4 speakers makes a huge difference, believe it or not. I will not buy an iPad with 2 speakers ever again.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?
- Thread starter TorontoSS
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Wow! I got my 10.5" Pro today and it's all true:
1. Four speakers is great. However, it's also true I won't use them all that much because most of the time I use headphones. But, for the times I do want speakers, this is a nice bonus. Not only is the sound better, if sound gets blocked on one side, there is still clear sound on the other.
2. The camera is quite decent. I'm impressed. Basically the iPad Air 2's camera is just OK, but it's very nice on the 10.5" Pro. Having a flash is also a nice bonus.
3. I'm really, really liking ProMotion. There is much less interface lag when swiping across the screen, and scrolling in applications (esp. Safari) is way smoother. Instead of a blurry mess of text when fast scrolling MacRumors, it's very clear.
The iPad does feel noticeably faster than my iPad Air 2 as well, although I can't say the iPad Air 2 is slow. The iPad Air 2 is good minimum threshold for a decent 2019 iPad, but the iPad Pro 10.5 is just speedier. That should come as no surprise though since Geekbench 4 gives me about 4000/9600 on my iPad Pro (iPad7,3 with J207AP motherboard), as compared to about 1850/4525 on my iPad Air 2 (iPad 5,3 with J81AP motherboard). Not quite the psychological 10000 threshold I wanted to achieve with my next iPad, but close enough.
And yes, I have my 4 GB RAM.
I'm going to have to check out the iPad Air in person just to see how much swiping and scrolling lag there is without ProMotion. Maybe it's a bit better than the iPad Air 2, I dunno, but without the 120 Hz support, it's likely still will be quite noticeable.
Price of my 64 GB WiFi iPad Pro 10.5 was CAD$619 refurb, which is approximately US$465.
BTW, the box I got was a nice white box. I don't remember my other refurbs like this. My last Apple refurb was many years ago, and it came in a non-descript brown box.
1. Four speakers is great. However, it's also true I won't use them all that much because most of the time I use headphones. But, for the times I do want speakers, this is a nice bonus. Not only is the sound better, if sound gets blocked on one side, there is still clear sound on the other.
2. The camera is quite decent. I'm impressed. Basically the iPad Air 2's camera is just OK, but it's very nice on the 10.5" Pro. Having a flash is also a nice bonus.
3. I'm really, really liking ProMotion. There is much less interface lag when swiping across the screen, and scrolling in applications (esp. Safari) is way smoother. Instead of a blurry mess of text when fast scrolling MacRumors, it's very clear.
The iPad does feel noticeably faster than my iPad Air 2 as well, although I can't say the iPad Air 2 is slow. The iPad Air 2 is good minimum threshold for a decent 2019 iPad, but the iPad Pro 10.5 is just speedier. That should come as no surprise though since Geekbench 4 gives me about 4000/9600 on my iPad Pro (iPad7,3 with J207AP motherboard), as compared to about 1850/4525 on my iPad Air 2 (iPad 5,3 with J81AP motherboard). Not quite the psychological 10000 threshold I wanted to achieve with my next iPad, but close enough.
And yes, I have my 4 GB RAM. I'm going to have to check out the iPad Air in person just to see how much swiping and scrolling lag there is without ProMotion. Maybe it's a bit better than the iPad Air 2, I dunno, but without the 120 Hz support, it's likely still will be quite noticeable.
Price of my 64 GB WiFi iPad Pro 10.5 was CAD$619 refurb, which is approximately US$465.
BTW, the box I got was a nice white box. I don't remember my other refurbs like this. My last Apple refurb was many years ago, and it came in a non-descript brown box.
Last edited:
BTW, it's really nice having a flashlight on my iPad now, for walking around the house in the dark with the iPad. I didn't think of that when I bought the iPad Pro.
Yes, screw pro motion and the ram difference, quad speakers is where it's at, and if the iPad Mini (5) had that, I would have sold my 10.5 Pro. Sound is so much better and I feel like I don't have to use a bluetooth speaker at all, like I did with the Mini 2.
