iPad Is the iPad 9th Gen good enough for watching movies on?

[JustTheWayItIs]

I'm wanting to buy a tablet exclusively to watch movies and football highlights maybe 3 or 4 times a week at the most, and that's really all I will use it for. No internet browsing, no apps except TV ones.

I understand the iPad Pro has the best screen but it's designed for people who need the power for editing and heavy usage apps etc and I don't plan on using any apps whatsoever other than possibly Netflix or Prime. Nothing else. So I don't need all that power and paying £1000 seems ridiculous for my needs.

The main drawbacks I can see for the iPad 9, is that the screen is not laminated.... but does that really matter for watching movies and football? And also that it has speakers on only one side, but again does it really matter?
Movies look and sound pretty good to me on my daughter's Amazon Fire 10 which has speakers on one side, and I'm assuming they will look better on the iPad 9 than the Fire because the screen is better on the iPad 9?

So yeah, if literally all I'm using it for is like a portable TV a few times a week, is the iPad 9 good enough or is it just not good for movies at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[skaertus]

I'm wanting to buy a tablet exclusively to watch movies and football highlights maybe 3 or 4 times a week at the most, and that's really all I will use it for. No internet browsing, no apps except TV ones.

I understand the iPad Pro has the best screen but it's designed for people who need the power for editing and heavy usage apps etc and I don't plan on using any apps whatsoever other than possibly Netflix or Prime. Nothing else. So I don't need all that power and paying £1000 seems ridiculous for my needs.

The main drawbacks I can see for the iPad 9, is that the screen is not laminated.... but does that really matter for watching movies and football? And also that it has speakers on only one side, but again does it really matter?
Movies look and sound pretty good to me on my daughter's Amazon Fire 10 which has speakers on one side, and I'm assuming they will look better on the iPad 9 than the Fire because the screen is better on the iPad 9?

So yeah, if literally all I'm using it for is like a portable TV a few times a week, is the iPad 9 good enough or is it just not good for movies at all?

Thanks in advance.

The base iPad is fine for watching videos.

The MiniLED screen of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the best one, but it also comes in an expensive package ($1099 and up). The regular iPad is fine for watching videos. It has a 10.2-inch screen, which is still smaller than the 10.9-inch one in the iPad Air. The screen in the iPad Air is probably better, but it also costs almost double the price. Not worth it.

The screen on the regular iPad is good enough for watching videos and better than the one on most Android tablets. I particularly like the anti-glare coat of Apple displays. The sound should also be good, as it has stereo speakers.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro offers the best experience, but you will get only incremental better quality for triple the price. If you could just upgrade the screen, I would recommend that. But, as you must buy the whole package, it should be a no-go for just these basic tasks.

 

[Danfango]

I just swapped my 9th gen iPad for a 11” 2021 pro. The 9th gen is absolutely fine. In fact it’s pretty much perfect. I can only complain slightly that the screen is quite reflective which does make watching things slightly annoying sometimes. The iPad 9th built in speakers aren’t great but I used mine with AirPods so that point was moot.

I only bought the pro because my ex wife is after a financial settlement and the less cash I have on hand the better. So upgrading to pro apple devices is a quick financial win there ?

 

[rui no onna]

Movies look and sound pretty good to me on my daughter's Amazon Fire 10 which has speakers on one side, and I'm assuming they will look better on the iPad 9 than the Fire because the screen is better on the iPad 9?

So yeah, if literally all I'm using it for is like a portable TV a few times a week, is the iPad 9 good enough or is it just not good for movies at all?

Assuming you're only using a tablet for video, you might be better off also getting a Fire HD 10 similar to your daughter's.

The aspect ratio of the iPad (4:3) isn't really suitable for modern TV (16:9) and movies (~2.4:1). The 9th gen is certainly way more than powerful enough and to me, the display looks good. However, be prepared to have letterboxing/black bars on most videos.

