Deals: Get the 256GB 12.9-Inch iPad Pro for $949 ($150 Off, Lowest Price)

[MacRumors]

Today only, you can get the 256GB Wi-Fi 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020) for $949.00 on B&H Photo, down from an original price of $1,099.00. This sale is available in both silver and space gray colors, and it will expire later tonight at midnight.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

B&H Photo's sale is a match of the lowest-ever price seen on this version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. You can also get the same price on Amazon with a matching sale, but that retailer is only offering the iPad Pro in space gray at this price.

12.9-Inch iPad Pro for $949.00 ($150 OFF)​

Apple refreshed its iPad Pro lineup back in March, introducing a faster A12Z Bionic processor, dual rear cameras, a new LiDAR scanner for improved augmented reality capabilities, improved audio, and an optional Magic Keyboard accessory that adds a trackpad to the iPad for the first time.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

Article Link: Deals: Get the 256GB 12.9-Inch iPad Pro for $949 ($150 Off, Lowest Price)

 

[GreenPixel]

I'm in the market, but I'm holding off until a refresh. I'm hopeful the next update will be significant.

 

[trip1ex]

Seems like a bad buy considering new iPad pros are right around the corner and will have a chip that is 2 generations newer plus other upgrades.

 

[calstanford]

That's nice. But it's basically from 2018.

 

[icanhazmac]

Tempting but my 12.9 first gen is still running strong.

 

[OriginalMacRat]

Tempting but my 12.9 first gen is still running strong.

Also enjoying a 12.9 first gen I bought used for $300...

Looking forward to a second gen at a similar price.

 

[jacjustjac]

B&H had a “9 condition” used 2018 11” iPad Pro with 1TB SSD + Cellular for $750 (and no tax) the other day. I hesitated and missed it. I just want an iPad to use as a second monitor, or edit in Lightroom CC, or ingest the proxies from my A7SIII for review and safekeeping. But I also really want an M1 MacBook Pro to compliment my 16” MBP as a more portable FCPX editing machine.

I know that if I just wait a little while longer (or maybe a year 🥵), Apple might release either a 14” MacBook Pro that greatly outperforms even the dGPU of the 16” MBP in FCPX editing (and especially with battery life), or maybe even an iPad Pro that runs Final Cut and possibly even Mac OS with a new Magic keyboard that contains a battery. Apple is sitting on so many possibilities! But also, I feel like a used 2018 iPad Pro purchased now will still have similar resale value (and still have great value in general) in a year or so.

Any thoughts?

 

[AnotherOpinion]

That's nice. But it's basically from 2018.

Yup - Other than the LIDAR (which we now have on new iPhones) I am waiting on the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9 My current 2018 still works exceptionally well… I am still so disappointed they are maintaining the touch-ID thick bezel old Pencil versions… seems so silly, especially how to charge the Pencil.

 

[doboy]

Amazon has it for a same price.

Since I got my 2020 11" during Back to School promo I'll wait for a 2021 12.9" to upgrade my 1st gen, although I'm finding 11" to be the sweet spot.

 

[cycling_pete]

Probably worth waiting for mini-led/5G/updated cpu.

 

[otternonsense]

I'm eyeing up a 12.9" iPP but I don't know if it makes sense with new ones due to arrive by Q2 2021

 

[Apple_Robert]

Seems like a bad buy considering new iPad pros are right around the corner and will have a chip that is 2 generations newer plus other upgrades.

The current iPad Pro is still very fast and able to basically do almost anything a person needs. Your average consumer isn’t going to care that a possible refresh is 4 - 6 months away. Places like MacRumors are where too many people get hung up on having to have the latest specs so they can say they have the latest specs, even though they probably won’t be able to make complete use of the capability of the current iPad.

 

[luvbug]

Meanwhile, you can buy the base M1 MBA, which has the same size ssd, for $50 over this sales price.

 

[MacLawyer]

Seems like a bad buy considering new iPad pros are right around the corner and will have a chip that is 2 generations newer plus other upgrades.

Also it seems strange to me that the much more capable (IMO) base MacBook Air costs about the same as a tablet, albeit a very nice tablet.

