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iPad 12.9 (2021) iPad Pro Owners: 2+ Months in, How Do You Feel About Your Purchase?
- Thread starter 16bitplus
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Battery is terrible on mine. 40% decrease in two hours. I've talked with Apple support. I'm going to do a system reinstall tomorrow and if that doesn't work, I'm invoking AppleCare. Any tips for really poor battery life?
my battery life is better with the most recent iPadOS 15 beta. Also as long as the Brightness isnt too high, the battery doesn’t drain that much .yesterday 2.5 hours of youtube, safari and Apple TV+ and battery went from 100 to 73%
This thread is really useful - specifically seeing people’s regrets/disappointments about upgrading. I strongly considered upgrading this year given that my 10.5 Pro is 4 years old, battery is significantly shorter (especially when using Apple Pencil), a good amount of things are less smooth and buggier/jitterier, and more things seem to get the device to start running warm regularly.
However, there we’re too many things that stopped me:
However, there we’re too many things that stopped me:
- MiniLED/Blooming: Sorry, but I’m very passionate about OLED due to the contrast and inky blacks (I also don’t want to hear about burn-in. iPhones and Apple Watches have had it for 4-6 years and there have been no widespread reports of burn-in). A screen with blooming just feels half-baked and like a compromised solution to upgrading the screen, especially for a $1000+ product. I think I could deal with it at first, but it’d grow to be frustrating and regretful for me over time.
- Value: I got my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for a total of $700 with tax in 2017 (iPad was $100 off at Best Buy). Yes, if I upgraded today to the 12.9 model, I’d be getting more screen, storage, and an extra keyboard. But even with the Magic Keyboard being $150 off at Best Buy, and with the iPad being $100 off on Amazon, I’d still be paying $1,500 with tax to get the iPad, the 2nd Gen Pencil, and the Magic Keyboard. And how would my actual iPad usage change/benefit compared to how I use it now? Not a whole lot.
- Software Limitations + Lacking 11” Model: I’ve wanted the iPad to become my only one computing device for years now. With the M1 and a new iPadOS version, you’d think it’d be able to become that for me, but it still can’t. I can’t justify buying $1,500 worth of a “laptop alternative” or 12.9 iPad with a MK and Pencil only to still have it as a side product to my MacBook Pro. I want it to replace my MBP. So then, this makes me want to stick to the 11” model so that I have my large MBP for productivity and my smaller iPad for more portability and consumption. But then, the 11” model still feels like a waste of an upgrade given the screen hasn’t been changed at all since the I’m using from 4 years ago.
- Battery life: I’ve heard a lot about this year’s models falling short of the battery claim, which I don’t remember ever hearing about for any new iPads in the past. When battery life is a complaint on my 4-year old iPad, I don’t want to upgrade to a new model that already falls short on battery life on day 1 of owning the product.
This is a public forum you can post whatever you want. But given this is a 2021 iPad Pro owners and you haven’t bought it… seems unnecessary though.
This is overblown, imo. It’s only prevalent when watching HDR content… and I believe the positives outweigh the negatives. Meaning, when looking at the HDR content… blooming doesn’t really bother me, because the content looks awesome on it.
Umm… value is subjective. Given your productivity usage is more toward the MBP, you won’t really put too much value on the iPad.
I agree iPadOS isn’t as functional as macOS, but it’s certainly capable… I’m curious what productivity tasks that you need on iPadOS?
You heard a lot? Not sure where you received that information from. But my iPP battery life has been solid. I‘m on beta right now… so it doesn’t really do me justice speaking on battery life now. But before I joined the beta, I didn’t have any issue with battery life.
Your post comes across as a little hostile, not sure where that’s coming from.
I agree the mini-LED screen looks better than the LCD screens, but I do notice the blooming and it would bother me. Yes, value is very much subjective, and I was explaining why the value wasn’t there for me. That’s the point of a forum right - to share personal experiences and opinions? I value the iPad a lot, despite not finding the value in upgrading this year, which is why I would like to make it my one and only device. It’s probably my favorite Apple device even without being able to do everything I would like on it.
