iPad Pro Will you buy 2019 Pros?...

[barkomatic]

I think I may splurge on a new Pro if one is released as rumored. I’ve got a 9.7 pro that I bought 3 years ago that’s served me well but I want something more modern.

I almost got the 2018 model when Amazon and Best Buy had those massive sales and if I had gotten one then I would have been happy and not upgraded this year. The new ones are gonna be expensive but it’ll be worse later if the trade wars continue.

 

[EugW]

I don’t use procreate so I have no reason to look up the ceo, dev or etc . Either way they don’t have access to the extra 2GB anyways. Nothing in ipados says otherwise so at the end you get what ?

We will have to see when iPadOS 13 along with the big apps are released. In the meantime I have posted a thread asking about RAM limitations in the iOS 13 forum.

However, Federico Viticci over at MacStories.net wrote a little test app to repeatedly encode and decode a photo for a fixed number of times. The application itself used 3.4 GB RAM at peak during this test on his 1 TB iPad Pro with 6 GB RAM, and overall, the machine maxed out at about 5 GB RAM usage.

Interestingly, when he tried the same application on his 2017 iPad Pro with 4 GB RAM, it simply crashed part way through. It also crashed on his iPhone XS Max with 4 GB RAM.

 

[sracer]

So we have some solid people saying new iPad pros this September or October. I personally was planning to not upgrade but when they released the 6GB 1TB option I started to think I may upgrade the next time for RAM.
I pretty much have upgraded every new iPad each year, this is going to be tough to not sell my iPad Pro 3 and get one of these.
Le sigh. Lol

So what about all of you, will you buy the 2029 iPP or are you thinking this update will be pretty minimal (camera and processor?) Maybe they’ll do some new screen tech but no rumors of that.

I have said all along that while there won't be any new Pro models this year, they're probably going to bump the RAM on all Pro models to 6GB. It'll be similar to how they released a 256GB storage model a few months after they released the 1st gen 12.9 Pro.

As for upgrading, no. I have no plans to upgrade unless they address the shortcomings of iPads running iOS/iPadOS and hardware issues/limitations.

 

[rmsanger]

On an Ipad Air1 and it's getting near the end of it's usable life... At this point I'm dipping my toe into the market for a replacement and a new ipp would be on the short list.

 

[Tapiture]

I have a 9.7” pro and I was going to upgrade to the 2018 Pro but decided not to due to some of the issues it had, (bending, unsupportive of screen protectors, etc.). I’m hoping they’ll work out the kinks and maybe I’ll upgrade to this year’s Pro.

 

[Falhófnir]

I have said all along that while there won't be any new Pro models this year, they're probably going to bump the RAM on all Pro models to 6GB. It'll be similar to how they released a 256GB storage model a few months after they released the 1st gen 12.9 Pro.

As for upgrading, no. I have no plans to upgrade unless they address the shortcomings of iPads running iOS/iPadOS and hardware issues/limitations.

That seems like an awful lot of effort/ expense for something that won't make them any more money? They don't advertise RAM as a feature, so your average buyer won't even know. With the 256 12.9 gen 1, they charged more for it, so they got a return on making it. Unless they're going to hike prices across the board, I really don't see what's in it for them to do just a RAM bump a few months before releasing the full A13X touting 4th gen pros (presumably early next year on the usual ~18 month cycle)?

 

[EugW]

That seems like an awful lot of effort/ expense for something that won't make them any more money? They don't advertise RAM as a feature, so your average buyer won't even know. With the 256 12.9 gen 1, they charged more for it, so they got a return on making it. Unless they're going to hike prices across the board, I really don't see what's in it for them to do just a RAM bump a few months before releasing the full A13X touting 4th gen pros (presumably early next year on the usual ~18 month cycle)?

Nah, the next release would include both an SoC update and a RAM update. It could also include a camera update, improved bracing of the shell internally, and revamped storage options. It would be akin to an "S" release.

Whether it will be 2019 Q4 or 2020 Q1, I don't know, but it should be noted that the "usual" is actually somewhat less than 18 months.

