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All iPads Time to upgrade... buyer advice(standard, Air, Pro?)

EEzycade

EEzycade

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 29, 2018
219
225
Mesa, Arizona
To begin, I'm not asking for you all to decide for me. Ultimately, I will make the choice and just am looking for feedback. My iPad Air 2 has served me faithfully for the last few years. But like all pieces of tech, it has started to show it's age. Some animations stutter, there are weird bugs I can't explain, along with some physical scratches and scuffs. It can't do Sidecar. It just can't keep up. So time to upgrade. And considering how crowded the iPad lineup is now, it can be a bit hard to decide.

I like a big screen, so the Mini doesn't seem like a good option. My iPad is largely a media consumption machine. However, there are lots of times when I am not around my MacBook Pro and do some real work on it, write documents, download files, email. What is best for me in your opinion? Should I consider a previous generation Pro, or is the Air 3 the same thing? I really like the look of the new iPad Pros. What do you think is the lowest price a 11" 256gb would go for during Black Friday? Thank you all, I look forward to your thoughts, as I think the iPad is one of the most interesting products Apple sells. Is it a computer, is it not? Only time will tell.
 
Coming from the Air 2 and considering the Apple A10 was released back in 2016, it’s likely worth your while to opt for at least the Air 3.

Air 3 has faster CPU but Pro 10.5 has 4GB RAM, faster GPU and more features (quad speakers, ProMotion, etc). 256GB Air 3 will be around $550 BF, I think. Apple certified refurb 256GB Pro 10.5 is $600 and probably even cheaper used.

256GB Pro 11 is $800 at Best Buy right now which is a $150 discount from regular $950 pricing. I think lowest non-glitch pricing I’ve seen for it was ~$750 around mid-2019 (near Prime Day, iirc).

One thing to consider, connecting external storage will be so much easier on the USB-C Pro 11.
 
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Since only time will tell, consider a 7th gen. It might not last as long as your iPad Air 2, but it'll serve you just fine for a couple of years while hardware and software improvements really answer your "is it a computer, is it not?" question.

The caveat is that it has a "worse" screen than the ipad air 2, since it isn't laminated (where the air 3, pros are). But the screen is bigger, the ipad does more than your air 2 (pen input, smart keyboard connector if you went for that - personally i use a bluetooth logitech keyboard) and it's faster.
 
EEzycade said:
To begin, I'm not asking for you all to decide for me. Ultimately, I will make the choice and just am looking for feedback. My iPad Air 2 has served me faithfully for the last few years. But like all pieces of tech, it has started to show it's age. Some animations stutter, there are weird bugs I can't explain, along with some physical scratches and scuffs. It can't do Sidecar. It just can't keep up. So time to upgrade. And considering how crowded the iPad lineup is now, it can be a bit hard to decide.

I like a big screen, so the Mini doesn't seem like a good option. My iPad is largely a media consumption machine. However, there are lots of times when I am not around my MacBook Pro and do some real work on it, write documents, download files, email. What is best for me in your opinion? Should I consider a previous generation Pro, or is the Air 3 the same thing? I really like the look of the new iPad Pros. What do you think is the lowest price a 11" 256gb would go for during Black Friday? Thank you all, I look forward to your thoughts, as I think the iPad is one of the most interesting products Apple sells. Is it a computer, is it not? Only time will tell.
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Go for the iPad Air 3.
 
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EEzycade said:
I like a big screen, so the Mini doesn't seem like a good option. My iPad is largely a media consumption machine. However, there are lots of times when I am not around my MacBook Pro and do some real work on it, write documents, download files, email. What is best for me in your opinion? Should I consider a previous generation Pro, or is the Air 3 the same thing? I really like the look of the new iPad Pros. What do you think is the lowest price a 11" 256gb would go for during Black Friday? Thank you all, I look forward to your thoughts, as I think the iPad is one of the most interesting products Apple sells. Is it a computer, is it not? Only time will tell.
Click to expand...
I have the iPad Air 3 and I use it for basically the same tasks you've mentioned - browsing, email, messages, documents (Pages and Numbers run fine), videos, books, downloads. One thing to keep I mind is the iPad Air 3 is compatible with Apple Pencil 1 only. I've even run iMovie on this thing but it could have been a better experience on an iPad Pro.
 
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iPad Pro 11" with Best Buy's sale is the way to go. It has hardware that was made for iPad OS (*except it was released 1-year ago... people think it's a year old tech, but IMO it's just now where it should have been last year.) Also it doesn't bend like crazy (like all the claims to the contrary.) I think the speakers and Pro-Motion alone are reasons to get it.
 
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EEzycade said:
To begin, I'm not asking for you all to decide for me. Ultimately, I will make the choice and just am looking for feedback. My iPad Air 2 has served me faithfully for the last few years. But like all pieces of tech, it has started to show it's age. Some animations stutter, there are weird bugs I can't explain, along with some physical scratches and scuffs. It can't do Sidecar. It just can't keep up. So time to upgrade. And considering how crowded the iPad lineup is now, it can be a bit hard to decide.