There are a lot of small situations where I have to go back to my Mac. For example, can’t manage files on a NFTS flash drive (I do this regularly). I had to take a virtual exam with proctoring software. iPadOS wasn’t supported. I regularly copy image URLs from images on the web on Mac. On iPadOS, I can do it, but it‘s convoluted with many extra steps. I backup my iPad, iPhone, and Mac to a hard drive with Time Machine. Can’t do that on an iPad. Web extensions was a big thing for me, but luckily, those are coming in iOS 15. Proper external display support would be very appreciated. I can’t use an iPad to work from home/connect to my work network, it requires macOS or Windows. one little annoyance is just not being able to let certain tasks run in the background without them failing or disconnecting from the internet (Safari tabs being power efficient). I don’t know if this is different on iOS 15 or the M1 iPad due to different memory amounts.
I’ve seen complaints about battery life repeatedly here on MacRumors forums since the M1 iPad Pro was released. Even just reading through this thread, there are posts about it.
You’re welcome to disagree with me, and I respect your opinion, I’m just sharing why I decided not to purchase. And yes, you’re right that this really isn’t the thread for this, so I don’t think I’ll be replying after this just so I’m not derailing the thread from its intent.
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My intentions wasn’t trying to be hostile. You probably felt that way when I mention that your post was unnecessary, which was only due to you not owning the 2021 iPP.
Fair enough. I was just curious. If iPadOS doesn’t work for you… then it doesn’t work.
I'm most excited about the multitasking improvements in 15, specifically the ease of adding an app to split view without having to open it first so it is in the dock.
What's the main plus from your perspective. My current iPad is the first 9.7" pro. I have been weighing whether to replace it or change the battery. On one hand, it does what I need still, on the other battery life is now bad -
around five hours.
Turns out Apple won't perform a 'battery service' as it tests at 91% capacity (somehow).
That’s definitely useful to have… I’m more of a SlideOver type of person. I like the fact I can dismiss the SlideOver window from left or right on iPadOS 15.
It’s drastically different. It’s made me use my iPad daily again and have a new found love for it.
Coming from the 9.7 iPad Pro you’ll find that the design is completely different, the pro motion 120hz screen, the mini-led (if you get the 12.9 like me) Face ID, the removal of the home button, the cameras and most importantly the speed and ram. A majorly worthy upgrade in my opinion.
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I find this weird. Isn’t the MiniLED tech on this iPad Pro display the same (and better) as what was on the ridiculously-expensive (~$6,000) Apple monitor a year or so ago?
Yes, and it is susceptible to blooming as well. I’m not sure why Apple chose to invest in mini-LED over OLED. I don’t know if its cheaper for Apple to use mini-LEDs on larger screens, if they had problems mitigating burn-in on larger screens, if they couldn’t get the screens as bright as the OLED iPhones on larger screens, or they just thought peak brightness in certain parts of the screen was more important than eliminating blooming, but Apple definitely went all-in on mini-LED for their larger screens (Pro Display XDR, iPad Pro, future MacBook models).
I also know this is a heavily debated topic here on the forums, but here are the facts:
12.9 iPad Pro with mini-LED display:
- 600 nits max brightness (non-HDR)
- 1000 nits max full-screen brightness (HDR)
- 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR)
- 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
- Blooming
- No risk of burn-in
- 800 nits max brightness (non-HDR)
- 1200 nits max brightness (HDR)
- 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio
- No blooming
- Risk of burn-in
To me, I rather take the screen that has no blooming (and is brighter 95% of the time). The inky blacks are very important to me.
Take it back! I returned mine (mine led) because I was getting like 6 hours screen time! (60-70% brightness)
I did restored twice as well! There was a software glitch too (charged 6% in three hours when screen was turned on).
It seems that you're looking at the iPad as a MacBook replacement. I have found the iPad to be a MacBook companion and not a replacement. I can use my iPad Pro for 90% of my daily tasks but it lacks the 10% - and I don't think the iPad is apologetic for that. I think that for 90% of my usage, the iPad is much better than my MacBook/Mac Mini which is why I grab my iPad so often.
