iPad Pro Why I Went for the 13" M4 iPad Pro vs the 11" M4 iPad Pro

[Surfsalot]

Hard to get past the $2.5kAUD price of the 13” 512gb, but then my 15 max 512gb is same price retail lol.
Apart from camera def iPad is better value if that’s a thing with Apple gear.

 

[wib]

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.

I still haven't pulled the trigger on buying my next iPad yet. I've spent so much time looking at them in store, watching reviews and reading the forums here.

I'm heavily leaning towards the 13" now as the 11" doesn't seem that much of an upgrade from my 10.5. At least it's not twice as good, which is what the prices are now. 13" seems a 'better deal'.

I really, really want to love the Air, which does have a lovely screen too, but seeing the inconvenience of touch ID in that button, rather than on the screen, and the lack of Pro Motion, are putting me off. I've come to realise that little irritations don't necessarily wear off over time, and paying more (but factoring it in as a monthly fee for the convenience) might be the better solution for me...

What are other 10.5 upgraders doing/thinking? The specs of the Air are good enough, and the price is a bit more reasonable, but I keep getting stuck on the lack of Pro Motion.

 

[Rafterman]

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.

I still haven't pulled the trigger on buying my next iPad yet. I've spent so much time looking at them in store, watching reviews and reading the forums here.

I'm heavily leaning towards the 13" now as the 11" doesn't seem that much of an upgrade from my 10.5. At least it's not twice as good, which is what the prices are now. 13" seems a 'better deal'.

I really, really want to love the Air, which does have a lovely screen too, but seeing the inconvenience of touch ID in that button, rather than on the screen, and the lack of Pro Motion, are putting me off. I've come to realise that little irritations don't necessarily wear off over time, and paying more (but factoring it in as a monthly fee for the convenience) might be the better solution for me...

What are other 10.5 upgraders doing/thinking? The specs of the Air are good enough, and the price is a bit more reasonable, but I keep getting stuck on the lack of Pro Motion.

Lack of FaceID I get, I prefer FaceID myself. But don't let promotion dissuade you from an Air. With an M2, you won't notice the 120hz vs 60. And with an M2/8GB RAM, and up to 1TB storage. you got the same specs the previous Pros had.

 

[racostaf]

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.

I still haven't pulled the trigger on buying my next iPad yet. I've spent so much time looking at them in store, watching reviews and reading the forums here.

I'm heavily leaning towards the 13" now as the 11" doesn't seem that much of an upgrade from my 10.5. At least it's not twice as good, which is what the prices are now. 13" seems a 'better deal'.

I really, really want to love the Air, which does have a lovely screen too, but seeing the inconvenience of touch ID in that button, rather than on the screen, and the lack of Pro Motion, are putting me off. I've come to realise that little irritations don't necessarily wear off over time, and paying more (but factoring it in as a monthly fee for the convenience) might be the better solution for me...

What are other 10.5 upgraders doing/thinking? The specs of the Air are good enough, and the price is a bit more reasonable, but I keep getting stuck on the lack of Pro Motion.

For my part, I'm 90% convinced that I will go for the 11" (will be my first iPad). A off topic question: what's the inconvenience of touch ID in that button?

 

[wib]

For my part, I'm 90% convinced that I will go for the 11" (will be my first iPad). A off topic question: what's the inconvenience of touch ID in that button?

I just noticed another person using their iPad (not a new Pro or Air) using the button and it seemed awkward and they seemed a bit like it was a regular annoyance. They love their iPad and pencil, but that aspect seemed not be so fun for them.

On the 10.5, there's a fingertip sized home button on the screen and it just seems easier. This is just from observing other people.

Whatever iPad you get, I hope you really enjoy it! I've loved mine so far (except for the 9.7).

 

[wib]

Lack of FaceID I get, I prefer FaceID myself. But don't let promotion dissuade you from an Air. With an M2, you won't notice the 120hz vs 60. And with an M2/8GB RAM, and up to 1TB storage. you got the same specs the previous Pros had.

Thank you! This is why I still haven't bought one, even though I have my money ready. I keep vacillating back and forth on this. There are so many pros and cons for each.

It's like whatever I buy, it's going to be expensive, so whether to go the whole hog or show restraint, is my problem. I don't need the 1TB storage, I've decided 256GB is ample as I use iCloud too. I don't need a keyboard either. I'm all about the pencil and drawing with it.

 

[Surfsalot]

I wouldn’t buy a iPad with a button or 60hz.

 

[M5RahuL]

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.

I still haven't pulled the trigger on buying my next iPad yet. I've spent so much time looking at them in store, watching reviews and reading the forums here.

I'm heavily leaning towards the 13" now as the 11" doesn't seem that much of an upgrade from my 10.5. At least it's not twice as good, which is what the prices are now. 13" seems a 'better deal'.

