All iPads Upgrading from iPad pro 9.7

[Cassr]

Hi,

I have a 9.7 inch iPad Pro from 2016 that is in great condition and works well.

I stupidly got the 32g option and have about 5g left.

I use it for Procreate (fairly simple drawings), extensive note taking and planning, and managing some files for social media (I run a business) and some photo editing. Colour reproduction is important to me so it needs a decent screen. I don't game much and don't really use it that much for media.

How well the pencil works matters to me though in terms of drawing and note taking.

I can trade it in for a decent amount and am looking to buy an older refurb model. What model would be a worthy upgrade in your opinion?

Thanks!

 

[cupcakes2000]

Hi,

I have a 9.7 inch iPad Pro from 2016 that is in great condition and works well.

I stupidly got the 32g option and have about 5g left.

I use it for Procreate (fairly simple drawings), extensive note taking and planning, and managing some files for social media (I run a business) and some photo editing. Colour reproduction is important to me so it needs a decent screen. I don't game much and don't really use it that much for media.

How well the pencil works matters to me though in terms of drawing and note taking.

I can trade it in for a decent amount and am looking to buy an older refurb model. What model would be a worthy upgrade in your opinion?

Thanks!

It truly depend on how much these things matter - but if an m1 12.9 is out of the question then a 2018 12.9 is an excellent buy still now for your usage.

 

[rui no onna]

The 2018 12.9 256GB Wi-Fi for $709 seems like it might be a good fit. Plenty of storage, Apple Pencil 2 and has ProMotion so there should be reduced Pencil lag.

 

[dasjati]

Funny, I was in the exact same position: iPad Pro 9.7, working fine, but I had the 32 GB model and that got on my nerves.

Apple paid me $190 for it. I got an M1 11 inch iPad Pro. And I realized that my old iPad Pro was indeed slow. It's a great improvement and I am very happy.

From what I hear and read the A12X and A12Z iPad Pros are both great. There's actually only a tiny performance difference between A12X and A12Z and the newer ones have bigger-better cameras, but that seems irrelevant to you. The screens should be all the same (somebody correct me if I forgot about some update or improvement).

I would go for an A12X iPad Pro. Seems like a great value.

 

[Cassr]

I have been leaning towards these ones who happy to see my research seemed to be going in the right direction!

Why the 12.9 2018 rather than the 11 Inch one?

Are the savings on the iPad Airs worth considering?

 

[AutomaticApple]

Hi,

I have a 9.7 inch iPad Pro from 2016 that is in great condition and works well.

I stupidly got the 32g option and have about 5g left.

I use it for Procreate (fairly simple drawings), extensive note taking and planning, and managing some files for social media (I run a business) and some photo editing. Colour reproduction is important to me so it needs a decent screen. I don't game much and don't really use it that much for media.

How well the pencil works matters to me though in terms of drawing and note taking.

I can trade it in for a decent amount and am looking to buy an older refurb model. What model would be a worthy upgrade in your opinion?

Thanks!

I would definitely purchase a 2018 11" iPad Pro with 256GB of storage.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I only suggested the 12.9 because that’s my preference- if you prefer the smaller sizes (and as you aren’t hampered by the screen differences as you’re not choosing the m1), then they’re both the same so it doesn’t matter.

 

[rui no onna]

I have been leaning towards these ones who happy to see my research seemed to be going in the right direction!

Why the 12.9 2018 rather than the 11 Inch one?

Are the savings on the iPad Airs worth considering?

Only 64GB available on refurb store for 11". While it might be suffice, that's just too small for comfort to me. I wouldn't buy lower than 128GB unless it will be used purely for streaming and isn't expected to download/store a lot of apps and content. If the 256GB 11" becomes available on Apple certified refurb though, go for it. Your complaint now with the Pro 9.7 is storage. Consider how long 64GB is likely to last you particularly when iPadOS itself seems to get bigger with each update.

The 10.5" iPad Air and Pro 10.5 are kinda iffy since there's a known design issue on those (white spot).