It seems that an iPad Pro is not for you but maybe just a regular iPad for times when you just want that portability. If you're doing price comparisons/justifications on making your iPad Pro as your main computing device, then you don't really need an iPad Pro.
Hello to everyone.
I got the 11inch ipad pro back in May. I came from an ipad mini 2nd generation, so i don't have to write any impressions about the speed.. You can understand how much it blew my mind. I absolutely loved the machine. It helped me in a lot of aspects of my work life, productivity wise.. I also got a cheap pencil, because i wasn't so sure that i needed it.. Ok i was wrong. It was magnificent for some tasks.
Here comes the bitter part. After 2 months of usage, one day i noticed a white spot 2cm to the left of the charging side. It was similar to an issue that previous gens of ipad had. Anyway, Amazon really treated me nicely (we had also bought another unit from them) and even though i was outside the return period, the accepted it and fully refunded us.
Now here comes the question: I got the money back and i am ready to buy it again. But i see that there is a discount to both the 11inch and the 12.9inch models. I was about to make the leap and buy the latter but i have been really scared with the blooming issues.. Some images really look horrible. Some videos that tested the units, showed that the issue was not that big of a deal..
Is there any consensus about whether the seriousness of the issue varies from unit to unit? I can understand the technical limitations but i can't understand why some units seem to have bigger issues. A technical limitation should be somehow the same for everyone. There have been some cases in the past (my ipad mini 2 for example or apple watch series 4 issues with burn in), where some early batches had some issues that were fixed over the time..
What's your thoughts?
I got the 11inch ipad pro back in May. I came from an ipad mini 2nd generation, so i don't have to write any impressions about the speed.. You can understand how much it blew my mind. I absolutely loved the machine. It helped me in a lot of aspects of my work life, productivity wise.. I also got a cheap pencil, because i wasn't so sure that i needed it.. Ok i was wrong. It was magnificent for some tasks.
Here comes the bitter part. After 2 months of usage, one day i noticed a white spot 2cm to the left of the charging side. It was similar to an issue that previous gens of ipad had. Anyway, Amazon really treated me nicely (we had also bought another unit from them) and even though i was outside the return period, the accepted it and fully refunded us.
Now here comes the question: I got the money back and i am ready to buy it again. But i see that there is a discount to both the 11inch and the 12.9inch models. I was about to make the leap and buy the latter but i have been really scared with the blooming issues.. Some images really look horrible. Some videos that tested the units, showed that the issue was not that big of a deal..
Is there any consensus about whether the seriousness of the issue varies from unit to unit? I can understand the technical limitations but i can't understand why some units seem to have bigger issues. A technical limitation should be somehow the same for everyone. There have been some cases in the past (my ipad mini 2 for example or apple watch series 4 issues with burn in), where some early batches had some issues that were fixed over the time..
What's your thoughts?
I bought the mini led one first and was pretty happy at the beginning, stunning screen! But the blooming is there (I could live with it thou, all photos and videos on internet make it worse that what actually is).
However, IMO battery was unacceptable: mini led drains it quicker, so I went for the 11 inch. Better size and better battery life!
I love this thing!
My last iPad was the 10.5"pro. It worked fine for me until I started experiencing the touch issue where the screen was not responsive anymore. That really made me mad because everything else about that iPad was fine. I never had that issue on any of the many other iPads I’ve owned.
Anyway… it gave me a good excuse to finally upgrade. I initially purchased the new 11" pro with 512gb storage. I felt like I was cheating myself out of something better, so I went to the Apple store and played with the 12.9" version for a while. The display was amazing. I compared pictures in the photos app side by side and it was a world of difference. I ended up exchanging my 11" for the 12.9" with 512gb and it has been a delight.
But then I started to feel I was cheating myself again lol. So after 3 weeks of owning it I went back today and exchanged it for the 1tb version with the 16gb of ram. I wanted to be prepared just in case Apple actually does something that makes the 16gb ram worth having. I feel good about my decision now.
