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I'm tempted to get the current 9.7" for $250, but that new 10.2" rumored replacement was supposed to be out "early 2019" and it's already end of May, so...?

Yeah I'm wondering if that rumor will ever come to fruition. It sure seems like the time has well passed for anything else to come out, as far as the typical release times anyway.

I think the 9.7 for $250 is a pretty great deal.
 
I think that it sometimes gets forgotten that this and many other gadget based forums are mostly populated by enthusiasts and for the enthusiast it is only the newest, the fastest, the most powerful, the most sophisticated etc of their favourite device that will do. All that went before is fit only for the bin and if their manufacturer of choice brings out an entry level device it is sometimes described (see one poster on these boards a month ago) as ‘garbage’.
My 6th Gen 9.7” suits my every need and I shall keep it until it stops working and I’ll see what Apple has available then.

Exactly. The other thing about those posts that irk me is that if it's not laminated it's somehow terrible. Completely false. The regular Retina display is gorgeous, and will never have the white spot, yellow band, and various anomalies issues that so often plague the overpriced models, which then require additional Apple Care or credit card warranties for protection. The regular 9.7 is for those who want a worry-free, cost-effective tablet.
 
Exactly. The other thing about those posts that irk me is that if it's not laminated it's somehow terrible. Completely false. The regular Retina display is gorgeous, and will never have the white spot, yellow band, and various anomalies issues that so often plague the overpriced models, which then require additional Apple Care or credit card warranties for protection. The regular 9.7 is for those who want a worry-free, cost-effective tablet.

100%, I bought a 128 9.7 at Black Friday last year. The screen is fine and its never lagged or stuttered for me. Love the pencil support. I wish it had the quad speakers my 10.5 has, but for 329 it was a reasonable deal for me
 
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Exactly. The other thing about those posts that irk me is that if it's not laminated it's somehow terrible. Completely false. The regular Retina display is gorgeous, and will never have the white spot, yellow band, and various anomalies issues that so often plague the overpriced models, which then require additional Apple Care or credit card warranties for protection. The regular 9.7 is for those who want a worry-free, cost-effective tablet.

That is an interesting point I had not thought about. I have to admit that I did not consider the Pros because of the price. I know that I cannot not use regular laptop (fan of Windows plus I like mouse pointer, proper file management, multiple windows, multiple desktops etc) so I could not justify the price for a Pro for my usage.

However you bring a good point. Is it true that generally speaking the regular iPads have less hardware issues? Software issues I assume are shared between regular iPads and Pros so I do not count them.
 
If you are not in a dire need of buying an iPad tomorrow, just wait until September. Or if that deal is good enough for you, go for it.
Do you mean the 9.7" will be lower than $250 in September, or did you mean if I wait until Sept I can get the 10.2" instead?
 
Do you mean the 9.7" will be lower than $250 in September, or did you mean if I wait until Sept I can get the 10.2" instead?
I have no idea about 10.2” but if Apple releases something a bit better, buying that one would be better than having an iPad that is already one year old and only has A10 processor.
 
I have no idea about 10.2” but if Apple releases something a bit better, buying that one would be better than having an iPad that is already one year old and only has A10 processor.
An A10 professor that runs pubg balanced graphics and extreme frame rate settings..

It actually runs pubg higher than my ip8. Only way I can run extreme is on smooth graphics.
 
However you bring a good point. Is it true that generally speaking the regular iPads have less hardware issues? Software issues I assume are shared between regular iPads and Pros so I do not count them.

Yes, I think that's very true. I rarely see any threads here about regular 9.7 hardware issues. You're right that any IOS software issues would likely be in common among all models.
 
However you bring a good point. Is it true that generally speaking the regular iPads have less hardware issues? Software issues I assume are shared between regular iPads and Pros so I do not count them.
It's a mature design from the iPad Air (2013) so any glaring design flaws would've long been identified and fixed.

As for the other stuff (light bleed, etc), I reckon most people using these inexpensive iPads just use them normally or are more forgiving of manufacturing variances. They don't specifically search for flaws that are not apparent with typical use. Much easier to do when something is $250 than when it's $1000.
 
It's a mature design from the iPad Air (2013) so any glaring design flaws would've long been identified and fixed.

As for the other stuff (light bleed, etc), I reckon most people using these inexpensive iPads just use them normally or are more forgiving of manufacturing variances. They don't specifically search for flaws that are not apparent with typical use. Much easier to do when something is $250 than when it's $1000.

I have to respectfully disagree. Users of regular iPads are likely just as discerning as those of the higher priced models. To say they're somehow less sensitive to display flaws because of price consciousness is not accurate or a fair judgement, in my opinion. A flaw is a flaw, and is readily apparent especially in the display, no matter which model or type of user.
 
