iPad Pro 2017 10.5" 256GB vs 2018 11" 64GB - same price

[rogfrich]

Hi everyone,

I'm shopping around for a new iPad to replace my old 3rd Gen. It's served well, but can't really cut it any more.

I'm tempted by the iPad Pro. Shopping around, I see my budget (around £750 gbp) will buy either the new 11" with 64GB or the last-gen 10.5" with 256GB.

Assuming I can't stretch to an 11" with 256GB, I'm basically trading-off storage against performance. I can have a blazingly-fast new model with a quarter of the capacity, or plenty of storage with last year's performance.

For what it's worth, usage of the device will be all the usual content consumption stuff: although I tend to stream rather than download, I usually have a couple of movies. I play games on my iPad - the bulk of the storage on my old one is apps and games. My existing iPad 3 is the 64GB model. I've never actually filled it before, but I'm hoping to keep the new iPad for some time and can see that IOS and apps generally may bloat over the years.

I was wondering what people thought of the storage / performance trade-off, and which way they'd go...?

 

[kdoug]

Hi everyone,

I'm shopping around for a new iPad to replace my old 3rd Gen. It's served well, but can't really cut it any more.

I'm tempted by the iPad Pro. Shopping around, I see my budget (around £750 gbp) will buy either the new 11" with 64GB or the last-gen 10.5" with 256GB.

Assuming I can't stretch to an 11" with 256GB, I'm basically trading-off storage against performance. I can have a blazingly-fast new model with a quarter of the capacity, or plenty of storage with last year's performance.

For what it's worth, usage of the device will be all the usual content consumption stuff: although I tend to stream rather than download, I usually have a couple of movies. I play games on my iPad - the bulk of the storage on my old one is apps and games. My existing iPad 3 is the 64GB model. I've never actually filled it before, but I'm hoping to keep the new iPad for some time and can see that IOS and apps generally may bloat over the years.

I was wondering what people thought of the storage / performance trade-off, and which way they'd go...?

I have a 10.5 IPP with 256GB and love it. I was tempted to purchase a new 11" or 12.9" but no way am I spending that much for a slight speed bump. My vote is the 10.5

 

[rogfrich]

I have a 10.5 IPP with 256GB and love it. I was tempted to purchase a new 11" or 12.9" but no way am I spending that much for a slight speed bump. My vote is the 10.5

Thanks kdoug. Can I ask tasks you do on the 10.5 IPP? Anything taxing?

 

[Moakesy]

I was wondering what people thought of the storage / performance trade-off, and which way they'd go...?

I'm currently going through the same thought process.

I currently have a 128Gb iPad Air 2, and still have 88Gb free. Of the 134 Apps that I've downloaded, I doubt I use more than 10 regularly. For this reason, I'm leaning towards the iPad Pro.....as it seems my storage needs are low.

(I'm also having another debate in my head about if I should replace it all, but that's a different story!)

 

[rogfrich]

I'm currently going through the same thought process.

I currently have a 128Gb iPad Air 2, and still have 88Gb free. Of the 134 Apps that I've downloaded, I doubt I use more than 10 regularly. For this reason, I'm leaning towards the iPad Pro.....as it seems my storage needs are low.

(I'm also having another debate in my head about if I should replace it all, but that's a different story!)

I'm similar. 64GB would be enough for me right now... but I kept my current iPad for six-and-a-half years, and I'd expect to keep the new one for a number of years as well. The question that keeps going through my mind is "which is likely to affect me more in the future... the reduced storage of the 64GB new iPad, or the (relatively) reduced performance of the last-gen one?"

 

[Pseudo-Fed]

Returned my 11 LTE both for it's bend and worries about it worsening, and the lack of ability to use glass screen protector with certainty. Still have my 10.5 256 WIFI model and it's great. It's only a year old and should work well for many years unless you have a fringe use case of video editing, etc., and even then the 10.5 performs, just a little slower. Get AppleCare on whatever you get.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

For your needs, you probably only need to iPad and not the Pro. But if you want the Pro, tougher call. How much storage did you use on your old one?

 

[rogfrich]

For your needs, you probably only need to iPad and not the Pro. But if you want the Pro, tougher call. How much storage did you use on your old one?

It's currently only half-full but that's mainly because I've stopped using it so much because it's painfully slow.

I read-read my OP and I can see where you're coming from in saying that the standard iPad would do - part of the driver for the Pro is a thought that I can travel lighter without a laptop, so part of the appeal is the keyboard. Also, although I didn't mention it, I do a fair amount of photography and music production, and I can see an iPad slotting into those hobbies as well.

I think I'm leaning towards the 10.5" at the moment.

 

[WilliamG]

11” is my call. Dramatically larger screen for media consumption, and noticeably faster.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

I would do 11 because, even though I got the 256, I never actually use much storage. Cloud services.

 

[WilliamG]

Definitely a trade-off.

1.) Most games aren't formatted correctly for the 11", so you won't get the benefits of the larger screen.

2.) Movies streaming DO take advantage. Nice bump is screen real estate for 16:9 and 2:35.1 movies etc.

3.) Speed bump is great on the 11". Noticeably faster and smoother at everything than last year's model (I have both).

4.) FaceID is great, and the smaller bezels = future.

Overall, I'd still take the 11". No question.

 

[Hym tix]

that new 11" is sleek and beautiful. If you can go into a Best Buy or Apple Store and honestly look at both the 10.5 and 11 without the choice being obvious to you... well, yeah maybe the 10.5 is OK for you. The performance increase is minor this generation.

