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floling

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 5, 2011
104
100
Is the iPad pro really that next best thing apple has done?
Are there any sale-numbers in perspective iPad Pro (12.9) to the iPad mini; since the mini is getting no love from apple anymore.

I work at a cafe place in the southern part of germany, where I see Apple devices on a day to day basis.
I’ve seen lots of regular sized iPads, at least 5 iPad minis in the last 3 months, but only one of the large iPads ever since it was released.


Is apple really getting any profit from the 12.9 inch iPad? Maybe just not in germany??

I’d buy a 2018 version iPad mini without a blink.
It's portable, you can hold it with one hand, and it was the reason I bought an iPad in the first place
cheers!
 

ericwn

macrumors G5
Apr 24, 2016
12,121
10,912
I bet it’s seen less often because it’s the biggest, most expensive and least portable iPad out there. Mine stays at home a lot and I’ll use my iPhone on the go.
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
I don't see a ton of 12.9" iPad Pros out in the wild, but I know a lot of people that have them. I think it's what ericwn said above--it's just not as much of a grab and go device. This is the main reason I have been sticking with the smaller Pro models.

I think the crazy thing about the different iPad sizes is how much they change the equation in your brain as to what device you need to bring with you. Here's kind of how it went for me:

Old school 9.7" iPads (maybe like iPad 2 through Air for me): Took them a lot of places with me if I were planning on just entertaining myself for a couple of hours while carting my kids around to stuff or if I thought I would be doing some emailing or browsing while I was out, but if I really needed to get work stuff done, I'd bring a laptop instead. iOS just didn't do enough back then for me not to. Eventually I started defaulting to iPhone plus laptop instead of iPhone plus iPad. At one point, I didn't even own an iPad at all for about a year.

iPad mini: Had one of these for about a year. Made a really good portable e reader and internet connected tablet, but couldn't justify owning it anymore once I started buying the larger model iPhones. I know the screen sizes are FAR different than what people make them out to be, but I would still opt for the iPhone more often because its screen was "big enough" to cause me to just live the iPad mini at home. Heck, I've read several full books on my iPhones, even going as far back as the tiny iPhone 4 screen!

iPad Pro 9.7": This was starting to get into the sweet spot for me more because of advances in iOS than the actual screen size. I never liked the concept of carrying around at 12.9" iPad Pro, so this model was a dream come true for me. With advances in iOS 10 and processing power, I started being able to convert most of my workflows to iPad with this one, and started carrying an iPad with me out of the house again. My main complaint about it was the cramped typing and screen size.

iPad Pro 10.5": This checked the typing complaints off my list and had noticeable screen upgrades too. Any time I go anywhere where there will be time for me to sit down and just "do stuff" in iOS, I always bring my 10.5" Pro. I could never go back to a 9.7" iPad or 7.9" mini at this point, and I this is the iPad model I've most taken out of the house with me on a regular basis. It's just an all around great machine.

The only iPad in that list that I ever flat out stopped being able to justify owning was the mini. It just doesn't have a good place in the lineup anymore in my opinion. Furthermore, the iPhone is probably still my main, most used, most versatile personal computer, so the iPad is almost always going to play second fiddle to that.
 

kazmac

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2010
10,104
8,659
Any place but here or there....
I don't see a ton of 12.9" iPad Pros out in the wild, but I know a lot of people that have them. I think it's what ericwn said above--it's just not as much of a grab and go device. This is the main reason I have been sticking with the smaller Pro models.

I think the crazy thing about the different iPad sizes is how much they change the equation in your brain as to what device you need to bring with you. Here's kind of how it went for me:

Old school 9.7" iPads (maybe like iPad 2 through Air for me): Took them a lot of places with me if I were planning on just entertaining myself for a couple of hours while carting my kids around to stuff or if I thought I would be doing some emailing or browsing while I was out, but if I really needed to get work stuff done, I'd bring a laptop instead. iOS just didn't do enough back then for me not to. Eventually I started defaulting to iPhone plus laptop instead of iPhone plus iPad. At one point, I didn't even own an iPad at all for about a year.