17 months: 1st gen 12.9" to 2nd gen 12.9"
14.5 months: 1st gen 9.7" to 2nd gen 10.5"
17 months: 2nd gen 10.5"/12.9" to 3rd gen 11"/12.9"

End of October 2019 would represent ~12 months, whereas end of March 2020 would represent ~17 months.

 

[Mike82]

I think three generations are not enough to really determine a pattern anyway. And iPadOS is a damn good reason to show off fresh models. Or so I tell myself because I want to buy the new model.

 

[EugW]

I wonder how the new US tariffs will affect iPad Pro pricing. I read that the Sept. 1 tariff increase would spare iPads, but the iPads could be hit on Dec. 15, just after or around the time new iPad Pros might arrive. But then again, I live in Canada, and those of us who live outside the US hopefully will not get hit with similar tariff-induced price increases.

 

[Mike82]

Yeah, I live in Europe, so hopefully no trade war price increases here.

 

[sracer]

That seems like an awful lot of effort/ expense for something that won't make them any more money? They don't advertise RAM as a feature, so your average buyer won't even know. With the 256 12.9 gen 1, they charged more for it, so they got a return on making it. Unless they're going to hike prices across the board, I really don't see what's in it for them to do just a RAM bump a few months before releasing the full A13X touting 4th gen pros (presumably early next year on the usual ~18 month cycle)?

If they keep the RAM amount "secret", then it wouldn't necessarily be a matter of making money off of RAM increase but positioning the iPad Pro to take better advantage of iPadOS. The greater the number of 6GB RAM Pros out there, the more incentive for app developers to produce desktop-strength apps for it.

They haven't advertised RAM in the past, but they haven't supported trackpads/mice before either, so they may very well start advertising the amount of RAM... and if they will offer different models with different RAM amounts, you know they'll be charging for the RAM. That would actually help them set up pricing tiers from the base iPad all the way up into Macbook Pro pricing territory with something for everyone.

 

[rumz]

I’m torn on this one. I did snag a 1tb cellular 12.9 for $650 off, so as a matter of practicality, I should just use that. There is that part of me that wants the most future proof version though, so we’ll see. I can always sell the 2018 model for a modest profit, or if I’m really lazy, I have until September 20 to outright return the device.

I do find it interesting how many people refuse to believe an outright refresh / 2019 model is not coming, though, given the most recent rumblings.
[doublepost=1566680021][/doublepost]

And it happened again when the iPad Pro 9.7" came out. Wait a generation and the RAM doubled to 4 GB. That was an easier call though since its big brother the 12.9" was already out with 4 GB RAM, back in 2015. IOW, Apple has already had 4 GB RAM in some of their iPad Pros for 4 years. It's now overdue for a RAM upgrade, and iPadOS 13 is the perfect time to do it.

So, let’s double the RAM again 8gb in every model but 12gb in the 1tb. RAM prices have dropped quite a bit in the last year. It’s not necessarily a cost increase, though Apple being Apple, they’re more likely to milk higher margins for parts that have gotten cheaper rather than upgrade the parts.

Also, for hose arguing 4gb is plenty— it’s not purely about the OS. It’s about more powerful apps that need and/or can benefit from more RAM.

 

[EugW]

I’m torn on this one. I did snag a 1tb cellular 12.9 for $650 off, so as a matter of practicality, I should just use that. There is that part of me that wants the most future proof version though, so we’ll see. I can always sell the 2018 model for a modest profit, or if I’m really lazy, I have until September 20 to outright return the device.

You're crazy. $1250 for a 1 TB LTE 12.9"? Just keep and use the damn thing. It's excellent, and it cost you less than the retail price of the 256 GB storage tier.

Remember too that any 2019 model won't have 5G, so it won't be very future proofed anyway.

So, let’s double the RAM again 8gb in every model but 12gb in the 1tb. RAM prices have dropped quite a bit in the last year. It’s not necessarily a cost increase, though Apple being Apple, they’re more likely to milk higher margins for parts that have gotten cheaper rather than upgrade the parts.

Also, for hose arguing 4gb is plenty— it’s not purely about the OS. It’s about more powerful apps that need and/or can benefit from more RAM.