Uhh no it’s not, the 10.5 pro has far more superior and has more features than the air, the only thing that looks better (on paper) is the A12 chip that’s on the XS. The pro rocks a A10X chip and it’s still a beast.
As for that spot, it’s barley noticeable. I didn’t even notice it untill I read a post about it and looked and had it. It ONLY shows against a white backdrop like this page, If there is content on the spot, it’s really hard to see. You practically have to look for it.
The 10.5 is a better buy and is cheaper at the apple refresh store and at Best Buy.
It turns out some 3rd party sellers on Amazon.ca (Canada) dropped the pricing of the Smart Keyboard for the 10.5" Pro (and Air) by 1/3rd a few weeks back. So I ordered one.
So, further added value.
I wonder if the price will go back up though, now that the new Air with the same form factor has been announced.
So, further added value.
I wonder if the price will go back up though, now that the new Air with the same form factor has been announced.
Actually ProMotion is quite beneficial if one uses or is interested in using the Apple Pencil. I’ve compared myself and it makes a big difference.
Is ProMotion 120 Hz a requirement for better sensitivity and lower lag? Or can you get a lower lag screen without 120 Hz?
2 questions for you guys.
I’m still on my old Air 2 so I’m seriously debating upgrading right now.
The idea that the Air 3 doesn’t have the 120hz is disappointing. Do you guys think though, that there will be a iPad Air 4 down the line that might include this in the future? Or do you see this Air as a one off thing?
And what is Touch ID 2? I’m embarrassed to say I’m not sure I’ve heard of the difference.
I’m still on my old Air 2 so I’m seriously debating upgrading right now.
The idea that the Air 3 doesn’t have the 120hz is disappointing. Do you guys think though, that there will be a iPad Air 4 down the line that might include this in the future? Or do you see this Air as a one off thing?
And what is Touch ID 2? I’m embarrassed to say I’m not sure I’ve heard of the difference.
Apple appears to be reserving 120 Hz for the Pros only.
In the past Apple had a 2-tier product line, but now they moved to a 3-tier product line, with the Pros at the top, and still the only models with 120 Hz. They have kept the bottom tier, but also have added a mid-range tier that gains a few higher end features but scraps stuff like 120 Hz.
It's faster Touch ID. And yes it works faster than Touch ID 1 on the iPad Air 2. Some also claim it may be more accurate/consistent.
As for upgrading, it would depend on what you need it for. If just to surf, do email, and watch local or streamed videos, the iPad Air 2 is still quite capable. I upgraded to the 10.5" Pro, but if my kids hadn't needed that Air 2 I was using, I probably would have just kept it and maybe upgraded next year or something.
Thanks so much! I find it kinda disappointing that the new Air doesn’t have that but I see what you mean. Is it pretty safe to say that Apple will be continuing with this mid tier thing and we could have a iPad Air 4? So to speak. I realize that may be a impossible question to answer but I’m certainly not in the know as many of you are.
But it would be nice if the mid tier eventually got 120hz(as it seems the “pro 2” 11 inch would eventually have a screen upgrade). Some new tech to differentiate. Or perhaps that’s my ignorance speaking.
I’m really torn then between iPad Air 3 or 10.5... my Air 2 is still functioning but I can tell she’s slowing down. And the battery too. On one hand the 10.5 has the nice screen, better quad speakers, better ram(possibly) but it is older in some ways. And of course do I really even need these things or would I miss them? The screen and dual speakers on my Air 2 look and sound nice enough to me(although I’d really like 120 hz).
Kinda talking out loud to myself somewhat here so thanks for listening and I appreciate any feedback lol.
I would go with the nice pro 11 but I really dislike Face ID and the missing headphone jack(yes I’m a dinosaur).
The only meaningful way the 10.5 Pro is older than the new Air is in the processor. And even then that’s a bit of a wash. The A12 is faster in single and multi core CPU tasks. But the difference is not huge, and the A10X was already more than fast enough for everyday tasks. On the other hand, the A10X actually offers better graphics performance over the A12 (I’ve read it’s about 35% better but I’m not sure on that number). So the A12 isn’t even a clear upgrade over the A10X, despite being “newer”. It does offer the neural engine, but that doesn’t really have any clear value on a device that doesn’t utilize Face ID.