 

[cwwilson]

People may laugh at the timing when I bought my 2020 Pro in April but when it’s paid off in 2022 the OLED iPads will just be shipping off and those are going to be mind blowing amazing. The “mini-LED” ones slated to arrive next year will be a lame duck in comparison and will probably remind us of the whole iPad 3 debacle.

Anyway, the 2020 iPad takes flack itself around here but it’s still a very powerful tablet even with its old A12Z. I’m glad to have one. I would still recommend it to anyone who might be looking for an iPad of its size simply because it is so darn good.

Yes, the new ones are coming out in a few months but if you can score a deal on a 2020 I’d go for it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Meanwhile, you can buy the base M1 MBA, which has the same size ssd, for $50 over this sales price.

That is true. However, a MBA doesn’t work very well for someone who wants tablet portability and use.

 

[trip1ex]

The current iPad Pro is still very fast and able to basically do almost anything a person needs. Your average consumer isn’t going to care that a possible refresh is 4 - 6 months away. Places like MacRumors are where too many people get hung up on having to have the latest specs so they can say they have the latest specs, even though they probably won’t be able to make complete use of the capability of the current iPad.

No it's still a bad buy.

And the average consumer buys the (cheap) iPad.

There's a difference between a bad buy and a bad product btw.

 

[Apple_Robert]

No it's still a bad buy.

And the average consumer buys the (cheap) iPad.

How is it a bad buy right now? Don’t tell me because of the supposed refresh around the corner.

 

[trip1ex]

How is it a bad buy right now? Don’t tell me because of the supposed refresh around the corner.

I already told you.

 

[Rainshadow]

The current iPad Pro is still very fast and able to basically do almost anything a person needs. Your average consumer isn’t going to care that a possible refresh is 4 - 6 months away. Places like MacRumors are where too many people get hung up on having to have the latest specs so they can say they have the latest specs, even though they probably won’t be able to make complete use of the capability of the current iPad.

I would argue that we don’t care about the latest specs so much as not wanting to buy old tech... again, that chip, which is absolutely powerful will be significantly less capable than the a14x. Or z or whatever.

these are large purchases. When you upgrade, you want to be on the leading edge to get the most out of the purchase for future power needs as software and OS become more capable. Yes, the 12z is still a beast, but 4 or 5 years from now, it will still be that much less capable than the a14 which will be more than two years newer.

I don’t brag about current specs much. I brag that my 10.5 pro is still shockingly fast and capable. It’s really remarkable. And when I upgrade, I’m not buying 2 year old software/hardware.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would argue that we don’t care about the latest specs so much as not wanting to buy old tech... again, that chip, which is absolutely powerful will be significantly less capable than the a14x. Or z or whatever.

these are large purchases. When you upgrade, you want to be on the leading edge to get the most out of the purchase for future power needs as software and OS become more capable. Yes, the 12z is still a beast, but 4 or 5 years from now, it will still be that much less capable than the a14 which will be more than two years newer.

I don’t brag about current specs much. I brag that my 10.5 pro is still shockingly fast and capable. It’s really remarkable. And when I upgrade, I’m not buying 2 year old software/hardware.

Leading tech is valid for about 6 - 8 months (give or take). Wanting to have the latest tech all the time is not practical, unless one buys every new release regardless of practicality.

The current iPad Pro model is more than sufficient to run current and upcoming software for several years to come. It is only on MacRumors and other like sites, where many regulars feel as if the current model will be suddenly obsolete and or less capable, just because there are rumors of a new model on the horizon.

You say the current chip will be significantly less capable. In what regard is that so in normal day to day usage? All you did in your reply is attempt to rationalize the mindset of spending money on tech every release just because, while making illogical conclusions about the current model.

I stand by my previous post. Many MR regulars are terrible about advising people on whether to buy and when. This thread is a prime example of the mindset i spoke of

 

[Deliro]

The current iPad Pro is still very fast and able to basically do almost anything a person needs. Your average consumer isn’t going to care that a possible refresh is 4 - 6 months away. Places like MacRumors are where too many people get hung up on having to have the latest specs so they can say they have the latest specs, even though they probably won’t be able to make complete use of the capability of the current iPad.

