iPad Pro Weight of iPad Pro -- is Apple considering more weight loss? :)

[msackey]

Recently I "re-acquired" my old iPad Pro 9.7-inch when my partner bought himself a brand new iPad Pro 12-inch. I had given him the 9.7-inch when I upgraded to the 11-inch. While I still have my iPad Pro 11-inch, I decided to try out the 9.7-inch again to use mostly as a reading device (newspapers, ebooks, etc.). I gotta say, I was surprised.

I was surprised at how much more pleasant the weight of the 9.7-inch is and how much heavier the 11-inch feels now. It's kinda tiring holding the 11-inch like a regular book whereas the 9.7 feels fine.

The 9.7-inch definitely is slower than my 11-inch, but for reading purposes, it works just fine. To help the 9.7-inch respond speedier, I have turned off or removed certain features. For example, there's no calendar, contacts, mail on the 9.7, although it does have iCloud photo sync because it is nice to be able to do minor photo editing using the native Photo app. But the 9.7 for me is mostly a reading device for now.

With all the talk over the years Apple has made about smaller bezels for iPad, etc., has it ever talked about how to make the iPad even lighter? Or, has anyone conceptualized how a new generation of iPad could be made to have just as many features and still be even lighter? I know the iPad Air was that lighter device, but it has too many compromises. Rather than make a lighter and fewer feature iPad, how about revamp the iPad Pro line so that it is generally less weighty and still full featured?

To me, the current greatest constraint of the iPad as a tablet looks to be the weight. My partner got the 12-inch because he needs the bigger screen. I'm fine with the 11-inch, but it still feels a tad too heavy.

Also, what is the heaviest item on the iPad Pro? Would it be the glass screen? Or the battery? Or....?

 

[Seanm87]

Probably not, since Jony Ive left apple just seems to want to make everything thicker and heavier. Everyone seems to love that for some reason but I don’t.

 

[sparksd]

My M1 12.9 doesn't feel too heavy to me. I came from Air 2 and 10.5.

 

[Digitalguy]

Recently I "re-acquired" my old iPad Pro 9.7-inch when my partner bought himself a brand new iPad Pro 12-inch. I had given him the 9.7-inch when I upgraded to the 11-inch. While I still have my iPad Pro 11-inch, I decided to try out the 9.7-inch again to use mostly as a reading device (newspapers, ebooks, etc.). I gotta say, I was surprised.

I was surprised at how much more pleasant the weight of the 9.7-inch is and how much heavier the 11-inch feels now. It's kinda tiring holding the 11-inch like a regular book whereas the 9.7 feels fine.

The 9.7-inch definitely is slower than my 11-inch, but for reading purposes, it works just fine. To help the 9.7-inch respond speedier, I have turned off or removed certain features. For example, there's no calendar, contacts, mail on the 9.7, although it does have iCloud photo sync because it is nice to be able to do minor photo editing using the native Photo app. But the 9.7 for me is mostly a reading device for now.

With all the talk over the years Apple has made about smaller bezels for iPad, etc., has it ever talked about how to make the iPad even lighter? Or, has anyone conceptualized how a new generation of iPad could be made to have just as many features and still be even lighter? I know the iPad Air was that lighter device, but it has too many compromises. Rather than make a lighter and fewer feature iPad, how about revamp the iPad Pro line so that it is generally less weighty and still full featured?

To me, the current greatest constraint of the iPad as a tablet looks to be the weight. My partner got the 12-inch because he needs the bigger screen. I'm fine with the 11-inch, but it still feels a tad too heavy.

Also, what is the heaviest item on the iPad Pro? Would it be the glass screen? Or the battery? Or....?

How are you holding it most of the time, in landscape or portrait?

 

[msackey]

How are you holding it most of the time, in landscape or portrait?

For reading, I'm always holding it in portrait orientation. This applies to both the 9.7 and 11-inch.

My M1 12.9 doesn't feel too heavy to me. I came from Air 2 and 10.5.

My 11-inch didn't feel heavy to me until recently when I tried my hand again on my 9.7 (after my husband relinquished it having obtained a new 12-inch). The difference was really night and day. Using the 9.7 to read was very enjoyable and my wrist didn't feel strained. I'm holding the iPad not propped up on a table but often with one hand like reading a book with an Apple Pencil on the other hand for jotting notes or highlighting.