I like a big screen, so the Mini doesn't seem like a good option. My iPad is largely a media consumption machine. However, there are lots of times when I am not around my MacBook Pro and do some real work on it, write documents, download files, email. What is best for me in your opinion? Should I consider a previous generation Pro, or is the Air 3 the same thing? I really like the look of the new iPad Pros. What do you think is the lowest price a 11" 256gb would go for during Black Friday? Thank you all, I look forward to your thoughts, as I think the iPad is one of the most interesting products Apple sells. Is it a computer, is it not? Only time will tell.
Click to expand...
Since you're coming from the Air 2, the most obvious upgrade will be the Air 3. It will do what you need to do just fine.

Going for the pro is overboard imo for most people, especially at the prices Apple is charging for the Pro. Personally the only real utility on the Pro that most people will enjoy is the quad speaker. If you're willing to pay more for that, get the 10.5" Pro from the refurbished section.
 
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If you’re planning to keep it as long as your Air 2, might as well go with the Pro 11” for the latest form factor and extra RAM over the Air 3. $150 off seems pretty common and $200 or more wouldn’t surprise me with the holidays coming up.
 
EssModelsRule said:
If you’re planning to keep it as long as your Air 2, might as well go with the Pro 11” for the latest form factor and extra RAM over the Air 3. $150 off seems pretty common and $200 or more wouldn’t surprise me with the holidays coming up.
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Considering how the Air 2 is still supported under iPadOS, I'm sure the Air 3 will be supported for as long.
 
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pika2000 said:
Considering how the Air 2 is still supported under iPadOS, I'm sure the Air 3 will be supported for as long.
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The Air 3 (A12) should be supported as long as the Pro 11” (A12X), but my reasoning for going Pro, besides the additional features, would simply be the form factor. Subjective I know, but the full screen look is what I’d want if I planned to keep it for several years like the OP has done with their Air 2.
 
I have the 11” iPad Pro and honestly it’s my favourite piece of tech I own. The promotion, quad speakers and having Face ID on an iPad is incredible.

For your uses though it sounds like the air 3 is the best bet.
 
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One thing to consider, why do you need 256GB internal storage? Would a 64GB iPad Pro 11 and portable USB-C drive be an adequate replacement?
 
Devyn89 said:
I have the 11” iPad Pro and honestly it’s my favourite piece of tech I own. The promotion, quad speakers and having Face ID on an iPad is incredible.

For your uses though it sounds like the air 3 is the best bet.
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The 11” Pro is an investment for sure!
 
aakshey said:
The 11” Pro is an investment for sure!
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While a nice device, how is this an investment? Anything losing value this quickly with a rough lifespan of maybe 5 years is hardly an investment

Just like a MacBook Pro it’s slightly better equipped, and there’s hardly any task a user wouldn’t be able to accomplish on another current iPad.

An investment creates wealth further down the line. But an iPad in the end it’s just a tool. Want it a bit fancy? Get the fancy one. Does the same stuff but is fancy.
 
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ericwn said:
While a nice device, how is this an investment? Anything losing value this quickly with a rough lifespan of maybe 5 years is hardly an investment

Just like a MacBook Pro it’s slightly better equipped, and there’s hardly any task a user wouldn’t be able to accomplish on another current iPad.

An investment creates wealth further down the line. But an iPad in the end it’s just a tool. Want it a bit fancy? Get the fancy one. Does the same stuff but is fancy.
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I’ve purchased quite a few tech devices that I sold for more than I paid (including iPads). Guess I’ve an eye for deals and I’m not slow to haggle further cuts. For me those were indeed investments.
 
Aydy said:
I’ve purchased quite a few tech devices that I sold for more than I paid (including iPads). Guess I’ve an eye for deals and I’m not slow to haggle further cuts. For me those were indeed investments.
Click to expand...

Good stuff - haggling is an art in itself - but the person I quoted is not indicating to resell at a different price point - but seems to suggest that only iPad Pro devices are investments when kept and used.

I’d like to hear / read his reasoning behind it.
 
Richard8655 said:
For a good investment, buy an S&P 500 ETF. An iPad is a guaranteed money loss. Although we'd all agree worth it. But yes, it's an investment as adding personal value.
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Ride's a whole lot bumpier but I believe AAPL has outperformed the S&P 500. Alas, no diversification either. :p
 
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Well I did a thing, Bought a 11’ Pro 64gb for 650 at best buy. Am really liking face id so far, its wicked fast. Its crazy how thin it is, and the same bezel all the way around is refreshing. Overall I’m happy with the purchase so far, I’ll report back when I’ve had more time with it.
 
I upgraded from a 1st gen 9.7-inch Pro (2016) to a used 11 inch iPad Pro (2018) 256 GB WiFi+Cellular for $625 from GameStop.. its like night and day what has happened to iPads in the last few years. Bar none the best iPad I've ever owned. Blown away at how the display looks, speakers, FaceID and the USB-C support and of course the speed.

I still have 2 iPad Air 2s around and they get the job done, but they don't compare. Well worth the pro upgrade.
 
Air 3 for all the reasons folks already mentioned. Please comparison shop. Apple and Best Buy will price match (Apple to 10%)*, just be nice and have the sale price page open when you ask.

Check sites like Microcenter, Best Buy etc.


*I bought the Air 3 and pencil this way from Apple in October.
 
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