Mind, I believe you can get the iPad Air 4 256GB Wi-Fi brand new for $660-700 on Amazon. That's a good option as well albeit at that point, the M1 11" 128GB on sale for $750 is worth considering.

Maybe check out Amazon, Best Buy and Costco as well for clearance sales on the 2020 11" 128GB.

 

[Digitalguy]

The best value is a 2018 11in pro, especially if you can get it with 256GB or more. The performance difference is very noticeable (I have it and I have the 9.7). The 9.7, while definitely much faster than something like an air 2, is in turn much slower than an A12X. And you have double the RAM (I have 3 times because I have the 1TB version, but you won't find that refurbished...)
It's better for use with the pencil than the Air 4, thanks to lower latency (due to promotion).
Honestly if you can't find the 2018 refurbished and decide to go new, go with the 11in pro M1 and skip the air 4, the pro is a much better value even if more expensive

 

[ahostmadsen]

I have been leaning towards these ones who happy to see my research seemed to be going in the right direction!

Why the 12.9 2018 rather than the 11 Inch one?

Are the savings on the iPad Airs worth considering?

My personal opinion is that 11" vs 12.9" depends on if you use it more as a tablet as laptop. I use my 11" iPad perhaps 70% of the time in portrait as a tablet (reading, using pencil), 30% of the time in the Magic Keyboard as more of a laptop. Personally, I would not like to use the 12.9" as a (portrait-oriented) tablet due to weight or size, so I will also go for 11" next time I upgrade.

 

[ericwn]

Pick a current Air or Pro model in the screen size you’re most comfortable with- it maybe a 2020 at a reduced price, all great devices.

 

[Cassr]

Thank you for all of your thoughts so far. I have decided I would prefer the smaller version and will go with refurbished.

Doing further research the only other question I have to check is whether I need a pro at all.

I'm a jewellery designer and all final website image editing and final designing is done on my laptop.

So the iPad will be for managing my Pinterest and creating small images for that, sketching ideas in procreate and other sketch apps, creating mood boards, planning and organising.

I'm thinking of getting the Logitech crayon stylus as I don't think I would like the extra gestures of the apple pencil 2 and don't need pressure sensitivity.

With that in mind, is a pro overkill?

Seeing as one of my biggest issues is space I could just swap my current iPad for the same version with 128g of storage for example, though it is pretty old now and may not be a good idea for longevity..

My budget is no more than £500 for the refurbed iPad.

Is the 2018 pro still my best bet?

 

[chrfr]

Thank you for all of your thoughts so far. I have decided I would prefer the smaller version and will go with refurbished.

Doing further research the only other question I have to check is whether I need a pro at all.

I'm a jewellery designer and all final website image editing and final designing is done on my laptop.

So the iPad will be for managing my Pinterest and creating small images for that, sketching ideas in procreate and other sketch apps, creating mood boards, planning and organising.

I'm thinking of getting the Logitech crayon stylus as I don't think I would like the extra gestures of the apple pencil 2 and don't need pressure sensitivity.

With that in mind, is a pro overkill?

Seeing as one of my biggest issues is space I could just swap my current iPad for the same version with 128g of storage for example, though it is pretty old now and may not be a good idea for longevity..

My budget is no more than £500 for the refurbed iPad.

Is the 2018 pro still my best bet?

An iPad Pro is overkill for the vast majority of iPad users and it sounds like any current iPad will work for you.
I wouldn't switch to a larger capacity version of the same iPad at this point; even though the 9.7" Pro will get iPadOS 15, you can definitely feel that it's slowing down even on 14. Apple really seems to only have 64GB 11" refurbished iPad Pros, so you might find that isn't enough capacity.
It'd seem like the best idea is to give the 8th generation base iPad a try. Apple has generous return policies for a reason, so if you find that isn't suitable you can get something else.

 

[Cassr]

I will look into that thanks.

Last question I have is, for the same money I can get an Apple Pro 2nd gen 10.5" with 256g, or a Apple Pro 3rd gen 11" with 64g. Of those two which would you choose?

 

[jsmith1]

10.5 pro