Im on the fence between the 256GB wifi and the 512gb wifi..just not sure which one to go with..I figure Id go bigger if Im not planning on buying an iPad again well..ever..because for trade value a 512gb wont get me much more than the 256gb..but if I want an ipad for long term mind as well go for larger storage that way I wont have to worry about ever running out of space..I figure at the next apple event they will announce final cut pro and other mac apps will work with the ipad so those will be large applications to install
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro Which 2021 iPad Pro are you getting?
- Thread starter AVBeatMan
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
But you’re getting 1TB. I’m just putting the question out there. Typical Apple getting you to pay more if you want the extra RAM. They could’ve included it (for a price) with all options. From what I’ve read so far the extra RAM won’t make much difference (for now),
Assuming one is content with base storage, that's $700 to go to 1TB just for 16GB RAM. Doesn't seem worth it to me if one doesn't need the extra storage. Heck, you could almost get a 2021 iPad Pro 11 128GB Wi-Fi for the price difference.
You always get pennies on the dollar on trade-in/resale for storage and cellular upgrades.
haha yeah, its just crazy expensive to go for that 1TB model.
Very, very tempted, especially if during WWDC we find out Parallels will allow virtualization on the iPad Pro. But, Microsoft may come out with Cloud PC this year, and if it’s reasonably priced, and I suspect it will be, the extra money may be better spent with them.
2021 looks like a good year for geeking out!
Well, I am going for it but it's something I was already planning since 2019.
Launch Price
2018 12.9" 1TB LTE (A12X/6GB): $1899
2020 12.9" 1TB LTE (A12Z/6GB): $1649
I was figuring price will go back up to ~$1.9K for Mini-LED on 1TB Cellular so $2K with the extra 8GB RAM was okay with me. On the 8/8/512 M1 MBA, I'm usually at 8GB RAM + 2-4GB swap so I figure 16GB should mean everything can stay in RAM, no need for swap (ergo practically no reloads).
I’ve been going back and forth, but I think I’m settling on the 11 WiFi 256GB. As much as I’d like the mini-led, there are plenty of things I don’t like about the 12.9 (for example: the cumbersome size, the extra weight, the aspect ratio, the extra price, and I already bought a MKB for the 11 for $100 off before the 4/20 event and now they’re all back to full price).
I’m coming from an iPad 5 (2017), so no matter what I get, it’ll be an upgrade. The main thing I was hoping to upgrade was the screen (specifically the black-level), but after comparing my iPad with the current IPP 11 at Best Buy today, the Liquid Retina still looks better than what I currently have. Mini-led will have to wait.
I’m coming from an iPad 5 (2017), so no matter what I get, it’ll be an upgrade. The main thing I was hoping to upgrade was the screen (specifically the black-level), but after comparing my iPad with the current IPP 11 at Best Buy today, the Liquid Retina still looks better than what I currently have. Mini-led will have to wait.
Just the idea of spending 2k on an iPad... tough to wrap my head around. With you, your looking at it from the perspective of storage... which an extra 8GB RAM is added bonus. Whereas most folks are looking at that configuration primarily for the 16GB RAM.
I got 3 years since the shocking price jump in 2018 to accustom myself to $2K iPads.
I budget $100/month or $1200/year for iPad upgrades (alternating purchase of 10/11" and 12.9" each year). I use iPads for 12-16 hours per day so I felt the $100/mo or $0.20-0.30/hour was fair for something that sees a ton of use.
The $2K was initially unpalatable but given iPads can now last a long time while performing really well, I figure I can just upgrade less frequently and still remain at $0.20-0.30/hour.
Smartphones and cars are usually what I hate spending money on considering how little I like using them but they're a necessary evil.
With that said, I wouldn't spend the extra $700 just for 16GB RAM if I had more modest storage needs. That seems like it will be better spent on an iPad upgrade a couple years down the line.
Last edited:
Personally, unless you already have a Pencil and use it extensively or have plans to, get the storage. You can always get the Pencil later if you still want it, whereas if you don't get enough storage upfront you'd have to buy a whole new iPad. When I had my Pencil I never used it. I think I could count on one hand how often I did. That may change with iPadOS 15 but still I would have more usage for the 256GB than the Pencil.
Agreed. Easy enough to buy accessories later but storage is fixed and external doesn work the same as internal.
Currently using a 2017 iPP, seriously thinking about upgrading to the 2021 11“ iPP. Generally speaking, I am a light user, using the iPad mainly for content consumption (YouTube, web browsing) but I do lots of FaceTime with the family at the other end of the world and do many emails and iWork work. One could say that the M1 CPU is an overkill for my use case (which I am pretty sure it is), however, I tend to use all my device for 3-5 years (still using the 2021 iMac).
