As of today, there's no need for it. This may change, and if or when it does, you can always upgrade. And avoid the Apple Store crunch while you're at it.
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iPad Pro Should I buy a 16gb or 8gb version?
- Thread starter KensaiMage
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I bought a 1TB but I really don't think that the 16GB of RAM is something that I'll ever take advantage of.
App developers want their software to work on as many devices as possible. Even though iOS has multi-tasking, it's pretty limited. Most app developers are still going to want their software to work on 4-6GB iPads for years to come.
If you want to do serious video or photo editing; it might come in handy when working with huge files. We'll see what software comes around to take advantage of the M1. It would be awesome to get Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic on the M1 iPad. Which, in theory, Adobe could do pretty quickly by just adjusting the UI since they have already ported those apps to ARM.
App developers want their software to work on as many devices as possible. Even though iOS has multi-tasking, it's pretty limited. Most app developers are still going to want their software to work on 4-6GB iPads for years to come.
If you want to do serious video or photo editing; it might come in handy when working with huge files. We'll see what software comes around to take advantage of the M1. It would be awesome to get Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic on the M1 iPad. Which, in theory, Adobe could do pretty quickly by just adjusting the UI since they have already ported those apps to ARM.
It is very much a multitasking device, you can have up to three active apps on the screen at a time, and apps can run in the background unless they run out of RAM. But memory isn't all about multitasking, some apps just need a lot of RAM by themselves, and there's a lot of rumors that some of the big memory-hungry Mac OS apps will be coming to iPad for iOS 15. And one reason not a lot of apps need that much memory is just that it wasn't available, so their developers limited what their apps could do.
The extra RAM is definitely worth it to me. For that reason alone I had my eye on the 1TB model. But I ended up going all out and getting the 2TB 12.9 inch Cellular model on a 48 month device plan as the price difference between 1TB and 2TB was relatively small considering the giant leap in storage. My only gripe was that the 11 inch version didn’t have the XDR display with Mini LED. Otherwise I’d have got the 11 inch model for more comfort in the hand. But, with that said, the extra screen real estate of the 12.9 inch version will come in handy. It’ll just be heavier when handheld.
veterans discount…
iPad Pro 12.9” $ 1,875.00 16 Gb 1 Tb SSD AppleCare+ (No keyboard nor Mouse)
$ 2,084.00 without discount
iMac 24” $ 1,991.00 16 Gb 512 SSD ApplrCare+ $116 more than iPad (keyboard/Mouse/24” screen)
2,212.00 without veterans discount.
Unless you absolutely need touchscreen, for me I would go with the iMac 24 for a full macOS. Or wait for the 14 inch MacBook Pro if you need portability
iPad Pro 12.9” $ 1,875.00 16 Gb 1 Tb SSD AppleCare+ (No keyboard nor Mouse)
$ 2,084.00 without discount
iMac 24” $ 1,991.00 16 Gb 512 SSD ApplrCare+ $116 more than iPad (keyboard/Mouse/24” screen)
2,212.00 without veterans discount.
Unless you absolutely need touchscreen, for me I would go with the iMac 24 for a full macOS. Or wait for the 14 inch MacBook Pro if you need portability
Last edited:
Internaut
macrumors 65816
Waiting on WWDC to see if Apple give any indication of what they will be doing with that excess power, memory and storage....
I have:
M1 MacBook Air
Intel NUC Mini-PC
ThinkPad X1 Nano (lighter than my Pro 12.9 in SmartCase clone)
ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 AMD
ASUS Rog Zephyrus G14
Dell XPS 15 (work issue)
I still use the iPad the most. Among the laptops, I like the X1 Nano best although I use the E15 more for telecommuting because of the built-in NumPad. I simply don't need another Mac/PC at this time.
I’ll be perfectly honest and say that it worked on me. I wanted to get a cellular iPad anyway, but was thinking about getting a 2020 iPP at a discount instead of a new iPad. The more I thought about it, though, the more I figured that it would be better to get an M1 iPad instead of buying an iPad I essentially already own. If they do end up giving iPadOS more capabilities in the future, I’ll be able to keep up.
Yeah it’s probably not going to happen, but I convinced myself that the M1 made it worth it. So, great job Tim; you’ve made a sucker out of me.
