iPad Pro Who is choosing the 1TB storage?

[Kal-037]

The funny thing is: had 6GB not been mentioned or Apple didn’t do it at all... we wouldn’t have a single complaint. Sure, some would WANT more RAM but we wouldn’t have so much backlash and hate. 99% of users here would even say 4 works great and we wouldn’t really question it. Sure more RAM is nice, but in this instance ignorance would have been bliss I feel. lol


Kallum.

 

[MrGimper]

The funny thing is: had 6GB not been mentioned or Apple didn’t do it at all... we wouldn’t have a single complaint. Sure, some would WANT more RAM but we wouldn’t have so much backlash and hate. 99% of users here would even say 4 works great and we wouldn’t really question it. Sure more RAM is nice, but in this instance ignorance would have been bliss I feel. lol


Kallum.

Remember that the iPad Pro 9.7 only had 2 GB RAM.... now people are moaning about 4? Let's be honest, if you exclude physical screen size requirements, most people buying the pro could do what they want on a 2-3 year old device. I find it hard to believe the majority of workflows need 4GB RAM and a processor as fast as an A9/10 even.

 

[Skeptical.me]

I am curious. I could fill up all that storage with movies and music. Although, I could go by with 64GB for my workflow. I understand Apple gives away 2GB of RAM in addition for those users.

I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, I own a 1st gen iPad Pro 12.9 with 128GB.

For what I need I'm just sticking with my 2nd gen 12.9" 64gb ... most of my content is stored in cryptomator (encrypted container), and iCloud. Although, it would be pretty cool to have a 1TB iPad.

 

[sracer]

The funny thing is: had 6GB not been mentioned or Apple didn’t do it at all... we wouldn’t have a single complaint. Sure, some would WANT more RAM but we wouldn’t have so much backlash and hate. 99% of users here would even say 4 works great and we wouldn’t really question it. Sure more RAM is nice, but in this instance ignorance would have been bliss I feel. lol

Kallum.

short-term bliss but long-term cost.

By knowing that only the 1TB Pro comes with 6GB RAM people for who that matters need to make a decision. That's a good thing. I've seen quite a few here on MR admit that for the first time they're having to THINK about their purchase rather than simply buy the top tier device. That's a good thing.

Why should that matter? Because informed and engaged consumers are good for all consumers.

 

[Arran]

You can only get 128GB on the new MBA - and it has an actual file system! Why on earth does anyone need a terabyte on an iPad?!

It's a really good question. Is there a professional reason or something? Just trying to understand who this is aimed at.

Personally, I've had my first gen 12.9" 256GB pro for three years and I've only just started using over half its storage.

Theoretically, I could fill 1TB with movies - but I never watch them on the go - so that would be a waste. My music's around 90GB and that's already in the iPad. I also stream a lot from Apple Music since wi-fi is everywhere these days. Games - not interested.

So who's it for? It's a serious price, so that's a serious question.

 

[rui no onna]

By knowing that only the 1TB Pro comes with 6GB RAM people for who that matters need to make a decision. That's a good thing. I've seen quite a few here on MR admit that for the first time they're having to THINK about their purchase rather than simply buy the top tier device. That's a good thing.

Why should that matter? Because informed and engaged consumers are good for all consumers.

I always THINK about my purchases. It's just the first time I'm seriously balking at the asking price. I reckon this generation has exceeded my comfort limits in terms of pricing.

1st gen
Pro 9.7 256GB LTE $1029
Pro 12.9 256GB LTE $1229

2nd gen
Pro 10.5 512GB LTE $1079
Pro 12.9 512GB LTE $1229

3rd gen
Pro 11 1TB LTE $1699
Pro 12.9 1TB LTE $1899

Note: I don't own an Apple Watch, am still rocking an iPhone 7 and still use a $600 Windows 7 laptop purchased in 2012/13.

 

[darkarn]

Frankly speaking, the 1 TB would be very useful if the iPad Pro allows full access to the filesystem and also allow writing to and fron exFAT at least.

The iPad Pro would turn into a flat external portable hard drive too; one less thing to carry around especially during travel!

But now you can only write/read photos to and from an exFAT device. If jailbroken, you can write/read almost any file to and from only a HFS+ (nope, AFS and exFAT do not count!) device

 

[rui no onna]

Frankly speaking, the 1 TB would be very useful if the iPad Pro allows full access to the filesystem and also allow writing to and fron exFAT at least.

The iPad Pro would turn into a flat external portable hard drive too; one less thing to carry around especially during travel!

But now you can only write/read photos to and from an exFAT device. If jailbroken, you can write/read almost any file to and from a HFS+ (nope, AFS does not count!) device

Lol, if Apple allowed applications direct file system access to external storage (and the apps I use were updated to support external storage), I would probably buy a lower storage tier.

 

[darkarn]

Lol, if Apple allowed applications direct file system access to external storage (and the apps I use were updated to support external storage), I would probably buy a lower storage tier.

Good point! I didn't realise this possibility as I made the assumption that people would want to reuse their smart devices as storage devices too with the high amount of leftover space usually, and therefore will buy more space to accomodate this need.

Sure, the price per GB is higher on smart devices than say an actual portable HDD (unfair comparison I know) and that portable SSDs exist too for such purposes but having one less device to carry around can make or break some people's workflow

 

[stylinexpat]

It's a really good question. Is there a professional reason or something? Just trying to understand who this is aimed at.

Personally, I've had my first gen 12.9" 256GB pro for three years and I've only just started using over half its storage.

Theoretically, I could fill 1TB with movies - but I never watch them on the go - so that would be a waste. My music's around 90GB and that's already in the iPad. I also stream a lot from Apple Music since wi-fi is everywhere these days. Games - not interested.