iPad mini: Had one of these for about a year. Made a really good portable e reader and internet connected tablet, but couldn't justify owning it anymore once I started buying the larger model iPhones. I know the screen sizes are FAR different than what people make them out to be, but I would still opt for the iPhone more often because its screen was "big enough" to cause me to just live the iPad mini at home. Heck, I've read several full books on my iPhones, even going as far back as the tiny iPhone 4 screen!

iPad Pro 9.7": This was starting to get into the sweet spot for me more because of advances in iOS than the actual screen size. I never liked the concept of carrying around at 12.9" iPad Pro, so this model was a dream come true for me. With advances in iOS 10 and processing power, I started being able to convert most of my workflows to iPad with this one, and started carrying an iPad with me out of the house again. My main complaint about it was the cramped typing and screen size.

iPad Pro 10.5": This checked the typing complaints off my list and had noticeable screen upgrades too. Any time I go anywhere where there will be time for me to sit down and just "do stuff" in iOS, I always bring my 10.5" Pro. I could never go back to a 9.7" iPad or 7.9" mini at this point, and I this is the iPad model I've most taken out of the house with me on a regular basis. It's just an all around great machine.

The only iPad in that list that I ever flat out stopped being able to justify owning was the mini. It just doesn't have a good place in the lineup anymore in my opinion. Furthermore, the iPhone is probably still my main, most used, most versatile personal computer, so the iPad is almost always going to play second fiddle to that.

Some excellent and valid points.

The iPad Mini 4 was my favorite iPad. I enjoyed using the on screen keyboard and it was a wonderful device for on the go. I miss it terribly. I never really got on with the 9.7 sized iPads and only picked up a 12.9" last year when Promotion pretty much knocked my socks off and I knew I wanted to try the pencil.

While I agree that some people find the larger phones to be a solid replacement for two devices, I'd rather have a smaller iPhone and an iPad mini to carry around (especially since I will be traveling to two job sites on a daily basis.) I've tried to get by on a 7+, but the screen is still too small for me and I do not use all the bells and whistles on the iPhone. I'd love an updated mini with pencil capabilities.

I think it's great that the 2018 iPad has pencil capabilities and if no mini arrives, I'll eventually have to pick up something that I can use on site. I tried the iPhone 5s and iPad Mini 4 and the 5s was way too slow for me, so I returned both because my iMac needed replacing. I am sorry I returned the Mini 4 and that I bought the ASK for the 12.9 (waste of $).

I did see a few 12.9"s out the wild last year, but now I just notice phones. So I am not sure which of the two models sells better. For me, they both have their uses.
 
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cwerdna

macrumors 6502a
Jan 19, 2005
582
217
SF Bay Area, California
Are there any sale-numbers in perspective iPad Pro (12.9) to the iPad mini; since the mini is getting no love from apple anymore.
These aren't direct sales figures but https://data.apteligent.com/ios/devices/ has data (only free for global, gotta pay for country-specific data) by usage share which seems to count app loads, not necessarily giving a breakdown by device share. If it's app loads, it can be rather skewed more towards phones, which one is more likely to carry with you at all times and launch apps on vs. an iPad which may sit idle at home/somewhere all day.

Many companies use them for iOS app crash reporting and other analytics. They were formerly aka Crittercism.

Some of their data might be little screwy with iPad Pro 12.9". Looks like they chose to call the 1st gen "iPad Pro 13" due to the identifier in the model column. Per https://everyi.com/by-identifier/ipod-iphone-ipad-specs-by-model-identifier.html, 1st gen iPad Pro 12.9" was iPad6,7 and iPad6,8.

They're labeling the 2nd gen 12.9" as iPad Pro 12.9, which is identifier iPad7,1 and iPad7,2.

So, if you want to include all 12.9" iPad Pros, you gotta add Usage Share of iPad Pro 13 and iPad Pro 12.9.
 
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DoubleFlyaway

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2017
1,620
2,526
My 12.9 is a work machine or for curling up on the couch. My Air 2 is for my purse. So I'm not surprised you don't see a lot of 12.9s around.
 

gnomeisland

macrumors 65816
Jul 30, 2008
1,097
833
New York, NY
My dream iPP is an iPhone X like design with a ~9" OLED screen that is only a little wider than the current (bezel-heavy) iPad mini. NEVER going to happen but it would be nice. I love the size of the mini and wish it got more love.
 
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