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iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?

geekonthepc said:
My bottom line is that if you’re concerned that the Air’s lack of ProMotion and 4 speakers is going to let you down, think carefully about your use cases first. Yes, they’re both great features, but they ARE luxuries in my mind unless you either draw with the pencil or are spend a lot of time dealing with audio - and if you’re an audiophile are you really going to be relying on the built in speakers?

I’m thoroughly happy with my Air 3 - it’s a solid upgrade from the Air 2 (even more so the Air 1) which was already a very impressive tablet, even by 2019 standards. This is the market I think Apple was going for here - and if you’re in that boat, I’d solidly recommend taking the leap. I hope this is useful to someone!
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I'm really happy to read your review as it's quite well-aligned with my own experience :)
 
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geekonthepc said:
Wow, this is a lengthy discussion.

For me, I was in the position of upgrading my iPad Air 2. The iPad Air 3 was announced while I was on holiday - my initial feelings were very positive but then of course I was faced with the Air 2019/Pro 2017 debate. I loved the fact that the iPad Air can now finally support the Smart Keyboard - something that has always been interesting to me as I do a fair bit of typing on my iPad. But I was concerned about the lack of ProMotion.

In the end, I settled on the Air, but the hardest decision was whether it was worth not having ProMotion. I’d seen it on the new Pros and really liked it, but the hefty price hike was hard to justify. Yes, the ProMotion is in a world of its own - but when it actually boils down to it, if you don’t use the pencil (I don’t) the main benefit is the smooth scrolling. Smoother scrolling for £200 extra is a hard sell up! Yes, I could have gone for the 2017 Pro but I’m not keen on buying a discontinued Apple device - worse still refurbished. The 4 speakers were also a bone of contention for me - it took me a while to convince myself that I don’t actually spend a heck of a lot of time listening to audio directly from my iPad speakers - more often than not its either AirPlaying or connected to earphones. The 2 speakers on the Air do my needs just fine - I agree they’re far from perfect, but for the occasional YouTube video or FaceTime call, they work just fine.

Having used the Air for a couple of days, I can honestly say I’ve settled in feeling I made the right decision, even though I had a few post purchase moments of doubt. The iPad Air 3 is a SOLID device - the extra screen size vs the Air 2 is minor but makes a massive difference with multitasking - it also amazed me how much more immersive the device feels despite it being less than an inch larger. Furthermore the keyboard support is really welcome too - I spent a long time deciding on whether to go with the Logitech solution or the Apple solution but in the end settled for the Apple solution. Don’t get me wrong - £160 for a Smart Keyboard is a RIP OFF but you can get them new on eBay for less than £100 which is exactly what I did. While it’s taken me a little while to get used to it - I LOVE having the physical keyboard. I’m very much used to the fabric keys now and feel the size of the keys is about perfect. The True Tone, P3 WCG display is also really welcome - having pretty much comparable colours to the OLED in my XS, I can’t complain at all.

For me, the main thing I’d like to see in future software updates is partial mouse support for when I’m sat at a desk, but I recognise this isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

My bottom line is that if you’re concerned that the Air’s lack of ProMotion and 4 speakers is going to let you down, think carefully about your use cases first. Yes, they’re both great features, but they ARE luxuries in my mind unless you either draw with the pencil or are spend a lot of time dealing with audio - and if you’re an audiophile are you really going to be relying on the built in speakers?

I’m thoroughly happy with my Air 3 - it’s a solid upgrade from the Air 2 (even more so the Air 1) which was already a very impressive tablet, even by 2019 standards. This is the market I think Apple was going for here - and if you’re in that boat, I’d solidly recommend taking the leap. I hope this is useful to someone!
Click to expand...


This is my experience too. I love my Air. In the last two weeks i’ve only used the speakers once, and after using a Pro 10.5 as well I don’t miss ProMotion at all.
 