I can’t really see a need for 5G for me. As much as I want it, wherever I go there’s always wifi somewhere, or I tether it to my iPhone in the worst case. I do want the Magic Keyboard though as I do not have a MacBook and only use my iMac as a stationary Mac of course so the iPad gives me more of a laptopish feeling.
I keep wondering though, how much difference does the mini-LED display make? Bear in mind, I’m not a content creator. Would I notice the difference in daily life?
I can’t really see a need for 5G for me. As much as I want it, wherever I go there’s always wifi somewhere, or I tether it to my iPhone in the worst case. I do want the Magic Keyboard though as I do not have a MacBook and only use my iMac as a stationary Mac of course so the iPad gives me more of a laptopish feeling.
I keep wondering though, how much difference does the mini-LED display make? Bear in mind, I’m not a content creator. Would I notice the difference in daily life?
Have the iPad Air 4 at the moment but would have gone for the pro in November had it not been for the older A12Z chip. Considering an upgrade to the Pro and selling my Air as I would prefer the bigger screen, watch a lot of content so the much better display would be amazing, and the power and future-proofing of the M1 chip. Don’t need much storage with everything on iCloud (only using 18GB at the moment!), and can use my phone as a hotspot when out and about so would get the base 12.9 model which is £999 in the UK.
I’ll be I upgrading from the original 9.7 iPad Pro to the 12.9 128 WiFi model. If I can’t adjust to the added size and weight, I’ll return and get the 11, but I really want the mini LED HDR screen. I’ll also get the MKB and Pencil. I have been using my iPad as my computer for several years now.
For me, it's not about the current speed or even what apps it may or may not run in the future. It's simply future proofing. iOS (and yes, that includes iPadOS) devices typically have very long support runs. For example, iPad Air 2 still runs iPadOS 14 and it's actually not that bad because I've been using it daily since trading in my 10.5 Pro. That's running the A8X, a supped up version of the processor in the iPhone 6. It shipped with iOS 8, and has received 6 software updates (iPadOS 14 is surely the end of the road). The last time Apple shipped an iPad with a revised SoC compared to the previous model was the iPad 3, and it was dropped at the same time the iPad 2 was: after iOS 9.
What I'm getting at: unless LiDAR is super important to you, do not expect software support on the 2020 to be longer than that of the 2018. So if you're after a really good deal, skip the 2020 and get the 2018 used or open box. The $100-$200 savings on the 2020 model over the 2021 is so negligible to me when I'm considering keeping the device for probably 5 years at this price point. You won't notice the difference now, but you sure will in another 3-5 years. As of right now, the iPad Pro 2020 is already 2.5 years old spec wise, despite only being a year old.
This also brings up an interesting discussion: now that iPad Pros have the same SoC as the Macs, how long will they each be supported? Once Apple drops Rosetta 2, I imagine they may just merge codebases and the only difference will be the interface presented to the user. iPads usually enjoy 6-7 years of support while Macs get 8-9. Could the M1 iPad be the first iPad to get 8 years of support? Maybe even longer? How much is that extra 1-2 years of support worth to you? Are you going to have it long enough to take advantage of it?
You make some great points here and I agree with you. I’m just pointing out some alternatives.
I’m still trying to decide which I’m going to buy. My current choice is the 12.9 256GB WiFi and Cellular but.....I hardly use the cellular but....like you point out it may be best to get cellular just to future proof? I don’t know...
Out of curiosity what are you planning on getting?
Will be getting 12.9 iPad Pro for wife. Hopefully she will be able to use it when I am not using it lol
Lol. It's like when I buy iPads for the family. I always
Lol. It's like when I buy iPads for the family. I alwaysplay withsetup the iPad first.
haha yeah I will set it up for her and I will use it for her as well lol
I’m not married but I’m still buying my wife one 
Getting the 11” Wifi to replace my 9.7 iPad Pro...the standard 12.9” 128GB Wifi is pretty much the same price of the 11” 512GB Wifi in CDN$. ?
Curious if the 11” will be a little bit faster than the 12.9” due to the lower screen size.
debating between the 256GB and the 512GB. like the fact it has Thunderbolt/USB4 but don’t want to be lugging around a SSD for large files (hopefully the file handing improves in iPadOS 15)
Curious if the 11” will be a little bit faster than the 12.9” due to the lower screen size.
debating between the 256GB and the 512GB. like the fact it has Thunderbolt/USB4 but don’t want to be lugging around a SSD for large files (hopefully the file handing improves in iPadOS 15)