So who's it for? It's a serious price, so that's a serious question.

My current one is 256GB and has been adequate for me. 1TB is not for the poor as it is quite costly Even for the people whom are not poor it is quite costly.I reckon half of the buyers will buy it for the 6GB RAM,25% for status and 25% for actual data storage use. Pure speculation guess here..

 

[Falhófnir]

I think 64 is the new 16. Even with cloud storage, it should be dropped. Apps are taking up more and more space. And people aren’t always connected to the cloud. Not saying people can’t get by with 64. They can & do. I just see it as being too restrictive on an iPad Pro even for a casual user. And I was surprised Apple used it as their base on the new pros.

But then, I travel a lot and I like to edit photos & videos, so perhaps I am biased for more space. Still, I think it’s only a matter of time before 128 is the new 64.

Having said that, I probably would have gone with 512 if it weren’t for the fact that only the 1 TB models are getting 6 gigs of ram. Or so it seems. Still waiting on official confirmation before I order mine. But it looks like I’m gonna be paying up for the ram. Doh!

Unlike my iPhones, I tend to keep my iPads for a long time before upgrading. So I want to future proof this iPad Pro purchase as much as I can. Gonna hurt my wallet in the short term, but sometimes you gotta bite the bullet, and I know this purchase will pay for itself within the first year, so I don’t mind.

I wouldn't say 64 is quite as tight (yet) as 16 was on the iPhone 6 and especially 6s, but it does pretty much mean you'll want to be turning off 4K60 video (even 4K30 to a large degree) rationing live photos, loading only what media (videos, songs, movies) you need when you need it, and pruning your app selection regularly. In other words, it prevents you from really using the device's full feature set/ potential freely. It's only going to get worse in coming years too. For devices like the iPhone XS and new iPad pros where Apple is already charging a huge premium I don't think it would be being too generous to offer 128/256/512 tiers, so all at least allow the device to function as intended without requiring the user to ruthlessly manage their device. It should 'just work' after all...

 

[darkarn]

My current one is 256GB and has been adequate for me. 1TB is not for the poor as it is quite costly Even for the people whom are not poor it is quite costly.I reckon half of the buyers will buy it for the 6GB RAM,25% for status and 25% for actual data storage use. Pure speculation guess here..

Nah, if it is for status, they would buy a gold iPad....

Ok wait

 

[ignatius345]

Easy to plugin external HDDs on MBA. No such option for iPad. For local storage, you're stuck with what you buy initially.

Lol, if Apple allowed applications direct file system access to external storage (and the apps I use were updated to support external storage), I would probably buy a lower storage tier.

Whoever at Apple decided to forego the MicroSD slot you see in other devices is an evil genius. You can pick up massive cards these days for basically no money.

And no wonder they're pushing iOS so hard and removing as many ports as possible from Mac portables. They want us to either a) pony up for horrible expensive onboard storage when we buy or b) commit to paying up to $120/year for iCloud storage. Or both!
[doublepost=1541261659][/doublepost]

I think 64 is the new 16. Even with cloud storage, it should be dropped. Apps are taking up more and more space. And people aren’t always connected to the cloud. Not saying people can’t get by with 64. They can & do. I just see it as being too restrictive on an iPad Pro even for a casual user. And I was surprised Apple used it as their base on the new pros.

Totally. I wouldn't for a second consider a Mac with a 64GB hard drive if one existed. And for the Pro iPads at least, they're pitching them as work devices.

I personally don't use an iPad as a laptop replacement of any kind, so 64GB is easily enough for me -- but if I were to start relying on it the way I do a laptop I'd have to start with 128.

 

[rui no onna]

Good point! I didn't realise this possibility as I made the assumption that people would want to reuse their smart devices as storage devices too with the high amount of leftover space usually, and therefore will buy more space to accomodate this need.

Sure, the price per GB is higher on smart devices than say an actual portable HDD (unfair comparison I know) and that portable SSDs exist too for such purposes but having one less device to carry around can make or break some people's workflow

True but a USB-C version of something like this ain't bad for my usage if both Apple and comiXology add general support for externals (storage of static, DRM-protected content).

 

[Momof9]

SO I did get a 1 TB 12.9”, can’t wait for it to come. I have a 4tb hard drive sitting on my desk with all my files from my computer. I can connect to it from the cloud / network, but it does not have a reliable connection. Does not always work. SO I want all of my files on my ipad. SO I can get the most important ones using files etc.

 

[darkarn]

True but a USB-C version of something like this ain't bad for my usage if both Apple and comiXology add general support for externals (storage of static, DRM-protected content).

Now you got me interested too since there are already USB drives with Lightning and USB A male plugs for such to and back transfers from iPads. I wonder how USB C drives will be then...

USB C seems more and more intriguing to me!

 

[sparksd]

Whoever at Apple decided to forego the MicroSD slot you see in other devices is an evil genius. You can pick up massive cards these days for basically no money.

Yeah. I sometimes use a Lightning uSD card reader with a 256GB card in it for taking videos along with me. Cheap, works great, and I can change out cards as I please. Even has a pass-through charge port. Other times I use a wireless FileHub with a 4TB HDD (or other drive) attached.

 

[rui no onna]

Whoever at Apple decided to forego the MicroSD slot you see in other devices is an evil genius. You can pick up massive cards these days for basically no money.

Lol, true. I'd get maybe the 64-256GB config if I could just pop in a microSD card.

 

[sincere08189]

Just how many movies, tv show, and music does a person need available immediately? Do you have a lot of proprietary data that you don't want others to potentially have access to? If the answer is no.
Save the money and use a cloud storage solution rather than the huge expense of 1TB of built in storage on an iPad.
Saving money is not a crime.

At the rate of apple prices, they make it seem like a crime to save.