I am new to Ipads! I am a graduate student and need to read a lot of papers. My main motivation thus for getting an ipad is to use it for reading pdfs and using the pencil to annotate these (plus taking down some notes). I don't have a very big budget and don't really intend to use the Ipad for entertainment, thus thought the 9.7 would be perfect.
However MacRumours says it's currently a bad idea to buy one as it's the end of it's cycle (but there have been no rumours about whether a new version will be out). Should I buy one now or wait?
Also from yall's experience, should I get the 32gb and use cloud or get the 128 gb?
If you have any experiences about using the pencil with it too, please let me know!
Thanks
I bought one (plus pencil, plus logitech keyboard case) for my girlfriend for christmas. She loves it and it is almost as good performance wise as my ipad pro 10.5. She doesn't currently have a laptop, this is "good enough" for her.
Take the macrumours "recommendations" with a pinch of salt. They're a guess as no one knows for sure what apple are doing with the ipad product lineup. It MAY be about to be replaced with a new model at the same price, but that doesn't make it a bad device. There is ALWAYS something coming in the future. The flip-side is that any early manufacturing issues, etc. are likely ironed out by now.
Just ask all the early adopter 12" Macbook users who got burned with keyboard problems what buying brand new models can be like. It's a double edged sword.
As to how much storage you need, it really depends what you're doing. She uses hers mostly for web browsing, streaming media and reddit, so 32 gig is heaps for her.
Consider the mini as well, but i wouldn't say it is "better". Its only "better" if you want a more portable device and are willing to take the smaller screen.
edit:
I see a recommendation to buy the 10.5 above instead. I'd personally suggest buying a new device with warranty, new battery, etc. We have both in the household and i paid a LOT more for my 10.5 (day of release) than i did for the 9.7 base model. Like < HALF the cost of my 256 GB 10.5 with keyboard and pencil (i.e., like for like).
The difference in actual use? Yes there are a couple of things but the reality is without having them side by side you'd be pressed to notice it or be bugged by it.
I've been really impressed by the 9.7 6th gen. Its very close to entry level ipad pro performance for cheap. Put the savings away and upgrade sooner!
One more thing. If you want to use the pencil i think you'll find the mini very limiting. I find myself wishing the 10.5" was bigger on a reasonably regular basis if i am using the pencil a lot for diagrams, etc. The 9.7 is almost the same size, but i'm pretty sure that you'll run into that scenario a lot more with the mini.
And i say that as someone who was wanting an ipad mini with pencil support before i had my 10.5" pro. My opinion has changed since actually using the pencil for a year (note-taking, diagrams, etc.).