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2017 iPad or Refurbished 9.7" Pro?

A

AidenL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 19, 2013
445
222
Ireland
I have a 10.5" coming on Monday, and was going to pass my trusty Air 1 to my wife.

She just surfs the net on it, online shopping and so on.

Wondering should I just hold the Air till it dies or trade it in , get a new 2017 or a refurbished 9.7" Pro?

Only reason I'd go for the Pro is the better screen really. The power wouldn't matter. She fancies Rose Gold so thats a Pro only option also.

I could hold the Air for an extra year and pass on my incoming 10.5" Pro then - upgrade excuse for me ! :D

Any thoughts or opinions?
 
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What's the difference between an air 1 and 2017 ipad?

If you don't plan on using the pencil the 2017 ipad is a lot cheaper right?
 
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AidenL said:
I have a 10.5" coming on Monday, and was going to pass my trusty Air 1 to my wife.

She just surfs the net on it, online shopping and so on.

Wondering should I just hold the Air till it dies or trade it in , get a new 2017 or a refurbished 9.7" Pro?

Only reason I'd go for the Pro is the better screen really. The power wouldn't matter. She fancies Rose Gold so thats a Pro only option also.

I could hold the Air for an extra year and pass on my incoming 10.5" Pro then - upgrade excuse for me ! :D

Any thoughts or opinions?
Click to expand...

If you're deciding factor is between the displays as you noted, the Pro and 9.7 iPad have the same resolution. The Pro has a laminated display which helps against screen reflectivity. (Which the 2017 9.7 iPad does not have) and the Pro also incorporates Tru-Tone display. (Which uses ambient sensors to detect the brightness and lightning environment to adjust to the white point for better reading conditions.)

My preferences lies with Pro.
 
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NightWingz said:
The 9.7" Pro has the quad-speakers and the true tone, anti-reflective, wide gamut colour, laminated display over the iPad 2017, which is awesome.
Click to expand...

Relentless Power said:
If you're deciding factor is between the displays as you noted, the Pro and 9.7 iPad have the same resolution. The Pro has a laminated display which helps against screen reflectivity. (Which the 2017 9.7 iPad does not have) and the Pro also incorporates Tru-Tone display. (Which uses ambient sensors to detect the brightness and lightning environment to adjust to the white point for better reading conditions.)

My preferences lies with Pro.
Click to expand...

So the 9.7" Pro has all the screen features of the 10.5, with the exception of Pro Motion then?

But is the Pro really necessary for my wife usage case I'm wondering? It would be overkill?
 
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AidenL said:
So the 9.7" Pro has all the screen features of the 10.5, with the exception of Pro Motion then?

But is the Pro really necessary for my wife usage case I'm wondering? It would be overkill?
Click to expand...

If price isn't an issue then the pro is a better product than the 2017 non pro ipad.
 
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AidenL said:
So the 9.7" Pro has all the screen features of the 10.5, with the exception of Pro Motion then?

But is the Pro really necessary for my wife usage case I'm wondering? It would be overkill?
Click to expand...

Essentially, yes. The 9.7 Pro does not have the 120 HZ Promotion display. Otherwise,it has Pencil Support, Tru-Tone and the laminated display.

Keep in mind, the 9.7 iPad does not have the laminated display and it can be problematic with reflectivity depending on the lighting environment.

You should be able to find a 9.7 Pro for a good price point used or Apple has certified refurbished. I don't think it's overkill and it's a better product.
 
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AidenL said:
So the 9.7" Pro has all the screen features of the 10.5, with the exception of Pro Motion then?

But is the Pro really necessary for my wife usage case I'm wondering? It would be overkill?
Click to expand...

That is correct.

The true tone laminated display is something anyone can appreciate, even for your wife's online shopping and surfing the net. Once you have tried it, you'd wished all your devices are true tone capable. Even in the event there is a need for colour accuracy, it can be easily disabled temporarily.

And the quad-speakers are also distinctively better sounding from music to YouTube videos or a full-length movie.

I upgraded from an Air 2 to the Pro 9.7" for precisely these two reasons (since the RAM were the same), and have not regretted my purchase.
 
