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iPad Pro 12.9 gaming
- Thread starter acastic
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Depends on what games and whether the app in question is a Universal app
I play music games all these years (12 years now and counting!), started playing the mobile music games on some Android phones (e.g. Xperia Z1) and then sticking with my Air 1 for about 3 years before going over to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro.
I must say that the screen size alone plays a big part in changing the experience greatly. It will take time getting used to looking at the big screen; expect to miss out sometimes if you are too focused on the part of the screen that used to be the full screen of the 9.7 inch (i.e. the edges). Also, get used to operating the big screen: what games you play will affect this greatly. Most games I see should benefit from this (e.g. being able to make more precise moves in puzzle games) but for the games I play, things are more interesting.
You see, the games I play involve tapping and swiping/sliding at moving objects at precise timings. The big screen means screen elements are more spread out, allowing me to stretch out my hands more and thus play more comfortably. The play areas are now considerably bigger, allowing me to interact with the objects more easier, which can mean the difference between a full combo (i.e. tapped all notes correctly) or another combo break. But conversely, when it comes to swiping, I need to swipe faster as I need to cover bigger physical distance over same period of time as before. It's a give-and-take in other words.
Also, consider the hardware used inside the iPad Pro as compared to what you have. The jump from A7 to A9X and from 1GB DDR3 RAM to 4GB DDR4 RAM helps a lot too in making gameplay smoother; I had random stutters in certain games on the Air 1 that cost me losses in the games
. There is virtually no such issues in the iPad Pro, even when recording the gameplay (which does use up computing power on your iPad too as it needs to also push video output to the Lightning AV adapter along with operating the game)
Finally, you will need to see if the app is "Universal" or not, which means whether the app is also built for iPad too. Simplest way to see it is to see if the app appears in your Purchased tab in iTunes/App Store without changing to show iPhone only apps. If the app is Universal like most apps, the content will be already sized nicely over the entire screen. Things will look as sharp as on smaller screens. If not, you will see a circle with either "1X" or "2X", press that and the content will be stretched out over the screen as though on a 9.7 inch iPad (i.e. not fully over the entire 12.9 inch screen) with black bars around the rest of the screen, which looks bad.
Hope this helps in your decision!
I play music games all these years (12 years now and counting!), started playing the mobile music games on some Android phones (e.g. Xperia Z1) and then sticking with my Air 1 for about 3 years before going over to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro.
I must say that the screen size alone plays a big part in changing the experience greatly. It will take time getting used to looking at the big screen; expect to miss out sometimes if you are too focused on the part of the screen that used to be the full screen of the 9.7 inch (i.e. the edges). Also, get used to operating the big screen: what games you play will affect this greatly. Most games I see should benefit from this (e.g. being able to make more precise moves in puzzle games) but for the games I play, things are more interesting.
You see, the games I play involve tapping and swiping/sliding at moving objects at precise timings. The big screen means screen elements are more spread out, allowing me to stretch out my hands more and thus play more comfortably. The play areas are now considerably bigger, allowing me to interact with the objects more easier, which can mean the difference between a full combo (i.e. tapped all notes correctly) or another combo break. But conversely, when it comes to swiping, I need to swipe faster as I need to cover bigger physical distance over same period of time as before. It's a give-and-take in other words.
Also, consider the hardware used inside the iPad Pro as compared to what you have. The jump from A7 to A9X and from 1GB DDR3 RAM to 4GB DDR4 RAM helps a lot too in making gameplay smoother; I had random stutters in certain games on the Air 1 that cost me losses in the games
. There is virtually no such issues in the iPad Pro, even when recording the gameplay (which does use up computing power on your iPad too as it needs to also push video output to the Lightning AV adapter along with operating the game)Finally, you will need to see if the app is "Universal" or not, which means whether the app is also built for iPad too. Simplest way to see it is to see if the app appears in your Purchased tab in iTunes/App Store without changing to show iPhone only apps. If the app is Universal like most apps, the content will be already sized nicely over the entire screen. Things will look as sharp as on smaller screens. If not, you will see a circle with either "1X" or "2X", press that and the content will be stretched out over the screen as though on a 9.7 inch iPad (i.e. not fully over the entire 12.9 inch screen) with black bars around the rest of the screen, which looks bad.
Hope this helps in your decision!
Most of the new or popular games I've used are all updated for the larger display. The only down side for me personally using the 12.9 inch iPad is when playing games where the iPad is required to be moved. For example: Infinite Flight or Asphalt. It's much more comfortable to play on the 9.7 inch screen purely due to it being less unwieldy.
Thanks @darkarn & @Defender2010! Great responses I currently don't have an iPad but have used the 9.7 varieties in the past. Playing with a 12.9 display model, the experience seems vastly superior over the 9.7. Multitasking at work with email & office docs and gaming & video at home
I currently don't have an iPad but have used the 9.7 varieties in the past. Playing with a 12.9 display model, the experience seems vastly superior over the 9.7. Multitasking at work with email & office docs and gaming & video at home The only game I play on the 12.9" that has any effect on experience is Fallout Shelter (better with a bigger screen) - I haven't personally noticed a difference on other games.
Its ok, i prefer the 9.7 in for touch screen controls when holding with thumbs. For some reason, Blizzard refuses to update Hearthstone for the 12.9 screen, 2 years later.
Thanks @darkarn & @Defender2010! Great responses
Yep, the screen is great for work too. For me, Teamviewer on it is vastly superior, I can see my remote computers better and can even do some coding on them!
My main concern - developers not updating their apps to support the 12.9 screen. Although I'm really not sure how challenging an undertaking it is.
Its not at all. They'll eventually be forced to redo it when everything goes 64bit because they need to convert to adaptive user interfaces.
I have both the 12.9 & 9.7 Pros and both are great for gaming. The 12.9 is great for the games that I play, these include 'find' games (e.g from BigFish), card games, Candy Crush type games, Words with Friends, Clash of Clans, Disney Magic Kingdoms. It's also a great screen for Minecraft, but can be heavy to hold up for that, so I tend to pull my covers off to make it lighter and/or play with the front cover as a stand on the table.
The front cover, used as a stand, is good to use on your lap due to the width. I feel it's more stable for lap use than my 9.7, but the 9.7 is lighter for 'arm' use.
The front cover, used as a stand, is good to use on your lap due to the width. I feel it's more stable for lap use than my 9.7, but the 9.7 is lighter for 'arm' use.
That's a good question. Outside of an app specifically mentioning iPad Pro 12.9 support in the description or version history section, I'm not sure if there is a way to tell.
