iPad iPad 12.9 M1 owners upgrading to 13 M4?

[nightlong]

I haven’t seen them side by side, I have seen the iPad 13 M4 in a shop. The screen looks very bright and sharp, but is it enough difference to be worth the major cost? I love my 2021 M1 12.9, the screen is also bright and sharp, but not as dazzling. I use it a lot, for work and play, and I never get eye strain. I remember when OLED first came out on phones some people complained about eye strain. How’s that going for people who‘ve been using it a week or more?

what are the most compelling reasons for buying the 13 M4 apart from screen? My iPad does everything instantly, will I even notice an improvement in speed?

 

[Nikhil72]

The new magic keyboard is notably better feeling; the entire package being much lighter feeling helps both in tablet and in laptop style mode. The battery seems to be a bit of a beast, lasting longer than my M1. And I know you said besides the screen, but the OLED is really a sight. And M4 might be overkill but everything snaps open in a hot second.

The lighter weight really does enable for handheld use in a way that the ~20% heavier M1 annoyed me enough with.

 

[the5rivers]

I am upgrading because OLED (so no more blooming which was annoying), and the weight savings alone which should make daily use even more comfortable. M1 to M4 upgrade may be less obvious in day to day usage but more apparent if you do a lot of photo/video processing and editing. Trading in the old device also lessens the blow of the upgrade price, so for me, it was worth it.

I am debating between the magic keyboard and getting another logi combo touch pro (I like the full protection), but then the weight savings becomes moot.

 

[ericwn]

I see no value in updating personally. The M1 is fast enough and I don’t need OLED for my content consumption as I have TVs for that. My iPad doesn’t often leave the house and I don’t use the Magic Keyboard stuff at all.

 

[nightlong]

I suppose for me the weight isn’t an issue, I never hold the 12.9, I have various stands. I handhold my smaller iPads, particularly the Mini.
so OLED doesn’t bloom at all, even in complete darkness?
I have a white Magic Keyboard for the 12.9, I like it better than anything else, and I would really like to have the function keys, but I hope Apple isn’t going to do this every upgrade, the Magic Keyboard is too expensive to be obsolete in 2 years

 

[tucogovinda]

I upgraded from the 12.9” M1 iPad Pro to the new 13” M4 iPad Pro and I absolutely love it. That said, I fully admit this was a want to upgrade rather than a need to upgrade and I don’t think it’s necessary for most people…

For me, the sum total of all the quality-of-life improvements from the OLED screen, weight/thinness, landscape front camera, and improved Magic Keyboard + Pencil combined with my wife being long overdue for a new iPad (so she’s simply getting my M1 as a hand-me-down) made this upgrade an easy “yes.” My iPad is my primary personal computer and I’m also incredibly blessed to be in a situation where I can afford to upgrade right now.

For you, unless you’re also in a situation where there’s a perfect storm of circumstances encouraging you to upgrade, I would say keep enjoying your M1 iPad Pro – it’s still an awesome iPad.

 

[sparksd]

I had been on the fence about it - I know I don't need to update. My wife is still on the Air 2 and has mentioned upgrading at some point so yesterday I showed her my 12.9 - she never really looked at it - and asked if she'd be interested in using it as I was considering an update. Meh, it's big. Then I showed her some 4K videos on it and now she wants it. Looks like I'll be doing an upgrade ...

 

[Surfsalot]

The wife always gets the hand me downs

 

[FrozenDarkness]

i'm going to upgrade from a 12.9 to a m4. the m1 is harder to sell than i thought though...

i am downgrading from 1TB to 256 or 512 though.

 

[sparksd]

The wife always gets the hand me downs

First hand-me-down for my wife and it's a huge jump from the Air 2 to an M1 12.9.

 

[TechGod]

I don’t know if I should go from the M1 12.9” to M4 11” iPad Pro?

 

[Rizop]

I’ve got both models you describe as well as a couple of 11 inch M1s within the family . I absolutely love the new 13 inch , but to be completely honest with you , it doesn’t feel like a huge jump to me , nor should it . The 12.9 M1 is already a monster .

The Oled screen is very nice . The mini-led in the 12.9 is darn close though . I’m a screen tech enthusiast , and I’ll echo a poster from another thread In saying that the jump from lcd to mini-led felt like the big jump , while the move to OLED is like a perfection of something that was already great . Blooming was obscenely bad in 2021 however with the software updates over the years , the blooming has gotten much better (though not super close to perfect like Sony’s top of the line miniled tv’s), and in a lot of cases the miniled can display what looks like true blacks . IMHO the displays are within striking distance of each other after the updates . I have no idea what Apple was thinking implementing that horrible local dimming algorithm back in the day , but I digress lol.