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I have to respectfully disagree. Users of regular iPads are likely just as discerning as those of the higher priced models. To say they're somehow less sensitive to display flaws because of price consciousness is not accurate or a fair judgement, in my opinion. A flaw is a flaw, and is readily apparent especially in the display, no matter which model or type of user.
I agree, I’ve always been extremely picky with my tech and critical of flaws or defects. I’ve done the phone return game before, but my iPad has been flawless.
 
It's a mature design from the iPad Air (2013) so any glaring design flaws would've long been identified and fixed.

Makes sense :). It is a good perk for end users though.

As for the other stuff (light bleed, etc), I reckon most people using these inexpensive iPads just use them normally or are more forgiving of manufacturing variances. They don't specifically search for flaws that are not apparent with typical use. Much easier to do when something is $250 than when it's $1000.

I do see some merits here. Indeed people are more likely to complain about issues when they have paid more. That being said it also depends on the country. In my country the regular iPad I have is still around 485 dollars. That in my country is pretty much 2 and half of the minimal salary here. In other words for our standard even this iPad is expensive. As a result people could still complain if they find any issues.

I have to admit that so far I have not noticed hardware issues with my iPad. It could be because I don't focus on this enough but it is also most probably because whatever flaw it might have is so small that I cannot see it easily.
 
I have to respectfully disagree. Users of regular iPads are likely just as discerning as those of the higher priced models. To say they're somehow less sensitive to display flaws because of price consciousness is not accurate or a fair judgement, in my opinion. A flaw is a flaw, and is readily apparent especially in the display, no matter which model or type of user.
There's readily apparent and then there's being nitpicky and going over something with a fine tooth comb specifically searching for even the most minor of defects.

I reckon there's a greater percentage of nitpicky Pro buyers (and a lot of them are probably on these forums) than the percentage of nitpicky regular iPad buyers (mostly because 10 out of 1000 is smaller 20 out of 5000).
 
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When we are talking prices if we compare the iPad to Apple’s competitors tablets even at entry level the iPad is a premium product and it is only with the coming of the Pros that the standard iPad has been conceived by some as a down market device.

Definitely. It wasn’t until the first Pro came out in 2015 that there was a choice other than Mini, the standard iPad (the Air 2 at that time) or whatever older models were still being offered as a lower cost option. The only real choices were a colour selection (iPad 2 and later,) Cellular or not and storage capacity. Everyone buying new had the same iPad to a degree for a number of years, though the Mini and today’s standard iPad probably brought some users to iPad who otherwise would have passed.

Perhaps the Pros being the only iPads released between late 2014 and early 2017 (other than the Mini 4) was Apple’s way of trying to tempt people onto the Pro line, as it was that or an ageing Air 2. Some perhaps do need Pro features but there will be others that having tried them, don’t want to go back.
 
Curious what op decided to do. I hope some of the posts didn’t scare her off the 6th gen because some of the crap I read in this is very far from the truth

I am enjoying the discussion here and really appreciate everyone's feedback! :D I thought I might wait at least till the Apple developers conference next week, since there are rumours that there may be a newer version of the 9.7" model released.
 
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 :D

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.


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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.).
 
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I am enjoying the discussion here and really appreciate everyone's feedback! :D I thought I might wait at least till the Apple developers conference next week, since there are rumours that there may be a newer version of the 9.7" model released.
Fair enough, but I doubt there will be any more for a bit now. Doesn’t hurt to wait though Incase
 
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I think you're more likely to see an iPad update in september or later after the new iphones drop.

The current 9.7 is still pretty current with the CPU it has in it, and the iPhones tend to get the CPU updates first.
 
I am enjoying the discussion here and really appreciate everyone's feedback! :D I thought I might wait at least till the Apple developers conference next week, since there are rumours that there may be a newer version of the 9.7" model released.

From https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ipad/

Many of the launch rumors that were thought to be for the new $329 iPad were perhaps for the 10.5-inch iPad Air, and it is now unclear when Apple might introduce a refreshed $329 iPad.

Apple could refresh the lower-end tablet later in the year, perhaps at the June WWDC event or the September iPhone launch event, but a spring launch no longer seems likely.
If no new iPad at June WWDC, then I probably will get the current for $250 rather than waiting till Sept.
 
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I have similar usage to the OP. I really couldn't see much difference between the iPads in store so I just got the cheapest one. I'm pretty sure it'll last 5 years like the last time I bought the cheapest iPad.
 
I have similar usage to the OP. I really couldn't see much difference between the iPads in store so I just got the cheapest one. I'm pretty sure it'll last 5 years like the last time I bought the cheapest iPad.

How do you like it so far?
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I think you're more likely to see an iPad update in september or later after the new iphones drop.

The current 9.7 is still pretty current with the CPU it has in it, and the iPhones tend to get the CPU updates first.

Yipes! I am not sure if I should wait now.
 
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