iPad Pro Is the 12.9 Too Big

[petvas]

I'm stuck between the iPad Pro 12.9 and 11 inch screens. The 11 seems like it would be more comfortable but I think i'm always going to wish I got the nicer screen that's on the 12.9. Do people that use 12.9 in bed find it way too big to be comfortable?

If you primarily want to use your iPad as a tablet, then get the 11". If you also plan to use it with the Magic Keyboard, then get the 12.9". The big iPad is definitely heavier and not that easy to hold, but if you use it briefly as a tablet, then it will be ok..

 

[subjonas]

haha nothing that person said made sense. Their previous post said iPads can be used with one hand while the 13 Pro Max can’t.

They also said the 13PM can be used one handed to get everything done. While true if you are a contortionist, definitely not practical for most people. Most are going to engage their second hand.

Yeah I was a little confused, but I went with my interpretation. 🤷‍♂️

I agree, the Max is for all intents and purposes a two-handed device.

 

[Traverse]

I think it essentially comes down to:

1. Tablet that can act as a laptop in a pinch - 11"
2. Laptop that can act as a tablet in a pinch - 12.9"

I went from the 10.5" iPad Pro to the 12.9" iPad Pro for the miniLED screen (mixed bag) and it's amazing in some contexts and was fine in others. Then I got an iPad mini from work and found that I've spent most of my time on the iPad mini. I've discovered that I'd more often prefer an experience that's a bit small or cramp but highly portable than one that is bigger, nicer, but clunkier. iPadOS + how good the MacBook Pro is has made me give up on my dream of pushing the iPad into a portal replacement. The 12.9" iPad Pro is still better for art, but for me that once use case doesn't justify compromising the others especially with display scaling when you NEED more space for certain tasks.

The iPad line is a mess right now. I'm concerned that the iPad Pro with all the fancy tech and OLED will evolve to be a 14" and 16" model with the iPad Air kind of replacing that 11" product category. However, I want ProMotion, OLED, and more than 256 GB in an 11" class device.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Long time 11" user, and just bought and returned a 12.9" after a week or so. It was pretty confusing trying to figure out if I wanted to keep it or not.

Firstly, the 12.9 screen and size were both breathtaking. I really want the 11" to get mini LED. But the novelty of having such a big and beautiful screen on a tablet does wear off. And once the novelty wore off, I started to run into issues.

The aspect ratio and size is cumbersome. I like having a bigger screen, but it being such a tall 4:3 aspect ratio means there is a lot of size and weight that's going into portions of the screen that are somewhat unnecessary. The bigger black bars mean that while the 12.9" still displays video content meaningfully bigger, it's not enough of an upgrade to justify the extra size and weight.

I love the magic keyboard on the 11", but on the 12.9" I found it a bit annoying. The key travel is a bit too deep, and the typing is actually quite loud compared to the 11" magic keyboard and the 14" MacBook Pro keyboard. I normally don't complain about these sorts of things, but I couldn't stop noticing it.

I also found that the weight of the 12.9" magic keyboard just put the 12.9" too far in the size and weight vs capability and niceness ratio. With a smart folio, I kinda understand it, but once the thing gets to 3lbs with the keyboard, you're entering a size and weight (and price) class that just commands more capability. 11" with MK, it's like, I can't believe I can do so much on this tiny little device. 12.9" with MK, it's like, I feel like I should be able to do more with a device this large and expensive.

Finally, I found it just slightly too big and heavy to use comfortably in bed, and I'm tall with large hands. When I finally went back to my 11" I was a bit relieved, and enjoyed being able to use my iPad in bed with ease, rather than with slight discomfort and struggle.

I use two main devices now: the 11" iPad Pro (sometimes in smart folio, sometimes with magic keyboard) when I want to use it in bed, around the house, or when travelling light, or doing something/going somewhere where a small device makes sense but a laptop doesn't. And a 14" MacBook Pro when I want a bigger screen and need to do more demanding stuff. Both these devices cover all my needs, whereas the 12.9" didn't really fit in to either of those needs.

My ideal iPad would be an 11" scaled up to about 12", possibly by reducing the bezels a bit. Something that was just slightly bigger than the 11", with mini LED/OLED, and the same aspect ratio of the 11" (less black bars and height) would be perfect. Chuck the camera in the correct location, enable the smart connector to act as USB-C/thunderbolt passthrough so you could use either the magic keyboard port on the left side, or iPad port on the right side. That would be a pretty meaningful upgrade, and given there are rumours that the 12.9" could be replaced by a 14" iPad, it stands to reason there is at least a small chance the 11" will be sized up to 12".

 

[jclardy]

I currently own both (Selling my 12.9”). IMO, yes it is too big, but like others have said - it depends on your usage. For me, my iPad supplements my Macbook Air. So for laptop things I pretty much always go to the Air.

When I use the 12.9 it is 98% of the time just in the magic keyboard…so being a tablet is lost on me. I’ll occasionally pull it out of the case, but basically it is just an iOS laptop. With my 11”, it is much more of a tablet. I use it in the keyboard at a desk, but take it out to write on, or use on the couch all the time.

 

[Kal-037]

12.9 is perfect, I think anything smaller is frustrating to use.

 

[rkuo]

Long time 11" user, and just bought and returned a 12.9" after a week or so. It was pretty confusing trying to figure out if I wanted to keep it or not.

I just bought both due to the amazing M1 sales going on, so I'm chiming in as well!