 

[L T]

It absolutely is, the perfect portable TV. I use mine all around the house for Sky Go and YouTube

 

[Digitalguy]

Honestly the non-laminated screen is not an issue, but as mentioned above the aspect ratio is not ideal if you only purpose is video watching (the video will be smaller with big black bezels). At the price of the iPad it's not hard to find a refurbished / open box Samsung tablet like the S5e (or even the S6) which have way better quad speakers (similar to the iPad pro), a better aspect ratio for videos and an OLED screen... For example I checked on ebay, open box 128GB for $265...

 

[MacCheetah3]

At the price of the iPad it's not hard to find a refurbished / open box Samsung tablet like the S5e (or even the S6) which have way better quad speakers (similar to the iPad pro), a better aspect ratio for videos and an OLED screen... For example I checked on ebay, open box 128GB for $265...

I purchased a Galaxy Tab S5e from Back Market about a year ago and agree on the hardware benefits. The iPad is definitely good enough for movie, show, YouTube, and other video consumption, especially with the typical show and YT being primarily dialogue and background music. However, indeed, the quad-speaker Dolby Atmos compatible audio system and wide aspect Super AMOLED display of the S5e do significantly improve the movie experience.

 

[TechRunner]

I stream Netflix and Hulu on my 7th gen when I travel, and it works great. I assume the 9th gen would be the same if not better.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Honestly, any iPad from the last half decade is wonderfully adept as a media consumption device.

 

[eyeseeyou]

An old ipad 12.9 might fit your needs. Also cheap

 

[scupking]

9th gen will be a fantastic media device.

 

[Glideslope]

Yes. I sold my 6th Gen and have been using a 9th Gen for all my media consumption. In full disclosure I don’t watch full length movies on it, so I can’t comment on that.

However, IMO the Price/Performance for the average media consumer like myself is untouchable.

Probably would have kept my Gen 6 if I didn’t want that A13.

 

[dumastudetto]

iPad Pro 12.9" provides the ultimate cinematic tablet experience. If you love movies, you'll love iPad Pro.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Yes. I sold my 6th Gen and have been using a 9th Gen for all my media consumption. In full disclosure I don’t watch full length movies on it, so I can’t comment on that.

However, IMO the Price/Performance for the average media consumer like myself is untouchable.

Probably would have kept my Gen 6 if I didn’t want that A13.

Under iPadOS 15.3, my 6th gen. iPad is a little laggy — no idea if that’s common. However, it’s not very surprising as the 6th (and 7th) gen. iPad uses the A10, which was before the release of Apple's Neural Engine.

 

[Glideslope]

Under iOS 15.3, my 6th gen. iPad is a little laggy — no idea if that’s common. However, it’s not very surprisingly as the 6th (and 7th) gen. iPad uses the A10, which was before the release of Apple's Neural Engine.

Yes, a Gen 6 is laggy on iOS 15.

 

[ericwn]

iPad Pro 12.9" provides the ultimate cinematic tablet experience. If you love movies, you'll love iPad Pro.

That has been ruled out in the OP already.

 

[Digitalguy]

Under iPadOS 15.3, my 6th gen. iPad is a little laggy — no idea if that’s common. However, it’s not very surprising as the 6th (and 7th) gen. iPad uses the A10, which was before the release of Apple's Neural Engine.

Lag is probably due more to (lack of) RAM than to A10.... The 7th gen has more RAM so should be smoother (more RAM means that the OS has to do less RAM compression, which impacts the CPU, and needs to eject less stuff from RAM periodically, so less reloads). With 2GB devices RAM compression is constant when you switch between apps and has only been increasing with each version of iPadOS. The reason is probably that the iPadOS versions take more and more of those 2 GB, leaving less and less to apps.

 

[dumastudetto]

That has been ruled out in the OP already.