Heh. I think the most they'd do is 8 GB in a top tier model, but with the remainder at 6 GB. And truthfully, I'd think that'd be enough this generation, including for the big apps. However, I think there is just as likely a possibility they'd go 6 GB period, with no 8 GB model at all.

 

[Digitalguy]

4 GB of RAM is not plenty. You guys think in terms of "it's fast with 2GB so 4GB is plenty". NO.
2GB is enough to keep IpadOS (let's call it IOS) fast, but IOS does not go into paging like a PC. It uses a different trade-off, that preserves speed to the detriment of data persistence. It simply ejects apps from RAM (=reloads). With 2GB it happens too often. With 4 much less often but it still happens.
Thing is very few people use an Ipad pro as a main/only device. I challenged myself to use a 4GB ipad (1st gen pro) all day to do everything. Opened tons of pages, apps, etc. Left some messages half written from the morning. Well, at night some of them were gone (reloaded). That would have never happened with a PC, even with just 4GB RAM (at worst it would have warned me of low RAM). On laptops things stay in RAM for days or weeks, for as long as the laptop is on. So if we want Ipad Pro to get closer to being able to replace a laptop (and with IpadOS Apple clearly wants that), we do need more RAM.

 

[kristalsoldier]

No. My 10.5 Pro, which I bought in 2017, is working just fine at the moment. Should anything untoward should happen to it though (and I hope not), then I would replace it with whatever is available at the time.

 

[pedregosa]

Wouldn’t replace my 2018 11-inch model, except for the fact that I have now gone IPP-only (plus iPhone) and would really like the 12.9 — but wanted to wait for some sort of upgraded model so as to feel less bad about switching in the middle of a current model cycle! I love the 11-inch, but think the bigger one will suit me better.

 

[Kal-037]

The 2018 iPads were supposed to introduce iPad OS and iOS 12 with all the features that 13 has, but due to iOS 11 being so horrible and glitchy, Apple postponed 90% of the features and just focused on stabilizing the OS. Apple reps and insider folks said way back before WWDC 2018 that iOS 12 was supposed to be the biggest change ever and was going to have features we’ve wanted... but then they attached that claim to iOS 13 instead.
*so in short, had iOS 11 been solid, iOS 12 would have been what iOS 13 and iPad OS are now.
Why else would Apple put USB-C on an iPad but have it be super limited and only slightly more capable than lighting? Because somebody done screwed up, (you done messed up A-Aron!)

Apple couldn’t delay the iPad and go with the original plan to have the new iPads released in conjunction with iPad OS (to show off the new hardware that would utilize the full features.)

 

[fokmik]

4 GB of RAM is not plenty. You guys think in terms of "it's fast with 2GB so 4GB is plenty". NO.
2GB is enough to keep IpadOS (let's call it IOS) fast, but IOS does not go into paging like a PC. It uses a different trade-off, that preserves speed to the detriment of data persistence. It simply ejects apps from RAM (=reloads). With 2GB it happens too often. With 4 much less often but it still happens.
Thing is very few people use an Ipad pro as a main/only device. I challenged myself to use a 4GB ipad (1st gen pro) all day to do everything. Opened tons of pages, apps, etc. Left some messages half written from the morning. Well, at night some of them were gone (reloaded). That would have never happened with a PC, even with just 4GB RAM (at worst it would have warned me of low RAM). On laptops things stay in RAM for days or weeks, for as long as the laptop is on. So if we want Ipad Pro to get closer to being able to replace a laptop (and with IpadOS Apple clearly wants that), we do need more RAM.

Agreed. I also hope for 6gb Ram since Apple wants the ipad pro to be a computer. 4gb ram was enough 3 years ago but not anymore

 

[aneftp]

The 2018 iPads were supposed to introduce iPad OS and iOS 12 with all the features that 13 has, but due to iOS 11 being so horrible and glitchy, Apple postponed 90% of the features and just focused on stabilizing the OS. Apple reps and insider folks said way back before WWDC 2018 that iOS 12 was supposed to be the biggest change ever and was going to have features we’ve wanted... but then they attached that claim to iOS 13 instead.
*so in short, had iOS 11 been solid, iOS 12 would have been what iOS 13 and iPad OS are now.
Why else would Apple put USB-C on an iPad but have it be super limited and only slightly more capable than lighting? Because somebody done screwed up, (you done messed up A-Aron!)

