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Is worth toupgrade to an 12.9 Pro from an Air 2?
- Thread starter Math889
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That's a fairly large upgrade. Ask yourself if you would be comfortable with the overall size of the 12.9 iPad If you can appreciate a display of that size. Also, I would suggest if you haven't already, go to a store and test the device to see if you like it. But You would have 14 days to return it if you didn't like it.
I'm about to make the same shift. The screen alone is worth the upgrade. Just go use one at the Apple store, lol.
I love my 12.9 Pro. For drawing/art or photo work, to watching a movie on it while I'm traveling, just love the screen size. It is also great with a full size keyboard as a laptop substitute. I run Office on it, and the experience is great.
I'm planning to do the same in about a week. I tried both the 10.5 and 12.9 Pro several times in the store and felt that the larger model is better for three things: watching videos, split view multitasking and drawing with the Apple Pencil. The 10.5 felt more like a small improvement - great overall but not sure if worth the money if you already own an Air 2. The Air 2 still performs just fine IMO.
I updated from Air 2 to to the 10.5 and am happy with the upgrade. You will be happy upgrading to the 12.9 as long as you are sure the bigger screen is for you. The upgrades in screen ad RAM make it the best running iPad yet. I have loaded iOS 11 public beta and it is running pretty smooth.
Wow. I just 'upgraded' to the Air 2 from an ipad2....and loving it. I can only dream of going from an Air2 to a ipad Pro!
You need to go to the store and try the 12.9. It looks great but after a few days I found I did not want this big honker and returned for the smaller iPad Pro.
Yeah, it really depends on how you use it. If your iPad never (or rarely) leaves the house, then you'll probably be fine. It's not something you would necessarily want to carry around.
Having said that, it's the primary iPad I use when I'm at home. I use it for just about everything ranging from couch to deck chair to bed and I don't find it unwieldy.
It's a huge matter of perspective though. If you want it for drawing at home, it's incredible!
Having said that, it's the primary iPad I use when I'm at home. I use it for just about everything ranging from couch to deck chair to bed and I don't find it unwieldy.
It's a huge matter of perspective though. If you want it for drawing at home, it's incredible!
I just upgraded from an Air 2 to the 2017 12.9 IPP and it's fantastic. I am basically using it as a laptop replacement. I got the Apple Smart Keyboard and the pencil. The screen is the main reason for the upgrade. It's 264 PPI which is sharper than a MBP or an iMac. But the main reason I got it was to use it for photo editing with Affinity Photo using the Pencil. The entire setup is about 3 lbs and is about the same as a 13 inch MBP but you do gain the ability to have a touch screen and to use the Pencil to draw in amazing apps such as Procreate. I'm not an artist but it's gotten my creative juices flowing with this setup.
I know most folks will say that the 12.9 is too big to be a mobile device but I beg to differ. It weighs about the same as a 13 inch MBP once you add the Apple Smart Keyboard, Pencil and a nice back cover to protect the back from scratches. I can carry it you in a small laptop bag. I detach the keyboard when I am on the sofa and just surf the web resting it on my lap. Battery life has been better than 10 hours with the screen on Auto Brightness.
So all in all, it was a great upgrade. The screen is truly amazing and the Pencil support is sweet for the creative types. Everything that I enjoyed using the Air 2 to do from web surfing to photo editing is so much more enjoyable on the larger device.
I know most folks will say that the 12.9 is too big to be a mobile device but I beg to differ. It weighs about the same as a 13 inch MBP once you add the Apple Smart Keyboard, Pencil and a nice back cover to protect the back from scratches. I can carry it you in a small laptop bag. I detach the keyboard when I am on the sofa and just surf the web resting it on my lap. Battery life has been better than 10 hours with the screen on Auto Brightness.
So all in all, it was a great upgrade. The screen is truly amazing and the Pencil support is sweet for the creative types. Everything that I enjoyed using the Air 2 to do from web surfing to photo editing is so much more enjoyable on the larger device.
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This.
I was intending to keep my Air 2 as a portable device when I upgraded to the 2017 IPP 12.9, but I've found that I'm just not using it any more - everything is just so much better on the larger device, and I find it a lot more portable than I had expected (fits easily into my rucksack).
If you want a bigger iPad why wouldn't it be worth it? I would think its worth it Apple makes the best tablets on the market today there is no other.
I find myself using my 2017 IPP 12.9 more and more every day, and my MAC even less. The screen is beautiful. I have the Apple Keyboard and also have a UAG cover in blue. I agree when you fold all that up, it is a bit bulky, but it protects it from drops. I find myself using the Apple Pencil a lot more as well, instead of my finger. I have been using this for email, drawing, games, and streaming videos, and it sits in our kitchen on the counter, for easy access. This was a bit of a splurge item for me. I also have a 27" iMac that is upstairs in the office. At the end of the day, it is like having a 13-inch computer with a touch screen. While this size of a device is not for everyone, it is what I have been looking for, although I still love that 27" iMac.
