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iPad Pro 12.9 (1st gen) vs iPad Pro 9.7 vs iPad 2018

A

AppleHaterLover

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 15, 2018
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I have been eyeing an iPad for some time and my local store is having a fire sale. I have 2-3 days to decide between the following:


-2018 iPad, new, full price
-iPad Pro 9.7 (A9X), new, same price as iPad 2018
-iPad Pro 12.9 (1st gen, A9X), store demo unit, $80 more than both of the above

I’ve always wanted a 12.9 iPad but buying a new one at full price is completely out of the question. OTOH I’m slightly afraid of buying a 2015 device in 2018 and have it become useless in a years’ time.

Which of the three would you choose?
 
All things being equal, I‘d go for the 9.7“ Pro unless you really want that bigger screen and if you definitely want to get one. The 9.7 Pro has quad speakers (which are great), no airgap with the screen (better than one with, I have heard) and the Smart Connector if you decide to ebay yourself an Apple Smark Keyboard. All three support the Pencil, so no difference there...

For me, the ASK was the killer feature that finally made me jump on the iPad bandwagon and it‘s been the killer feature for me the whole time I‘ve had it (I‘m typing this response on it now). Also, even though I want a new iPad Pro with all the latest and greatest, my 9.7“ Pro feels no slower or older than the day I got it. And I use it daily. In all honestly, I have no reason to upgrade except that I want to. Chances are, it‘ll be great for years to come.
 
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spudWorks said:
All things being equal, I‘d go for the 9.7“ Pro unless you really want that bigger screen and if you definitely want to get one. The 9.7 Pro has quad speakers (which are great), no airgap with the screen (better than one with, I have heard) and the Smart Connector if you decide to ebay yourself an Apple Smark Keyboard. All three support the Pencil, so no difference there...

For me, the ASK was the killer feature that finally made me jump on the iPad bandwagon and it‘s been the killer feature for me the whole time I‘ve had it (I‘m typing this response on it now). Also, even though I want a new iPad Pro with all the latest and greatest, my 9.7“ Pro feels no slower or older than the day I got it. And I use it daily. In all honestly, I have no reason to upgrade except that I want to. Chances are, it‘ll be great for years to come.
Click to expand...


I have researched a bit and it seems that the 2018 iPad scores only 15% higher than the 2015/16 Pros in synthetic benchmarks. With all the disadvantages I think it's mostly out of contention (lacking True Tone, the quad speakers, smart keyboard, etc.)


I'm between the 12.9 and the 9.7. I'm inclined towards the 12.9 (4GB RAM) but with it comes trillions of germs from the 1000s of people that probably used it plus a few battery cycles.

Would the 9.7 offer similar performance?
 
Nothing on the iPad has really pushed the performance envelope -- not video editors, not games, nothing. I've never found a shred of evidence that in day-to-day usage the 9.7 Pro is slower than the 12.9 Pro, whatever the benchmarks say.

If I were in your position, getting the 9.7 Pro is a no-brainer. The 12.9's only advantage is the bigger screen, which *does* matter if you do a lot of video watching or gaming. I wouldn't want to deal with the wear and tear of a floor model unless there's a good extended warranty to go with it.
 
If the 2015 iPad Pro 12.9 is being sold with full warranty, I would choose that one. I use both generations on 12.9 at work, and they are great. The performance is excellent, and the screen is lovely.

My fave iPad size is the mini. The 12.9 is next best, because you can do so much with it, and splitscreen multitasking works well.

For me, the mid size ones are awkward. Too big to pocket, too big for some types of gaming where you need to hold the device horizontally, and too small if productivity is your focus.

Good luck with your decision, and do let us know which you choose.
 
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I thought long and hard, tried both once more, went to the Apple Store to see if I really do not care about ProMotion and True Tone (speed for general web browsing seems the same). Didn’t have time to think about the next iPads since once they arrive my bargain basement half-price options would be long gone. (And I’m not the target audience for top of the line iPads anymore ever since since I bought a launch day iPad 3 only for Apple to replace it in 6 months and make it useless with iOS 7 in 1.5 years)

In the end, I went with the 12.9. the speakers seemed better than the 9.7 (I thought they should sound the same?) and I would like to try something a little different from my old iPad from a few years back which was a somewhat traumatic experience.

And I’m in love with it!! Using it right now. It feels VAST (screen larger feels larger than my 2017 13 MBP), speakers sound great, everything is snappy , multitasking is what I dreamed of a few years back. Plus I paid very little (or a fair price) for what is essentially a new iPad (I did give it a good rubbing with alcohol), which sealed the deal. I’ll consider getting a Smart Keyboard and stop ferrying my expensive (for me) Mac around.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Maybe this will convince me to get back into iPads...
 
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Dave-Z said:
You can wipe it down with some rubbing alcohol.
Click to expand...

I would _not_ recommend using rubbing alcohol. You would end up stripping the only oleophobic coating, I would rather use a product like Whoosh or a lightly damp microfiber cloth to remove any fingerprints or smudges.
 
Relentless Power said:
I would _not_ recommend using rubbing alcohol. You would end up stripping the only oleophobic coating, I would rather use a product like Whoosh or a lightly damp microfiber cloth to remove any fingerprints or smudges.
Click to expand...

Poster was concerned about germs. Rubbing alcohol will take care of that.

Yes, it will remove the coating, but probably not after a single use of wiping.
 