The best part for me is the weight reduction and the thinness of the new iPad . It’s extremely noticeable . Holding both in each hand , and the difference is striking .

If you’re going to update just for the display, I’m not sure I would do that . However if you have plenty of cash on hand and desire greater portability and need the raw power , sure go for it !

 

[kitt9000]

I’ve got both models you describe as well as a couple of 11 inch M1s within the family . I absolutely love the new 13 inch , but to be completely honest with you , it doesn’t feel like a huge jump to me , nor should it . The 12.9 M1 is already a monster .

The Oled screen is very nice . The mini-led in the 12.9 is darn close though . I’m a screen tech enthusiast , and I’ll echo a poster from another thread In saying that the jump from lcd to mini-led felt like the big jump , while the move to OLED is like a perfection of something that was already great . Blooming was obscenely bad in 2021 however with the software updates over the years , the blooming has gotten much better (though not super close to perfect like Sony’s top of the line miniled tv’s), and in a lot of cases the miniled can display what looks like true blacks . IMHO the displays are within striking distance of each other after the updates . I have no idea what Apple was thinking implementing that horrible local dimming algorithm back in the day , but I digress lol.

The best part for me is the weight reduction and the thinness of the new iPad . It’s extremely noticeable . Holding both in each hand , and the difference is striking .

If you’re going to update just for the display, I’m not sure I would do that . However if you have plenty of cash on hand and desire greater portability and need the raw power , sure go for it !

I am testing the 11 inch M4 as I really wanted to go back to an 11 inch tablet and Magic Keyboard, and honestly do quite like it. But after using my 12.9 inch for 3 years (mainly stays on a table with the Magic Keyboard), the 11 inch does look at times a bit small lol. On certain occasions, like when I need to use parallels client to connect to my work windows machines, cant help but think 13 inch may be better. I do love the portability of the 11 inch, browsing on it, and watching videos, and honestly the aspect ratio too! That squared look of the 13 inch looks like it’s just too tall, although some may prefer it.

Currently I also have the 13 inch boxed sitting next to me unopened for the last 2 days, but not sure if I should just return it or just try it (feel bad trying it when I have the 12.9 inch sitting on my table still). I do use the keyboard a lot and really love the material of the new Magic Keyboard but seems unlikely that it’s going to be that much different than what I have sitting in front of me with this 12.9.

Interesting take, curious if you’re returning both the new M4 iPads then? I’m still undecided with my thoughts all over the place on these 2 sizes.

 

[Adelphos33]

No. From what I could tell, the experience would be basically no different, while I would spend a ton to upgrade. I may buy a new 11” air for more storage and the landscape camera

I will say I’ve run a two iPad setup for years, so I’m a bit different on that front

 

[ssledoux]

The wife always gets the hand me downs

lol totally opposite in our family

 

[nightlong]

I am testing the 11 inch M4 as I really wanted to go back to an 11 inch tablet and Magic Keyboard, and honestly do quite like it. But after using my 12.9 inch for 3 years (mainly stays on a table with the Magic Keyboard), the 11 inch does look at times a bit small lol. On certain occasions, like when I need to use parallels client to connect to my work windows machines, cant help but think 13 inch may be better. I do love the portability of the 11 inch, browsing on it, and watching videos, and honestly the aspect ratio too! That squared look of the 13 inch looks like it’s just too tall, although some may prefer it.

Currently I also have the 13 inch boxed sitting next to me unopened for the last 2 days, but not sure if I should just return it or just try it (feel bad trying it when I have the 12.9 inch sitting on my table still). I do use the keyboard a lot and really love the material of the new Magic Keyboard but seems unlikely that it’s going to be that much different than what I have sitting in front of me with this 12.9.

Interesting take, curious if you’re returning both the new M4 iPads then? I’m still undecided with my thoughts all over the place on these 2 sizes.

I have the luxury of 3 sizes 12.9 m1, old faithful and still working perfectly 2017 10.5 Pro, and Mini 5. To me the middle size is least important. The 12.9 is most important, I do everything on that except for the Mini’s purpose, slip it into my handbag and take it everywhere. I mostly use my phone for phone purpose only.
i have a Magic Keyboard for the 12.9 plus an iPad tower which hovers over my bed for watching movies etc, so I never hold the 12.9.
i recommend the Mini for portability, it’s a great size and super light, I hardly notice it in my shoulder bag.

the 11“ looks good but it would feel too small for all I do on the 12.9.

 

[nightlong]

I’ve got both models you describe as well as a couple of 11 inch M1s within the family . I absolutely love the new 13 inch , but to be completely honest with you , it doesn’t feel like a huge jump to me , nor should it . The 12.9 M1 is already a monster .

