iPad 9th gen iPad vs Air or Pro for video creation/editing in LumaFusion and other light tasks?

[jm31828]

I recently picked up a 9th gen iPad on sale for $249, with the intention to use it for browsing Reddit, Facebook, browsing the web, and doing light photo editing in Affinity Photo and creating short videos in iMovie and LumaFusion.

I know all of this currently works just fine on the 9th gen, and apps like LumaFusion actually have low system requirements so the 9th gen is absolutely fine at the moment- with processing speeds just being a bit slower than they would be on the Air M1 or the Pro M2.

I also just picked up a Pro 11" on sale (which I have not yet opened), with the tech nerd in me thinking I'd like the much higher processing power of the M2 chip and the 8GB of RAM, along with the other upgrades that make it such a nice device.

Even though they aren't necessary at the moment, I would suspect the Pro will last a lot longer before the apps I mentioned above would seem laggy than would be the case on the 9th gen.

Though I can afford the pro, I am also a bit of a cheapskate- and want to know I'm getting the best value, so I am curious about what others out there who are more knowledgeable on iPads have to say.
Would the 9th gen- using these apps and not really doing any multitasking- perform just fine for years to come, or would there be concern- especially due to the 3gb RAM- that the 9th gen in a couple of years would stutter with even this basic usage, making the much higher cost for the Pro well worth it for that future-proofing? Or are these apps so optimized, that as long as not multitasking- there should not really be issues for a very long time running these on that device?

 

[sracer]

I'm a huge fan of the 9th gen iPad (I push it to its limits) but whenever anyone asks, "9th gen iPad, or....?" my answer is always, get the "or" option. If you have any doubt and you can afford something more, then get that something more... because that doubt will always bite you in the end.

Mentioning "future-proofing" (which actually isn't a thing) is further evidence that you should go with the Pro. The extra cost of the Pro over the 9th gen is worth the peace of mind.

 

[jm31828]

I'm a huge fan of the 9th gen iPad (I push it to its limits) but whenever anyone asks, "9th gen iPad, or....?" my answer is always, get the "or" option. If you have any doubt and you can afford something more, then get that something more... because that doubt will always bite you in the end.

Mentioning "future-proofing" (which actually isn't a thing) is further evidence that you should go with the Pro. The extra cost of the Pro over the 9th gen is worth the peace of mind.

Great points, thanks! Yeah I am someone who would hope to use the device for say, 5 years before upgrading. I like a good deal, but also enjoy cool tech features- so it seems to make sense to go with the Pro (or even the Air), but was curious what others think, as that $249 price for the 9th gen is an incredible price.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[sracer]

Great points, thanks! Yeah I am someone who would hope to use the device for say, 5 years before upgrading. I like a good deal, but also enjoy cool tech features- so it seems to make sense to go with the Pro (or even the Air), but was curious what others think, as that $249 price for the 9th gen is an incredible price.

Thanks for sharing!

The lure of the bargain! The struggle is real. 😂 I'm there with ya.

For me, I don't need the iPad to last 5 years or more. Tech advances continue. Deals and bargains are a regular thing. As long as a device can serve my purposes for a year or two (or three) then that's enough until the next irresistible deal comes along.

In 3 years or so, I'll be able to pick up an iPad with the current Pro-level specs for far less than it sells for now. When it comes to Apple products, living on the trailing edge is where the bargains are. For example: 4 months or so ago, I bought a new iPhone 12 from my no-contract carrier for under $200 (no strings attached). It's an amazing phone. I'm having a blast with it.

This approach isn't for everybody, but if one can push past FOMO, there's a lot of fun to be had and a ton of money to be saved without being "deprived".

 

[jm31828]

The lure of the bargain! The struggle is real. 😂 I'm there with ya.

For me, I don't need the iPad to last 5 years or more. Tech advances continue. Deals and bargains are a regular thing. As long as a device can serve my purposes for a year or two (or three) then that's enough until the next irresistible deal comes along.

In 3 years or so, I'll be able to pick up an iPad with the current Pro-level specs for far less than it sells for now. When it comes to Apple products, living on the trailing edge is where the bargains are. For example: 4 months or so ago, I bought a new iPhone 12 from my no-contract carrier for under $200 (no strings attached). It's an amazing phone. I'm having a blast with it.

This approach isn't for everybody, but if one can push past FOMO, there's a lot of fun to be had and a ton of money to be saved without being "deprived".

Excellent points, and in many ways you are not missing out on the "fun" that is to be had in the Apple ecosystem!

Someone on another forum made a comment that really made a lot of sense- that the basic iPad such as the 9th gen does about 95% of what the Air or Pro do, it's just not as flashy. It's a great way to put it not just with the iPad but in your note about going with the affordable iPhone 12 as well. (heck, with the iPhone 12 you are probably getting 99.9% of the functionality you'd get on a 15, and the 12 is still super fast)

 

[RaphaZ]

I totally agree with Sracer (when do I not agree with him?!).
However, for the tasks you are mentioning, I shall say I see a lot of people underlining RAM as a potential problem for those tasks in the iPad 9th.
I'm using an iPad 9th, I love it, but I don't do the things you want to do.

 

[jm31828]

I totally agree with Sracer (when do I not agree with him?!).
However, for the tasks you are mentioning, I shall say I see a lot of people underlining RAM as a potential problem for those tasks in the iPad 9th.
I'm using an iPad 9th, I love it, but I don't do the things you want to do.

Yeah, great points. It seems the consensus is that the A13 chip is powerful and will hold up for a long time, but the 3GB RAM will be an issue for these types of tasks (or any multitasking).