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iPad Pro A12Z still future proof?

N

norman.d

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 13, 2020
3
0
Hi,
I am going to buy an ipad pro, but don't know if I need to wait until the next one comes out.
There is no hurry so normally i would wait, but now i have sort of a studant discount on the current ipad pro (140 euro).
My main question for this dilemma is: Is the A12Z future proof for photoshop, illustrator (coming soon), Procreate etc.
Because I think for the 11" model, only the A14X is the big change for the next model? Even though that is propebly a huge improvement, is it oke to buy the A12Z to use it for the next few years?

Thanks!
 
Define the future. 😉 I am running iOS 14.0.1 on iPad Air 2 with its A8X. It lags somewhat when using two screens side-by-side, but has no major issues with Procreate. And this is a 6 year old iPad! Any recent iPad (iPad Air 4 or Pro 2020) should be fine for a while, they are quite future-proof. ✌️ The major rumoured changes for the next iPad Pro revision (probably in the spring 2021) are the new faster processor and Mini-LED screens:

www.macrumors.com

Kuo: Mini-LED Displays to Debut in Apple's Next iPad Pro

Following his report earlier this week indicating that Apple will be accelerating adoption of mini-LED displays in its iPad and Mac notebook lineups...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
 
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one more said:
Define the future. 😉 I am running iOS 14.0.1 on iPad Air 2 with its A8X. It lags somewhat when using two screens side-by-side, but has no major issues with Procreate. And this is a 6 year old iPad! Any recent iPad (iPad Air 4 or Pro 2020) should be fine for a while, they are quite future-proof. ✌ The major rumoured changes for the next iPad Pro revision (probably in the spring 2021) are the new faster processor and Mini-LED screens:

www.macrumors.com

Kuo: Mini-LED Displays to Debut in Apple's Next iPad Pro

Following his report earlier this week indicating that Apple will be accelerating adoption of mini-LED displays in its iPad and Mac notebook lineups...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
Click to expand...

Thanks! So the 2020 ipad pro is a good creative help for the next years :)
For the mini LED, I guess that it is for the 12.9" only? I am going only for the 11" so the biggest improvement is propably the A14X. But if the current A12Z is good enough for Adobe etc. in the next years, it is not worth the waiting.
 
AutomaticApple said:
There aren’t any rumors to suggest that so far. :)
Click to expand...

Careful, MR has tons of rumours drifting by. :)
I think someone claimed that Mini LED and 5G would only make it to the 12.9 - a while ago. I’m not certain if that makes much sense to me but we’ll see.
 
I dont think there is such thing as real future proof. my way of thinking is if you need something then buy it. if not then wait. If you go and get something expecting it to be the epitome of perfect for years and years then you are going to be disappointed. that all being said, the 2020 models are going to be very useful for years to come. I used a 2016 iPad Pro for four years with affinity photo daily and the only reason I replaced it was the battery was shot. I replaced it with a 2020 11" and its perfect and will be for years. It looks like yours and my uses are similar. the A12Z combined with the 6GB of RAM make this model scream and its very fast.
 
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I consider the A10X in the 2017 Pro to be future proof at this point, so the A12Z will probably be supported for another 5 years at least. If that’s not future-proof enough for you then you’ll want to wait for the A14X/Z.
 
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norman.d said:
Hi,
I am going to buy an ipad pro, but don't know if I need to wait until the next one comes out.
There is no hurry so normally i would wait, but now i have sort of a studant discount on the current ipad pro (140 euro).
My main question for this dilemma is: Is the A12Z future proof for photoshop, illustrator (coming soon), Procreate etc.
Because I think for the 11" model, only the A14X is the big change for the next model? Even though that is propebly a huge improvement, is it oke to buy the A12Z to use it for the next few years?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Next few years should be no problem. Also you do have the option to stop updating your iOS :)
 
norman.d said:
Hi,
I am going to buy an ipad pro, but don't know if I need to wait until the next one comes out.
There is no hurry so normally i would wait, but now i have sort of a studant discount on the current ipad pro (140 euro).
My main question for this dilemma is: Is the A12Z future proof for photoshop, illustrator (coming soon), Procreate etc.
Because I think for the 11" model, only the A14X is the big change for the next model? Even though that is propebly a huge improvement, is it oke to buy the A12Z to use it for the next few years?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
"Future proof" is a non-thing created by companies to convince consumers to spend more money on their products now, rather than waiting for something in the future.

Every Apple device is only ever futureproof until Apple releases the next generation. The 1st gen iPad Pro was futureproof until the 2nd gen Pro was released with ProMotion. The moment Apple produced ProMotion-equipped iPads, suddenly those iPads without ProMotion became stuttering laggy messes. (or that is what the Apple faithful told us)

The Apple Pencil was amazing and awesome until the Pencil 2 was released... at that moment, the 1st gen Apple Pencil had terrible latency that made it unusable. ;)

What I've seen is that those most concerned about a device being futureproof rarely keep the device long enough for its long-term viability to be a serious concern.