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Go for the 9.7" Pro. It blows away the 2017 iPad. The iPad display is literally the same as the Air. No laminated display or anti-reflective coating. The Pro 9.7" and Pro 10.5" are the same at 1.8% of light reflected. Amazing.
 
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AidenL said:
I have a 10.5" coming on Monday, and was going to pass my trusty Air 1 to my wife.

She just surfs the net on it, online shopping and so on.

Wondering should I just hold the Air till it dies or trade it in , get a new 2017 or a refurbished 9.7" Pro?

Only reason I'd go for the Pro is the better screen really. The power wouldn't matter. She fancies Rose Gold so thats a Pro only option also.

I could hold the Air for an extra year and pass on my incoming 10.5" Pro then - upgrade excuse for me ! :D

Any thoughts or opinions?
Click to expand...
The 2017 iPad is an incredible deal and matches the 9.7 iPad Pro in nearly every spec that truly matters. I think the only real distinguishing factors would be keyboard or pencil ... and in that case I'd lean towards the newer 10.5 as that has longevity with 4gb of ram.

The vast vast majority of users will never know or care about the differences.
 
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rkuo said:
The 2017 iPad is an incredible deal and matches the 9.7 iPad Pro in nearly every spec that truly matters. I think the only real distinguishing factors would be keyboard or pencil ... and in that case I'd lean towards the newer 10.5 as that has longevity with 4gb of ram.

The vast majority of users will never know or care about the differences.
Click to expand...
I beg to differ.

I think the majority of users would easily feel and appreciate the better display and speakers. Some might even be able to feel the weight benefit of the lighter Pro. To that point, the Pro model is better in every single way.

What most users would not feel or care would be the A9 vs the A8X. Apple chose to use the A9 in the 2017 iPad probably due to it being cheaper to make than A8X. The 2017 iPad is a truly budget entry option. If Apple didn't care about profit margins and only the best user experience, the 9.7" Pro would be the better, definitive entry model.
 
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NightWingz said:
What most users would not feel or care would be the A9 vs the A8X. Apple chose to use the A9 in the 2017 iPad probably due to it being cheaper to make than A8X. The 2017 iPad is a truly budget entry option. If Apple didn't care about profit margins and only the best user experience, the 9.7" Pro would be the better, definitive entry model.
Click to expand...
Given the out of warranty replacement fee for the iPad Pro 9.7 is $379, I highly doubt there's any chance of Apple selling it for $329 brand new. :rolleyes:
 
NightWingz said:
I beg to differ.

I think the majority of users would easily feel and appreciate the better display and speakers. Some might even be able to feel the weight benefit of the lighter Pro. To that point, the Pro model is better in every single way.

What most users would not feel or care would be the A9 vs the A8X. Apple chose to use the A9 in the 2017 iPad probably due to it being cheaper to make than A8X. The 2017 iPad is a truly budget entry option. If Apple didn't care about profit margins and only the best user experience, the 9.7" Pro would be the better, definitive entry model.
Click to expand...
Of course the 9.7 Pro is better than the 2017 iPad. I never said it wasn't.

But the point is those improvements are niceties. Not essential to watching videos, shopping online, or otherwise web browsing. They add just a bit more to the essential things that an iPad does, but also add hundreds of dollars more to the cost.
 
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rkuo said:
Of course the 9.7 Pro is better than the 2017 iPad. I never said it wasn't.

But the point is those improvements are niceties. Not essential to watching videos, shopping online, or otherwise web browsing. They add just a bit more to the essential things that an iPad does, but also add hundreds of dollars more to the cost.
Click to expand...

That's a fair point.
Only OP himself can decide if its worth the extra cost for the Pro model.

AidenL, perhaps you would like to let your wife try your new 10.5" to see if she wants the quad speakers and better display, and decide if its worth the extra dollars.
 
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Personally I think the Pro is overkill and is only useful for a certain group but Apple knows as long as they have different versions people will buy the most expensive to get all the new features. I mean really, who listens to their iPad on full blast, I believe a majority use headphones or stream to a real set of speakers or tv.

My husband has the Pro, I have the 2017 and he uses it the same way I do, to surf and play games.
 
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