Apple couldn’t delay the iPad and go with the original plan to have the new iPads released in conjunction with iPad OS (to show off the new hardware that would utilize the full features.)

Hmm. Interesting analysis. I’ve always wonder when the iPad would get the full or close to full desktop experience.

I have a spare iMac wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse 1.0 I can use on my new iPad Pro 11. I wouldn’t mind throwing the Mac keyboard into my work bag (I would leave the mouse at home) and using iPad os.

Right now I carry surface pro 6 with me. Which is light to began with. But I would prefer to get even better battery life along with flexibility of having usb c cable around work in case I need a charge. I don’t want to carry around an extra brick surface pro charger. I thought about getting the surface go but felt it was underpowered. Surface go has usb c also.

Usb c is the main driving factor for me. I even picked up official spare google 18w pixel charger from Walmart for $14 during a sale a couple of months ago. (Word of advice, be wear of buying on amazon as there are lot of knock offs). The pixel 18w Charger is just as good as apple 18w iPad Pro 11 charger and cheaper plus comes with the cable.

 

[EugW]

Photoshop for iPad began wider beta testing last week. 6 GB, here we come!

It should be noted that Photoshop Creative Cloud 2017, 2018, 2019 were all released in mid October to early November, so I'd expect about the same time for CC 2020 this year.

https://9to5mac.com/2019/08/21/photoshop-ipad-beta/
https://twitter.com/alixrezax/status/1163920824631537664

 

[rumz]

The 2018 iPads were supposed to introduce iPad OS and iOS 12 with all the features that 13 has, but due to iOS 11 being so horrible and glitchy, Apple postponed 90% of the features and just focused on stabilizing the OS. Apple reps and insider folks said way back before WWDC 2018 that iOS 12 was supposed to be the biggest change ever and was going to have features we’ve wanted... but then they attached that claim to iOS 13 instead.
*so in short, had iOS 11 been solid, iOS 12 would have been what iOS 13 and iPad OS are now.
Why else would Apple put USB-C on an iPad but have it be super limited and only slightly more capable than lighting? Because somebody done screwed up, (you done messed up A-Aron!)

Apple couldn’t delay the iPad and go with the original plan to have the new iPads released in conjunction with iPad OS (to show off the new hardware that would utilize the full features.)

Wats your point? I tend to agree that probably many of the features of iPadOS were at one point meant for iOS 12 and that it likely explains the strange disparity between the iPP 3 hardware and software.

That doesn’t mean they didn’t also have a spec refresh also on the roadmap for a year later just in time for some big apps like Photoshop to land, maybe?

 

[EugW]

Wats your point? I tend to agree that probably many of the features of iPadOS were at one point meant for iOS 12 and that it likely explains the strange disparity between the iPP 3 hardware and software.

That doesn’t mean they didn’t also have a spec refresh also on the roadmap for a year later just in time for some big apps like Photoshop to land, maybe?

Exactly. Technology marches on. Sometimes the hardware and software upgrades match perfectly in terms of timing, but often it doesn't. That doesn't mean one or the other just stops and waits for the other to catch up.

Sept. 10 is going to be very interesting. And perhaps October will be interesting too.

 

[Kal-037]

4 GB of RAM is not plenty. You guys think in terms of "it's fast with 2GB so 4GB is plenty". NO.
2GB is enough to keep IpadOS (let's call it IOS) fast, but IOS does not go into paging like a PC. It uses a different trade-off, that preserves speed to the detriment of data persistence. It simply ejects apps from RAM (=reloads). With 2GB it happens too often. With 4 much less often but it still happens.
Thing is very few people use an Ipad pro as a main/only device. I challenged myself to use a 4GB ipad (1st gen pro) all day to do everything. Opened tons of pages, apps, etc. Left some messages half written from the morning. Well, at night some of them were gone (reloaded). That would have never happened with a PC, even with just 4GB RAM (at worst it would have warned me of low RAM). On laptops things stay in RAM for days or weeks, for as long as the laptop is on. So if we want Ipad Pro to get closer to being able to replace a laptop (and with IpadOS Apple clearly wants that), we do need more RAM.

