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All iPads iPP 12.9 2020 vs 2018 Refrub, Current iPP 9.7 Pro

jpmoogle

jpmoogle

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2018
18
12
Hi Everyone,

So the title says, should I upgrade?? It’s nice to have something future proof. I bought the refurb 9.7 pro back in December 2016 and used it for grad school.

Now I teach some stats classes and have to use the pencil. I also screen record video, little bit of social media and gaming, with Netflix here and there.

Now, the only thing I notice new is the camera and 6gb of ram. How useful would that be in the real world?

Would you purchase the new models or save money and get the refurbished?

FYI some of my buying habits

I went from iPhone 7+ (When it came out) to XS Max when it came out.

I went from Apple Watch series 2 (when series 3 came out) to series 5 (when it came out)

Thank you in advance!
 
I think the pricing between the refurb and the brand new will have a lot to do with your decision. What have you found so far?
 
It really depends on what you do.

If your currently iPad is not lagging, then you can still stick with it. The main selling point here, at least from what I can see you are doing, is just the larger display. And you can actually just get the iPad Air 3 to do that and will save you a lot more money.
 
More RAM and faster cpu are potentially helpful for more complex sketches and drawings.
 
Going to the next gen device always seems to be an incremental upgrade, usually more ram and faster processor, it seems to make a difference if you are a moderate to heavy user, but for the everyday user, not so much. Skipping a generation seems to make more sense as far as the upgrades are concerned, but ultimately you know how your going to use your device.
 
-Is you iPad Pro 9.7 in any way lacking or incapable of performing your mentioned tasks?
-Do you get frequent app or tab reloads on your iPad Pro 9.7 and do they bother you?
-Do you think you'll be doing more multitasking with the new iPad?
-Do you use the back camera on your iPad?
-What's your storage sweet spot?

If you're in US, then 2018 Pro refurb pricing is pretty great. If you're not bothered by RAM management on the Pro 9.7, then the 2018 Pros could work well for you.
 
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Keep using it, if it’s not broken and still functions in all they way you need it to.
 
ericwn said:
More RAM and faster cpu are potentially helpful for more complex sketches and drawings.
Click to expand...
A12Z and A12X are virtually identical. It is supposed to have better "graphical capabilities," but by the time applications that can take full advantage of it come out there would have been 100 ipad pro refreshes.

OP: comes down to how much you want to pay and how big of SSD you want. 2018 refurb w/ 256gb costs the same as a 2020 w/ 128gb.
 
AutomaticApple said:
The camera probably won’t be of any use to you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I notice that. Like I barely use the camera on my current iPad Pro. On my XS Max, I sure it often because I carry it everyday.
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hotr32 said:
I think the pricing between the refurb and the brand new will have a lot to do with your decision. What have you found so far?
Click to expand...

So far:
iPad Pro 2020 12.9 256gb WIFI with Apple Care = $1,244.80 (includes tax) --> I work on campus, so I get educational discount.

iPad Pro 2018 12.9 256gb WIFI with Apple Care = $1,057.80 (includes tax)

The difference came out to $187 and I am using special financing for these items.

Now, I don't use the camera and I do need the big screen, coming from a 9.7 which is a great jump.
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ericwn said:
More RAM and faster cpu are potentially helpful for more complex sketches and drawings.
Click to expand...

I usually don't do complex drawings, just notes here and there. But that 6gb of ram, what apps can utilize it to the full potential? What about them tabs on Chrome? lol
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rui no onna said:
-Is you iPad Pro 9.7 in any way lacking or incapable of performing your mentioned tasks?
-Do you get frequent app or tab reloads on your iPad Pro 9.7 and do they bother you?
-Do you think you'll be doing more multitasking with the new iPad?
-Do you use the back camera on your iPad?
-What's your storage sweet spot?

If you're in US, then 2018 Pro refurb pricing is pretty great. If you're not bothered by RAM management on the Pro 9.7, then the 2018 Pros could work well for you.
Click to expand...

There was some bother when I was using the Pro 9.7 but not that much but since I started teaching from home and creating my content from there, I use it more often.

I never use the camera and if rarely just scanning documents and turning them to PDF. The big screen is a deciding factor me on that.
 
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If you keep your iPad for as long as the 9.7 Pro has been out, i would recommend the 2020 model. The less then $200 difference for me would be worth buying the newest one and keeping for as long as possible.
 
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I will always opt for newer model. I know, it's more expensive but you have got the newest hardware and software available. I'm moving from iPad 6th generation which is 9.7'' to the newest 2020 iPad Pro and I think I made the right choice.
 
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I'm confused as well, considering a 2020 iPad Pro 11" vs a 2018. Price difference is $200.

For $200, I'd be getting:

- 6 GB RAM
- Double the storage (128 vs 64)
- Better camera
- Faster Wi-Fi

Worth it or not? I'd be upgrading from an iPad Air 2 with 16GB storage, so either of the two would be a huge upgrade. Don't care for AR or the camera improvements. Wi-Fi is probably limited by our router more than anything else.

I don't like to spend too much money on old tech, but on the other hand I don't want to spend even more money if the 2020 model is just a stop gap model until the rumored late 2020-model.
 
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MacRazySwe said:
I'm confused as well, considering a 2020 iPad Pro 11" vs a 2018 Refurb. Price difference is $200.

