iPad Pro [Advice Needed] iPad 12.9 Gen 1 vs 10.5 Gen 1

[Alex W.]

12.9 32GB Gen 1 for - 480 no taxes. --- another 12.9 - 128gb for 500 CAD.
10.5 256GB + Celluar (not important) Gen 1 - 450 without taxes, 508 taxes in.

Prices in Canadian. All used product.

Im mainly using it for web browsing, videos, and some emulators for retro gaming additionally sidecar for my mbp16.
What is the better unit, I have never held a 12.9 to know if its holdable to read.

Advice? Opinions? I can't really decide.

 

[AutomaticApple]

10.5 256GB + Celluar (not important) Gen 1 - 450 without taxes, 508 taxes in

Get the 10.5" iPad Pro. You'll appreciate the much bigger storage.

 

[Digitalguy]

I have both. Get the 10.5 without hesitation...

 

[Alex W.]

Thank you, why do you prefer the 10.5 over the pro

 

[Digitalguy]

I have the same 10.5 as the one you mention and the 128GB first gen 12.9. 32GB is not enough so I would rule that out.
10.5 is faster (quad core vs dual core I believe, anyway you feel it‘s faster) and has pro-motion, which is not a big deal, but nice to have anyway...
Speakers are better on the 12.9, but not by much... And having 256GB gives peace of mind...
My rule is, if you have to have just 1 ipad, get the mid-sized one. I personnally like to have both, as the 12.9 is nicer for watching videos and for reading in portait mode... Is it too heavy? No, but it’s heavy and much heavier than the 10.5. So it’s fine to hold for 5-10 minutes, not for longer... As for sidecar of course the 12.9 will be better...
Last but not least the 10.5 sometimes develops a white spot, not the 12.9... My 10.5 has it, but I have got used to it... and with apps that support dark mode, you don’t see it...
So you see, it depends on what is important for you. If sidecar and watching videos (while not holding it) is more important get the 12.9.
If you plan on holding the ipad long enough and you want a faster device, get the 10.5

 

[Alex W.]

Thats concerning thank for the feedback but now it positions me to getting a 12.9" size.
I can always pay for a battery replacement and get a refurbished unit if theirs major issues anyway.

Still stuck very hard decision, battery life is important, but ive also recently been using emulators so the iPad is an amazing portable gaming device -- it kind of makes the iPad gen 7 tempting swell as I couldn't believe how it runs N64 and gamecube games smoothly.

 

[theanimala]

What emulators are you using? Wouldn’t mind testing with my IPP 11.

 

[Alex W.]

What emulators are you using? Wouldn’t mind testing with my IPP 11.

delta, if you need help how to install it without a JB lmk.
Also Dolphinios for gamecube and wii

 

[Alex W.]

Just an update, I sold the 12.9 and 10.5, I went with the base 10.2 as it is lighter, more portable and I don’t really need anything more power wise. The base iPad is impressive, has no major issues like the others had.


plays emulators, reads great and is small enough to message on Without a keyboard.
the laminated vs non I feel only matters for pen use At a fine arts level, taking notes is fine.

very happy with the cost / benefit ratio with the base 7th gen, also the battery life on the base unit is easily 10+ hours.
I compared a simple stress test running Zelda 64 idle in the starting zone, the iPad 7th gen got 7.30hrs playtime, the 12.9got 4.5hrs and the 10.5 got 6.0hrs.

The higher end iPads don't provide enough value or superior performance as the 10.2 does everything as well, and more things better vs the 12" and the 10.5 being twice the price does almost nothing better vs the 10.2 besides professional artwork creation.

Additionally the speakers I are quite acceptable on the 10.2, vs the 6th gen iPad their roughly 15% better, more base and depth to them -- im not missing the extra two speakers from the pro units at all, as I often don't need anything louder than 60% volume.

Overall very happy with the outcome of this experience, hopefully this assists with someone looking for a similar solution.

 

[Homme]

I have the same 10.5 as the one you mention and the 128GB first gen 12.9. 32GB is not enough so I would rule that out.
10.5 is faster (quad core vs dual core I believe, anyway you feel it‘s faster) and has pro-motion, which is not a big deal, but nice to have anyway...
Speakers are better on the 12.9, but not by much... And having 256GB gives peace of mind...
My rule is, if you have to have just 1 ipad, get the mid-sized one. I personnally like to have both, as the 12.9 is nicer for watching videos and for reading in portait mode... Is it too heavy? No, but it’s heavy and much heavier than the 10.5. So it’s fine to hold for 5-10 minutes, not for longer... As for sidecar of course the 12.9 will be better...
Last but not least the 10.5 sometimes develops a white spot, not the 12.9... My 10.5 has it, but I have got used to it... and with apps that support dark mode, you don’t see it...
So you see, it depends on what is important for you. If sidecar and watching videos (while not holding it) is more important get the 12.9.
If you plan on holding the ipad long enough and you want a faster device, get the 10.5

2nd gen Pros have a hepta core processor not quad core

also the speakers of both modes are the same. 2 on each side so Quad speakers so I don’t know why your saying the 12.9 inch one has better speakers?

 

[Alex W.]

2nd gen Pros have a hepta core processor not quad core

also the speakers of both modes are the same. 2 on each side so Quad speakers so I don’t know why your saying the 12.9 inch one has better speakers?

their not the same the 12.9 had better audio reproduction, regardless I tested all three out together and picked the best unit before selling the others.