I say let Apple set the policy on returns and enforce it however they so desire. If they’re willing to take returns for buyer remorse then what difference does it make to anyone else?
Is it worth it? No. Did I buy it anyway? Yes ?
This is my first Apple product. I tend to buy tech with the hope of future proofing things.
So I went with the 1TB / 16 GB version, 12.9".
I know that I would regret having the smaller (lesser RAM) version if I find out in 3 months that some updates or something makes it all worthwhile haha. But because I'm starting from zero - and jumping in it kind of makes sense to me.
I can see it being a larger decision if it's just upgrading from last years model.
So I went with the 1TB / 16 GB version, 12.9".
I know that I would regret having the smaller (lesser RAM) version if I find out in 3 months that some updates or something makes it all worthwhile haha. But because I'm starting from zero - and jumping in it kind of makes sense to me.
I can see it being a larger decision if it's just upgrading from last years model.
Is it needed today? No, but the fact Apple is making a distinction means there's definitely something in the pipeline...
It’s just apples way to make you spend more money it will never be needed on iPadOS There is never gonna be an app that says it only works on the 1tb model only
I strongly doubt that anyone’s general experience with iPadOS is going to be hampered by having only 8GB of RAM, but I actually think that it helps make the higher storage models seem like a better value proposition than just getting more storage in and of itself. They were probably going to have more RAM anyway because the storage needs it, so advertising it just makes it seem like a better deal. Maybe.
I am wary of using "never" when it comes to software and hardware 
I don't think they'd try any sort of exclusive 1TB version vs. 512 etc.
But apps could certainly use more RAM if it's available. Many programs take advantage of larger pools of RAM if they can.
But perhaps I'm mistaken that this is the case for iPad?
I don't think they'd try any sort of exclusive 1TB version vs. 512 etc.
But apps could certainly use more RAM if it's available. Many programs take advantage of larger pools of RAM if they can.
But perhaps I'm mistaken that this is the case for iPad?
One thing to note:
Unless you need a ton of storage, given how expensive the 1TB+ models are (and, honestly, consider what else can be bought with that money); if you can get away with a 256GB for example, pocket the money you've saved to upgrade in a couple of years when the software actually takes advantage of it.
The problem with spending tons of money to 'future proof' is that most of the time better stuff is always on the horizon and you're better off upgrading than spending $2k+ on an iPad that you think 6 or 7 years from now will still be able to run the latest apps.
Unless you need a ton of storage, given how expensive the 1TB+ models are (and, honestly, consider what else can be bought with that money); if you can get away with a 256GB for example, pocket the money you've saved to upgrade in a couple of years when the software actually takes advantage of it.
The problem with spending tons of money to 'future proof' is that most of the time better stuff is always on the horizon and you're better off upgrading than spending $2k+ on an iPad that you think 6 or 7 years from now will still be able to run the latest apps.
No it’s true for iPad apps too. Depends on the app obviously- but for example procreate uses ram to such an extent that the more ram you have the more layers you can create. If that’s your app of choice then it makes perfect sense to get more ram.I am wary of using "never" when it comes to software and hardware
I don't think they'd try any sort of exclusive 1TB version vs. 512 etc.
But apps could certainly use more RAM if it's available. Many programs take advantage of larger pools of RAM if they can.
But perhaps I'm mistaken that this is the case for iPad?
I can understand if someone is using the iPad as their only computer and want to have the maximum configuration. For everybody else, especially people that work mostly on a Mac and just use the iPad as a secondary device, 8Gb of RAM will be sufficient For the foreseeable future.
This is pretty true actually. Most people say that 8gb is fine in a mac m1 system, and 8 gb is still 2 extra gb than can be found in current iPads. It depends on what comes at the next event, but 8 should be fine for most use cases.
Sure but 16gb is much better.
If the iPad allowed true multitasking then I would agree with you. Now, it is worth the extra money to get the 16GB model? For me definitely no since I don‘t use the iPad as my main device. I have an iMac with 48GB of RAM and a 16“ MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM for serious work. If Apple gave us the option to add 16GB to all storage models, then I would of course get the 16GB option.
I also think that iPadOS in its current state is perfect with 8GB of RAM.