For $200, I'd be getting:

- 6 GB RAM
- Double the storage (128 vs 64)
- Better camera
- Faster Wi-Fi

Worth it or not? I'd be upgrading from an iPad Air 2 with 16GB storage, so either of the two would be a huge upgrade. Don't care for AR or the camera improvements. Wi-Fi is probably limited by our router more than anything else.

I don't like to spend too much money on old tech, but on the other hand I don't want to spend even more money if the 2020 model is just a stop gap model until the rumored late 2020-model.
Click to expand...
The rumored new one will only get you a faster chip which won't mean much coming from an air 2.... A 6GB RAM ipad will probably be updated for 10 years so future proofing is not an issue, your battery will be dead before that and many things can happen in the meantime... I'd get the 2020
 
I just got a refurbished 2018 iPad Pro 12.9-inch. My last iPad was an iPad mini 2, never felt the need to to upgrade like I do with iPhones each year. It's great and I like having an Apple Pencil.
 
I'm sorry in advance that this wont help your decision but I myself am in a similar boat. In my case though, I have the iPad Pro 10.5. It's been 3 years since I bought it and I really wanted a new iPad so I did get the new 11 inch iPad Pro but now that I have it I feel kinda...meh. Sure my 10.5 is older but for what I use it for, it's still completely fine. It never slows down or anything. I am sure the battery is a bit worn out but not even that badly.

I keeping wondering if I should get the bigger iPad Pro so my upgrade is more...significant but I just don't think I'd like the bigger size. At this point I am wondering if I will even keep the 11 inch. My 10.5 is simply still good.
 
If you are having any doubts, you should probably consider exchanging your 11” for the 12.9. I know if I purchased something that I had any remorse on, I would return or exchange it.
And perhaps getting the 12.9 will still allow you to enjoy your 10.5, I’ve been debating getting a new 11” but my 10.5 does everything and more than wheat I need.
 
iAdamator said:
I'm sorry in advance that this wont help your decision but I myself am in a similar boat. In my case though, I have the iPad Pro 10.5. It's been 3 years since I bought it and I really wanted a new iPad so I did get the new 11 inch iPad Pro but now that I have it I feel kinda...meh. Sure my 10.5 is older but for what I use it for, it's still completely fine. It never slows down or anything. I am sure the battery is a bit worn out but not even that badly.

I keeping wondering if I should get the bigger iPad Pro so my upgrade is more...significant but I just don't think I'd like the bigger size. At this point I am wondering if I will even keep the 11 inch. My 10.5 is simply still good.
Click to expand...

It sounds as if your old iPad is still sufficient and you only had a moment of gear acquisition syndrome (GAS).
Since you now have determined that the updates don’t do much for you I recommend to keep your old device, get a refund and wait for another generation or two.
 
I am having this same conundrum. I want the 11", have an iPad Air 2, 128 GB. Refurb 2018 iPP is 550 USD but with 64 GB storage and 4 GB ram. I can spend the extra 200 USD and get a newer iPP with more storage, more RAM and faster Wifi. I'm really unsure about this haha.
 
Smoovejayy said:
I am having this same conundrum. I want the 11", have an iPad Air 2, 128 GB. Refurb 2018 iPP is 550 USD but with 64 GB storage and 4 GB ram. I can spend the extra 200 USD and get a newer iPP with more storage, more RAM and faster Wifi. I'm really unsure about this haha.
Click to expand...
Unless you have a Wi-Fi 6/AX router, it's pretty meaningless. Even the $250 iPad 7th gen is capable of 300-400 Mbps real-world throughput on AC (wireless LAN test as I don't have gigabit).
 
Smoovejayy said:
I am having this same conundrum. I want the 11", have an iPad Air 2, 128 GB. Refurb 2018 iPP is 550 USD but with 64 GB storage and 4 GB ram. I can spend the extra 200 USD and get a newer iPP with more storage, more RAM and faster Wifi. I'm really unsure about this haha.
Click to expand...

You will know your use case best. I personally would get as much RAM as possible. If you think you’ll enjoy it, why not get the best one out there - life is short.
 
ericwn said:
You will know your use case best. I personally would get as much RAM as possible. If you think you’ll enjoy it, why not get the best one out there - life is short.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the RAM will future proof it more. Plus, I'm not sure I could go with 64 GB base storage on refurb 2018 iPP haha.


rui no onna said:
Unless you have a Wi-Fi 6/AX router, it's pretty meaningless. Even the $250 iPad 7th gen is capable of 300-400 Mbps real-world throughput on AC (wireless LAN test as I don't have gigabit).
Click to expand...

I do not - I use Google WiFi. Some tests have shown that the 2020 iPad gets higher WiFi speeds even on the older standard.
 
Smoovejayy said:
I do not - I use Google WiFi. Some tests have shown that the 2020 iPad gets higher WiFi speeds even on the older standard.
Click to expand...
A single speedtest.com or fast.com run isn't really an accurate test of wifi hardware. Results can vary on the exact same device on consecutive runs. Particularly so in modern households with multiple devices where household member(s) could also be streaming Netflix, YouTube, etc and iCloud backup or sync could be running at any given time.
 
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Basic75 said:
More RAM is definitely good for future proofing, but the CPU is identical in the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pros.
Click to expand...

Yup, thanks for noting that. At the time I was carefully assuming that the CPU would be a measurable improvement rather than a rebranded one.
 
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