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I just convinced my colleague to upgrade from her iPad mini 2 to the iPad Air 10.5" (2019). (She wanted something bigger.) I only mentioned the 9.7" models in passing. Given that her budget is decent, she wanted something up to date, and she wants to go a bigger size, I said the two best size options are the Air 10.5" and the Pro 11", but with the 11" Pro being overkill.

Why not iPad Pro 10.5"? Cuz she can get the Air 64 GB WiFi on the edu store at Apple for CAD$619 (US$462), and the iPad Pro 10.5" is no longer available for cheap here in Canada. (I paid CAD$619 for the 10.5" Pro on the refurb store, but that went out of stock over a month ago.)

Perfect timing too, since her iPad mini 2 is still supported in iOS 12, and she has a 32 GB model. It will be a seamless upgrade to an iPad Air 10.5" with iOS 12 and 64 GB.
 
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So, this is vaguely relevant - Procreate added more layers for the iPad Air 3/mini users.. On a 4096x4096 canvas they now get 12 rather than 8 layers. Nice! At least we now know the exact difference.. TBH most of the time I don’t need more than “8” (adjusted for resolution) but there are times when more would be very handy.

16 on the Pros is obviously preferable if/when you need them though.
 
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Well after A LOT of thought and read a lot of different threads, I just pulled the trigger for an Air 64GB. I was set on the Pro but then I went to the places that still sell those (out of US) and 3 out of 3 had Pros with the white spots, at one of those places there was one guy trying to exchange his due to the same issue with only 3-4 months of usage....It just was too much for me, I am not into the mood to be fighting for warranties. Maybe only old stock is with this suppliers and thats why, apple retired it from the site, so no refurbished option. I am aware that nothing asures me that the Air will be spotless, but at least I think is a safer bet. On the other hand, I tried both one besides the other and although ProMotion is flashy, the lack of it was not a dealbreaker for me. I think the only thing I will miss is the quad speakers, but overall i feel confident with my decision, based on my usage, and also leveraging on the warranty policies here (not so good as US). If there is regret in me, is just because I think I overthinked this tooo much haha, but hey, some of us need a lot of info to purchase something. I am now just asking myself if I should also add AppleCare+ ? =S
 
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MRISX said:
Well after A LOT of thought and read a lot of different threads, I just pulled the trigger for an Air 64GB. I was set on the Pro but then I went to the places that still sell those (out of US) and 3 out of 3 had Pros with the white spots, at one of those places there was one guy trying to exchange his due to the same issue with only 3-4 months of usage....It just was too much for me, I am not into the mood to be fighting for warranties. Maybe only old stock is with this suppliers and thats why, apple retired it from the site, so no refurbished option. I am aware that nothing asures me that the Air will be spotless, but at least I think is a safer bet. On the other hand, I tried both one besides the other and although ProMotion is flashy, the lack of it was not a dealbreaker for me. I think the only thing I will miss is the quad speakers, but overall i feel confident with my decision, based on my usage, and also leveraging on the warranty policies here (not so good as US). If there is regret in me, is just because I think I overthinked this tooo much haha, but hey, some of us need a lot of info to purchase something. I am now just asking myself if I should also add AppleCare+ ? =S
Click to expand...

You will love the Air, it’s a great device. I would add AppleCare if you can afford it. At least then you are covered for the first two years if anything happens.
 
I originally wasn’t going to get AppleCare+ on my Mini, but then opted for it. The Gen 2 Touch ID means that if you did opt for a third party repair, the Touch ID would not work afterwards, as far as I’m aware (very complicated process to make it otherwise, which I can’t see a cheaper repair being able to do.) The iFixit teardown (I think) wasn’t encouraging reading and any remaining warranty would be gone.

It is better value for money than it was on the iPhone in 2013, when I previously had it. I do wish it had a theft option for iPads though.

The more expensive the device the better value it is. With a larger screen, I think I’d have been even more inclined to buy. The screens don’t feel as robust as they used to be (came from an iPad 3 and also noticed a difference between the iPhone 4 and 5s.)
 
