Love this post! So much how my mind works as well. I am so guilty of screen size hopping, it is almost embarrassing. There is always a honeymoon period where I convince myself that this is the best size ever and that everything I had before was the “wrong” size. ☺ That’s why I have owned every screen size - in fact, now I think of it, I have owned every model of iPad except for the Air 3 and the iPad 6 and 7.
This is what I have learned about myself - I will always see the pros of the other sizes when I don’t own them, and always compare those pros to the cons I only realize with the screen size I own. This imbalance will always lead me to pine after the screen sizes I don’t have.
This is weighted against my strong desire to have a holy grail single mobile device, which pulls me towards smaller form factors, while at the same time the allure of the larger screens in smaller form factors pulls me in that direction.
I got the mini 4 and the 12.9” Pro at release in 2015. I mean, the 12.9” was simply massive, not comfortable to use as I had been using iPads previously at all. Kept it for a few months trying to tough it out, but then ended up selling it and taking the loss. The mini 4 on the other hand, I simply fell in love with. I thought to myself, “That’s it. This is the perfect size, I am never leaving this form factor!” Even though it is to this day my favorite ever size, that lasted all of, what, 6 months? Because when the 9.7” Pro was released in 2016, I convinced myself I would do more on it. So I had a 9.7” iPad Pro when they released. I was happy with it for a time, but the unused mini 4 was calling to me all the time, and I eventually went back to it after a year, selling the 9.7” Pro.
Then the 10.5” Pro came out, and this was a beast of a machine. I got it at release again, and it was my main machine for 2 years. Mini 4 sat unused, but notably, I couldn’t actually bring myself to sell it. Then the next gen 11” and 12.9” Pro‘s released, and I bought both. I think the original 12.9” experience ruined my objectivity, and I still much preferred the 11” form factor. But both, because of the continued limitations of iOS, didn’t offer much more to me, and I couldn’t justify them, so I actually returned both... ...and sold the 10.5” Pro as well. So there I was January 2019 and running on a 2015 iPad mini 4 that was still awesome, barely showing its age. I almost pulled the trigger on the iPad mini 5 as well, but I had read all the rumors about iPadOS, so decided to see what was going to happen.
Installed the beta on my mini 4 and it was great! Finally proper web browsing, and exploratory cursor support, I immediately started using it with a desktop setup - external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Quickly realized that the mini 4 still could hack it with its A8 as “just“ an iPad, but using full desktop web apps was asking a lot of the almost 5 year old device.
Then when a new job opportunity popped up out of nowhere I looked back at the Pro models again, went to the retail stores and played around with all the models, iPad 7, mini 5, Air 3, 11“ and 12.9” Pro’s put them through their paces with web app productivity suites like Google and Office 365, etc. and it was clear I would need a Pro, but took several revisits to retail locations to make a decision.
In the end I went with the 11” and it has been by far the best piece of tech I have ever owned. The versatility is astounding. My work bag actually feels empty half the time. With an external monitor for work the screen real estate disadvantages shrink. I am the kind of person that when I want to be mobile, I really want to be mobile, so the MK doesn’t really appeal to me.
That said, I am on the fence about what my next iPad is going to have for a screen size. If the next gen of mini gets a Pro-like form factor and becomes like a mini 11” - plus gets an A14 - then that would be a massively compelling device, something I would give up the 11” Pro for. But, on the other hand I have professional use cases where the extra real estate of the 12.9” resolution, like full iPad UI layout for apps in split screen, especially when I am working with sensitive data and have to disconnect the big external monitor and am still zoomed out to 50% on my big spreadsheets as I get older...
So I totally get it! The dilemmas of choosing a screen size! I still highly recommend the 11” because I so value the portability aspect, and am biased by my particular use case (professionally connected to an external monitor with desktop setup 8-10 hours a day - naked in personal use, and SKF when on the go, in meetings, or commuting)
