iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?

[JohnSmithy]

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).

Ah, if I did get the Pro, I would get it new from Amazon or Best Buy since it's on sale right now. I think if the sale didn't exist (which puts it at the iPad Air's price) I would likely just get the Air. I don't use my iPad a ton but I do lots of streaming on it, and also....

I am upgrading from (drumroll) the 3rd Gen iPad (The New iPad, as it was originally called). So yeah, my unit is quite old, and it has iOS 8 (?) I think, but it still works well considering. So, anything I get will be a massive upgrade anyway. Tbh, I hadn't even considered the Pro until I realized the Air didn't have ProMotion and had 1 gig less of RAM, and also that it was on sale from a couple retailers.

My only nagging hesitation was the white spot. It definitely doesn't plague everyone, but there's tons of threads of people saying the spot appeared over time.

 

[Davefevs]

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.

Not really considered buying a refurb ever in the past, but a bit torn now!

Apple UK has the 10.5 256gb Space Grey for £539 (new IPad Air is £629)

I wish I knew what iOS 13 has in store, if it allowed HDD via usb-c I might go Pro. Darn you Apple!!

 

[Fenhalls]

Not really considered buying a refurb ever in the past, but a bit torn now!

Apple UK has the 10.5 256gb Space Grey for £539 (new IPad Air is £629)

I wish I knew what iOS 13 has in store, if it allowed HDD via usb-c I might go Pro. Darn you Apple!!

1) Whichever way you jump you could have problems down the line. As has been pointed out by other posters the new Air might also have problems at some point.

2) We simply don't know how extensive the problem is with the 10.5. My best guess is that if it were really that bad we would be seeing way more posts about it elsewhere. On the other hand, the issue may become (much?) worse over time.

3) If you do decide on the 10.5 make sure you get two years warranty either through Apple or if possible your credit card company.

4) I decided to purchase the 10.5 despite the current issue for possibly a quite idiosyncratic reason. Thing is I wanted a new Pro model (I currently have a 9.7 Pro purchased new less than two years ago), but I also require a headphone jack/connector and one positioned at the top of the device. At present that only leaves the 10.5 Pro.

Why at the top of the tablet? Typically I use the iPad in potrait mode lying back on a bed or couch with the device resting on my chest and if the jack or connector is on the bottom of the device the plug will dig into me.

 

[EugW]

Why at the top of the tablet? Typically I use the iPad in potrait mode lying back on a bed or couch with the device resting on my chest and if the jack or connector is on the bottom of the device the plug will dig into me.

Bluetooth headphones!

Seriously though, the headphone jack will come in handy for me though on the plane, since I'll be able to charge and listen to my wired noise cancelling headphones at the same time. Also, four sets of wireless Bose QC35 II headphones for my family would have been way, way more expensive than four sets of wired Bose QC25 headphones. Plus the simplicity of the AAA battery power for the QC25 is great, as is the fact it's easy to split the signal to two sets of wired headphones from one iPad on the plane for the kids.

 

[Fenhalls]

I

Bluetooth headphones!

Seriously though, the headphone jack will come in handy for me though on the plane, since I'll be able to charge and listen to my wired noise cancelling headphones at the same time. Also, four sets of wireless Bose QC35 II headphones for my family would have been way, way more expensive than four sets of wired Bose QC25 headphones. Plus the simplicity of the AAA battery power for the QC25 is great, as is the fact it's easy to split the signal to two sets of wired headphones from one iPad on the plane for the kids.

Nothing to do with cost. I hate Bluetooth. Compression on top of compression makes no sense to me in terms of audio quality. I love AirPlay for this very reason.

 

[EugW]

I


Nothing to do with cost. I hate Bluetooth. Compression on top of compression makes no sense to me in terms of audio quality. I love AirPlay for this very reason.

I guess it depends on to what you are listening. Apple Bluetooth headphones use AAC, and Apple's implementation of it is very good. AirPods aren't audiophile phones, but then again, that's not what I'm looking for when lying on the couch watching a TV show.

 

[techno-Zen]

Bought a 10.5” silver model. Currently own a 11” pro. The 10.5” chamfered edges and sparkle look so much more premium than the new 2018 models in my opinion.

