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All iPads Choosing an iPad! Help please!

R

RaphaZ

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 2, 2021
258
79
Hello!

I have a 5th generation iPad, which I use mainly for media and, most important, work.
I’m a PhD student, and I need to scan a lot of historical documents (when I run out of light, I pick up my iphone 11). My iPad is great, but it can't manage my workflow nowadays (hundreds of pages in ScannerPro, Gmail, some Safari, etc).
I have already decided to purchase a brand new iPad (10,2", 2021): I have still more 2 years to go, and I need a better equipment. So, I did ordered an iPad, yesterday, from Amazon, the wi-fi model with 256 GB. It will only arrive here, Portugal, in two weeks, which is very good according to the estimated delivery dates of the basic iPad. I have also ordered accessories, like the pencil and a case, and they have just arrived - accessories and no tablet!

I have two questions. This iPad will cost me around 550 euros. I saw iPad Pro 11" (2020) selling from 650 euros in the UK's refurbished store. Would you maintain the choice on the regular iPad or would you pay extra 100 euros to buy the pro? More than 500 euros is more than I was about to pay, but I don't like the estimated delivery date of the 64GB model extended till late January'22! This 64GB model would fit me well, I guess, as I payed already for some extra iCloud storage, but I can't wait much longer.

The last question is if you consider A13 chip (and A12X chip) really good and future-proof to handle my workflow? I guess that anything beyond this A9 iPad would be a beast...

Thank you in advance!
Rafael

EDIT: the purpose behind the Apple Pencil is to edit the scanned documents and to take notes on them. I think that will be a major improvement!
 
Last edited:
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RaphaZ said:
Hello!

I have a 5th generation iPad, which I use mainly for media and, most important, work.
I’m a PhD student, and I need to scan a lot of historical documents (when I run out of light, I pick up my iphone 11). My iPad is great, but it can't manage my workflow nowadays (hundreds of pages in ScannerPro, Gmail, some Safari, etc).
I have already decided to purchase a brand new iPad (10,2", 2021): I have still more 2 years to go, and I need a better equipment. So, I did ordered an iPad, yesterday, from Amazon, the wi-fi model with 256 GB. It will only arrive here, Portugal, in two weeks, which is very good according to the estimated delivery dates of the basic iPad. I have also ordered accessories, like the pencil and a case, and they have just arrived - accessories and no tablet!

I have two questions. This iPad will cost me around 550 euros. I saw iPad Pro 11" (2020) selling from 650 euros in the UK's refurbished store. Would you maintain the choice on the regular iPad or would you pay extra 100 euros to buy the pro? More than 500 euros is more than I was about to pay, but I don't like the estimated delivery date of the 64GB model extended till late January'22! This 64GB model would fit me well, I guess, as I payed already for some extra iCloud storage, but I can't wait much longer.

The last question is if you consider A13 chip (and A12X chip) really good and future-proof to handle my workflow? I guess that anything beyond this A9 iPad would be a beast...

Thank you in advance!
Rafael
Click to expand...

I vote for iPad Pro for better back camera. I find it helps with scanning. The 5th gen already lasted you this long. I expect either A12X or A13 would last you even longer.
 
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If you plan to use heavily the Apple Pencil, I would recommend going with the iPad Pro because Apple Pencil 2 is much more convenient to charge than Apple Pencil 1. For future proofing, I would recommend not to look for any device older than the A12, but both are fine in that regard. The better camera quality on iPad Pro may be useful for scanning purpose, but the difference will not be dramatic. Both are great choices, but if you're sure 64GB is enough for you, I'd go with the iPad Pro
 
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Would you find 64 GB sufficient or 256 GB would be better?
 
The iPad Pro is definitely a significant step up from the base iPad and I can confirm from my own experience that it is well worth the extra cost.

My wife and I have worked our way through base model iPads - 4th generation through 7th generation - before moving to the 11" iPad Pro beginning just a year ago. We're both now using 11" Pro models, 2020 and 2021 (M1) models.

If you can afford the additional cost then I recommend you get the Pro.
 