MRISX said:
Well after A LOT of thought and read a lot of different threads, I just pulled the trigger for an Air 64GB. I was set on the Pro but then I went to the places that still sell those (out of US) and 3 out of 3 had Pros with the white spots, at one of those places there was one guy trying to exchange his due to the same issue with only 3-4 months of usage....It just was too much for me, I am not into the mood to be fighting for warranties. Maybe only old stock is with this suppliers and thats why, apple retired it from the site, so no refurbished option. I am aware that nothing asures me that the Air will be spotless, but at least I think is a safer bet. On the other hand, I tried both one besides the other and although ProMotion is flashy, the lack of it was not a dealbreaker for me. I think the only thing I will miss is the quad speakers, but overall i feel confident with my decision, based on my usage, and also leveraging on the warranty policies here (not so good as US). If there is regret in me, is just because I think I overthinked this tooo much haha, but hey, some of us need a lot of info to purchase something. I am now just asking myself if I should also add AppleCare+ ? =S
Click to expand...
Welcome to the gang of "The rest of us" :) :)
You will be a very happy Air 2019 user, as I am, after a couple of weeks with mine. It comes with me every day to work and is a great device that I use a lot. I couldn't be more happy with it.
 
Oh my, posted long reply regarding my choice of Pro 10.5 vs Air3 but something went wrong and got 3x the same text randomly applied to the same reply, so here goes the short version:

Pro 10.5 was only 80-90$ more than AIr3, both 64Gb, satisfied with my choice after 2 weeks of use, picked up Pencil too, for a good price.

4GB of RAM played bigger role than negligible difference between CPU benchmarks, 120Hz screen and 4 speakers were just added bonuses on top of that.
 
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I scored a flawless open item 64gb Pro 10.5 LTE for $438 before tax from Best Buy and a Smart Keyboard for $83 no tax from Amazon the other week!

The Air 3 LTE would have been $629 right off the bat! Which is more than both combined. Love the Stereo speakers and ProMotion and while many people here make a big deal about the A10X vs A12 specs. We're not looking at how much better the gpu makes the A10. They're about the same machine and will probably be supported for years to come.

I think if you can find a 10.5 Pro for equal or less than the Air 3 it's absolutely the better buy right now. By the time iOS is no longer supported on it you've probably moved on to another iPad or whatever the replacement is.
 
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Is there a certain stock / manufacturing dates that seem to produce the bright spots more than others? Just wondering.

I’m very glad that I went with the Pro 10.5” over the Air as my friend has the Air 3 and the Promotion is definitely noticeable along with the sound quality of the speakers.
 
rdunlap said:
Is there a certain stock / manufacturing dates that seem to produce the bright spots more than others? Just wondering.

I’m very glad that I went with the Pro 10.5” over the Air as my friend has the Air 3 and the Promotion is definitely noticeable along with the sound quality of the speakers.
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I got my 10.5 pro in July 2017 so one of the early production units. I don’t have any bright spots so far.
 
EugW said:
I have the same question. The 64 GB new Air is CAD$649 but the refurb old 10.5” Pro is slightly cheaper at CAD$619.

The Pro has a better camera and ProMotion. The new Air’s A12 CPU is 20% faster than the 10X multi-core but the 10X’s GPU is about 35% faster.

Both have a headphone jack. The old Pro has Both have a Smart Connector.

The old Pro has 4 speakers. The new Air has 2 I think.

The old Pro has 4 GB RAM. The new Air, I dunno.
Click to expand...

New Air has 3 GB RAM.

PRO exports videos faster. Records 4K video. Performs better at gaming and Pro stuff.

Pro is better value.
 
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MrXiro said:
I scored a flawless open item 64gb Pro 10.5 LTE for $438 before tax from Best Buy and a Smart Keyboard for $83 no tax from Amazon the other week!

The Air 3 LTE would have been $629 right off the bat! Which is more than both combined. Love the Stereo speakers and ProMotion and while many people here make a big deal about the A10X vs A12 specs. We're not looking at how much better the gpu makes the A10. They're about the same machine and will probably be supported for years to come.