Seriously, if you decide to upgrade, get the Pro. It’s better than the new Air in pretty much every way that matters. And you can find the Pro for the same price or even cheaper than the Air right now if you move fast, which only sweetens the deal.
I decided to jump on the 10.5" Pro refurb deal, just in case it sells out sooner rather than later, esp. since it's less than the retail pricing for the Air here in Canada.
However, often times when it sells out, it comes back into the store later. Also, I will point out that the 9.7" Pro is still available, even though it was discontinued back in 2017 when the 10.5" model was introduced.
It has crossed my mind that at least some of these "refurbished" devices are just excess stock that Apple is offloading. Once again, pure speculation based on nothing but a naturally suspicious nature.
Probably, at least right after discontinuation of the product. FWIW, my refurb I ordered last Monday came with iOS 11.
BTW, back in the old days some of my Apple refurbs came in a plain brown cardboard box. My current iPad Pro came in what looked like an original box, except with a different lid that also says “Apple Certified Refurbished” in smaller print on it.
Yes, that's exactly what Apple suggests on the refurb pages, at least in the UK
It does look heaps better and in that he/she is not being treated as a second-class citizen it surely must make a person feel better about acquiring a refurb.
Last edited:
So, after reading and comparing between the new iPad Air and the iPad Pro 10.5, I was about to buy the Pro since it's on sale right now for the same price as the new iPad Air.
However, I noticed that the white spot/bright spot plagues the iPad Pro 10.5. It seems like many (most?) people experience this after some time. Should that be reason enough to get the Air instead? That issue aside, the Pro seems like the clear winner, despite having the older processor.
However, I noticed that the white spot/bright spot plagues the iPad Pro 10.5. It seems like many (most?) people experience this after some time. Should that be reason enough to get the Air instead? That issue aside, the Pro seems like the clear winner, despite having the older processor.
Hmm... Despite having the Neural Engine, the iPad Air (2019) doesn't support Memoji either. I guess these iPads really need the Face ID hardware to support even that. (It's supported in the Face ID Pros.)
Not that I care for myself, since it's something I never would use, but I'm just trying to find something that requires the Neural Engine that isn't Face ID related.
The 11" Pro had a unresponsive-with-screen-protector issue too BTW.
Not that I care for myself, since it's something I never would use, but I'm just trying to find something that requires the Neural Engine that isn't Face ID related.
I just decided I'm not going to worry about the white spot issue, and who knows if there is going to be a problem with the new Air. The good news is that we are late in the production schedule of the 10.5" Pro so presumably any major bugs in the manufacturing process have been worked out. The iPad Pro 10.5" initially shipping with 10.3, but mine came with iOS 11, I think 11.4.1.
The 11" Pro had a unresponsive-with-screen-protector issue too BTW.
Last edited:
Ah, yeah, that's a very good point. I guess my concern was that, if it happened at all, the white spot manifested far after the one-year warranty... I wouldn't be thrilled about that happening.
But yes, this is very late in the production schedule, and the Air could have its own issues. Many posts I read of people encountering the white spot issue were recent (within the past 3-5 months) but it sounds like they already had the tablet for a while, as many people were out of warranty by then, or close to it. (Also, it sounds like if you're a month or two outside warranty, they'll still likely replace the iPad for you.)
White spot aside, the 120 Hz ProMotion and extra gig of ram in the Pro seem to outweigh the A12 processor for me. I'll use this mostly for media consumption, and maybe with the pencil. I use the speakers maybe 20% of the time, so the four speakers would be nice, too.
EDIT: Does anyone have any idea just how prevalent the white spot issue was/is with the iPad Pro 10.5? I'm guessing there aren't any official statistics on that...
Not sure what causes it, but I did see a post somewhere saying that some of them were actually caused by bulging batteries. I don't know if there is any truth to that.
As for the warranty, I always buy with my credit card with extended warranty, so I get two years, one year from Apple, and one year from the credit card. I use Amex, since they will cover Apple refurbs. OTOH, if you get a "refurb" from some third party seller with a non-Apple warranty, Amex won't extend the warranty (which seems reasonable).