IPadPro 9.7 & 12.9- Waiting to Purchase Or Buy Now

[Sithian]

Hello,

First time poster here- and this may come across as a WAH! thread

So I want to get a new IPad. I have a fourth gen Retina that is oldish and heavy. I was waiting for the March announcement to see what to get. So here are my qualms with the new lines-

The 9.7 has 2GB RAM, not 4GB RAM.

The 12.9 doesn't have the new screen variations or camera upgrade.

I would most likely get a 256 model, and leaning toward the 12.9. I admit I use it mostly for laying in bed and surfing, but want to get something that will last for years. I also use it for music applications such as Anytune and iRealB.

If the 12.9 had the better camera and screen I would get without hesitation. And the 9.7 would be a serious contender if it had the 4GB Ram.

Is anyone else torn between what to get and when to get it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[thebeachballer]

Yep, in the same position as you. Money waiting to be spent but can't quite pull the trigger yet.

I'm leaning towards the 12.9 because the size fascinates me and, spec-wise, it appears to be the more future-proofed machine. The lack of 4gb RAM in the 9.7 is disappointing - iOS' fine memory management aside.

 

[sjleworthy]

Are you thinking long-term, ie, a good few years? Because the difference between 2 and 4 gig ram isn't that prevalent at this time apparently.

And again, is photography really a deal maker on the 12.9? Personally, it's other advantages swung it for me.
What are screen variations? Do you mean the white balance adjust in different ambient lightings? If so, again, personally for me this isnt an issue. It's a night-shift gimmik. Being a designer i want my whites completely and utterly constant at all times, not have the ipad decide the best hue to give me.

 

[ZBoater]

Do what I did. Get both. Problem solved.

 

[Sithian]

Are you thinking long-term, ie, a good few years? Because the difference between 2 and 4 gig ram isn't that prevalent at this time apparently.

And again, is photography really a deal maker on the 12.9? Personally, it's other advantages swung it for me.
What are screen variations? Do you mean the white balance adjust in different ambient lightings? If so, again, personally for me this isnt an issue. It's a night-shift gimmik. Being a designer i want my whites completely and utterly constant at all times, not have the ipad decide the best hue to give me.

I am thinking long term as in a few years (3+). I just don't have the need to stay current with every iPad. But with that said, I would want to future proof as much as possible. The 4th Gen Retina 32GB I have now has no memory left and is slow and feels cumbersome.

Photography not a big deal, but for this much coin I would want the best specs. And ambient lighting you can turn on and off. I read in the dark at night a lot on the iPad, so I suspect this may be a feature I would find great use for.
[doublepost=1459190938][/doublepost]

Do what I did. Get both. Problem solved.

Ummm, no.

 

[Nolander07]

I have an iPad 4 and was going to preorder the new iPad Pro 9.7. When I found out Best Buy was having a sale on the 12.9 I decided to go check it out. I was never really that interested in the 12.9 until now. Anyway, the huge screen is awesome and I walked out with an iPad Pro 12.9. I'm happy I did. The screen is great and I use it for surfing the web, videos, etc., nothing professional or important. I didn't even get the pencil or keyboard (yet). Now when the look at my iPad 4 it seems so small.
The weight, however is approximately the same as the iPad 4, so if you want something lighter this is not it. I don't care about the camera as I have taken maybe 5 pictures with my iPad in the last 3 years.

 

[Sithian]

I have an iPad 4 and was going to preorder the new iPad Pro 9.7. When I found out Best Buy was having a sale on the 12.9 I decided to go check it out. I was never really that interested in the 12.9 until now. Anyway, the huge screen is awesome and I walked out with an iPad Pro 12.9. I'm happy I did. The screen is great and I use it for surfing the web, videos, etc., nothing professional or important. I didn't even get the pencil or keyboard (yet). Now when the look at my iPad 4 it seems so small.
The weight, however is approximately the same as the iPad 4, so if you want something lighter this is not it. I don't care about the camera as I have taken maybe 5 pictures with my iPad in the last 3 years.

Yes, I saw the weight spec and figured as much. Not so much concerned with the weight due to the size increase. I know I missed the BB and Staples sale as my indecision on whether to buy took over!

I would also use it for business travel - I could potentially remote into my work PC or use my Office 365 account for productivity purposes. I have been too chicken to try this so far though.

 

[harrypham]

No, you do not miss the sale if you want to get a 128 GB Cellular. Bestbuy has iPad Pro 12.9 128GB Cellular for $954.99 right now. It is even $20 cheaper than last week.