I would urge the OP to reconsider.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Lag is probably due more to (lack of) RAM than to A10.... The 7th gen has more RAM so should be smoother (more RAM means that the OS has to do less RAM compression, which impacts the CPU, and needs to eject less stuff from RAM periodically, so less reloads). With 2GB devices RAM compression is constant when you switch between apps and has only been increasing with each version of iPadOS. The reason is probably that the iPadOS versions take more and more of those 2 GB, leaving less and less to apps.

Fair enough. I skipped over the possibility of increased OS memory requirements. By the way, I often close apps completely. Typically, there are two to four apps in the App Switcher to keep it less cluttered.

P.S. My iPhone X is not noticeably different in performance from iOS 14.8.1 to 15.3 — which could indeed support your RAM requirement claim.

 

[ericwn]

I would urge the OP to reconsider.

For the outlined use case it’s a waste. And I say that owning that very device. Watching movies on any iPad is nowhere close to the cinematic experience some try to sell here from the aspect ratio to what a tv delivers in the same price range as an iPad Pro.

 

[Digitalguy]

For the outlined use case it’s a waste. And I say that owning that very device. Watching movies on any iPad is nowhere close to the cinematic experience some try to sell here from the aspect ratio to what a tv delivers in the same price range as an iPad Pro.

Yeah even the mini led pro is not that cinematic. Certainly better than an 10-11in device, but a 16:9 video is under 12in on the 12.9 iPad... Having said that, if you want to watch anywhere in the house or even while moving around, a TV is not a good option either... The upcoming Tab S8 ultra will be the best tablet for that purpose, but will not be cheap.... (an price is indeed a consideration for the OP)

 

[rui no onna]

Lag is probably due more to (lack of) RAM than to A10.... The 7th gen has more RAM so should be smoother (more RAM means that the OS has to do less RAM compression, which impacts the CPU, and needs to eject less stuff from RAM periodically, so less reloads). With 2GB devices RAM compression is constant when you switch between apps and has only been increasing with each version of iPadOS. The reason is probably that the iPadOS versions take more and more of those 2 GB, leaving less and less to apps.

Gonna have to second RAM being the culprit.

We have a 6th gen (A10/2GB) and 7th gen (A10/3GB) in the household. I found the 6th gen annoyingly laggy after upgrading to iOS 15 (it was still okay on iOS 14). Meanwhile, the 7th gen reloads often but it doesn't lag as much.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Gonna have to second RAM being the culprit.

We have a 6th gen (A10/2GB) and 7th gen (A10/3GB) in the household. I found the 6th gen annoyingly laggy after upgrading to iOS 15 (it was still okay on iOS 14). Meanwhile, the 7th gen reloads often but it doesn't lag as much.

Thanks for sharing. Too bad I didn’t know/think about that aspect before updating(/upgrading?). Fortunately, the iPad is not annoyingly laggy with most apps though certainly noticeable. Interesting on the reload behavior. The only iDevice I have that consistently/frequently crashes/resprings is my iPad 2. Apparently, updating to iOS 9.3.5, last supported OS for that model, was probably also a mistake then. Oh well.

 

[nintendoswitch]

As an owner of a 9th gen, I would say yes. I was just watching Hulu earlier and it’s great.

 

[skaertus]

Yeah even the mini led pro is not that cinematic. Certainly better than an 10-11in device, but a 16:9 video is under 12in on the 12.9 iPad... Having said that, if you want to watch anywhere in the house or even while moving around, a TV is not a good option either... The upcoming Tab S8 ultra will be the best tablet for that purpose, but will not be cheap.... (an price is indeed a consideration for the OP)

I have a 9.7-inch iPad Pro (2016 version) and I bought an 11-inch Galaxy Tab S7 last year. The screens have the same width, but as the S7 is higher, the actual video is bigger.

I also have to say that the S7 screen is very reflexive. The iPad was much better to watch videos on because of this. I had to put a matte screen protector on it as it was very hard to watch videos on.