For $499 I couldn’t pass it up at Best Buy

 

[Fenhalls]

Bought a 10.5” silver model. Currently own a 11” pro. The 10.5” chamfered edges and sparkle look so much more premium than the new 2018 models in my opinion.

I was chatting with a guy who sells these for a living a few weeks back and he made exactly the same point.

Congratulations, by the way. I trust that it brings you much pleasure.

 

[nordique]

Looks like if you can get an old pro for cheap that's the way to go

Geekbench A10x and A12 isn't too far apart
You lose pro motion which is probably the best feature on a tablet, incredible quad speakers, better camera .

Along with losing pro motion you also lose the extra responsiveness from the apple pencil as a result

And it looks like pro 10.5 has 4gb ram vs new air having 3gb

Also, I can only find the new air to have first gen touch id online. No mention of second gen as far as apples site goes. Anyone else find evidence to the contrary? That seems like a huge let down if true .

 

[3.5jackandairpods]

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.

Air has 3gb ram. 1 reason being low end 9.7 has 2, pro has 4, so it makes sense for mid ranges to have mid range ram
[doublepost=1553450052][/doublepost]

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.

um the “new Smart Keyboard is actually the old one being rebranded as a Air one since they officially don’t sell pros anymore

 

[BigMcGuire]

Bought a 10.5” silver model. Currently own a 11” pro. The 10.5” chamfered edges and sparkle look so much more premium than the new 2018 models in my opinion.

For $499 I couldn’t pass it up at Best Buy

Just what I did today at Best Buy. Traded in my 2018 iPad for the 10.5 Silver pro. I’m loving it. I blame @EugW a little for this. Lol. I haven’t even tried the Apple Pencil yet but IMO it is amazing. The speed, True Tone, smooth scrolling, speakers, and screen - the device feels lighter and a lot thinner. Reading text is an improvement.

 

[SSD-GUY]

After reading this thread, I've decided to keep my 10.5" Pro, and save up for a while to get the new Mini. It's not worth selling it on eBay for a few hundred pounds as it really is an amazing device.

 

[EugW]

After reading this thread, I've decided to keep my 10.5" Pro, and save up for a while to get the new Mini. It's not worth selling it on eBay for a few hundred pounds as it really is an amazing device.

I was watching some YouTube video reviews of the 11" iPad Pro and interestingly they said for normal UI navigation and regular activities like surfing and real world interaction with various mainstream applications, there was usually no real perceivable difference between the 10.5" iPad Pro and the 11" iPad Pro. The big difference came in stuff like iMovie exports, or bulk RAW conversions, etc.

This was in contrast to the iPad Pro 9.7" and 1st generation 12.9" though, which some said felt slower, with occasionally some stuttering, etc.

This does make perfect sense to me, because the iPad Pro 10.5" is about 80% faster than the iPad Pro 9.7". Interestingly, the 9.7" is in the performance ballpark of the entry level 2015 12" MacBook in Geekbench 4, which I felt was a tad sluggish in some stuff. In contrast, the 10.5" iPad Pro is roughly 35% faster than my 2017 Core m3 MacBook, which I think feels quite quick.

IOW, it seems the real world 2019 performance cutoff for UI actions is between A8X/A9/A9X/A10 vs A10X/A11/A12. As discussed already, there is a huge jump in performance between A9X and A10X, and it would appear that A10X and above is what you need for optimal UI performance. This will of course change with time though, with the next major cutoff being A12X.

 

[SSD-GUY]

I was watching some YouTube video reviews of the 11" iPad Pro and interestingly they said for normal UI navigation and regular activities like surfing and real world interaction with various mainstream applications, there was usually no real perceivable difference between the 10.5" iPad Pro and the 11" iPad Pro. The big difference came in stuff like iMovie exports, or bulk RAW conversions, etc.

This was in contrast to the iPad Pro 9.7" and 1st generation 12.9" though, which some said felt slower, with occasionally some stuttering, etc.

This does make perfect sense to me, because the iPad Pro 10.5" is about 80% faster than the iPad Pro 9.7". Interestingly, the 9.7" is in the performance ballpark of the entry level 2015 12" MacBook in Geekbench 4, which I felt was a tad sluggish in some stuff. In contrast, the 10.5" iPad Pro is roughly 35% faster than my 2017 Core m3 MacBook, which I think feels quite quick.