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Speaking just about classic iPads, 64 GB model might arrive just in January 22. I would love a 128 GB model, I think it would fit perfectly. 256 GB just seems to much, I’m afraid I could get a better solution for that price.
 
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Watch for deals, but I got the 13 inch and magic keyboard open box from best buy for $1100 for it all this is of course the 128 gb wifi. Just look and you can find deals out there.
 
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The pro has flash LED built in so you wouldn’t need to use your phone for light. Does the non-pro iPad have flash LED?
 
Do you think RAM plays a great role over my decision?
And the fact that I don’t want more accessories than the pencil.
 
RaphaZ said:
Do you think RAM plays a great role over my decision?
And the fact that I don’t want more accessories than the pencil.
Click to expand...

RAM plays a part in how smoothly things run. Question is how patient are you and how much multitasking do you do?

Both my mom and dad get by just fine with their old iPads (Pro 9.7 and 5th gen). I expect they'll use those until the iPads break. Meanwhile, the constant reloads will probably drive me nuts if I had to use those as my primary iPad. I was already getting frustrated on occasion even with the 2017 Pros (A10X + 4GB RAM).
 
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RaphaZ said:
Do you think RAM plays a great role over my decision?
And the fact that I don’t want more accessories than the pencil.
Click to expand...
Unless you have memory-intensive pro app workflows I’d say no. Frankly, iOS and iPadOS don’t seem to do much with the extra RAM in newer models. For example, I have a 13 Pro that closes the active file in Google Sheets when the Clock and Music are the only other apps running. Anyways! I wouldn’t worry too much about RAM. However, if you can find a refurbished iPad Pro for about the same price as a base iPad I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade. (For non-RAM reasons.)
 
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RaphaZ said:
Hello!

I have a 5th generation iPad, which I use mainly for media and, most important, work.
I’m a PhD student, and I need to scan a lot of historical documents (when I run out of light, I pick up my iphone 11). My iPad is great, but it can't manage my workflow nowadays (hundreds of pages in ScannerPro, Gmail, some Safari, etc).
I have already decided to purchase a brand new iPad (10,2", 2021): I have still more 2 years to go, and I need a better equipment. So, I did ordered an iPad, yesterday, from Amazon, the wi-fi model with 256 GB. It will only arrive here, Portugal, in two weeks, which is very good according to the estimated delivery dates of the basic iPad. I have also ordered accessories, like the pencil and a case, and they have just arrived - accessories and no tablet!

I have two questions. This iPad will cost me around 550 euros. I saw iPad Pro 11" (2020) selling from 650 euros in the UK's refurbished store. Would you maintain the choice on the regular iPad or would you pay extra 100 euros to buy the pro? More than 500 euros is more than I was about to pay, but I don't like the estimated delivery date of the 64GB model extended till late January'22! This 64GB model would fit me well, I guess, as I payed already for some extra iCloud storage, but I can't wait much longer.

The last question is if you consider A13 chip (and A12X chip) really good and future-proof to handle my workflow? I guess that anything beyond this A9 iPad would be a beast...

Thank you in advance!
Rafael

EDIT: the purpose behind the Apple Pencil is to edit the scanned documents and to take notes on them. I think that will be a major improvement!
Click to expand...
There are a bunch of refurb pros on the store right now. I would snag one with your desired storage capacity. I counted over q2. Now is the time!
 
Thank you all. Your comments were useful.
I actually decided to downgrade my options and wait for the classic 64GB model: a little bit was better, but I can manage my workflow with an iCloud improvement. I didn't want to pay more money, and you made me confident that the A13 chip will run smoothly the operations I need. I'll just wait that Amazon brings me the iPad as soon as they can :)
 
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RaphaZ said:
Thank you all. Your comments were useful.
I actually decided to downgrade my options and wait for the classic 64GB model: a little bit was better, but I can manage my workflow with an iCloud improvement. I didn't want to pay more money, and you made me confident that the A13 chip will run smoothly the operations I need. I'll just wait that Amazon brings me the iPad as soon as they can :)
Click to expand...
You’ll still love it. A13 is still a very fast chip. My mom has the 5th gen with the A9 so she’ll appreciate the nice bump in speed with her new 9th gen for Christmas
 
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