For me, the new design of the 11" and the increased screen real estate for videos make it a huge improvement, it would be an easy choice for me.

Also, forgot to mention: if you are doing music production, I recommend the 11". The USB-C interface will be better for MIDI and audio because you can plug in standard USB cables, hubs, and hardware. If you go with the 10.5 you would have to buy into lightning-based adapters and dongles.

 

[muzzy996]

It's currently only half-full but that's mainly because I've stopped using it so much because it's painfully slow.

I read-read my OP and I can see where you're coming from in saying that the standard iPad would do - part of the driver for the Pro is a thought that I can travel lighter without a laptop, so part of the appeal is the keyboard. Also, although I didn't mention it, I do a fair amount of photography and music production, and I can see an iPad slotting into those hobbies as well.

I think I'm leaning towards the 10.5" at the moment.

Not sure what your anticipated workflows are for photography and music production. That would factor into your storage needs. Everyone's different . . some may need to process several dozen photos at a time and can then offload to cloud storage, while others may need to process several hundred photos at a time which means a lot more local storage needed.

Also, since you're stepping into the Pro line of products are you also looking at the keyboards and pencils? Those vary in cost too so the total cost is going to vary (not sure if your budget numbers included everything you intended to purchase).

 

[kdoug]

Thanks kdoug. Can I ask tasks you do on the 10.5 IPP? Anything taxing?

No, nothing taxing whatsoever. Consumption device only.

 

[mofunk]

The IPP 10.5 is nice and light compared to my old iPad 3rd gen. The IPP 11in and 10.5 are about the same in weight. I like the 10.5 because I can place my hands on the black bar around the screen (somewhere my thumbs can land lol). I like having a headphone jack. Not a huge fan of wireless. Yes I can hear the difference lol.

What I don't like about the 10.5 is that its a fingerprint magnet. Compared to the 2017 iPads, the 10.5 IPP collects a lot fingerprints.

What you should look at is how you want to use the IPP and what devices you want to connect them to. Having USB-C gives you a lot of options.

If you think you will be doing some heavy work then get the IPP 11in and want to connect other devices. Add storage will vary $30 and up.

If not you can go with the 10.5in and use the Lightning connector. More space too if you are planning to keep for awhile.

Either is a win.

 

[rogfrich]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the thoughts and opinions. Next step is to go and play with both at an Apple Store i think.

Thank all

 

[Shanghaichica]

If you’ve been using an iPad 3 up until now then I’d assume that you don’t need the latest and greatest. I think the 10.5 with 256GB would be a better buy and would last you for many years to come.

 

[Trey M]

Hi everyone,

I'm shopping around for a new iPad to replace my old 3rd Gen. It's served well, but can't really cut it any more.

I'm tempted by the iPad Pro. Shopping around, I see my budget (around £750 gbp) will buy either the new 11" with 64GB or the last-gen 10.5" with 256GB.

Assuming I can't stretch to an 11" with 256GB, I'm basically trading-off storage against performance. I can have a blazingly-fast new model with a quarter of the capacity, or plenty of storage with last year's performance.

For what it's worth, usage of the device will be all the usual content consumption stuff: although I tend to stream rather than download, I usually have a couple of movies. I play games on my iPad - the bulk of the storage on my old one is apps and games. My existing iPad 3 is the 64GB model. I've never actually filled it before, but I'm hoping to keep the new iPad for some time and can see that IOS and apps generally may bloat over the years.

I was wondering what people thought of the storage / performance trade-off, and which way they'd go...?

Would strongly recommend the 11-inch model. You said it yourself— you’ve never filled the current 64GB model and it’s unlikely you would do so in the future. You also can really live without a lot of stuff on your iPad for most people — as long as I have something on my phone (i.e. Photos) it’s OK to have it on another device and just AirDrop it over, or whatever.

The new redesign represents the next few years of iPad design. The 10.5 already looks terribly dated next to the new models. Unless you just have to have a headphone jack I can’t see a reason not to get the new models. Another compelling reason is the gesture-based navigation. Just like the transition from iPhone 7 > iPhone X, the new gestures like swipe up to go home or swipe left/right to sift between apps, none of these things are available on the 10.5 inch model. IMO this greatly decreases the fluidity and ease-of-use for the device. Another reason would be resale value.

Go check them out in person, as someone else said, I can’t imagine you see them in person and still want the 10.5 inch model.

 

[Jimbo Limbo]

11 for sure!

USB-C gives the iPad so much more connectivity, both now, and in the future.
The new apple pencil, charging through the side, is just a much better design. The old pencil requires you to charge through the same port that the ipad itself needs to charge. As a result, you are likely to always have a pencil running low on power.
The bigger screen will help longer term, even if some software is not currently up to date.

In other words, with the 10.5, you are buying into the old system that has much less future.
The 11 is the future!

 

[Act3]

I tried the 11", it was nice. However, I missed the lightning port, the headphone jack and the split keyboard. Face ID worked great on it, better than my iPhone. I could not justify the price difference over the 10.5" while giving up features , so I returned it and got a 10.5 for $525 at BB. The missing split keyboard probably what broke the camels back for me on it.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

If you are going to be a heavy Pencil user, the 11 with the new Pencil for sure. I say after frustratingly losing the stupid cap on the first generation again today.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Totally didn’t know this but did Apple add a haptic engine to the 2018 iPad Pros? Phone Arena states they did.

Also, it blew my mind on how much the MSRP increased from the 10.5 to the 11. I already knew they increased the price but it’s different when seeing it side by side.