People on these forums represent a very small minority of Apple product purchasers, I think most on here sit and wait unnecessarily because they will get 5-15% more efficiency on a small task by waiting until the next upgrade. It's the "wait until they refresh" spin cycle. I say if you need something now, get it because unless you work for Apple and they haven't announced, you have no clue when that refresh will be. And because this is Mac"Rumors" often the rumored release time-frames are waaaay off. I mean we had folks proclaiming the week of the 2020's release that a super duper iPad Pro refresh would come at the end of 2020, heh.

The iPad 2020 brought more than just a LiDAR camera. It brought 6 GB of ram to all models, doubled the storage space on most models for free. Wifi 6 (minor), better camera, and another GPU core. It's a nice refresh. The Pro model of iPads don't seem to follow the iPhone strategy, as I feel Apple withholds features to make their next model appealing (USB C, 120 refresh, etc etc).

The speed of the 18 and 20 is still amazing. Sure a bump in processor is welcome, but who really sees the difference given that almost no Apps push the current Pro? For the very few people that are using it for things like video editing and export yah they'll see the bump. But for the vast majority who use it for content consumption, minor productivity, and web surfing any perceived bump will be negligible.

I'm not trying to justify my 2020 purchase, at the time I wanted it and didn't want to wait for incremental improvements, because I'm sure the 2022 will also be awesome so don't buy the 2021! 🤣

 

[Rainshadow]

Leading tech is valid for about 6 - 8 months (give or take). Wanting to have the latest tech all the time is not practical, unless one buys every new release regardless of practicality.

The current iPad Pro model is more than sufficient to run current and upcoming software for several years to come. It is only on MacRumors and other like sites, where many regulars feel as if the current model will be suddenly obsolete and or less capable, just because there are rumors of a new model on the horizon.

You say the current chip will be significantly less capable. In what regard is that so in normal day to day usage? All you did in your reply is attempt to rationalize the mindset of spending money on tech every release just because, while making illogical conclusions about the current model.

I stand by my previous post. Many MR regulars are terrible about advising people on whether to buy and when. This thread is a prime example of the mindset i spoke of

Wow. You didn’t read my post. I specifically said that we don’t want to purchase old tech (2 years old) because we (I) hold on to it for YEARS. I do NOT buy every year. Technology is a conveyor belt. It’s always getting better. But I’m not jumping on a product that has been on that belt for two years when the new one is about to pop out.

Again, not about having the best specs. It’s about not wasting your money on old tech. And really, you claim that the old chip is ok. And it is - for years. But I promise you, the a14 will be included in updates for at least another 1.5 years and possibly more than that over the a12... so I don’t see your argument when I’m holding onto an almost 4 year old iPad and hoping to hold onto the next one for longer than that.

It would be foolish to buy now UNLESS you buy every update. Not BECAUSE you buy every update. That just doesn’t even make sense.

 

[Deliro]

Wow. You didn’t read my post. I specifically said that we don’t want to purchase old tech (2 years old) because we (I) hold on to it for YEARS. I do NOT buy every year. Technology is a conveyor belt. It’s always getting better. But I’m not jumping on a product that has been on that belt for two years when the new one is about to pop out.

Again, not about having the best specs. It’s about not wasting your money on old tech. And really, you claim that the old chip is ok. And it is - for years. But I promise you, the a14 will be included in updates for at least another 1.5 years and possibly more than that over the a12... so I don’t see your argument when I’m holding onto an almost 4 year old iPad and hoping to hold onto the next one for longer than that.

It would be foolish to buy now UNLESS you buy every update. Not BECAUSE you buy every update. That just doesn’t even make sense.

It’s not foolish if you want it now. Your day to day with an A14 won’t be radically different since the software doesn’t push the current iPad Pro or even the previous gens. My OG original Pro still handles casual stuff with ease. The 2020 and the 18 will be fine for years to come.

For people considering a Pro today you won’t be disappointed especially if you can score a decent deal like this one. These forums are full of the wait for next gen naysayers.

 

[gugy]

Tempting but my 12.9 first gen is still running strong.

True, I love mine but I'll wait for the upcoming updates. Probably can sell mine for $400/500.