I really, really want to love the Air, which does have a lovely screen too, but seeing the inconvenience of touch ID in that button, rather than on the screen, and the lack of Pro Motion, are putting me off. I've come to realise that little irritations don't necessarily wear off over time, and paying more (but factoring it in as a monthly fee for the convenience) might be the better solution for me...

What are other 10.5 upgraders doing/thinking? The specs of the Air are good enough, and the price is a bit more reasonable, but I keep getting stuck on the lack of Pro Motion.

The ONLY reason I opted for the Pro over the Air is Promotion. Some may not see it, or be bothered by it …but I see it clear as glass and 60Hz is a big dealbreaker for me. This preference is personal so go by your gut and feel over whatever anyone else says.

 

[erasr]

Did you have both M4 or previous have 12.9”?

My brother has the 12.9 and I’ve compared them a lot. Took a good look in the Apple Store at the 13”. Was there ages going over websites I use.

 

[erasr]

Which websites go mobile on 11”??

I’ve never had a problem with any website on 11”. It’s very, very easy to adapt one’s behaviour to a narrower viewing experience once you have the 11”!

Take a look at the actual content you’re missing on 11”. It’s side menus, stuff you don’t need.

So, on many websites, the useful content in the middle is BIGGER on 11”. Preview tiles are BIGGER. Just look at a clothing or holiday website. It’s better!

Baffling that 13” owners are just saying they see more. That doesn’t always mean better!

Plus, a killer is the keyboard. I can not type with two thumbs on 13”. And no, I don’t want to use the mini keyboard.

The URL search bar is also so far away from hand reach. Buttons at the top of Safari, all too annoying on 13”.

 

[Surfsalot]

Which websites go mobile on 11”??

I’ve never had a problem with any website on 11”. It’s very, very easy to adapt one’s behaviour to a narrower viewing experience once you have the 11”!

Take a look at the actual content you’re missing on 11”. It’s side menus, stuff you don’t need.

So, on many websites, the useful content in the middle is BIGGER on 11”. Preview tiles are BIGGER. Just look at a clothing or holiday website. It’s better!

Baffling that 13” owners are just saying they see more. That doesn’t always mean better!

Plus, a killer is the keyboard. I can not type with two thumbs on 13”. And no, I don’t want to use the mini keyboard.

The URL search bar is also so far away from hand reach. Buttons at the top of Safari, all too annoying on 13”.

Some good points there.

 

[lsquare]

Which websites go mobile on 11”??

I’ve never had a problem with any website on 11”. It’s very, very easy to adapt one’s behaviour to a narrower viewing experience once you have the 11”!

Take a look at the actual content you’re missing on 11”. It’s side menus, stuff you don’t need.

So, on many websites, the useful content in the middle is BIGGER on 11”. Preview tiles are BIGGER. Just look at a clothing or holiday website. It’s better!

Baffling that 13” owners are just saying they see more. That doesn’t always mean better!

Plus, a killer is the keyboard. I can not type with two thumbs on 13”. And no, I don’t want to use the mini keyboard.

The URL search bar is also so far away from hand reach. Buttons at the top of Safari, all too annoying on 13”.

I will take what you said into account and head back to the Apple Store. I'm not as familiar with Safari as you. How do I zoom in and out to get the same "desktop" view as the 13"?

So for video streaming, the 13" doesn't show less black bars than the 11"?

 

[madat42]

I will take what you said into account and head back to the Apple Store. I'm not as familiar with Safari as you. How do I zoom in and out to get the same "desktop" view as the 13"?

So for video streaming, the 13" doesn't show less black bars than the 11"?

Tap on the url field in Safari and tap on “Aa”. That brings up the menu to allow zoom and Reader (another awesome feature that turns your content into e-reader view).

 

[stanza.richi]

Touched both today in Apple Store while buying new tips for my pencil 2. The 11“ is soo tempting for the portability. At least for me, after 4 years of 12.9“ 2018.

 

[lsquare]

Tap on the url field in Safari and tap on “Aa”. That brings up the menu to allow zoom and Reader (another awesome feature that turns your content into e-reader view).

So this will be remembered for all sites?

I'm curious if there are any other differences between the 11 and 13 for video streaming and other popular apps.

It seems like the "mobile/desktop view" in Safari can be mitigated.

 

[nepalisherpa]

Touched both today in Apple Store while buying new tips for my pencil 2. The 11“ is soo tempting for the portability. At least for me, after 4 years of 12.9“ 2018.

After few years of 12.9" iPad, I recently switched to an 11" M4, and I have been loving it. I have a simple folio type case that I only use for moving the iPad around and to stand it on my desk. While using, I take it out of the case and I love the handling/feeling of the "naked" iPad combined with the smaller/lighter size.

