iPad Pro iPad Pro M1/M2. What storage option did you go with? Why?

[AlanLowe]

Hey everyone! For those who are picking up the M2 or buying a discounted M1, what size storage option did you go with? With IPadOS16 around the corner, I know it’s not smart going with the lowest GB due to it not receiving the ability for the Virtual Memory Swap. What storage option did you go with? Why?

 

[lordhamster]

I took a peek at my iPhone 12 PM which has 256GB. I'm only using about 170gb of that fully loaded with a bunch of movies downloaded from Netflix, Prime, HBO Max.

So I ordered the 256gb iPad pro M2 as my first iPad in 5+ years. Given most of my photos/music are in the cloud and I stream most "movies," I only really need on-device storage for downloading a few episodes or movies for long flights.

 

[rui no onna]

Iirc, only the 64GB Air 5 is not getting swap support. The M1+ iPads with 128GB+ storage should get it.

That said, I'm only seeing $50 difference between 128GB and 256GB cellular M1 Pro 11 so if that price gap doesn't change, I'm opting for the 256GB.

 

[Shirasaki]

I might need 1TB or even 2TB soon as my iCloud photo library grows way faster Than I like, and I store my local iTunes library as I hate music streaming services for listening to music regularly. Also, I hate losing access of data that I can store locally Just because they are stored in the cloud. Currently sitting at 20GB remaining for a 512GB M1 iPad Pro.

 

[najicta]

I went with 512GB - double my phone capacity since I'll be doing some photo editing on the iPad and likely not storing the photos in the cloud until they are finalized!

 

[pcmike]

iPad Pro M2 256GB cellular… 256GB purely because you can only do pro res on 256GB or higher devices (and even still I’ll probably never use it, but oh well) and cellular incase I go traveling outside of the country as it should hopefully be easier to get a data only plan versus trying to tether to my phone. Oh and I plan on keeping this bad boy for at least a few years as I don’t really use an iPad ever, but I always say I wish I had one when I pack for a trip… so now I’ll have one.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I went with a cellular M1 256GB because Verizon deeply discounts tablet/watch plans on my account. Also cuz I have a 1TB iPhone and I use about 260GB of that, a lot of that stuff I don't even need.

Planning on keeping this at LEAST several years. Right now I'm sitting on 45.2GB used very comfortably and if I really wanted to I could download all my music offline (21.4GB). Other than that, it is good.

I didn't upgrade my iPhone this year so .... that was my excuse for going back to iPad. <cough>.


Why 256GB? Because Best Buy had an almost $200 off open box offer on this cellular M1 iPad Pro 11.

 

[outlawarth]

I went with a 256GB M2. However, I am tempted to upgrade to 1TB as I’m intrigued by the 16 GB RAM. Not sure if it’s worth it though.

 

[pcmike]

I went with a 256GB M2. However, I am tempted to upgrade to 1TB as I’m intrigued by the 16 GB RAM. Not sure if it’s worth it though.

Big price difference, otherwise I would have done it myself. I mean I plan on keeping this a long time, but I think the 8GB of ram should be sufficient for a few years.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

I have the M1 1TB, as 512GB would have been insufficient. The extra RAM is also nice.

 

[rui no onna]

I have the M1 1TB, as 512GB would have been insufficient. The extra RAM is also nice.

Yeah, I like having a local copy of original quality iCloud photos on my primary iPad. On 512GB, I was getting messages about iCloud photos stopped syncing because there's not enough free space. That was with 50GB free space. My entire iCloud photo library was just 20GB.

 

[haydn!]

I’m hoping to get a 512GB 12.9” but the third party retailer I’m using only has the 128GB available for pre-order right now.

I’m kinda locked into using them as I can get 10% off through work.

 

[tekchic]

Going for 512gb - My 2018 11" Pro is 256 and I've been bucking the limits of that for a year or so now. I'd prefer 1TB but the price is just insane to me -- I can't justify it, even for the extra RAM.

 

[outlawarth]

Big price difference, otherwise I would have done it myself. I mean I plan on keeping this a long time, but I think the 8GB of ram should be sufficient for a few years.

I hear you. Wouldn’t the 16 GB potentially prevent refreshing of tabs in safari or just generally keeping more apps open in the background?

 

[pcmike]

I hear you. Wouldn’t the 16 GB potentially prevent refreshing of tabs in safari or just generally keeping more apps open in the background?

Yup, exactly.

 

[rui no onna]

I hear you. Wouldn’t the 16 GB potentially prevent refreshing of tabs in safari or just generally keeping more apps open in the background?

With iOS 16 getting swapfile support, it remains to be seen how much of a difference 16GB will make over 8GB.

I will say moving from a 2017 iPad Pro (A10X, 4GB, 512GB) to a 2021 iPad Pro (M1, 16GB, 1TB) was a huge upgrade in performance particularly when multitasking. I was getting constant reloads on the 2017 Pro and apps/tabs in split view would frequently crash requiring a hard reset.