 

[msackey]

Probably not, since Jony Ive left apple just seems to want to make everything thicker and heavier. Everyone seems to love that for some reason but I don’t.

I guess for the laptops, there's not too much concern (or at least for me) to need to make them lighter. They're pretty light for laptops.

For the tablets, I think they can still be lighter, especially if tablets are intended to be used free with one (or sometimes two) hands.

 

[okkibs]

I agree the weight difference is considerable and I too prefer the lower weight a lot. Since I have the iPad in my hands more weight makes it more uncomfortable. I would trade the lesser weight for better battery life though.

 

[msackey]

I agree the weight difference is considerable and I too prefer the lower weight a lot. Since I have the iPad in my hands more weight makes it more uncomfortable. I would trade the lesser weight for better battery life though.

Yeah, if it needed to be heavier for better battery life, I suppose I would go for that too.

Currently the 11-inch battery life is just fine. The 9.7's battery life used to be good but it's been many years now and so it's not keep as fully charged as it once was.

 

[cthompson94]

But shed weight where? sure advances in battery tech may help or maybe changing the metal in the frame to lower it a bit, but people are going to still want battery life and the same durability currently available and lighter with just as strong if not stronger metal would make it cost even more. Even the iPP 12.9 only sits at 1.5lbs.

You even mentioned the Air being lighter but too many compromises and that will be the same again without increasing the cost of the device. A quick search on the 12.9 iPP shows that the battery weighs about 160 grams of the whole approx 682-685 grams. I can't find a good number on just a frame of the iPP, but I imagine between the frame and glass screen that is a decent amount of the remaining weight.

Probably not, since Jony Ive left apple just seems to want to make everything thicker and heavier. Everyone seems to love that for some reason but I don’t.

Everyone loves the reintroduction to useful ports and battery life. There were imo far more compromises with our devices non-stop getting slimmer and slimmer especially while during the Intel chips because although I know that apple uses the frame to help cool the device the frame can only do but so much for heat dissipation. Again, I now that last part is mainly about the Macs and not the iPads, but just thought I would reply.

 

[Digitalguy]

For reading, I'm always holding it in portrait orientation. This applies to both the 9.7 and 11-inch.



My 11-inch didn't feel heavy to me until recently when I tried my hand again on my 9.7 (after my husband relinquished it having obtained a new 12-inch). The difference was really night and day. Using the 9.7 to read was very enjoyable and my wrist didn't feel strained. I'm holding the iPad not propped up on a table but often with one hand like reading a book with an Apple Pencil on the other hand for jotting notes or highlighting.

If you read ebooks the iPad mini is an even better device for that. If you read PDFs then it might be a bit small, but honestly if you read PDFs even the 11" is small. OLED might help a bit with weight but don't expect to get to 9.7 pro weight, the difference will be mainly with the 12.9, which got heavier with mini led and should be quite a bit lighter with OLED.

 

[rui no onna]

Maybe switch to a plastic chassis? I doubt that’s going to be a popular move, though.

I think one of my laptops has a Magnesium alloy chassis. That one’s super light.

 

[msackey]

Maybe switch to a plastic chassis? I doubt that’s going to be a popular move, though.

I think one of my laptops has a Magnesium alloy chassis. That one’s super light.

Great ideas! I agree that plastic won’t be a popular move. I don’t think I like it myself. Lol. Plastic warps over time and results in fitting issues. Nah, don’t want that. Pegasus the alloy chassis might be a way.

 

[msackey]

If you read ebooks the iPad mini is an even better device for that. If you read PDFs then it might be a bit small, but honestly if you read PDFs even the 11" is small. OLED might help a bit with weight but don't expect to get to 9.7 pro weight, the difference will be mainly with the 12.9, which got heavier with mini led and should be quite a bit lighter with OLED.

Yeah I read both ebook and pdf. The mini is too small for me. Most PDFs are ok on the 9.7 and 11. I agree that large format PDFs are hard to read on an 11 but those are generally more rare for me.

 

[GMShadow]

They’re up against some limits on the Pros, honestly. I’m not sure they can shed much more weight without compromising the structural integrity or cutting battery life.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I wouldn’t buy a 12.9 Pro if the use case is reading. iPad mini/kindle or iPad Air are much cheaper and better option than a pro.

