iPad Pro 12.9" vs 10.5" for a university student

[denisbarbov]

Longtime lurker here, I wanted to hear your opinions.

I'll be going to university in September to study CS and I already have a MacBook Pro 15" from 2015. I want to buy an iPad for notes(handwritten mainly, but also typed), media consumption and all the other uses one might buy an iPad for.

Thing is, in my country, the 12.9 still isn't available in the 256 GB, Space Grey, Cellular version while the 10.5 is. And roughly for the same money I can buy the 512 GB.

Can anyone give me advice because I'm really close to jumping the gun and getting the 10.5. I want to be sure I won't be making a mistake as we don't really have the 14-day return period.

It's not that I'm in a hurry to get one, but I believe you'll get the inner need I have to get one ASAP. Plus, I go to Spanish classes right now and it'd be super nice to carry an iPad instead of notebooks, books, etc.

Thank you in advance!

Edit: Added the bit about studying Spanish this summer.

 

[Icewind]

I am in a very similar situation n to you. I really want the 12.9 but It's hard to get here in UK too. 10.5 seems to be available quicker here. To be honest, I think that if you bit the bullet and bought the 10.5 you would only regret it, as you really want the 12.9. You just need a bit or patience... Good things come to those who wait. Hang off for the 12.9... It will blow your mind

 

[alphaswift]

I use my 9.7 to take notes. It's the same size as my old paper notebook and works like a charm ( I use OneNote, btw ). Given the choices today, I think the new 10.5 would be more than large enough for note taking. I've seen the 12 incher in the store -- I would think it's too big for that.

 

[Icewind]

I disagree... The OP wants a 12.9 but is thinking on settling for a 10.5 just because they are in stock. I played with both at Heathrow airport on my flight out of the UK last Friday and the 12.9 is absolutely perfect. It's not huge by any means. 10.5 on the other hand felt like it was only slightly bigger than the 9.7. I use my Air 2 for productivity mainly with some media consumption in the evenings in hotels. The ASK for 12.9 is sheer bliss to type on. The 10.5 ASK on the other hand was still cramped like the bluetooth keyboard I have on my Air 2.

Talking of Spanish... I am actually in Spain right now on vacation in Andalucia

 

[noteple]

Having a 15" retina in class I wanted something smaller.
I spent the week using an 13" ish artist pad of paper, later a bound lab notepad, and finally a memo pad.
The sweet spot for me was the 8 /12 by 11 format.
I found the iPad 10.5 with pencil to be just about perfect.
I have seen (very few) others with the 12.9 but it just wasn't a balance for me.

Wanted to add that using the 12.9 was like using a pad of paper on a clip board, very handy.
However it was always used on a desk and became the sole focus.
The 10.5 and 9.7 played well alone or with other text books and such in lab conditions.

 

[MisterMillz]

University student here. I have used all 3 pros over the last 2 years and can say I find the 10.5 to be the best size and compromise. The 12.9 is simply amazing to view notes on. More real estate means more space to multi-task...such as having a reference open on one half while typing an essay on the other. Carrying that thing was unpleasant and holding it for extended periods of time was even worse.

9.7 was great for portability. Actually started carrying it by hand and left the back pack at home. Took me just under a week to get used to the fact that I had to zoom in a little bit to get the same "closeness" when handwriting my notes. Notability. If you don't have it, get it. Phenomenal little investment.

Then came the 10.5. For me, it's the perfect combination of size and portability. The lack of noticeable profile size difference gives the impression that the extra .8" screen size isn't worthwhile, but it is. It was noticeable to me the moment I held it in portrait mode. Bigger than the 9.7, smaller than the 12.9, beautiful screen on deck. Very satisfied.

 

[rowspaxe]

Given your uses, why do you need so much storage? Your student stuff will take up negligible space and and any media needs can cycle out from icloud. Just curious.

 

[576316]

The 12.9” iPad Pro is enormous and in my experience, you usually don’t have a great deal of space in lecture theatres. I used my iPad mini 4 and the Logitech Keys-To-Go Bluetooth keyboard for all of my lectures notes during my first year, and will continue doing so when I go back in October. Think about what you actually need the iPad to be capable of, then work out whether you actually need the size. I think people often overestimate what they’ll need at uni in all the excitement, before they start their course. I’d honestly hold off and work out exactly what you need when you’re a couple months into your course, which is what I did. Stops you making expensive mistakes.

I’m also a CS student, by the way. Well, games programming to be specific. Less theory.

 

[denisbarbov]

Given your uses, why do you need so much storage? Your student stuff will take up negligible space and and any media needs can cycle out from icloud. Just curious.

