Hi! I found this page looking for opinions of different ipad, and I take the opportunity to ask for help
To put a bit of context, i'm a graphic design student and I want to buy my first ipad, I have found several offers that fit my budget (about 600/700 dollars including shipping abroad), but when it comes to comparing the technical details of each i'm completely lost!
I'm between new and refurbished equipment options, not too sure if it's a good option either
The equipment I've seen (in order from lowest to highest price, if that's relevant) are:
Apple iPad Air 2 128GB - Renewed
Apple iPad 9.ª gen 64GB - New
Apple iPad Air 3 256GB - Renewed (It has a considerable price difference with the previous Air 2, I don't know if the technical differences vary a lot or if the difference in capacity influences the price so much)
Apple iPad Pro 2nd 12.9in 256GB - Renewed
Apple iPad 9.ª gen 256GB - New
Apple iPad 8.ª gen 128GB - New
Apple iPad Air 4 64GB - Renewed
I hope someone can give me some advice, thanks!
If you are truly serious about your Procreate usage, do not get any of the ones you have listed. Similarly, do not get any model of iPad that only works with the first generation Apple Pencil. You will thank yourself later.
1) You need to determine how important having a large canvas is. 10-11-inches or 12.9-inches. No one can tell you which one is most important to you. That's a purely subjective question. If the answer is that the larger canvas is critical to you, then it's obvious that you are shopping for a 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
2) After determining that, the next question you need to answer is "how important is precision and screen response to the Apple Pencil". This is also subjective and best answered by going into your local Apple Store, or third party Apple authorized reseller and playing around with them. This is only worth really examining if you've determined that you're fine with the 10-11-inch iPads because there is only one size option for the 12.9-inch one. Pick up an Apple Pencil, play with it on (a) the current iPad Air or (b) the current 11-inch iPad Pro. If the difference isn't much to you, buy an iPad Air. The 4th Generation model is fine. The 5th Generation one is way better (and likely to set itself apart from the 4th Generation model down the road as Apple starts adding more M1 specific features to iPadOS). If the difference IS a lot to you, then you need to be shopping for an 11-inch iPad Pro.
3) There's very little reason to NEED to spend money on the CURRENT iPad Pros. Though, I'd argue that a current generation iPad Air is substantial over its predecessor (unless your needs are truly super casual). Either way, go to the Apple Online Store, navigate to the Apple Certified Refurbished iPad page. Apple is currently selling the 4th Generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro (A12Z Bionic) and the 5th Generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro (M1) as well as the 2nd Generation 11-inch iPad Pro (A12Z Bionic) and the 3rd Generation 11-inch iPad Pro (M1) (the current M2 models are the 6th and 4th Generation, respectively). If all you care about is being able to draw with the Apple Pencil in Procreate, the 4th Generation 12.9-inch and 2nd Generation 11-inch iPad Pro will suffice. You get a bit more future-proofing with one generation up. Also, again, for how much they were criticized for not doing this sooner, M1 and M2 iPads are clearly in the process of getting features exclusive to them, so if you can afford to up your budget to get at least an iPad Air or Pro with at least the M1, it's probably worth doing.
So, in short:
1) 11-inch iPad or 12.9-inch iPad? Only you can answer this.
2) If 11-inch iPad, Air or Pro (again, I'd evaluate it based on using the pencil to draw)? Again, only you can answer this and you really need to play with both to see the difference.
3) Go here if Pro (unfortunately, they don't yet have refurbished current generation iPad Airs on sale):
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/ipad
(I'm not wholesale opposed to the 4th Generation iPad Air. And Apple DOES sell those at that site too. I own one and love it; but you get a bit better longevity and bang for buck, especially for your needs with the others I've mentioned.)