 

[Lakersfan74]

256gb because it’s the minimum you need for 4k @ 30fps ProRes video recording

 

[beach bum]

Went for the 11" IPP M2 with 256gb and have ISPU for next Thursday.

I currently have the Mini 6 which I'm finding to be too small and think that the 11" will be the perfect size for me and a complement to my 16" MBP. I'm only using ~40gb on the Mini 256gb and same on the iPhone so I think that I'm good with my storage selection. 🤞 Am pairing the 11" with the Brydge keyboard and think that both should see me through for at least 3-4 years.

 

[Shirasaki]

Yeah, I like having a local copy of original quality iCloud photos on my primary iPad. On 512GB, I was getting messages about iCloud photos stopped syncing because there's not enough free space. That was with 50GB free space. My entire iCloud photo library was just 20GB.

My iCloud photo library now sits comfortably at 200GB mark, and soon will exceed that. Personally I rarely encounter syncing issues. Most happen on Mac and I did need to restart a couple times to mitigate the issue.

With the plan to record tons of video coming into fruition in the near future, I think I need 2TB iPad plus 4TB or even 8TB MacBook just to keep everything together. Or, maintain 512GB iPad but bump the storage from 1TB to 8TB on my MacBook smh. Or, keep a large external SSD for photo library. Idk which way I’d go with.

 

[rui no onna]

My iCloud photo library now sits comfortably at 200GB mark, and soon will exceed that. Personally I rarely encounter syncing issues. Most happen on Mac and I did need to restart a couple times to mitigate the issue.

With the plan to record tons of video coming into fruition in the near future, I think I need 2TB iPad plus 4TB or even 8TB MacBook just to keep everything together. Or, maintain 512GB iPad but bump the storage from 1TB to 8TB on my MacBook smh. Or, keep a large external SSD for photo library. Idk which way I’d go with.

At least on older iOS versions, I think the threshold for continued sync of Download and Keep Originals was 20% free so I just got into the habit of keeping 100GB free on my 512GB iPad.

I dunno if that behavior has changed in recent firmware. Thus far, I'm not at risk of hitting the threshold anyway since my 1TB Pro is only using around ~650GB at the moment. My 256GB mini 6 is set to Optimize Storage.

 

[AlanLowe]

That's what I was thinking. I was contemplating a 512 GB or a 1TB M2. Assuming the models get revamped in 2024 (OLED article), I know Best Buy has that current 24 Month 0% financing option. It's almost silly not to take that offer. I'm not a financial advisor, and I can afford that model, but why not utilize that option? If going that route, I wouldn't even contemplate replacing my M2 until I could have a horizontal camera (I do a lot of telehealth for work). Additionally, getting a 1 TB 16GB Ram Ipad Pro could be a tax write-off since I can use it as a primary laptop replacement. 😝 (again not a financial advisor)

 

[rui no onna]

That's what I was thinking. I was contemplating a 512 GB or a 1TB M2. Assuming the models get revamped in 2024 (OLED article), I know Best Buy has that current 24 Month 0% financing option. It's almost silly not to take that offer. I'm not a financial advisor, and I can afford that model, but why not utilize that option? If going that route, I wouldn't even contemplate replacing my M2 until I could have a horizontal camera (I do a lot of telehealth for work). Additionally, getting a 1 TB 16GB Ram Ipad Pro could be a tax write-off since I can use it as a primary laptop replacement. 😝 (again not a financial advisor)

Lol, at the rate inflation is going, going with 2-year 0% APR financing is a better choice than paying cash. 😂

 

[pcmike]

That's what I was thinking. I was contemplating a 512 GB or a 1TB M2. Assuming the models get revamped in 2024 (OLED article), I know Best Buy has that current 24 Month 0% financing option. It's almost silly not to take that offer. I'm not a financial advisor, and I can afford that model, but why not utilize that option? If going that route, I wouldn't even contemplate replacing my M2 until I could have a horizontal camera (I do a lot of telehealth for work). Additionally, getting a 1 TB 16GB Ram Ipad Pro could be a tax write-off since I can use it as a primary laptop replacement. 😝 (again not a financial advisor)

That’s what I did, because I can, not because I have to either. Rather use someone else’s money for no charge than drop it all in one place. 😬

 

[Beards]

I’m looking at updating my current 2018 A12X 12.9 Pro 256GB to an M1. The M2, forget it!
I don’t really need the additional storage, although 512GB may come in handy later.
However, the 16GB RAM on the 1TB model sounds both good & bad.
Even forgetting the price between the 256GB and 1TB is humongous I’m almost certain I personally will not see any difference in use……. BUT… I would welcome anyone putting me straight By saying the extra RAM is worth/not worth it. Thanks.

 

[v1ctorS]

I went for 256 GB on my new iPad Pro because I need enough space for my ripped Blu-rays and DVDs. If the higher storage option weren't so crazy expensive, I would have gotten the 1 TB version instead. That way, I could have saved most of my movies on the internal storage instead of having to carry around an external SSD. I'm currently thinking about buying an 2022 Air for my family, but haven't decided whether I should go for the 256 GB option or get the base version.