 

[Kahnforever]

I just tried every single website you listed on my 11" iPad Pro and compared it to my MBP, and they look exactly the same....all desktop version.

Did you try portrait? They are NOT all the same on my testing in Portrait mode.

 

[Kahnforever]

I see where you're coming from but saying "mobile versions" seems antiquated. Let's clear up some stuff: 1) Both the 11" and 13" iPads serve up the full desktop versions of websites; 2) Almost all websites display content layout dynamically based on browser window size. That is, the layout will change in real-time as you resize a window or even turn a tablet from landscape to portrait. Whether on a 16" MacBook or a 13" iPP or an 11" iPP, the content will display exactly the same as you resize the browser window. The user can also change layout by using their browser's zoom control.

I get it though - there are users who take what's served up as the default/definitive and don't want to bother with resizing their screen or changing their zoom. For others, it's necessary - on my 16" MacBook or even 24" monitor, I never run my browser full-screen to get the "desktop version".

Websites are responsive, but there are two specific breakpoints that when triggered change the UI and content: tablet and smartphone. They are clearly defined, coded in, and that has been the case for many years across the web and as a web standard. Not all websites are designed like this, but some are.

I don’t want a tablet UI and content change. For instance, a menu that collapses to a hamburger menu and a 6 column layout that dumps to 3 or even 1. It may work well for the smaller screened tablet like the 11”, but I want a desktop experience which is part of why I go for the biggest screen iPad.

 

[Kahnforever]

That's a little disingenuous, websites absolutely do not always show the same information on devices of every size, let alone 11" vs 13" iPad.

Here's an example of a dutch clothing store, where on the 11" it goes to a mobile-optimised view which only shows two pieces of clothing, compared to a 13" view which shows up to 6 pieces of clothing AND a side bar for filtering on the side.

Note: these screenshots are simulated on my Mac in Safari, but I know this is how the website looks on an 11" and 13" iPad respectively, because I tested it in the store myself. This is approximately how they compare. On this specific website.

Tested in portrait mode, the results might be different in landscape, but I'm not sure about that. Either way I always browse the web in portrait, so landscape results would be irrelevant for me personally.

For those with 11/13" iPads that want to test it for themselves, this is the site: https://www.debijenkorf.nl/herenmode/broeken

Nails it.

 

[Kahnforever]

Here's a screenshot from my 11" Pro.

You are in landscape mode. His post clearly stated he uses Portrait mode so landscape is irrelevant. I also use Portrait mode so landscape is irrelevant.

 

[Kahnforever]

Lack of FaceID I get, I prefer FaceID myself. But don't let promotion dissuade you from an Air. With an M2, you won't notice the 120hz vs 60. And with an M2/8GB RAM, and up to 1TB storage. you got the same specs the previous Pros had.

I notice the lack of ProMotion on the Air. It’s terrible.

 

[Rafterman]

Thank you! This is why I still haven't bought one, even though I have my money ready. I keep vacillating back and forth on this. There are so many pros and cons for each.

It's like whatever I buy, it's going to be expensive, so whether to go the whole hog or show restraint, is my problem. I don't need the 1TB storage, I've decided 256GB is ample as I use iCloud too. I don't need a keyboard either. I'm all about the pencil and drawing with it.

I had a 13, with 2tb and keyboard and pencil pro. $3,100. I thought, am I out of my mind? Especially since iPadOS is limited. I didn't need another (gimped) laptop, I needed a tablet. So I exchanged it for an Air, with a folio. No keyboard, just tablet use. $1,300 total, saved $1,800. I bought the hardware for my use, not using it based on the hardware I bought, if you know what I mean.

As I said, I do miss FaceTime, but the Air does everything else the new M4s do.

Now, all that being said, a 256gb 11" M4 wifi vs a similar Air M2 is about $200 difference in price, not huge. While spec-wise, the Air does everything you probably would need, going to M4 would not be a huge extra investment. I like a lot of storage, so for me the price was crazy, but for you, the M4 might be the wiser investment.

 

[Rafterman]

I notice the lack of ProMotion on the Air. It’s terrible.

Perception. For some people, they might notice. I don't notice the M4'sgrain (or just don't care). Same for promotion. M2 Pro's bloom didn't bother me either. But for me, the 60hz screen just glides smoothly.


]

 

[Rafterman]

For my part, I'm 90% convinced that I will go for the 11" (will be my first iPad). A off topic question: what's the inconvenience of touch ID in that button?

I guess physically having to reach for a TouchID button. But FaceTime has its own issues, especially now that it's on the long edge. For example, accidentally covering it up while holding it in portrait.

 

[nepalisherpa]

You are in landscape mode. His post clearly stated he uses Portrait mode so landscape is irrelevant. I also use Portrait mode so landscape is irrelevant.

Ok. I guess it’s the other way around for me. I never use portrait mode.