IOW, it seems the real world 2019 performance cutoff for UI actions is between A8X/A9/A9X/A10 vs A10X/A11/A12. As discussed already, there is a huge jump in performance between A9X and A10X, and it would appear that A10X and above is what you need for optimal UI performance. This will of course change with time though, with the next major cutoff being A12X.

Yeah I'm primarily keeping it for the larger screen than the Mini, as on the weekends, I tend to try and upskill/learn new things via Udemy and other books/sites. I'm trying to keep it all electronic, so for the sake of a few hundred pounds, I may as well keep this larger iPad for the screen estate. With its specs, it should last a long time tbh.

 

[EugW]

Apple refurbs are great!

 

[christof]

This hasn’t been mentioned yet.

Cellular model iPad Air (3rd Generation, as well as mini 5th Generation) now has Gigabit LTE with more LTE bands for improved global coverage. If you’re a T-Mobile USA customer, Band 71 and their Gigabit LTE deployment knocks the socks off iPad Pro 10.5-inch, which only has LTE-Advanced and lacks Band 71. These new iPads also have Bluetooth 5 with improved speeds and distance. I don’t plan on jumping to 5G anytime soon, so I’m hopping on either the new Air or mini to capture peak 4G LTE before it’s hindered by 5G hardware.

 

[Fenhalls]

This hasn’t been mentioned yet.

Cellular model iPad Air (3rd Generation, as well as mini 5th Generation) now has Gigabit LTE with more LTE bands for improved global coverage. If you’re a T-Mobile USA customer, Band 71 and their Gigabit LTE deployment knocks the socks off iPad Pro 10.5-inch, which only has LTE-Advanced and lacks Band 71. These new iPads also have Bluetooth 5 with improved speeds and distance. I don’t plan on jumping to 5G anytime soon, so I’m hopping on either the new Air or mini to capture peak 4G LTE before it’s hindered by 5G hardware.

It's worth bearing this in mind, though:

Bluetooth 5 won't make your headphones sound better

https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com...nt-make-your-headphones-sound-better-0175490/

 

[Saskat]

What is considered a good price for an iPP 10.5” WiFi only 64GB at the moment?

 

[kristalsoldier]

What is considered a good price for an iPP 10.5” WiFi only 64GB at the moment?

Well, according to Apple, is A$460, which is what they were willing to give me if I traded it in for a new iPad. Edit: you would probably get a slightly better price elsewhere.

 

[BenTrovato]

What is considered a good price for an iPP 10.5” WiFi only 64GB at the moment?

In the US, Amazon has a great sale on them right now.. $499

 

[EugW]

In the US, Amazon has a great sale on them right now.. $499

Yeah, that's a great price. That sale is not reflected in Canada though. Fortunately, they are on the refurb store in Canada for CAD$619 (US$462.21).

In Australia, on the refurb store the iPad Pro 10.5" 64 GB WiFi is AUD$749 (US$$534.31), but that includes GST of AUS$68.09 (US$48.57), meaning the pre-tax price in Australia on the Apple Refurbished Store is AUS$680.91 (US$485.75).

My Canadian refurb 10.5" Pro order came with a manufacture date of July 30, 2018, with 100% battery capacity (see pic in previous post above - no cycles).

 

[Falhófnir]

My Canadian refurb 10.5" Pro order came with a manufacture date of July 30, 2018, with 100% battery capacity (see pic in previous post above - no cycles).

Do we know for certain whether Apple replace the battery and casing as part of the refurbishment process? I have heard conflicting things about whether they always do this, but it seems logical considering the battery is a consumable component and they would be unlikely to be able to 'polish' the outside back to perfect as-manufactured condition if it's previously been used.

 

[EugW]

Do we know for certain whether Apple replace the battery and casing as part of the refurbishment process? I have heard conflicting things about whether they always do this, but it seems logical considering the battery is a consumable component and they would be unlikely to be able to 'polish' the outside back to perfect as-manufactured condition if it's previously been used.

I dunno, but I'm still convinced that some of the refurbs are just new units with a different lid on the box.

 

[Fenhalls]

My Canadian refurb 10.5" Pro order came with a manufacture date of July 30, 2018

That old?!?!

 

[Falhófnir]

I dunno, but I'm still convinced that some of the refurbs are just new units with a different lid on the box.

That would also make sense, certainly when they have a stock of new inventory left over after they have just discontinued a product.