Yes, I saw the weight spec and figured as much. Not so much concerned with the weight due to the size increase. I know I missed the BB and Staples sale as my indecision on whether to buy took over!

I would also use it for business travel - I could potentially remote into my work PC or use my Office 365 account for productivity purposes. I have been too chicken to try this so far though.

 

[Sithian]

No, you do not miss the sale if you want to get a 128 GB Cellular. Bestbuy has iPad Pro 12.9 128GB Cellular for $954.99 right now. It is even $20 cheaper than last week.

I would just get the WiFi- thanks though! Wishing the decision were easier! You would think that Apple would make the upgrade path a no-brainer. Instead the IPads (both "Pro") are unnecessarily so much different.

 

[profets]

I would just get the WiFi- thanks though! Wishing the decision were easier!

It is a tough decision. I'm quite intrigued myself by the 12.9 size, and how I traditionally used an iPad day to day. I feel like for a lot of my needs the 9.7 would suit me better, so I've pre-ordered one. If you are inclined to try the 12.9 at all, I would buy one and try it out. Worse case you find the size too large and you can return it and buy the 9.7 instead.

 

[TheRealAlex]

Hello,

First time poster here- and this may come across as a WAH! thread

So I want to get a new IPad. I have a fourth gen Retina that is oldish and heavy. I was waiting for the March announcement to see what to get. So here are my qualms with the new lines-

The 9.7 has 2GB RAM, not 4GB RAM.

The 12.9 doesn't have the new screen variations or camera upgrade.

I would most likely get a 256 model, and leaning toward the 12.9. I admit I use it mostly for laying in bed and surfing, but want to get something that will last for years. I also use it for music applications such as Anytune and iRealB.

If the 12.9 had the better camera and screen I would get without hesitation. And the 9.7 would be a serious contender if it had the 4GB Ram.

Is anyone else torn between what to get and when to get it?

Thanks in advance!

You need it for laying in bed etc. Get the 9.7 its lighter the 12.9 is unwieldy also 2GB RAM is enough the 12.9 has much higher resolution it needs that much to render everything into Memory. In day to day use you would never know which has more memory. Just try holding a 12.9 Pro at the store and imagine being in bed that will answer your question.

 

[MattEcho]

I was/am in a similar boat. I've had an iPad 2 forever and it took me several months to decide on purchasing the iPad Pro. Then the 9.7" announced, so I delayed some more. On Saturday, I went to Best Buy and picked up the 12.9" Cellular model for $779.

My uses are business and personal, mostly for presentations in the field or web browsing at home. I want to spend the next 13 days seeing if this is really the right size for my needs. If not, I will return and get the 9.7". Although, since I got this great price, it will be hard to return.

 

[Sithian]

I was/am in a similar boat. I've had an iPad 2 forever and it took me several months to decide on purchasing the iPad Pro. Then the 9.7" announced, so I delayed some more. On Saturday, I went to Best Buy and picked up the 12.9" Cellular model for $779.

My uses are business and personal, mostly for presentations in the field or web browsing at home. I want to spend the next 13 days seeing if this is really the right size for my needs. If not, I will return and get the 9.7". Although, since I got this great price, it will be hard to return.

Thanks MattEcho- can you please keep us posted?

 

[sjleworthy]

I was/am in a similar boat. I've had an iPad 2 forever and it took me several months to decide on purchasing the iPad Pro. Then the 9.7" announced, so I delayed some more. On Saturday, I went to Best Buy and picked up the 12.9" Cellular model for $779.

My uses are business and personal, mostly for presentations in the field or web browsing at home. I want to spend the next 13 days seeing if this is really the right size for my needs. If not, I will return and get the 9.7". Although, since I got this great price, it will be hard to return.

Hi MattEcho, I purchased the 12.9 in december just gone after 5 years of the ipad2 only. I bought the Pencil and smart keyboard with it, all at full price. So far, after 4 or 5 months i feels its the best investment i ever made. As far as I'm concerned, even though the ipad2 was an integral part of my daily life for 5 years, it is now a child's toy and i can say goodby to it forever.
But hey, full respect to Apple for such an awesome beast (ipad2). That was truly a trend setter.

My uses are general daily life/business admin and organisation

 

[Sithian]

Hi MattEcho, I purchased the 12.9 in december just gone after 5 years of the ipad2 only. I bought the Pencil and smart keyboard with it, all at full price. So far, after 4 or 5 months i feels its the best investment i ever made. As far as I'm concerned, even though the ipad2 was an integral part of my daily life for 5 years, it is now a child's toy and i can say goodby to it forever.
But hey, full respect to Apple for such an awesome beast (ipad2). That was truly a trend setter.

