I know there's some threads on this topic, and I've participated in them. I thought to write my reasons for why, after many days of going back and forth to the Apple Store and using the 13" M4 iPad Pro and the 11" M4 iPad Pro, I settled on the 13". I was actually close to decided on the 11" but I kept going back to the Apple Store and doing a bunch of things on each. Overall, I've spent several hours at the Apple Store testing both screen sizes. I also realize this is a personal choice, but for many it appears a very difficult choice. I hope my review helps people make a decision.
13" it is.
- Everything is scaled smaller on the 11". Yes, that may be obvious to some, but that includes UI elements, icons on the homescreens, text in Google Search results, etc. You can try and make text larger in Settings but it's not consistent everywhere, and not all Apps will obey that... and icons aren't getting bigger either. Overall, scaled down content causes much more pinching and zooming, which is time consuming and inefficient for the User.
- There is less content on screen, and that also leads to more scrolling which is time consuming and wasteful for the User.
- I tried the "More Content" setting on the 11" to try and fit more on the screen and that just further scaled everything down even smaller than it was to begin with. Text, UI elements, etc. were just too small for my liking.
- The speakers are not as good on the 11" vs. the 13".
- The drawing experience on the 11" with the Apple Pencil isn't as good as the 13" offers a larger canvas. I'm 6'2" and have decent sized hands so this is a factor, especially resting my hand on the screen while drawing. Less screen is covered up with my hand on the 13" when doing this and there is less scrolling around on the 13" to make room for more content in drawing apps compared to the 11".
- As the 13" is now noticeably thinner and lighter than the previous iPad Pro, it makes a big difference when using it as a tablet. This was a pivotal deciding factor for me. I was able to hold it with one hand for several minutes while using the small onscreen keyboard with slide typing. I didn't feel fatigued, but with the old 12.9" iPad, I would have.
- Typing with the MKB on the 13" is materially better than the 11". It's still good on the 11", but it's less cramped on the 13" as the 11" has some reduced size buttons and there is just a very small palmrest on the 11". The trackpad on the 11" is also smaller than the 13". The 13" feels very similar to a MacBook trackpad and keyboard which makes using the iPad in "laptop mode" quite good.
- Multi-tasking with things like Stage Manager is hands down better on the 13" iPad compared to the 11" iPad. The increased screen real estate matters in this regard.
- Being able to now hold the 13" in one hand for longer periods of time because of how thin and light it is and using the small keyboard with the other hand using slide typing won me over as well. I find that the full size keyboard in portrait orientation on the 13"... which is how I like to hold the tablet, is very awkward. But the small keyboard with one-handed slide typing works very well so this was also a deciding factor.
- When the 11" and 13" are folded up in the MKB case, they are both very compact. I don't find the 13" that much less portable than an 11". Compared to my 16" MacBook Pro, the 13" iPad combined with MKB is extremely compact and travel-friendly.
- More Websites render as mobile versions on the 11” whereas they are mostly desktop versions on the 13”. Mobile versions suck on the 11”.
13" it is.
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