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iPad Bro

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 2, 2021
393
290
I created a similar subject about the 12.9” and 11” M2 iPad Pros, but I am in the market for either the M1 11” or the M2 11”. I can get the M1 for $699 or the M2 for $749 God willing I get my refund from Best Buy in time to purchase one of the two. Which would you go for? It seems like the M2 is universally hated, so is the M1 the better choice? I had a 12.9” M1 iPad Pro, but ultimately sold it which I now regret. But can you guys give me your opinion on which one I should get?

And the 12.9” is not an option. Don’t have enough for it and I am tired of the cumbersome size of it. It’s not really practical to use a tablet. It’s more of a laptop experience with a keyboard (which is almost a must IMO).
 

iPad Bro

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 2, 2021
393
290
I mostly just game on my PS5. Never really been into games on iPad. But it would be cool to play Genshin Impact at 90fps.
 

Shirasaki

macrumors P6
May 16, 2015
16,263
11,764
I mostly just game on my PS5. Never really been into games on iPad. But it would be cool to play Genshin Impact at 90fps.
Genshin impact at 120fps requires hardware that’s 1.25x faster in cpu and 2x faster in GPU compared to M1 to run smoothly. This is not joking.

You would better off playing it on your PS5 and enjoy the experience anyways.
 

millydog

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2007
564
516
Australia
For that price difference, I’d go with the M2. I have the M2 11” and it’s awesome. People only complain about it because there was no design change between the M1 and M2 models to justify them upgrading. If you are coming in fresh, then pick M2 if you live in a country that didn’t price the M2 so much higher. It seems that is your situation, so M2.
 

rkuo

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2010
1,308
955
Going for a refurb or deeply discounted M1 is the winning choice overall. Of your stated choices, the M2 at only 50 bucks more is the obvious winner.
 

Isamilis

macrumors 68020
Apr 3, 2012
2,191
1,074
I created a similar subject about the 12.9” and 11” M2 iPad Pros, but I am in the market for either the M1 11” or the M2 11”. I can get the M1 for $699 or the M2 for $749 God willing I get my refund from Best Buy in time to purchase one of the two. Which would you go for? It seems like the M2 is universally hated, so is the M1 the better choice? I had a 12.9” M1 iPad Pro, but ultimately sold it which I now regret. But can you guys give me your opinion on which one I should get?

And the 12.9” is not an option. Don’t have enough for it and I am tired of the cumbersome size of it. It’s not really practical to use a tablet. It’s more of a laptop experience with a keyboard (which is almost a must IMO).
Some users reported drawing issues on M2. Hope that’s only software issue. Otherwise, M2 is better choice for $50 difference.
 

M5RahuL

macrumors 68040
Aug 1, 2009
3,469
2,133
TeXaS
If you have a Microcenter around you, the wifi M2 11" 128 GB is priced at $699 ( Black Friday deal )
 

happy orchard

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2020
1,176
1,596
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
 

rkuo

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2010
1,308
955
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
You can manage what you store on your iPad ... you can't magically swap in a new chip.
 

iPad Bro

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 2, 2021
393
290
I got Best Buy to price match the $749.99 11” M2 iPad Pro and I am typing from it right now. Really happy with it, but I need some accessories like a case ASAP. 😝
 

Isamilis

macrumors 68020
Apr 3, 2012
2,191
1,074
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
More storage will double the size. OTOH, M2 is only slightly faster than M1, which is hard to be fully utilized with the current iPadOS.
 

happy orchard

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2020
1,176
1,596
More storage will double the size. OTOH, M2 is only slightly faster than M1, which is hard to be fully utilized with the current iPadOS.
And, yep, that’s another thought. Hence, the challenging decision. I’ll probably avoid the decision by spending more getting a 256gb M2. 🙄
 

VaruLV

macrumors 6502a
Mar 25, 2019
636
561
If you dont care for Apple Pencil hover feature and you can get M1 iPad Pro cheaper than M2, then go for M1.
 

ITsamsamsam

macrumors member
Dec 11, 2021
71
133
I live in Italy and I bought the M1 256GB model for 990 euros (offer). I would have had to pay M2 256 1,129 euros (with educational discount) Price difference 139 euros: definitely the M1 for this difference.
 

JamesTheMac

Cancelled
Mar 10, 2019
61
65
256GB is the minimum size required for ipadOS to use the new 16GB SSD swap feature.
Edit - as others have pointed out this limitation only applies to the Air. IPPs can use the 128GB. Personally, I'd still opt for the 256GB to reduce wear on a smaller SSD being constantly reused, especially if I were using something that would use more than 8GB regularly. But if that's the case, you'd probably have a larger SSD anyway.
 
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whitney225

macrumors newbie
Oct 28, 2022
13
12
NewYork
256GB is the minimum size required for ipadOS to use the new 16GB SSD swap feature.
That’s for iPad Air, air doesn’t have 128g option

  1. Available on iPad Air (5th generation) with a minimum of 256GB storage, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later).
 
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JamesTheMac

Cancelled
Mar 10, 2019
61
65
That’s for iPad Air, air doesn’t have 128g option

  1. Available on iPad Air (5th generation) with a minimum of 256GB storage, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later).

No, 128GB is required.

OK my bad. I misread the early reports of 256GB being needed for the Air, and hence understood it to be the case for the iPad Pro too. - Thinking that anything less than the 256GB would cane the SSD and cause premature wear as there is less space to lose the tired wear blocks over. (which is still a consideration actually if you think you're going to using apps that extend to 16GB regularly). But I agree, reading the footnote Apple has posted on the link above, there is no minimum specified for the IPPs.
 
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