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Primarily it's the screen and not much else. Do you prefer the extra real estate and flexibility when it comes to split screen and such of the 12.9". Or would you prefer a smaller device with the benefit of a true tone display (though in honesty, the average punter isn't going to need that so much as someone who depends on colour accuracy.)

Personally, I love the 12.9", the extra space for drawing and jotting down notes is great and split screen is far more useable compared to how I found it on a 9.7" screen.

I don't buy into the, it's too big to be portable, nonsense. I remember carting around a big, chunky 17" laptop. Even the switch to a smaller laptop wasn't as compact and portable as the iPad. As far as I'm concerned it's a technical marvel in a comparatively small package, I've no problem taking mine with me. But that's all personal preference, we're all different in our likes and dislikes.
 
I had originally ordered the 9.7 inch but after buying an Apple Pencil early and "pretending" to use it on my iPad Air, I cancelled the 9.7 and purchased the 12.9. I plan on using it for taking notes and drawing and the 9.7 felt way too cramped for my intended uses in my opinion.
 
It's really only a matter of size. Both will perform the same. The extra ram is really only for the larger images.

This nonsense has to stop....so let's say we are using imovie editing 4k video...how much ram would the graphic imovie interface use? 20?-40MB of texture? now let's say on the 12.9 it uses 80MB even if is not the double amount of pixels...and then do your math...

You can be happy with your 9.7 without lie to yourself...
 
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This nonsense has to stop....so let's say we are using imovie editing 4k video...how much ram would the graphic imovie interface will use? 20?-40MB of texture? now let's say on the 12.9 it uses 80MB even if is not the double amount of pixels...and then do your math...

You can be happy with your 9.7 without lie to yourself...

All I know is that they perform the same. Seems like the 12.9 folks are the ones that can't accept that for some reason.
 
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9.7

Weight is great not sure how could carry that heavy thing now.
After owning both devices this week I kind of wish they bumped the iPad's LCD to the 11.5 inch range. Maybe take it closer to the edge of the bezels so there isn't much growth in foot print and weight.

Since I swapped my 12.9 to 9.7 I do miss looking at a big screen but not carrying it around.
 
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After owning both devices this week I kind of wish they bumped the iPad's LCD to the 11.5 inch range. Maybe take it closer to the edge of the bezels so there isn't much growth in foot print and weight.

Since I swapped my 12.9 to 9.7 I do miss looking at a big screen but not carrying it around.

I agree. The 9.7 dimensions with zero bezel would be the perfect screen size and weight.
 
I agree. The 9.7 dimensions with zero bezel would be the perfect screen size and weight.
Well Zero might be too much. Nowhere to hold or have a home button but maybe a 2mm side bezel and cut the top and bottom bezel by 1/3 each so it is as tall as the home button only. Though if they add 3D Touch they could easily make the home button a spot and not a physical button.
 
After owning both devices this week I kind of wish they bumped the iPad's LCD to the 11.5 inch range. Maybe take it closer to the edge of the bezels so there isn't much growth in foot print and weight.

Since I swapped my 12.9 to 9.7 I do miss looking at a big screen but not carrying it around.
LOL stinkin' Apple! They KNOW exactly how to straddle both sides of customers' sweet spot. Whether it is storage size or screen size, the one that seems right is the one they don't offer. (Half tongue in cheek so Apple defenders please don't blow an o-ring)

A Pro midway between these two sizes seems like it would be nice. Which makes sense to me since I previously opted for an 11" MBA over the 13". I'm sticking with the 12.9 and picking up a few more covers, cases, and bags that fit/travel better. It's still big but no longer "walking around with a surfboard" big. :)

It might be fun to start a thread, "My 12.9 iPad Pro is so big that..." thread. :D
 
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It's really only a matter of size. Both will perform the same. The extra ram is really only for the larger images.
Yes for me the 12.9" is way too big putting it on the side of my table when I use my 15" MBP for Skype and grabbing it around the house the 9.7" is just easier the USB 3 is a good thing that I use a lot to transfer files not by using the cloud
 
9.7

Weight is great not sure how could carry that heavy thing now.

The 12.9 weighs about the same as my iPad 3 in real world use-- it's not a big deal. I guess people have to work out a little more :).

