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Would you trade your 9.7" iPad Pro for 12.9" iPad Pro (1st gen)?

jmaluso

jmaluso

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 15, 2016
60
60
San Luis Obispo, CA
I know this is very subjective but let's say you were interested in a bigger screen for more useable splitscreen note taking in class and had the opportunity to trade your 9.7" iPad Pro 128gb for a 12.9" iPad Pro 128gb (1st gen) would you?

I would gain screen size/resolution, a little speed, double the RAM, and USB 3.0 but I would lose some portability the True Tone display, and the higher quality cameras. Hmmm...and I'm not really looking to spend much $ right now even knowing a new iPad is probably on the horizon.
 
No, I wouldn’t. The TrueTone and portability make the 9.7 better than the first gen 12.9. Not to mention most of the accessories you buy for it will be cheaper
 
Accessories...and having to repurchase for 12.9"...good point. I do already have Apple Smart Keyboard, Apple Smart Cover, and Back Cover, and a few other odds and ends for the 9.7" Pro.
 
I think portability is the key factor here. I like a compact solution when I’m out and about. 9.7” fits perfectly for my needs.

To be honest I feel the 12.5” is just too big to carry around, at that point I’d rather carry my MacBook and enjoy the power of a full fledged computer.
 
jmaluso said:
I know this is very subjective but let's say you were interested in a bigger screen for more useable splitscreen note taking in class and had the opportunity to trade your 9.7" iPad Pro 128gb for a 12.9" iPad Pro 128gb (1st gen) would you?

I would gain screen size/resolution, a little speed, double the RAM, and USB 3.0 but I would lose some portability the True Tone display, and the higher quality cameras. Hmmm...and I'm not really looking to spend much $ right now even knowing a new iPad is probably on the horizon.
Click to expand...
A friend of mine had the 9.7, I had the 12.9. No difference in performance despite half the ram.
 
jmaluso said:
I know this is very subjective but let's say you were interested in a bigger screen for more useable splitscreen note taking in class and had the opportunity to trade your 9.7" iPad Pro 128gb for a 12.9" iPad Pro 128gb (1st gen) would you?

I would gain screen size/resolution, a little speed, double the RAM, and USB 3.0 but I would lose some portability the True Tone display, and the higher quality cameras. Hmmm...and I'm not really looking to spend much $ right now even knowing a new iPad is probably on the horizon.
Click to expand...
If I were interested in a bigger screen, I'd rethink that. I say that as someone who has owned 9.7" iPads since day-1 of gen 1, went to a 12.9 Pro and then back to 2018 9.7" iPad.

Not only will you need to re-purchase any accessories (as you pointed out), but depending upon the apps that you use, you may not be able to fully take advantage of the added screen space. I have found that many of my apps don't support split-window. But you'd probably already know which ones those are based on your 9.7 Pro usage. :)

The 9.7 Pro is a fine device. I am more productive on my 2018 iPad than I was with the 12.9 Pro. Should Apple enhance iOS functionality to include support for mice/trackpads, universally accessible filesystem, and added support for USB accessories then I would definitely go back to a larger iPad.
 
If you want to take it outside then I’d stick with the 9.7. I always found 9.7 inches to be too small and didn’t enjoy taking it outside. I prefer my iPad mini for that. I find the 10.5 inch pro to be the perfect size. A good amount of real estate for home use but not too big that I have to use it on a table.
 
It's an upgrade for sure, but I would be comfortable with the size and weight of the 12.9 before doing anything. It wasn't for me, and I use an iPad Pro as my main work computer.
 
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Thanks for the great feedback. Someone contacted me about a trade like this a few days back on CL but after I replied I haven't heard back. So we will see.

If nothing comes of this maybe I will look into values on eBay for the 9.7" Pro and also what the 12.9" Pro gen 1 and gen 2 are going for as well. But the iPad event was just announced for 10/30 so that might impact pricing and my decision as well.
 
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