If you don't mind the size of course it is! i wish i could upgrade my air 2 but now a decent ipad is as expensive as the iphone 7 (and no "the new ipad" doesn't count lol)
I would for sure. I did that exact thing along with an Apple Pencil. It is one of the few zero regret purchases I have made. As a poster above remarked - I have been using my iPad more and more and my Mac Book Pro less and less.
If you've got the money to do it - go for it! Either the 12.9 or 10.5 are well worth having and a substantial upgrade from the Air 2. I went from the 9.7 pro to the 10.5 and am very happy with it (although I do look wistfully at the 12.9 when I walk past them in shops - it IS too big for my usage, but wow...). Some would consider that a 'minor' upgrade, but it's made a huge difference to me and I use it so much more than I ever did the old one.
My brother made the switch from the Air 2, that he was perfectly happy with, to the 12.9 and loves it. He's got a really bulky, protective case on it and doesn't care about the size or weight. He can't get over the screen, the camera... IOS 11 is really going to make the 12.9 come into its own. He kept telling me to get the big one but I stuck to the 10.5. I think when I see his in real life next year I'll be very, very jealous.
Air 2 owners were very lucky because it stayed the flagship model for longer than usual and is still perfectly good now, so you may feel you actually don't have to upgrade. But, if you want to, and can afford it, either of them would be great. The 12.9 would be the most noticeable and dramatic upgrade though - you'd really know that you had something new and different...
On the price front, yes, it is as expensive as the phone, but you get so much more screen real estate for your money. I can't afford to upgrade both this year, but think now I've found the joys of the iPad, I might focus on those and not worry so much about having the latest phone. I may well change my mind when they come out if they're amazing, but I'm getting much more value out of my Pro than I am out of my phone nowadays.
My brother made the switch from the Air 2, that he was perfectly happy with, to the 12.9 and loves it. He's got a really bulky, protective case on it and doesn't care about the size or weight. He can't get over the screen, the camera... IOS 11 is really going to make the 12.9 come into its own. He kept telling me to get the big one but I stuck to the 10.5. I think when I see his in real life next year I'll be very, very jealous.
Air 2 owners were very lucky because it stayed the flagship model for longer than usual and is still perfectly good now, so you may feel you actually don't have to upgrade. But, if you want to, and can afford it, either of them would be great. The 12.9 would be the most noticeable and dramatic upgrade though - you'd really know that you had something new and different...
On the price front, yes, it is as expensive as the phone, but you get so much more screen real estate for your money. I can't afford to upgrade both this year, but think now I've found the joys of the iPad, I might focus on those and not worry so much about having the latest phone. I may well change my mind when they come out if they're amazing, but I'm getting much more value out of my Pro than I am out of my phone nowadays.
It really depends on you. I've got use cases (comic reading) where the larger screen real estate of the 12.9 is extremely beneficial and more storage (512GB) is always a motivating factor for me.
That said, the Air 2 is still a very capable device. Based on performance alone, no I probably wouldn't upgrade.
As for the new iPads being as expensive as iPhones, I bet manufacturing costs for iPads are higher than iPhones. Profit margins for iPhones are probably among the highest in Apple's product lines so I'm actually not bothered by iPad/iPhone price parity.
I agree. My Air 2 is still fine from a performance point of view. There are three things that have really made the upgrade to the new 12.9 worthwhile for me: the larger screen, the Pencil and the ASK. All the other improvements are a bonus, but I don't really notice them enough compared to my Air 2 for them to represent a reason to upgrade.
you really do get used to the size. just might take you some time.
I went from Pro 9.7 to 12.9 gen 2
(had a 12.9 gen 1 and went pro 9.7, and had an air 2 before that)
Pro 9.7 is effectively a souped up Air 2, which some liked but a lot complained wasn't different "enough" despite TT/P3 screen/camera/Pencil and ASK support/4 speakers. It was still form factor an air 2
I *highly* recommend making the leap
I've been glued to my 12.9 gen 2 and I've had it for a little bit now,
this may not be helpful but if you got any questions, ask away!
and I keep 9.7 pro around because resell value is terrible and there are some one-off times I prefer the smaller tablet. But day to day, its the beast
(had a 12.9 gen 1 and went pro 9.7, and had an air 2 before that)
Pro 9.7 is effectively a souped up Air 2, which some liked but a lot complained wasn't different "enough" despite TT/P3 screen/camera/Pencil and ASK support/4 speakers. It was still form factor an air 2
I *highly* recommend making the leap
I've been glued to my 12.9 gen 2 and I've had it for a little bit now,
this may not be helpful but if you got any questions, ask away!
and I keep 9.7 pro around because resell value is terrible and there are some one-off times I prefer the smaller tablet. But day to day, its the beast
I upgraded from the first GEN 12.9 to the second GEN 12.9 and I would never go to a smaller iPad again I do absolutely everything on my iPad 12.9 except for going into VR
I tried the 10.5 it’s cool but you still get black bars on the bottom and top when watching movie