More than anything else though, picking between the 2 pro models comes down to the size you need. I can't reach all the keys easily when holding the Pro 12.9 in landscape mode. Programs that need you to hold the iPad up like Star Walk are more difficult to manage but I can still easily read in bed (iPad rests on my lap). However with a big iPhone 6s+, I really don't need to tote an iPad around anymore.

The other thing I haven't seen mentioned much is that there are programs and games that are not optimized and look worse on my 12.9. You can see jagged lines on videos less than 720p, for instance. Those programs that are optimized however, look fantastic. I'm just a little worried that developers will not bother to address the issue.

Also, besides no USB 3 speeds, the iPad Pro 9.7 doesn't have fast charging (if there's a need or not). If for some reason you need Hey Siri on all the time, this (for unclear reasons) is only on the 9.7.
 
This nonsense has to stop....so let's say we are using imovie editing 4k video...how much ram would the graphic imovie interface use? 20?-40MB of texture? now let's say on the 12.9 it uses 80MB even if is not the double amount of pixels...and then do your math...

You can be happy with your 9.7 without lie to yourself...
Except we've had app developers chime in that additional RAM usage due to increased resolution is quite a bit more than that. Maybe for watching videos, sure, but something like gaming, you're gonna want to cache some stuff so you don't have to keep re-rendering which would likely require a lot of bandwidth and use up more battery.

I followed PCSX2 (PlayStation 2 emulator) development for a while and I recall one of the programmers mentioning how at higher resolutions, you'd need 2GB or more of dedicated graphics memory to be able to cache all the textures. Something similar probably applies.

The 12.9 weighs 1.5 pounds. I'm not sure why everyone says it is too heavy. Sure, it weighs more than other iPads, but come on, 1.5 pounds is so heavy.........what have we become?
Wrist fatigue and carpal tunnel. It's not so much the weight itself but how you carry that weight. I believe the Pro 12.9 weighs around the same as the original iPad. For me, the original iPad was too heavy that I'd only be able to use it for long periods if it's propped up. Having had it it fall on my face a number of times while reading or watching in bed (lying down with the iPad sitting on my chest), I can also say it's much more painful on the nose than an iPad Air. :p

I'm actually considering getting the 12.9, too, but first I'm waiting for software to improve before making the leap. Mainly, I'd like to be able to view two different Excel spreadsheets in split screen.
 
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I had the larger Pro but found it too big and heavy for a handheld device. It probably weighs over 2 pounds with case and cover. That's not a handheld device in my opinion. Sure, laptops weigh more, but they are not handheld devices.

I now own the 9.7 and it is perfect for me and my use of the iPad.

iPad Pro 12.9 is okay for watching movies, but my 60 inch TV with full surround sound is so much better.
 
The other thing I haven't seen mentioned much is that there are programs and games that are not optimized and look worse on my 12.9. You can see jagged lines on videos less than 720p, for instance. Those programs that are optimized however, look fantastic. I'm just a little worried that developers will not bother to address the issue

Agreed. People who's choosing the 9.7 over the 12.9 doesn't have to worry about optimized apps it's whether the dev created a iPad app or not.

I just enjoy having the bigger screen... More appealing to the eye.
 
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Except we've had app developers chime in that additional RAM usage due to increased resolution is quite a bit more than that. Maybe for watching videos, sure, but something like gaming, you're gonna want to cache some stuff so you don't have to keep re-rendering which would likely require a lot of bandwidth and use up more battery.

I followed PCSX2 (PlayStation 2 emulator) development for a while and I recall one of the programmers mentioning how at higher resolutions, you'd need 2GB or more of dedicated graphics memory to be able to cache all the textures. Something similar probably applies.

True game are different, but even so you have double the amount the ram but not double amount of pixel, so still more ram then any other ios device atm.
 
Too heavy? My 2 1/2 year old daughter carries around and holds our iPad 3 just fine.

Its happened and we haven't even made it to space yet.
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I'm having an extremely hard time choosing which one to keep. Waiting for the 9.7"'s Smart Keyboard to come before I make my final decision.

To anyone who owns both models: Can you please tell me if the screen on the 9.7" has a much more yellow screen than the 12.9"? I have True Tone turned off, and the whites on the smaller Pro are much yellower than on my larger Pro. Wondering if all models are like this, since I'm on my second one.
 
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