iPad Pro Two iPads or a 2020 pro?

[Cassr]

I have an iPad pro 2016 and an iPad mini 5.

This is great as I do a lot of my design work (vector art, photo editing and a tiny bit of 3d stuff) on my old pro and the mini acts like a notebook/ organiser/ web surfer.

My pro is a tiny bit slow but mostly ok at most tasks.

Would you swap these for a 2020 iPad pro or do you think the speed/ power gain is not worth selling two devices?

I enjoy my mini for the same reasons people are enjoying the mini 6 so would be sad to see that go...

On the other hand a bit more power and speed would help work wise.

 

[rui no onna]

Depends on your priorities.

I kept my old 2016 iPad Pro 9.7 after I upgraded. Personally, I find the Pro 9.7 way too annoying to use on certain websites like Best Buy nowadays. Meanwhile, it's not a big deal for me if I don't have a mini. Of course, I tend to prefer the 9.7-11" size for pretty much everything.

 

[1BadManVan]

I would hold out until you can get the M1 pro, especially for the kind of work you do on it. It’s a pretty decent power bump

 

[Danfango]

I swapped my 2016 ipad pro out for a 9th gen ipad when those came out recently. Worth considering as well.

Gains are more storage potentially, better screen, more grunt.

I may give that to my daughter if the upcoming 2022 iPad Pro is tasty looking though.

Never thought of getting a mini though. That would be good for travelling.

 

[Digitalguy]

I have an iPad pro 2016 and an iPad mini 5.

This is great as I do a lot of my design work (vector art, photo editing and a tiny bit of 3d stuff) on my old pro and the mini acts like a notebook/ organiser/ web surfer.

My pro is a tiny bit slow but mostly ok at most tasks.

Would you swap these for a 2020 iPad pro or do you think the speed/ power gain is not worth selling two devices?

I enjoy my mini for the same reasons people are enjoying the mini 6 so would be sad to see that go...

On the other hand a bit more power and speed would help work wise.

the 2020 pro will feel exactly like the mini 5, they are both based on A12 and in normal use they feel the same speed. So you already know what it will feel like. But there are many reasons why any USB C ipad pro is better than the 9.7 (CPU, RAM, screen, port, pencil 2). It depends if they matter to you

 

[Adarna]

I have two hands, two eyes, two nose holes, two feet and two ears.

So two iPads makes sense

 

[Username-already-in-use]

If doing work is your priority then I would go for 12.9 for the larger work area. The 6GB RAM would also feel nicer.

 

[Cassr]

Screens have been mentioned a few times but I always thought the 2016 pro was fitted out with a really nice screen...?

My impression was that that model being an early pro was well specked and great value for money at the time.

I have barely any apps on it as I use it just as a design tool and trying to keep it running as smoothly as possible.

Just wondering mainly about speed and power..

 

[rui no onna]

Just wondering mainly about speed and power..

Since you have a mini 5 (A12/3GB), test the design apps you use on the Pro 9.7 (A9X/2GB) on the mini. That should give you an idea more or less of how much improvement you can expect.

The performance gap between A9X and A12 is much bigger than the difference between A12 and A12X/Z.

We can quote benchmark numbers and our own experiences but it’s not the same as trying it out yourself with your own workload.

 

[Cassr]

Since you have a mini 5 (A12/3GB), test the design apps you use on the Pro 9.7 (A9X/2GB) on the mini. That should give you an idea more or less of how much improvement you can expect.

The performance gap between A9X and A12 is much bigger than the difference between A12 and A12X/Z.

We can quote benchmark numbers and our own experiences but it’s not the same as trying it out yourself with your own workload.

Ok thanks that's a good idea.

I thought that they would still be fairly different (A12/A12x).

The only app that might still suffer a bit is a 3d sculpting app as I think that's more ram dependant but will give it a try.

 

[Cassr]

Since you have a mini 5 (A12/3GB), test the design apps you use on the Pro 9.7 (A9X/2GB) on the mini. That should give you an idea more or less of how much improvement you can expect.

The performance gap between A9X and A12 is much bigger than the difference between A12 and A12X/Z.

We can quote benchmark numbers and our own experiences but it’s not the same as trying it out yourself with your own workload.

Also just realised you listed the 2016 pro as only having 2g of ram, I didn't realise that I thought it had 3!

 

[1BadManVan]

Screens have been mentioned a few times but I always thought the 2016 pro was fitted out with a really nice screen...?

My impression was that that model being an early pro was well specked and great value for money at the time.

I have barely any apps on it as I use it just as a design tool and trying to keep it running as smoothly as possible.

Just wondering mainly about speed and power..