I want to future-proof it as files get larger and larger. Also, I sort of want the device to replace my MacBook Pro to an extent because that has a problematic screen with some glue dots and ghosting images. Basically, I broke my screen one day and left the laptop at a service repair shop that wasn't Apple's one because it wasn't open. When they replaced my screen, it turned out to have problems. I've been trying to get them to replace it for 9 or 10 months now, but they unreliable as ****. I'm still making attempts but I'm slowly giving up.

Still, my Mac does everything I want it to but watching TV shows and films on it is annoying. I will probably change the screen at some point once I move to the U.K. in September but I need the iPad Pro to be my sort of main machine. And I'm not sure if it's correct, but I think someone, somewhere mentioned that the larger the storage capacity, the faster the device is. I know the difference will be barely perceptible but that's been at the back of my head for a while. I don't think I could ever fill the space if my iPhone usage is any indicator. Anyways, hopefully that gives you an idea of what's going on in my head.
[doublepost=1499314344][/doublepost]

The 12.9” iPad Pro is enormous and in my experience, you usually don’t have a great deal of space in lecture theatres. I used my iPad mini 4 and the Logitech Keys-To-Go Bluetooth keyboard for all of my lectures notes during my first year, and will continue doing so when I go back in October. Think about what you actually need the iPad to be capable of, then work out whether you actually need the size. I think people often overestimate what they’ll need at uni in all the excitement, before they start their course. I’d honestly hold off and work out exactly what you need when you’re a couple months into your course, which is what I did. Stops you making expensive mistakes.

I’m also a CS student, by the way. Well, games programming to be specific. Less theory.

Thanks! It's nice to see a perspective from a student. I'm starting to think the 10.5 might be better suited for my needs.
[doublepost=1499314555][/doublepost]

I disagree... The OP wants a 12.9 but is thinking on settling for a 10.5 just because they are in stock. I played with both at Heathrow airport on my flight out of the UK last Friday and the 12.9 is absolutely perfect. It's not huge by any means. 10.5 on the other hand felt like it was only slightly bigger than the 9.7. I use my Air 2 for productivity mainly with some media consumption in the evenings in hotels. The ASK for 12.9 is sheer bliss to type on. The 10.5 ASK on the other hand was still cramped like the bluetooth keyboard I have on my Air 2.

Talking of Spanish... I am actually in Spain right now on vacation in Andalucia

Ah, muy bien! Andalucia is a gorgeous place.

I wish I could buy both versions.
I'll see if I can find an "Apple Store" with the 10.5 so I can play with it.

 

[rdy0329]

The 10.5 with the smart keyboard is not actually that cramped. I’m typing on it now and I think that for a student like you, the size of the keyboard is perfect. The keys are perfectly spaced for when you are trying to touch type and the portability is just about right to be lugged around in a college campus. 12.9” is just too heavy especially when you add the smart keyboard to the mix.

 

[Fernandez21]

If you can you should wait for the larger pro, main reason is it has enough screen real estate to view both your ebooks and take notes at the same time.

Here is a good video showing why I think the 12” would better.

 

[denisbarbov]

If you can you should wait for the larger pro, main reason is it has enough screen real estate to view both your ebooks and take notes at the same time.

Here is a good video showing why I think the 12” would better.

I've seen that video. Totally agree on the viewing ebooks and taking notes at the same time. Essentially you get two portrait-mode 9.7s. I think that seals the deal for me. Now I only need to fight my inner devil that wants me to go and buy 10.5 without giving it much thought. Help me stay strong!

 

[darkarn]

I was a CS student. I noticed that I needed to remote desktop from time to time and had to make do with an iPad Air then (back injury forced me to carry as light as possible, which meant my 5kg laptop had to stay home). Believe me, you will want to get a 12.9 inch for such tasks, the 9.7 is way too small for this!

 

[MisterMillz]

OP, I’d recommend going to Apple and trying them both out. We can tell you what our experiences and opinions are, but that doesn’t mean you’ll come to the same conclusion in the end.

 

[denisbarbov]

OP, I’d recommend going to Apple and trying them both out. We can tell you what our experiences and opinions are, but that doesn’t mean you’ll come to the same conclusion in the end.

Went to see if they have them today and, surprise, they didn't. "We should be getting them anytime now." But I think I have decided that I'll go with the 12.9". They had the old one and even though I had played with it before, it had never really struck me how massive it is when compared with the 9.7". It'd be great to be able to write notes on the one side and look at my book on the other.

 

[ShareGamer]

Hi! I'm also an student, and I picked up the 12.9 because I think I can really take advantage of the bigger screen. First, that thing were I can take notes and read my book at the same time will be amazing. And I read somewhere that having more place to rest ur hand while writing make it more confortable.

So yeah, I hope I can turn it into my main computer next month