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iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?

sracer said:
If it has 2 GB RAM do you think that Apple is going to obsolete it soon? The main reason I held out on buying the 9.7 Pro back in the day was because of the 2GB RAM. There were others reasons to give it a pass, but in hindsight, RAM shouldn't have been one of them.

I actually think it would be ENCOURAGING to find out that the new Air has 2 GB RAM. It is an indication that Apple is committed to that RAM level even longer. It means that it is more likely that it will be the CPU that cuts off iOS upgrades rather than RAM levels.

It is common to think that creeping featuritis causes a constant need to increase RAM. That's understandable but it certainly seems like Apple is holding the line at 2GB RAM as a base requirement.

I would have no problem buying either the Air or Mini 5 if they have 2GB RAM.
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No chance in hell it will have 2 GB. The Air will be either 3 GB or 4 GB.

And if the Air is 3 GB, I’m likely buying the 4 GB Pro.
 
sracer said:
If it has 2 GB RAM do you think that Apple is going to obsolete it soon? The main reason I held out on buying the 9.7 Pro back in the day was because of the 2GB RAM. There were others reasons to give it a pass, but in hindsight, RAM shouldn't have been one of them.

I actually think it would be ENCOURAGING to find out that the new Air has 2 GB RAM. It is an indication that Apple is committed to that RAM level even longer. It means that it is more likely that it will be the CPU that cuts off iOS upgrades rather than RAM levels.

It is common to think that creeping featuritis causes a constant need to increase RAM. That's understandable but it certainly seems like Apple is holding the line at 2GB RAM as a base requirement.

I would have no problem buying either the Air or Mini 5 if they have 2GB RAM.
Click to expand...
On the basis the iPhone XR has 3GB but not a dual camera (which was the reason (supposedly) the 7 plus and 8 plus had 3GB over the 7 and 8 which had 2) I would say it looks more like Apple will be raising the floor to 3GB for new devices - I suppose these will be the tell. I wouldn't be despondent about 2GB, I think it will probably be OK for the life the device, but I did get stung on the iPhone 6 plus which was a bit RAM starved given the extra VRAM needed for the higher resolution display being taken out of the total available for the system.
 
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Get the Pro. The four speakers is one of the least spoken of feature.

When I listened to my Pro at home I was blown away by how much better it sounded than my previous iPads. The speakers are so goood that you will rarely feel like you need a speaker dock for the iPad.
 
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You guys convinced me to order the Pro.

Then MacRumors posted confirmation that at least one of the new iPads only has 3 GB. If that's the Air, then that makes the choice of the Pro even easier.

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/18/new-ipad-benchmark-3gb-ram-12-bionic/

newipadgeekbenchscore-800x738.jpg
 
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sracer said:
Does that change your mind? which one are you getting?
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No, it didn't change my mind. However, I can see how my post might be a bit confusing.

What I meant to say in not so many words is that I ended up choosing the iPad Pro 10.5 because of the other features, so even if the iPad Air had 4 GB, I would chose the iPad Pro. But then it was posted that the new iPad (mini or Air?) has 3 GB, so that makes the choice for me even easier.

I bought the 64 GB WiFi 10.5" iPad Pro. Silver, just because that was the only refurb colour in Canada available.
 
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EugW said:
I bought the 64 GB WiFi 10.5" iPad Pro. Silver, just because that was the only refurb colour in Canada available.
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Now the kids can stop fighting over iPads. The two kids were using an iPad Air 2 and an iPad 2, but not surprisingly, were not too happy with the iPad 2. Now I can hand down my iPad Air 2, so they'll each have their own 64 GB iPad Air 2 WiFi.

I wonder what I should do with my iPad 2 now.

AutomaticApple said:
Good choice! Silver is a nice color!
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It matches my MacBook 2017 12" and my iPhone 7 Plus. :)
 
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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...

Refurbished pro seems to be the better buy.
 
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Now I'm wondering if the new Smart Keyboard for the iPad Air is compatible with the old refurb iPad Pro 10,5".

If it's compatible, the best purchase is iPad Pro 10,5" with one of the newer smart keyboard cases.
 
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It it's 3GB i'd get the 2019 Air over the 201
Populus said:
Now I'm wondering if the new Smart Keyboard for the iPad Air is compatible with the old refurb iPad Pro 10,5".

If it's compatible, the best purchase is iPad Pro 10,5" with one of the newer smart keyboard cases.
Click to expand...

They're the same keyboard.
 
sracer said:
Too many unknowns at the moment to make an informed decision, IMO.
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What????

Drop by an Apple Store and compare the ProMotion screen with the regular one. The quad speakers.

This is sort of an iPad Pro 9.7 vs iPad 9.7 debate: slightly better processor, much worse everything else including graphics. It's sad really.
 
AppleHaterLover said:
What????

Drop by an Apple Store and compare the ProMotion screen with the regular one. The quad speakers.

This is sort of an iPad Pro 9.7 vs iPad 9.7 debate: slightly better processor, much worse everything else including graphics. It's sad really.
Click to expand...
I have extensive use-time with iPads that have ProMotion and ones that didn't. I stand by my assessment that the benefits of ProMotion have been overstated. But for those who think it is a "thing" I'm glad that Apple makes those models available too.
 
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My only concern with the new iPad Air 10.5 2019 is it might be using USB 2.0. I can't find any documentation that it does use USB 3.0 speeds. I am trying to look at iPad 9.7 2018 model to see if this is supports USB 3.0 as well but can't find anything. The SD Card reader says that it will work with iPad Pro 10.5 using USB 3.0 but others it uses USB 2.0 speeds.
 
The 10.5 inch Pro has end of life pricing at a lot of retail outlets making it the same price as the new Air, or you can get a refurb off Apples website for even cheaper. 10.5 Pro is a better buy, especially when the pricing is equal.
 
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