My uses are general daily life/business admin and organisation

How are the big iPads for general nighttime use - laying in bed reading?

 

[sjleworthy]

It depends.

I used my regular ipad in portrait. I found this size and orientation just peachy. The 12.9 is very large. Maybe too large and cumbersome for this. I dont know. I used to lay on my stomach in bed but with the 12.9 it's usualy sitting up in bed.

But to be far, personally bed use isnt much use for me. My Pro is sitting landscape on it's keyboard in my home office 99% of the time.

 

[JohnnyGo]

Hello,

Is anyone else torn between what to get and when to get it?

I got the 9.7" now.

Size was large factor (12.9" too big IMO) and price does matter. You may pick different factors.

After reading about the A9X fast/rushed development I don't think the A10X will be ready by November. Most likely Apple will wait for a full year to update the iPad Pro, i.e. one will have to wait til April 2017 for newer versions.

My guess is that like the iPad mini, the revised iPad Air will run A10 sans X, and both will be just called iPad (simplifying lineup and saving money for Apple as motherboard will be the same for both iPads and similar to iPhone boards).

 

[thebeachballer]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the 12.9.

I wrote a little piece on my reasoning: http://thebeachballer.com/2016/03/29/ooh-2gb-hello-ipad-pro/

 

[Sithian]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the 12.9.

I wrote a little piece on my reasoning: http://thebeachballer.com/2016/03/29/ooh-2gb-hello-ipad-pro/

Thanks for sharing that- makes sense! I haven't used iPad camera either... But the big guy doesn't come in rose gold! J/k

 

[jgelin]

I wound up going for the larger one yesterday, the 128 GB Space Grey with the Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. Together, all of the devices have significantly increased my productivity as I used them in class to take notes from my eBoook while my actual programming was done on my Mac. Having the larger size is combersome, but when you put two apps side by side or are trying to draw and not worry about where your palm is the 12.9 is ideal... I really don't think I would be using a pencil on the smaller one.

Also, the amount of RAM that is in the device was a much stronger reasoning as to why I went with the larger one, the camera on the smaller was a non-issue, I have a much more portable iPhone with the same camera technology if not better than what they were offering in the smaller form factor.


This whole post was written while laying in bed and typing away on the Smart Keyboard, the size has been no issue through the whole post, but without the case to prop it up it is a bit of a chore to hold while typing since the keyboard doesn't split in the Pro model for some reason.

 

[ZBoater]

I'm sure the 4GB really helped you out there.

 

[phillyboy82]

2GB vs 4GB is irrelevant for casual use... people are really overplaying this piece.

13" is big, and I didn't find it very enjoyable for lounging or bed use. You don't want to hold it for any amount of time and end up wanting to lean it on whatever you can (your leg, a pillow, etc). I always ended up using one hand to prop the device up on my legs when I was in a chair, but it never felt comfortable to me. The 9.7" is easier to deal with in that regard.

If you have some sort of a stand that it can set on and you want to watch movies or something then that might influence you towards the bigger screen.

 

[jgelin]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the 12.9.

I wrote a little piece on my reasoning: http://thebeachballer.com/2016/03/29/ooh-2gb-hello-ipad-pro/

So, there you go. After all the pontificating, speculation and dribbling over potential specs, I’ve gone with the big one. The massive one. The one I said I would never, ever need.

^^ Same.
Love your blog post, will be adding your site to my favorites!!!

 

[phillyboy82]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the 12.9.

I wrote a little piece on my reasoning: http://thebeachballer.com/2016/03/29/ooh-2gb-hello-ipad-pro/

Okay. So, are you shilling your blog then? That's usually poor form... post your thoughts directly in the thread you are already participating in. Not some freaking blog we have to go to. That is what forums are for... to discuss things.

You cannot definitely prove that lack of memory is the issue with your Air 1 getting slower over the years, when that tends to fall down to iOS demanding higher system requirements with each update / feature add. The rest of your argument is hand-waving towards the future without provide a lot of substance.

I get that 1GB vs 2GB was a legitimate upgrade when it came to certain use cases, Safari tab reloading being the most prominent factor. I noticed a difference when I went from an Air to an Air 2.

4GB is great! Just not necessary for most users.

But that is okay, let's just have fifty more damn threads on this issue.

 

[ZBoater]

...But that is okay, let's just have fifty more damn threads on this issue.

... and a couple more blogs!