 

[Digitalguy]

Yeah I read both ebook and pdf. The mini is too small or me. Most PDFs are ok on the 9.7 and 11. I agree that large format PDFs are hard to read on an 11 but those are generally more rare for me.

I see, in that case the 11" offers a larger image, unless you PDF is 4:3 or squarer, which is a benefit. Honestly I would just keep both, preferring the 9.7 for reading and the 11" for everything else... I would not count on Apple making another 9.7" iPad pro or a meaningfully lighter 11" pro, so that's your best option.

 

[FeliApple]

I see, in that case the 11" offers a larger image, unless you PDF is 4:3 or squarer, which is a benefit. Honestly I would just keep both, preferring the 9.7 for reading and the 11" for everything else... I would not count on Apple making another 9.7" iPad pro or a meaningfully lighter 11" pro, so that's your best option.

Agreed. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the best 9.7-inch iPad ever. Apple almost surely won’t make another one, so that’s the best the world’s going to get.

I’d just keep both, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will never be obsolete for reading. You can read using iBooks from iOS... 4.3.3 onwards. You can use it for that just fine.

 

[cthompson94]

Great ideas! I agree that plastic won’t be a popular move. I don’t think I like it myself. Lol. Plastic warps over time and results in fitting issues. Nah, don’t want that. Pegasus the alloy chassis might be a way.

Plastic also typically doesn't handle well with heat I don't care how thick it is or what exact mixture of plastic it is just look at how the 5c did (I think it was the 5c). I don't think I remember seeing melting problems, but I think appearance and whatnot even with all sorts of colors

 

[rui no onna]

I wouldn’t buy a 12.9 Pro if the use case is reading. iPad mini/kindle or iPad Air are much cheaper and better option than a pro.

Depends on what you’re reading.

The primary reason I bought an iPad Pro 12.9 (in 2017) was for reading comics. The other use-cases came later after I was using the device for a while.

 

[msackey]

Depends on what you’re reading.

The primary reason I bought an iPad Pro 12.9 (in 2017) was for reading comics. The other use-cases came later after I was using the device for a while.

Oh yeah. I think reading comics and graphic novels would be a pain on the 9.7 or 11. Need at least a 12. For me though, I enjoy graphic novels on paper book form and I have a full bookcase of those. No electronic reader for me for that genre

 

[rui no onna]

Oh yeah. I think reading comics and graphic novels would be a pain on the 9.7 or 11. Need at least a 12. For me though, I enjoy graphic novels on paper book form and I have a full bookcase of those. No electronic reader for me for that genre

Sadly, I’ve got no more space available for paper books.

 

[msackey]

Sadly, I’ve got no more space available for paper books.

I’m starting to feel that way too. My personal library is a room in my home and I’m starting to use floor space. Ugh.

 

[TracerAnalog]

For reading I use a light e-ink reader, which you can get up to 10 inches (diagonally) with pen support if you need to annotate PDFs (for example). It has the added advantage of not distracting me to do something else .
For other uses I am quite happy with the weight of iPads. It is a good balance between battery life, size, weight and performance. I would be happy if they could make it lighter, but not at the expense of the other qualities.

 

[msackey]

For reading I use a light e-ink reader, which you can get up to 10 inches (diagonally) with pen support if you need to annotate PDFs (for example). It has the added advantage of not distracting me to do something else .
For other uses I am quite happy with the weight of iPads. It is a good balance between battery life, size, weight and performance. I would be happy if they could make it lighter, but not at the expense of the other qualities.

Oh, I've tried e-readers and I hate them

To me, e-readers are fine for general casual reading, but actually more often than not the kind of reading I do is more than casual, kinda scholarly / academic (some will say) as that is my training. So it can involve not only markup but copying and pasting over to Scrivener or Obsidian to write up notes and my own remarks.

I can totally see e-readers used for leisure reading but I think academia training has "ruined" that kind of reading for me for the most part. Heh.

Luckily, the other features of the iPad don't generally distract me from solid reading.

 

[nightcap965]

The primary use for my old 12.9 iPad Pro is a program called ForScore which displays sheet music. MyMusicFolders.com make a standard black chorister’s folder (MyPad Folder) that holds the 1.5 pound iPad in the middle, so it can easily be balanced in one hand. Weight just isn‘t a problem.