The 2016 pro has a laminated screen, but the newer pros will still be an improvement

I still recommend an M1 pro if like to hold onto your devices for awhile. 8gb ram, very fast ssd storage and the 3.2ghz 8 core cpu and 8 core gpu is a very future proof set up. Especially for the type of stuff you’re using it for

Either way, a 2020 will still be a nice upgrade over what you have now if you’re trying to stick with a budget.

 

[Digitalguy]

Screens have been mentioned a few times but I always thought the 2016 pro was fitted out with a really nice screen...?

My impression was that that model being an early pro was well specked and great value for money at the time.

I have barely any apps on it as I use it just as a design tool and trying to keep it running as smoothly as possible.

Just wondering mainly about speed and power..

Yes the 9.7 has a great screen and contrary to what many say on these forums it was a great value back then. The 9.7 pro has been hated as the worst value iPad because of its 2GB RAM (vs 4 for its bigger brother, which was indeed its main weakness), but people forget that it was a huge improvement over its predecessor, the beloved (and probably also over-hyped) air 2 for only $100 more (another thing that people forget...). The screen was much brighter and less reflective, the A9X was a huge leap in single core, which, together with much faster storage (which way also doubled vs the air 2) made it feel night and day (I had both), it had pencil support (which also means sidecar today), keyboard connector and way better speakers.
Compared to the pro 11, what I meant by better screen is larger in a body which is similar, promotion (which helps with the pencil smoothness) and even brighter.
Speed improvement is very noticeable, but again, as me and rui no onna have been saying, the mini 5 is a similar improvement over the pro 9.7 pro. I can't feel the difference between the mini 5 and pro 11, but I don't use your apps and don't know if they can leverage the extra cores of the A12Z...

 

[Cassr]

Yes the 9.7 has a great screen and contrary to what many say on these forums it was a great value back then. The 9.7 pro has been hated as the worst value iPad because of its 2GB RAM (vs 4 for its bigger brother, which was indeed its main weakness), but people forget that it was a huge improvement over its predecessor, the beloved (and probably also over-hyped) air 2 for only $100 more (another thing that people forget...). The screen was much brighter and less reflective, the A9X was a huge leap in single core, which, together with much faster storage (which way also doubled vs the air 2) made it feel night and day (I had both), it had pencil support (which also means sidecar today), keyboard connector and way better speakers.
Compared to the pro 11, what I meant by better screen is larger in a body which is similar, promotion (which helps with the pencil smoothness) and even brighter.
Speed improvement is very noticeable, but again, as me and rui no onna have been saying, the mini 5 is a similar improvement over the pro 9.7 pro. I can't feel the difference between the mini 5 and pro 11, but I don't use your apps and don't know if they can leverage the extra cores of the A12Z...

I have really enjoyed using my pro over the years. The size is perfect for my taste, though the mini is a fun size too.

I already know that two of my main design apps run perfectly on it and both benefit from the bigger screen.

I will be trying the more ram intensive one on the mini today.

The only other query I have is which device is better in terms of screen colour accuracy for the purposes of initial photo editing.

Would the 2020 pro be much better for that?

Great to know in real life the 2020 pro and mini 5 feel kinda the same operationally, thanks

 

[Digitalguy]

I have really enjoyed using my pro over the years. The size is perfect for my taste, though the mini is a fun size too.

I already know that two of my main design apps run perfectly on it and both benefit from the bigger screen.

I will be trying the more ram intensive one on the mini today.

The only other query I have is which device is better in terms of screen colour accuracy for the purposes of initial photo editing.

Would the 2020 pro be much better for that?

Great to know in real life the 2020 pro and mini 5 feel kinda the same operationally, thanks

No, color accuracy is basically the same (the look identical to my untrained eye) and as you can see in this website the 9.7 is great for that: https://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pr... accurate 103 percent,DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut.
Unfortunately this excellent website stopped reviewing tablet displays after the 9.7 to focus on smartphones only...
So the only improvement relevant for you if you don't use the pencil is size...

 

[Cassr]

No, color accuracy is basically the same (the look identical to my untrained eye) and as you can see in this website the 9.7 is great for that: https://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm#:~:text=The iPad Pro 9.7 has a very accurate 103 percent,DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut.
Unfortunately this excellent website stopped reviewing tablet displays after the 9.7 to focus on smartphones only...
So the only improvement relevant for you if you don't use the pencil is size...

View attachment 1947372

Thank you for taking the time to do this comparison!

I think I might have a work flow that allows me to carry on with the two I have then.

Might hang on for a future device when my pro 9.7 finally stops being able to update.

I feel like there is a certain lottery with iPads (all electronics really) and the mini and pro I have work really well still