Firstly, the 12.9 screen and size were both breathtaking. I really want the 11" to get mini LED. But the novelty of having such a big and beautiful screen on a tablet does wear off. And once the novelty wore off, I started to run into issues.

Having finally gotten a chance to compare the mini LED with the regular display of the 11", the mini LED really does pop with the better black levels and HDR brightness. I like it a lot and it's annoying the 11" doesn't have this yet.

The aspect ratio and size is cumbersome. I like having a bigger screen, but it being such a tall 4:3 aspect ratio means there is a lot of size and weight that's going into portions of the screen that are somewhat unnecessary. The bigger black bars mean that while the 12.9" still displays video content meaningfully bigger, it's not enough of an upgrade to justify the extra size and weight.

Every aspect ratio has its tradeoffs, so this doesn't bother me. I actually love the 4:3 aspect ratio. I feel the poor utilization of the screen is mostly due to the stagnant multitasking the iPad has been stuck with for so long. If I could just place windows where I wanted them, it wouldn't be an issue.

I love the magic keyboard on the 11", but on the 12.9" I found it a bit annoying. The key travel is a bit too deep, and the typing is actually quite loud compared to the 11" magic keyboard and the 14" MacBook Pro keyboard. I normally don't complain about these sorts of things, but I couldn't stop noticing it.

I'm still waiting on my 12.9" magic keyboard, but I do like the typing experience on the 11".

I also found that the weight of the 12.9" magic keyboard just put the 12.9" too far in the size and weight vs capability and niceness ratio. With a smart folio, I kinda understand it, but once the thing gets to 3lbs with the keyboard, you're entering a size and weight (and price) class that just commands more capability. 11" with MK, it's like, I can't believe I can do so much on this tiny little device. 12.9" with MK, it's like, I feel like I should be able to do more with a device this large and expensive.

Finally, I found it just slightly too big and heavy to use comfortably in bed, and I'm tall with large hands. When I finally went back to my 11" I was a bit relieved, and enjoyed being able to use my iPad in bed with ease, rather than with slight discomfort and struggle.

The extra weight of the magic keyboard that exists solely to cancel out the weight of the iPad has always bothered me. There has to be a better way.

I use two main devices now: the 11" iPad Pro (sometimes in smart folio, sometimes with magic keyboard) when I want to use it in bed, around the house, or when travelling light, or doing something/going somewhere where a small device makes sense but a laptop doesn't. And a 14" MacBook Pro when I want a bigger screen and need to do more demanding stuff. Both these devices cover all my needs, whereas the 12.9" didn't really fit in to either of those needs.

I'm also struggling to figure out what I want to do with the 12.9". I've been using a 2018 iPad Pro 11" at home for a while now, but only at home due to the pandemic. I'm now attending events and conferences again and I found the iPad Pro 11 to be really great for taking notes, still keeping an eye on emails and messages, and with the cellular option, never having to fumble with flaky wifi logins. All that and the weight/size felt really great in hand as I walked around.

I figured maybe the 12.9" would be even better even though the weight and size are obviously greater. I'm still getting a feel for it right now, but I'm not yet convinced it's going to be a better travel productivity weapon than the 11".

My ideal iPad would be an 11" scaled up to about 12", possibly by reducing the bezels a bit. Something that was just slightly bigger than the 11", with mini LED/OLED, and the same aspect ratio of the 11" (less black bars and height) would be perfect. Chuck the camera in the correct location, enable the smart connector to act as USB-C/thunderbolt passthrough so you could use either the magic keyboard port on the left side, or iPad port on the right side. That would be a pretty meaningful upgrade, and given there are rumours that the 12.9" could be replaced by a 14" iPad, it stands to reason there is at least a small chance the 11" will be sized up to 12".

To me, the 11" tablet should have stayed 4:3 aspect ratio wise. I find a lot of content feels cramped vertically on the screen in keyboard mode. My ideal portrait mode tablet would be the original 9.7" form factor with minimal bezels. In keyboard/landscape, the keyboard size necessitates a slightly larger screen to accommodate a just reasonable enough sized keyboard, so something around 10 to 11 inches in 4:3 would be my ideal.

 

[teh_hunterer]

I currently own both (Selling my 12.9”). IMO, yes it is too big, but like others have said - it depends on your usage. For me, my iPad supplements my Macbook Air. So for laptop things I pretty much always go to the Air.

When I use the 12.9 it is 98% of the time just in the magic keyboard…so being a tablet is lost on me. I’ll occasionally pull it out of the case, but basically it is just an iOS laptop. With my 11”, it is much more of a tablet. I use it in the keyboard at a desk, but take it out to write on, or use on the couch all the time.

What I've landed on is I want to use each device for what it's best at.

The 11" iPad, sometimes in the folio, sometimes in the magic keyboard, is the best tablet and ultra portable light travel device.

And the 14" MacBook Pro is the best laptop for when I need a full computer OS, big screen, big keyboard, multi monitor etc device.

It's not a cheap setup, but I'm not exactly looking for a cheap setup, I'm looking for the best setup.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I now have owned pretty much every size made. I recently purchased a 12.9” Pro and yeah it’s pretty big. What makes it big is the aspect ratio. I own a 12.4” Samsung Galaxy S7+ and that has a 16:10 aspect ratio so it’s not as tall in landscape mode. Some say it’s heavy but I only found it got heavy when I put it inside a folio leather case.