My last iPad was the 10.5"pro. It worked fine for me until I started experiencing the touch issue where the screen was not responsive anymore. That really made me mad because everything else about that iPad was fine. I never had that issue on any of the many other iPads I’ve owned.
Anyway… it gave me a good excuse to finally upgrade. I initially purchased the new 11" pro with 512gb storage. I felt like I was cheating myself out of something better, so I went to the Apple store and played with the 12.9" version for a while. The display was amazing. I compared pictures in the photos app side by side and it was a world of difference. I ended up exchanging my 11" for the 12.9" with 512gb and it has been a delight.
But then I started to feel I was cheating myself again lol. So after 3 weeks of owning it I went back today and exchanged it for the 1tb version with the 16gb of ram. I wanted to be prepared just in case Apple actually does something that makes the 16gb ram worth having. I feel good about my decision now.
I like my iPad Pro 12.9 a lot. This is my first “large iPad” ever and in the beginning, I felt it was too big for everyday use. I use it for watching TV (YouTube TV) and other streaming media. The size is great for an almost laptop-like replacement. I used to bring my laptop with me to work, but now I just bring my iPad Pro with the Logitech Combo keyboard/case. Screen is nice and bright, audio/speakers are also great. 5G connectivity is very convenient when I am away from WiFi and don’t have to worry about tethering my iPhone, which isn’t as reliable as a dedicated connection.
I am a little disappointed in iPadOS improvements, and how slow it takes to transfer data through the USB-C port, as well as video out capabilities.
I subscribe to Apple Arcade and playing games on a large screen, with being able to see all that detail is wonderful.
Overall, I’m happy with the purchase. I’ve had 0 issues with build quality or blooming. It is noticeable, but the brightness and colors when viewing HDR content make up for it. Apple needs to start improving battery life on iPads instead of sticking to the standard 10 hour runtimes.
I am a little disappointed in iPadOS improvements, and how slow it takes to transfer data through the USB-C port, as well as video out capabilities.
I subscribe to Apple Arcade and playing games on a large screen, with being able to see all that detail is wonderful.
Overall, I’m happy with the purchase. I’ve had 0 issues with build quality or blooming. It is noticeable, but the brightness and colors when viewing HDR content make up for it. Apple needs to start improving battery life on iPads instead of sticking to the standard 10 hour runtimes.
It’s bizarrely fast. Sometimes in Safari when I enter URL it takes a second for brain to process what am I looking at, the page has loaded so fast like it was already there.
Files app still sucks. Transferring hundreds of GBs at once to an external SSD can lead to corrupted files and transfer freezes. Learned the hard way to transfer at smaller chunks.
Battery subjectively lasts longer on iPadOS 15.
I could never go back to smaller iPad screen, only bigger.
The best tablet screen ever, no doubt about that. Combine that with Airpods Pro spatial audio and you have the best portable viewing experience.
Logitech Combo Touch elevates iPP’s usability to another level. Protected my iPad from few rough falls. There are more ways to set it up than even Logi tells you about. My fav tablet mode.
Touch, Pen and KB+touchpad are equally well optimised for iPadOS.
Learned to multitask the same way as I would on laptop.
After learning how to work with Lumafusion, I now crave for more. Bring the FCP on, Apple.
Files app still sucks. Transferring hundreds of GBs at once to an external SSD can lead to corrupted files and transfer freezes. Learned the hard way to transfer at smaller chunks.
Battery subjectively lasts longer on iPadOS 15.
I could never go back to smaller iPad screen, only bigger.
The best tablet screen ever, no doubt about that. Combine that with Airpods Pro spatial audio and you have the best portable viewing experience.
Logitech Combo Touch elevates iPP’s usability to another level. Protected my iPad from few rough falls. There are more ways to set it up than even Logi tells you about. My fav tablet mode.
Touch, Pen and KB+touchpad are equally well optimised for iPadOS.
Learned to multitask the same way as I would on laptop.
After learning how to work with Lumafusion, I now crave for more. Bring the FCP on, Apple.
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