I think if you can find a 10.5 Pro for equal or less than the Air 3 it's absolutely the better buy right now. By the time iOS is no longer supported on it you've probably moved on to another iPad or whatever the replacement is.
Click to expand...

I was able to snag a 10.5 Pro 64GB with LTE brand new for $479 today at Best Buy. They were marked down $300 off and a couple stores in my area had one left. Glad I made the move when I did because they are now all sold out within 250 miles of me and no longer have any available to ship in space gray. Whew. Way too good of a deal to pass up, so I didn’t mind paying the extra for Applecare+ in case that white dot shows its face in the next two years. Basically I was able to get the iPad Pro 10.5 w/cellular AND AppleCare+ for less than just the iPad Air w/cellular version. Wow.
 
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throAU said:
As a pro user, i'd say to go listen to both. The iPad Pro speakers are WAY better than any other portable device i've owned or used. If audio is in any way important to you, i'd definitely compare them back to back.
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The speakers on the Pro are MUCH better. Also, the Air has 3GB of RAM vs the Pro’s 4GB.
 
rdunlap said:
The speakers on the Pro are MUCH better. Also, the Air has 3GB of RAM vs the Pro’s 4GB.
Click to expand...

I think the OP is just after the smaller form factor over there older 12.9” iPad Pro. And, the iPad Air is a newly released device with a new A12 cpu, all for less than the new 2018 iPad pros. It has some downsides, but the new air doesn’t have any issues prone to happening either.
 
I just picked up the new Air and it’s great. I didn’t want to chance it with a 2017 iPad Pro and the white spot nor did I want to spend the money on the 2018 Pro which some users are having issues with the keyboard.
 
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Woodcrest64 said:
I just picked up the new Air and it’s great. I didn’t want to chance it with a 2017 iPad Pro and the white spot nor did I want to spend the money on the 2018 Pro which some users are having issues with the keyboard.
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Who is having problems with the 2018 iPad Pro keyboard?
 
I have both devices side by side and real world usage they are nearly the same. The promotion is huge to some eyes, my wife didn’t notice that much of a difference, quad speakers is obvious to everyone. I did notice one huge difference in the Air’s favor, Fortnite will run at 60fps on High and has the option for Epic at 30fps. Pro will only go to High at 30fps, but thats not the only difference, the pro doesn’t even run at native resolution so there is a obvious resolution difference as well making the game look and run substantially better on the Air.
 
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EugW said:
Who is having problems with the 2018 iPad Pro keyboard?
Click to expand...


Sorry not the physical keyboard but the screen. It also happens with some 2017 Pros too. I’m curious as to what actually causes it and if maybe there is a link to the 120hz display being the culprit. Promotion looks amazing but having that issue is a deal breaker for me. My iPad is used for my job and if the touch screen is going to be occasionally unresponsive it’s no good.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/known-problem-screen-stops-responding.2168160/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/irresponsive-screen-ipad-pro-12-9-2nd-gen.2121051/
(10+ pages of comments!)
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2016-ipad-pro-12-9-screen-intermittently-unresponsive.2118824/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/12-9-ipad-pro-gen-3-touchscreen-problem.2154220/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ipad-pro-stuttering-issue-now-more-widespread.2165593/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/missing-keystrokes.2166241/
 
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I currently get A base iPad 6th gen for trying out. I plan to upgrade if I decide I want to use an iPad extensively.

Maybe iPad Pro 10.5” has promotion display and more speakers as well as Better camera, but one thing holds me back: cellular support. Being able to use mobile data when applicable is a huge deal for me, especially when wifi is not an option. Personal hotspot is not the answer as I often have a hard time trying to connect to my iPhone wirelessly.
Refurbish store does not sell cellular version sadly in Australia. This base iPad is not enough for some more serious use while iPad Pro is too expensive. I figure I just keep using iPad for 2 weeks and then decide.
 
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