Dave-Z said:
Poster was concerned about germs. Rubbing alcohol will take care of that.

Yes, it will remove the coating, but probably not after a single use of wiping.
Click to expand...

I used alcohol on the back and the tiniest bit of liquid soap + water (on a cloth and then on the iPad).

Having seen how these kids will drool and spit their sundaes all over these display iPads I'd be more worried about cleaning it than getting a bit of the coating off.
 
@AppleHaterLover,

I clean my phone with alcohol wipes regularly without issue. The wipes I use are available at pharmacies for pretty cheap; they're same kind used in medical for needles, etc.

I don't often use them on my iPad because I don't take it out much and tend not to eat or drink over it so it never gets too bad.

My hands always feel pretty gross after handling demo units at stores. I was in an Apple store recently looking at the phones because I'm going to be upgrading soon and they were slimy and gross...
 
Dave-Z said:
@AppleHaterLover,

I clean my phone with alcohol wipes regularly without issue. The wipes I use are available at pharmacies for pretty cheap; they're same kind used in medical for needles, etc.

I don't often use them on my iPad because I don't take it out much and tend not to eat or drink over it so it never gets too bad.

My hands always feel pretty gross after handling demo units at stores. I was in an Apple store recently looking at the phones because I'm going to be upgrading soon and they were slimy and gross...
Click to expand...

I use hand sanitizer on the back of my iPhone very regularly (not so on the glass because of the oleophobic coating).

Indeed demo units are GROSS.
 
OP, what sort of warranty did your unit come with? Always been curious about the warranty on demo units.
 
sosumi99 said:
OP, what sort of warranty did your unit come with? Always been curious about the warranty on demo units.
Click to expand...

Since my specific unit was actively displayed back when the 1st gen iPad Pro was the latest device (and then went to the back for who knows how long), it counts as having been activated back then and no longer has a warranty. I got a 90-day warranty which I may use at other locations of the chain. I haven't had too many issues with Apple stuff failing mid-life (only at the very beginning) so I think this will not be an issue. Apple Warranty check shows as "expired", as it would on a normal device. I do have the box for it (with matching serial number) and all the (new) cables and documentation.

Now that I'm an expert on demo units - the other sealed box iPad Pro 9.7 was also a demo unit, but had never been opened. It is the exact same as a retail unit (with box and accessories), and if I had bought that it would be for all intents and purposes the exact same as a brand new device.

The sales guy told me it is very usual that for these small Apple displays at your local Best Buy/B&H/etc. Apple will send two or three demo units of each iPad, one of them sits sealed and unused and when these are discontinued Apple does not take them back and the store is free to sell them. Hence this store still having brand new 9.7 iPad Pros for sale (there also was 1 non-demo Pro there, but it was a tad more expensive because you have to restore them on iTunes, see below).

The only difference is that those iPads will play the demo loop you see in stores automatically as soon as you turn them on, and you have to manually restore them on iTunes. After that, they're like buying a new device, no activation lock, passwords or anything.
 
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AppleHaterLover said:
I thought long and hard, tried both once more, went to the Apple Store to see if I really do not care about ProMotion and True Tone (speed for general web browsing seems the same). Didn’t have time to think about the next iPads since once they arrive my bargain basement half-price options would be long gone. (And I’m not the target audience for top of the line iPads anymore ever since since I bought a launch day iPad 3 only for Apple to replace it in 6 months and make it useless with iOS 7 in 1.5 years)

In the end, I went with the 12.9. the speakers seemed better than the 9.7 (I thought they should sound the same?) and I would like to try something a little different from my old iPad from a few years back which was a somewhat traumatic experience.

And I’m in love with it!! Using it right now. It feels VAST (screen larger feels larger than my 2017 13 MBP), speakers sound great, everything is snappy , multitasking is what I dreamed of a few years back. Plus I paid very little (or a fair price) for what is essentially a new iPad (I did give it a good rubbing with alcohol), which sealed the deal. I’ll consider getting a Smart Keyboard and stop ferrying my expensive (for me) Mac around.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Maybe this will convince me to get back into iPads...
Click to expand...
I would say you made the right choice. I NEVER want to go back to a smaller screen than a 12.9” and this was the only one of your choices to have 4GB of RAM. Well done.
 
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AppleHaterLover said:
The sales guy told me it is very usual that for these small Apple displays at your local Best Buy/B&H/etc.
Click to expand...

Very informative discussion of how this works. I had no idea. Kudos on securing a good deal for yourself, and I hope I get a chance to grab a demo unit like this someday as a second device!
 
Freakonomics101 said:
At maximum brightness.
Click to expand...

I did think about it - both of the iPhones (5 & 6) I gave to relatives had some form of screen discoloration (going yellow around the borders) as the years went on.

But then I figured that since this had been on display for so long it would already have presented some sort of issue if it were defective. So I took the chance.
 
Quick update for future users who may be interested in buying a demo device.

coconutBattery shows that this particular iPad Pro 12.9 was manufactured 2015-09-13 (so, prior to the first iPad Pro launch). Battery has 73 cycles on it, and 94.5% capacity (for comparison, my 2017 MBP nTB i bought in June is at 63 cycles and 97.7%). Really is like new, and was your typical demo iPad (plays a loop, you may try it if you like, when you're done with it it goes back to the loop).

So all in all I think this was a score. It does seem that it was displayed for a year and a half, then sat unused for another year. I'd buy another demo unit in a heartbeat (if there is a warranty).
 
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