The Oled screen is very nice . The mini-led in the 12.9 is darn close though . I’m a screen tech enthusiast , and I’ll echo a poster from another thread In saying that the jump from lcd to mini-led felt like the big jump , while the move to OLED is like a perfection of something that was already great . Blooming was obscenely bad in 2021 however with the software updates over the years , the blooming has gotten much better (though not super close to perfect like Sony’s top of the line miniled tv’s), and in a lot of cases the miniled can display what looks like true blacks . IMHO the displays are within striking distance of each other after the updates . I have no idea what Apple was thinking implementing that horrible local dimming algorithm back in the day , but I digress lol.

The best part for me is the weight reduction and the thinness of the new iPad . It’s extremely noticeable . Holding both in each hand , and the difference is striking .

If you’re going to update just for the display, I’m not sure I would do that . However if you have plenty of cash on hand and desire greater portability and need the raw power , sure go for it !

Haha, you’re not making it easier. The rational side of me doesn’t want to update just for the screen because it says the M1 screen is great and it really would be indulgent when the other benefits would be nice to have but are not crucial. Despite this, the indulgent IPad fiend side of me just says I WANT IT!

 

[macmus12]

I updated it, and I love it. The leap is insane.

 

[prospervic]

i'm going to upgrade from a 12.9 to a m4. the m1 is harder to sell than i thought though...

That’s because everyone is trying to sell their M1’s right now, it’s a buyer’s market. This is why I’m waiting until after WWDC (three weeks from now) before I decide if I’m going to upgrade to the M4: 1. We’ll get to see if iPadOS 18 introduces game-changing M4-only features, and 2. The selling frenzy will have cooled off and I should be able to sell my 12.9 M1 for a more reasonable price.

 

[Rizop]

deleted

 

[Rizop]

I am testing the 11 inch M4 as I really wanted to go back to an 11 inch tablet and Magic Keyboard, and honestly do quite like it. But after using my 12.9 inch for 3 years (mainly stays on a table with the Magic Keyboard), the 11 inch does look at times a bit small lol. On certain occasions, like when I need to use parallels client to connect to my work windows machines, cant help but think 13 inch may be better. I do love the portability of the 11 inch, browsing on it, and watching videos, and honestly the aspect ratio too! That squared look of the 13 inch looks like it’s just too tall, although some may prefer it.

Currently I also have the 13 inch boxed sitting next to me unopened for the last 2 days, but not sure if I should just return it or just try it (feel bad trying it when I have the 12.9 inch sitting on my table still). I do use the keyboard a lot and really love the material of the new Magic Keyboard but seems unlikely that it’s going to be that much different than what I have sitting in front of me with this 12.9.

Interesting take, curious if you’re returning both the new M4 iPads then? I’m still undecided with my thoughts all over the place on these 2 sizes.

That’s a great question . Honestly the thickness reduction helps alot , but if it’s the surface area of the display that makes it cumbersome for you , then you might want to go for the 11 . If you consume a lot of content and don’t bring the iPad everywhere with you , the 13 would probably fit the bill .

I’m passing the 12.9 to a family member but I’m looking at both right now , and if I had to keep the m1 and give the m4 to a family member , I probably wouldn’t be horribly upset . It probably speaks to the great device that the M1 still is .

 

[scupking]

Your m1 is still way over powered for iPad OS. No reason to upgrade unless you have the cash and need the latest thing… Also the speakers on the m1 and m2 ipads sound better.

 

[macmus12]

Your m1 is still way over powered for iPad OS. No reason to upgrade unless you have the cash and need the latest thing… Also the speakers on the m1 and m2 ipads sound better.

There are many reasons to upgrade:
- you can move to 13 inch as its lighter then previous 11 and thiner
- processor doesnt hickup in safari demanding webpages eg twitter deck
- new screen is absolutly amazing
- new keybaord is completly diffrent ball park
- new eye tracking and in general much better camera positioning
- better wifi for streaming games at home with wifi 6e
- bigger speakers if you jump from 11 to 13 like i did
- much faster rich pdf handling, idk but it works much faster then my m1 when going thru pdf magazines
- game performance …

And you can go about new pen…

This completly new class of the device and doesnt even compare to m1..

 

[kallyq]

I have an m1 and upgraded mainly because I am interested in how the Apple Pencil will work in Procreate. Procreate did not update their software yet so mostly I don’t feel like this iPad is much different than my m1 iPad. I hope Procreate updates within the 14 day return period!

 

[daddyd302]

I didn't preorder as I wasn't sold at first. Decided on Thursday and traded my 2021 256GB 13 in for the 13 256GB M4. I later took back the 256GB and got the 512GB for $50 more at Microcenter.