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Those of you who have had an iPad with a ProMotion display (Pro models 2017 and later), would you bu

  • Yes

    Votes: 37 32.5%
  • No

    Votes: 64 56.1%
  • Maybe/Undecided

    Votes: 13 11.4%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    114

xxray

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 27, 2013
3,115
9,412
I think I could easily get by with an iPad Air model these days except for the fact that it doesn’t have ProMotion. Ever since getting my iPad Pro 10.5” back in 2017, I don’t think I’d ever want an iPad without ProMotion. When I test out 60Hz rather than 120Hz, everything just looks so choppy and laggy, even after hours of using it.

Those of you who have had an iPad Pro 2017 or later, would you buy an iPad without a ProMotion display?
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,655
4,488
Absolutely, nothing is choppy and laggy with anything A12 or newer.... Actually A12 feels faster than A10X despite lacking promotion (other than when scrolling, which is not a big deal for me and it's still perfectly fine).
But as your comment shows, views on promotion can be very different and I do expect other to say the same as you, there is no way back and similar praises, just like I expects others to say it's no big deal like me...
 

Shirasaki

macrumors P6
May 16, 2015
16,264
11,765
Just playing iPad Air around in Apple Store I can clearly feel iPadOS feels laggier and choppier navigating around. The lag is very noticeable. I don’t think im going to buy another iPad that is not iPad Pro. Fully spoiled.

But for those who is not very sensitive, iPad Air is mostly just as good as iPad Pro for daily use while cost quite less, as long as you are ok with 256GB storage.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
I think I could easily get by with an iPad Air model these days except for the fact that it doesn’t have ProMotion. Ever since getting my iPad Pro 10.5” back in 2017, I don’t think I’d ever want an iPad without ProMotion. When I test out 60Hz rather than 120Hz, everything just looks so choppy and laggy, even after hours of using it.

Those of you who have had an iPad Pro 2017 or later, would you buy an iPad without a ProMotion display?
A: Yes.

But then again, I don't have X-Men level vision that can spot individual pixels on a Retina display from 10 feet away nor perceive 60Hz as "choppy and laggy" (though there IS a difference).
 

leperry

macrumors member
Apr 1, 2020
83
105
I tried drawing in Procreate on an Air 4 after using it for so long on my 10.5. It’s not catastrophic, and for a while I thought I would be ok with it. But after replacing it with a 12.9, I realized how much I missed the 120 hertz.
 

PaladinGuy

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,698
1,098
The only reason for me saying no is because l primarily use my iPad as a note taking and organizing device for work and school. l played around with my 10.5” iPad Pro with promotion turned off, and the writing experience was noticeably worse.

If l was only reading and watching video on it, I don’t think it would really matter.
 
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jonblatho

macrumors 68030
Jan 20, 2014
2,529
6,241
Oklahoma
Thanks to the lack of 120 Hz displays on my other devices, 60 Hz doesn’t bother me. It was rough switching back and forth for the first few days between my iPad and my iPhone/iMac, but I quickly got accustomed to it. I like having 120 Hz available, but if a compelling device comes about without it, I’m certainly willing to consider it.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,626
11,298
It’s more of a marketing gimmick since displayhz.com, testufo.com, etc. show 60Hz while my other >=120Hz capable devices do say >=120Hz.

E08B6B2E-2202-4D0C-B2DD-66C5EE1DABCB.png
D615F770-6AF6-4001-9EB2-44B81DD936BF.png
 

azentropy

macrumors 601
Jul 19, 2002
4,138
5,665
Surprise
I bounce back and forth between a 2018 11" iPad Pro and a 2020 iPad Air 4 daily. I do notice the difference, but it is not a deal breaker.
 

Serban55

Suspended
Oct 18, 2020
2,153
4,344
as bigger the display, as 120hz is more needed
i would not need/want promotion for the normal ipad, or for the ipad mini...but for the 12.9" its a must
More content on the display, more notice is the 120hz
 
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UltimateSyn

macrumors 601
Mar 3, 2008
4,970
9,206
Massachusetts
Short answer is no, I would not buy a full-sized iPad without ProMotion. 60 Hz looks awful to me on large iPad screens now after having had ProMotion for so long. That being said, I will consider getting the new iPad mini even though it’s likely going to be capped at 60 Hz (and if it had a ProMotion upgrade option I would pay for it).

Really wish Apple would make ProMotion a standard feature just like Retina quickly became the norm across all devices in all product lines. It’s very noticeable and important to me.
 

GuruZac

macrumors 68040
Sep 9, 2015
3,748
11,734
⛰️🏕️🏔️
I would still buy an iPad Air even though it doesn’t have ProMotion, but after having a 2017 10.5 iPad Pro and my 2018 12.9 iPad Pro, it is definitely a nice feature to have and is noticeable when scrolling. Is it a make or break though, no. I think it will be even less noticeable on the iPhone size displays so I don’t get the all of the hoopla about this being a must have feature. IF it were between ProMotion and Always On Display, I would choose AoD.
 
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mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,626
11,298
120hz is only wheres motion, you have 60hz because its variable on your ipad, and on your other devices is 120hz stuck

testufo.com has several motion tests and even the vertical text scrolling test still shows 60Hz.

https://www.testufo.com/framerates-text

So, ProMotion is a gimmick if it doesn't work in the most actively used app which is the browser regardless of Safari, Chrome, etc.
 

svish

macrumors G4
Nov 25, 2017
11,683
29,715
For a large screen device like the iPad, I would definitely prefer to have it.
 

nStyle

macrumors 68000
Dec 6, 2009
1,513
1,072
Nah, I wouldn't downgrade...no point, unless it was going to an OLED.

If you have a 10.5 the Air is not an upgrade IMO unless you're having serious issues with the 10.5.
 
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