I recommend buying whatever current model iPad (Pro or not) that you can get on a good sale that meets your needs now.
 
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Thanks for the help! great info.
But to reply on some of the comments: I know that if you buy something, it is always going to be an "older model" when the next one arives. But in this situation is the current chip acutally 2 years "behind" (I know not literally) and the next chip is going to be a big step forward. The difference is just a bit bigger than normaly (between A9x and A10x for example) therefore the dilemma.
Again thanks!
 
A few things to consider about that:
- Happened a few times that iPad chips skipped a generation.
- The leaps between the recent generations are rather incremental
- While 10 years ago, phone/tablet processing speeds were a limiting factor (for usability, but also "futureproofness"), they are much less so now. If you compare an iPhone 10r, 11 or 12 in store you will not really be able to tell a difference in terms of speed I'd assume. Unless you do video editing or still want the newest game on highest settings in 5 years.

New chips are at first a marketing tool to make people want the new phone. Other than that, they enable new features such as Night Vision, Dolby 4k filming and live editing, FaceID and so on, as those features need a lot of processing power.

For tablets, and apps on those the more powerful chips might make a bit more difference (video editing, photoshop). But still, I would imagine that you'll likely struggle more with the battery, a scratched screen or other things. Electronics are not built to last forever, especially today. See it more as a purchase you need to write off in 3-5 years.
 
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ericwn said:
Careful, MR has tons of rumours drifting by. :)
I think someone claimed that Mini LED and 5G would only make it to the 12.9 - a while ago. I’m not certain if that makes much sense to me but we’ll see.
Click to expand...

I've seen rumors the 12.9" iPad pro would be the first Apple product with mini LED. It will certainly appear on a range of products.
 
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It will be future proof. The A12X/Z is still extremely powerful today outperforming many laptops

look no further than the A8X in the iPad Air 2 still receiving updates for context of how future proof the 2020 Pro devices should be and consider how much more powerful the A12Z is than the A8X

Apple knows iPad users upgrade their devices a lot less and so they focus more on supporting them longer for better ecosystem integration.
 
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norman.d said:
Hi,
I am going to buy an ipad pro, but don't know if I need to wait until the next one comes out.
There is no hurry so normally i would wait, but now i have sort of a studant discount on the current ipad pro (140 euro).
My main question for this dilemma is: Is the A12Z future proof for photoshop, illustrator (coming soon), Procreate etc.
Because I think for the 11" model, only the A14X is the big change for the next model? Even though that is propebly a huge improvement, is it oke to buy the A12Z to use it for the next few years?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have a four year old 9.7 iPP which I'm upgrading primarily because 128GB is too cramped for my needs. The A12Z will be fine for many years to come.
 
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@sracer you nailed it. That post should be stickied in this forum. Its nice to be able to see through all the marketing rubbish, and saves a lot of money in the long run!
 
norman.d said:
Hi,
I am going to buy an ipad pro, but don't know if I need to wait until the next one comes out.
There is no hurry so normally i would wait, but now i have sort of a studant discount on the current ipad pro (140 euro).
My main question for this dilemma is: Is the A12Z future proof for photoshop, illustrator (coming soon), Procreate etc.
Because I think for the 11" model, only the A14X is the big change for the next model? Even though that is propebly a huge improvement, is it oke to buy the A12Z to use it for the next few years?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Really, it depends on what YOU mean by “future proof”.

From the use cases that you have listed (photoshop, illustrator, procreate), I would think it’s highly unlikely Apple would cripple what is arguably their flagship tablet in any discernible way. To that extent - say, across a timeframe of 3 years - the IPP will retain its relevance.

That said, it is more than likely that an upcoming IPP will get the A14X. But then as soon as it’s released, these kind of speculations and questions will start again.
 
Apple hinted at A12 as the next "base" profile during this year's WWDC, it's also why Mac mini DTK is using A12Z as well. They expect this to be the baseline for many years.

You'll be fine with A12Z for the next 5 years, I'm still using A9X in first-gen iPad Pro but I've just compared it to A12Z iPad and damn, it is snappy. I'm waiting for A14X refresh before I decide to update.

There's no way Apple will keep iPad Pro with A12Z for another year, especially with iPad Air 4 next to it.
 
I wouldn't worry about performance for the next 5 years to be honest. My bet is that you'll upgrade sooner because of new features anyway.
 
Absolutely. These are chips are well made and powerful SOCs. They still (as far back as the A8X were still limited by their OS’ potential, the A8X has maybe one more upgrade in him if ipadOS15 is bigger than iOS 14.)




*more to add later if I remember. lol. 😬
 
Kal-037 said:
Absolutely. These are chips are well made and powerful SOCs. They still (as far back as the A8X were still limited by their OS’ potential, the A8X has maybe one more upgrade in him if ipadOS15 is bigger than iOS 14.)




*more to add later if I remember. lol. 😬
Click to expand...
How do you know the A8X is a “him” and not a “her”?
 
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