My 2011 iMac that keeps Pixelmator, Acorn with 3-4 large projects, Safari, Facebook, photos, mail, messages, a number of past downloads, and 10+ tabs on safari open without reloading the page at all... disagrees. Also my iPP has never done a refresh of a page with iPad OS installed (even if I come back after 3-days and left 10+ apps open including Pixelmator, photo editor, and procreate with Raw files and multiple layers.) 4GB is enough, iPad OS is similar to iOS in managing RAM and storage wonderfully. I'm on iPad OS beta 7 and wow!... everything is lightning fast and I have no lag or apps crashing or refreshing. Sure more RAM is always better and preferred (I even have said I want 8GB) in many of my past posts, but saying apps with 4GB are essentially obsolete is incorrect IMO.
2GB is not horrible but not great
4GB is great
6GB is better
8GB is awesome
anything more is amazing but not necessarily needed for iPad.
*It really comes down to each person though, how much does that person use their iPad, which programs are installed and being used at once? iPads while being touted by Apple as computer replacements, are still not the same as computers in terms hardware and software overloads and errors and glitches. They can be a problem, but Apple made the 2018 iPad Pro 3 a beast that was pretty much ahead of it's time. Do I want more RAM, yeah for sure, but do I and everyone else NEED more RAM in an iPad... no and maybe for those who really want it. If Photoshop for iPad proves to be an issue then maybe upgrade, but I used photoshop on my old PC with 2GB RAM back in the day and it wasn't ideal, but it wasn't something that made me tear my hair out or get upset with. It did it's job and I was comfortable using it and rarely had any slow down.

K.

 

[sinoka56]

Don’t have my own iPad pro yet but the deciding factor is if it still bends easily or not.
If Apple releases a normal iPad with USB-C port then I will buy that instead.

 

[Kal-037]

Don’t have my own iPad pro yet but the deciding factor is if it still bends easily or not.
If Apple releases a normal iPad with USB-C port then I will buy that instead.

Honestly unless they get rid of the speaker hole and charging strip on the sides, even 7075 aluminum will bend.
I promise the bend issue isn’t an 2018 iPad Pro issue. I’ve owned every iPad except 2, 3, and 6. All the newer models after Air 1, were 6.1mm and 6.9mm... *all had the same propensity to bend. Both my 2016 pro and 10.5” 2017 Pro came or got bent inward.
Any device that is so thin (5.9mm) with pretty much any metal will warp or bend. Plastic will just break or look weird.
I’d wait to see if any rumors are true about an update, cause the updates are always cool... but if nothing comes by Oct. I suggest you maybe look at the deals going around where the 1TB version was $400 off MSRP and cost $1,349 instead of $1,749. These iPads are incredible. The only reason I’d upgrade is 6-8GB of RAM (even though my above post seems to contradicted by this post... it’s not.) I think 4GB is more than plenty for iPads, but more RAM is always good. I won’t NEED that EAM, but it would help ensure my device’s life to be longer. Also colorful smart covers are something that honestly can get me to buy a new model if I have the money. lol.
If I bought the 2019-2020 iPads, I’d love to have them fitted with a 10-12-core cpu and even beefier GPU. I like the sound of that AMX co-processor for math stuff. But I’d want the clock speed and processor to have at least 15-20% faster performance. I also want louder or equal sounding speakers, the 2017 iPP’s speakers were not as loud and robust as the original iPad Pro, but these new ones are incredible.
I guess I’d also maybe update if the display got some new and noteworthy enhancements... but honestly the 2018 iPad is so amazing. And is at least 50% faster than any computer I own now (10-15% faster than 2017 MacBooks.) These ipads were made for the upcoming iPad OS so their performance will increase, period. Adobe when released will take up RAM like anything else, but Adobe won’t make it require more than 4... that’d be a bad business move. Procreate has told me they don’t use the 6GB that the 1TB IPad has. They confirmed it is for other things just for the iPad (not their app.) So I personally think it’s safe to say Adobe is making their app with 4GB in mind. My iPad doesn’t have RAM issues or any slow-Downs even when using many and many bug apps at the same time.
Of course this is my opinion, so I may be incorrect in many things.

k.