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iPad M4 iPad Pro 11 inch or 13 inch?
- Thread starter AppleFan.
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After using the 12.9 for years, no way I could go smaller. Landscape since I bought it! Can’t wait till next Wednesday.
Are you using it more as a tablet or laptop? Is it comfortable when holding it in your hands and typing on the screen?
‘it will be used mostly in the lap or sitting on a desk/table. Even the 11” is poor “holding in the hand and typing on the screen”.😎
It will get a good bit of field use in digital photography.
Imo I don’t think the 11” or 12.9” are comfortable when holding it in your hands and typing, and neither is nice for holding up long periods of time when reading books and such.
It all depends on your use scase , I owned both 11 inch and 12.9 M2 Pro's and for bed use / browsing / gaming / all around surfing there is no debate it's all about the 11 inch.
The 12.9 is cumbersome for anything not desk related especially holding it in hand for extended periods of time , the larger screen estate is best suited for office work , writting , video editing and stuff like that so it's really not that hard to choose between the two.
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I struggled as well. My iPad is only used for table, couch, bedtime, and travel (trains, planes, etc). I don’t use a keyboard, and since I don’t, the 11” is the winner for me 
It's a very difficult choice!
A really big benefit to the 13" model is that it is so much better as soon as you decide to do some multitasking, like split view. In addition, even when not multitasking, in some fullscreen apps you really benefit of the extra screen real estate. I opened Final Cut Pro on a M2 11" model and 12.9" model side-by-side. The 11" felt a bit cramped, while the 12.9" really felt much better. Than again... I'm not a professional video editor, so does it really matter?
On the other hand, the 11" model has a slightly more favourable aspect ratio which results in slightly smaller black bars when watching videos. It's obviously also more portable. The display obviously is big but not that big. It makes me wonder: iPhones are bigger than ever nowadays. Won't I be more tempted to quickly grab my iPhone instead of the iPad? (While with the 13" model, you'll really benefit of features like split-view).
Tuesday I was certain I would go for the 11" model. Yesterday, I decided to go for the 13" model. I might alter my mind a few more times before next week.
So many things to consider, but right now what's pushing me towards the 13" model is that I also generally will use it around the house, which means size is less of an issue for me and it is more than 100 grams lighter than the previous model - bringing down the weight difference between the 11" and 13". Which means that when I do bring it with me in a backpack, I'll likely be less bothered by the weight and its size.
A really big benefit to the 13" model is that it is so much better as soon as you decide to do some multitasking, like split view. In addition, even when not multitasking, in some fullscreen apps you really benefit of the extra screen real estate. I opened Final Cut Pro on a M2 11" model and 12.9" model side-by-side. The 11" felt a bit cramped, while the 12.9" really felt much better. Than again... I'm not a professional video editor, so does it really matter?
On the other hand, the 11" model has a slightly more favourable aspect ratio which results in slightly smaller black bars when watching videos. It's obviously also more portable. The display obviously is big but not that big. It makes me wonder: iPhones are bigger than ever nowadays. Won't I be more tempted to quickly grab my iPhone instead of the iPad? (While with the 13" model, you'll really benefit of features like split-view).
Tuesday I was certain I would go for the 11" model. Yesterday, I decided to go for the 13" model. I might alter my mind a few more times before next week.
So many things to consider, but right now what's pushing me towards the 13" model is that I also generally will use it around the house, which means size is less of an issue for me and it is more than 100 grams lighter than the previous model - bringing down the weight difference between the 11" and 13". Which means that when I do bring it with me in a backpack, I'll likely be less bothered by the weight and its size.
been using 12.9 Pro since 2018, super heavy and not travel friendly.
Note that the two sizes have different aspect ratios. The 13" is 4:3 (16:12), which is more "square" than the 11" at 10:7 (4:2.8 or 16:11.2). The 13" is relatively wider in portrait and relatively taller in landscape. Depending on use case, one can have an advantage over the other.
The M4 11" actually became even minimally taller, 2420 x 1688 compared to 2388 x 1688 previously, while the 13" is now perfectly 4:3 again, 2752 x 2064 compared to 2732 x 2048 previously.
Visual comparison:
The M4 11" actually became even minimally taller, 2420 x 1688 compared to 2388 x 1688 previously, while the 13" is now perfectly 4:3 again, 2752 x 2064 compared to 2732 x 2048 previously.
Visual comparison:
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with the improved lighter weight you can totally use 13 inch as a normal tablet.
As has been mentioned, neither is ideal for holding in your hands for longer periods of time without support. Some people therefore use a combination of iPad mini for handheld/mobile use and 13" for use on a table/stand/body.
Yep, that is what I do now after having testing different combinations of iPad Minis, 10.5”/11” iPad Pros and 12.9” iPad Pros many times over the years. The iPad Mini is my tablet and my current M1 12.9” is used as a laptop and never leaves it’s magic keyboard.
If you watch movies on this thing you must go with the 13 inch. So immersive, fabulous with the keyboard to hold it up on your airplane tray. I‘ve loved both over the years but for media consumption it’s a no brainer to go with the larger one,even though with the Magic Keyboard it weighs more than my 13 inch laptop!
A lot of people got the 12.9" in the past because it was the only screen with mini LED. Now that both Pro models have comparable screens, I can easily see more people going back to the 11". It's just a nice balance between size and useable screen space.
Not only that but the 11 inch is much easier to travel with and use without a keyboard , the only reason i see anyone getting the 13inch one is for desk usage 90% of the time.
I still remember how i dreaded my 12.9 M2 Pro for bed use , especially for reddit , keyboardless typing.
Same too . Had to fork out another $200 for the new pencil.
Apple really find all ways to milk us
I got to the point that I don’t even like to hold the 11 inch anymore so I use this holder connected to a table next to my chair. Much much better. Did saying with the 12.9 inch sometime ago and it helped a whole lot since holding and 12.9 inch Became uncomfortable after a while.
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13” is a better tabletop drawing tablet and second screen for MacBook, but I prefer the 11” for everything else. If it is like the previous generation, then it should be more stable in the Magic Keyboard and less likely to tip backwards. The aspect ratio difference is better for holding in portrait and a better compromise for video playback.
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