for me, especially with the additional screen real estate. Would I have been happy with the new Air? Most likely. But I wouldn't have gotten a 512gb cellular Air for what I snagged this Pro for.

Thanks everyone for all the insights between the two models....definitely helped me in my decision. I'm just hopeful I never see any sign of the "white spot" (it's not on this one right now). I'm definitely gonna add AppleCare to it, too.

 

[Josieb1]

If you're a regular user, then why pay the premium for a Pro. I would go for the Air as it should totally have all the features you need and it will also be a newer, quicker machine due to newer components (A12 chip being one of them).

I am a regular user and i’m probably 60/40 towards the Air, I just need to know for sure, and the only way to do that is to try them side by side.

 

[tripleburst]

If you're a regular user, then why pay the premium for a Pro. I would go for the Air as it should totally have all the features you need and it will also be a newer, quicker machine due to newer components (A12 chip being one of them).

This thread's discussion is focused on the fact that the 2017 10.5 Pro can be found at retailers at or below the same price of the Air which is the basis for the "value" comparison.

 

[Josieb1]

This thread's discussion is focused on the fact that the 2017 10.5 Pro can be found at retailers at or below the same price of the Air which is the basis for the "value" comparison.

Yes, exactly. The one I bought for £539 today in the Apple refurbished store is £719 at John Lewis, and that’s with them saying it’s with £50 off! The Air is £629. Yes AppleCare is £70 dearer but the Pro is still cheaper.

 

[trillionaire]

This thread's discussion is focused on the fact that the 2017 10.5 Pro can be found at retailers at or below the same price of the Air which is the basis for the "value" comparison.

I guess I just don't see the value in a product that comes with a caveat at the same price. I would consider a refurbished or older model product a caveat, which is why I would opt for the Air. That was my intent in mentioning the "premium", but to each their own.

 

[Fenhalls]

I guess I just don't see the value in a product that comes with a caveat at the same price. I would consider a refurbished or older model product a caveat, which is why I would opt for the Air. That was my intent in mentioning the "premium", but to each their own.

I see that as a fairly minor caveat, though. The big caveat, at least to my way of thinking, is the bright spot business.

 

[geekiemac]

To replace my aging iPad Air 2 I ordered an Air 3 + Pencil a few days after it was announced. It seemed like the logical thing to do. I received it two days ago - and somehow blissfully managed to ignore all the 10.5 pro vs Air reviews and topics so far, as I had other things in my mind... that is, until bumping into this thread. I've spent almost the whole evening (it's 23:30 on this side of the planet) reading and watching what seems like an almost-unanimous vote for the iPad Pro 10.5...

... which means that now, and especially after going through all 11 pages in this topic I have a heavy case of ProMotion FOMO.

To set things straight: overall, I'm very happy with my new iPad and the Pencil - I started using it to take notes at work and it's really cool. No issues whatsoever when watching movies or scrolling. It's worlds apart from my iPad Air 2. It's fast, it's smooth, the screen looks great. Which is kind of obvious as I never really saw or used a ProMotion screen. I don't draw, as in art draw, but I do basic schematics like a process drawing or mind map when taking notes. I haven't noticed any issues when doing that on the Air (but then again, I never saw the wonders of ProMotion). Battery life is great, too. Barely charged once and been using it for almost three days now (5-6 hours per day).

My usage is pretty standard: web browsing, office work (with Office 365 and mindmapping software), e-book reading (Kindle app mostly) and movie watching when traveling. Taking notes with the Pencil. But, I do like games with nice graphics like the Room series, Monument Valley, Eloh, or Alto's Adventure/Odyssey ... etc.

Basically, the screen is what's most important to me. My Air 3's screen seems so incredible, there are absolutely no lags or so when swiping, scrolling MacRumors (yeah I did the test), and so on. Also, the Pencil's behaviour is very smooth and tbh I can't tell it really apart in the videos shown here.

Still, I'm wondering if I'm not missing out on something amazing. I got my Air 3 two days ago so I could theoretically return it. I've never returned an Apple product in my life, is it complicated? worth the hassle? I'm still in doubt, as my Air 3 seems so wonderfully perfect. But your 11-page enthusiasm is nagging on me. If I change, it would be for the screen. I don't care much for the camera, and usually wear headphones for audio content (I did watch some Netflix without headphones and thought the sound was OK).

In Switzerland we don't get Apple refurbs so I checked Swiss 3rd party retailers for 10.5 Pro deals and I could get a new one 50 CHF (that's around 50 US$) cheaper for the same capacity (256 GB Wifi).

My concern is mostly sustainability but also this bright spot problem is worrying me a bit.

So should I change?

 

[Donar]

If the Air3 fits your needs keep it. If not, get the 10.5 Pro. It‘s a tough call between the two. And with either the Air3 and the 10.5 you will miss out on the bigger screen of the 11 inch iPad Pro and faster CPU and GPU. So it‘s FOMO revisited all over again.

 

[geekiemac]

If the Air3 fits your needs keep it. If not, get the 10.5 Pro.

Fair enough...

And with either the Air3 and the 10.5 you will miss out on the bigger screen of the 11 inch iPad Pro and faster CPU and GPU.

Yeah, you always miss out on stuff you don't have/know about, right? There's always something better.

 

[aloper]

Keep in mind one thing with the older 10.5” pro and any white spot issues...A friend of mine had one and sold it a few months ago, to help pay for his new 11” pro. He sold to one of the third party resellers who buy back used Apple stuff. After they received it and inspected it, they emailed him to tell him his screen had a white spot, so they were reducing their quote down $100...because to get the full quote, the screen needed to be perfect. They also offered to send it back, at their cost.

This is how I found out about this because he called me to complain because I had taken some photos of it for him (photography is my hobby) that he could use, I thought like on eBay. Anyways, he calls me to complain that the screen was spotless and tells me the story. I opened the raw files I had taken and then zoomed in on the screen and scrolled around and couldn’t see anything obvious...then after adjusting exposure and stiff, there it was...a white spot on the screen, almost perfectly circular. I sent him the over exaggerated photo with the spot highlighted. I found out a few days later that he took the lower offer after looking online for white spot issues...

My only point after all that is later, down the road, if you sell your 10.5 pro, to a third party company, you will probably be knocked, if you claim it’s in perfect condition...Not saying them doing that is right or wrong...but if I had to guess, those companies have been screwed by customers either complaining their new, but used iPad has a white spot and they want a refund or some money back...