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iPad Pro M1 11” or M2 11” iPad Pro?

iPad Bro

iPad Bro

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 2, 2021
393
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I created a similar subject about the 12.9” and 11” M2 iPad Pros, but I am in the market for either the M1 11” or the M2 11”. I can get the M1 for $699 or the M2 for $749 God willing I get my refund from Best Buy in time to purchase one of the two. Which would you go for? It seems like the M2 is universally hated, so is the M1 the better choice? I had a 12.9” M1 iPad Pro, but ultimately sold it which I now regret. But can you guys give me your opinion on which one I should get?

And the 12.9” is not an option. Don’t have enough for it and I am tired of the cumbersome size of it. It’s not really practical to use a tablet. It’s more of a laptop experience with a keyboard (which is almost a must IMO).
 
I mostly just game on my PS5. Never really been into games on iPad. But it would be cool to play Genshin Impact at 90fps.
 
iPad Bro said:
I mostly just game on my PS5. Never really been into games on iPad. But it would be cool to play Genshin Impact at 90fps.
Click to expand...
Genshin impact at 120fps requires hardware that’s 1.25x faster in cpu and 2x faster in GPU compared to M1 to run smoothly. This is not joking.

You would better off playing it on your PS5 and enjoy the experience anyways.
 
For that price difference, I’d go with the M2. I have the M2 11” and it’s awesome. People only complain about it because there was no design change between the M1 and M2 models to justify them upgrading. If you are coming in fresh, then pick M2 if you live in a country that didn’t price the M2 so much higher. It seems that is your situation, so M2.
 
Going for a refurb or deeply discounted M1 is the winning choice overall. Of your stated choices, the M2 at only 50 bucks more is the obvious winner.
 
iPad Bro said:
I created a similar subject about the 12.9” and 11” M2 iPad Pros, but I am in the market for either the M1 11” or the M2 11”. I can get the M1 for $699 or the M2 for $749 God willing I get my refund from Best Buy in time to purchase one of the two. Which would you go for? It seems like the M2 is universally hated, so is the M1 the better choice? I had a 12.9” M1 iPad Pro, but ultimately sold it which I now regret. But can you guys give me your opinion on which one I should get?

And the 12.9” is not an option. Don’t have enough for it and I am tired of the cumbersome size of it. It’s not really practical to use a tablet. It’s more of a laptop experience with a keyboard (which is almost a must IMO).
Click to expand...
Some users reported drawing issues on M2. Hope that’s only software issue. Otherwise, M2 is better choice for $50 difference.
 
If you have a Microcenter around you, the wifi M2 11" 128 GB is priced at $699 ( Black Friday deal )
 
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
 
happy orchard said:
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
Click to expand...
You can manage what you store on your iPad ... you can't magically swap in a new chip.
 
I got Best Buy to price match the $749.99 11” M2 iPad Pro and I am typing from it right now. Really happy with it, but I need some accessories like a case ASAP. 😝
 
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happy orchard said:
Debating M1 256gb vs M2 128gb. Skipping all the financial minutia, the difference in price is that the M1 with more storage is about $65 more.

On all of my iPads or iPhones I've only really ever peaked at about 80gb (and that's when I've loaded up movies for a trip.) So I'm wondering in the future will I prefer more storage or better chip?

I ask all of you because I've misplaced my crystal ball and wondered if you could look into yours.
Click to expand...
More storage will double the size. OTOH, M2 is only slightly faster than M1, which is hard to be fully utilized with the current iPadOS.
 
Isamilis said:
More storage will double the size. OTOH, M2 is only slightly faster than M1, which is hard to be fully utilized with the current iPadOS.
Click to expand...
And, yep, that’s another thought. Hence, the challenging decision. I’ll probably avoid the decision by spending more getting a 256gb M2. 🙄
 
If you dont care for Apple Pencil hover feature and you can get M1 iPad Pro cheaper than M2, then go for M1.
 
I live in Italy and I bought the M1 256GB model for 990 euros (offer). I would have had to pay M2 256 1,129 euros (with educational discount) Price difference 139 euros: definitely the M1 for this difference.
 
256GB is the minimum size required for ipadOS to use the new 16GB SSD swap feature.
Edit - as others have pointed out this limitation only applies to the Air. IPPs can use the 128GB. Personally, I'd still opt for the 256GB to reduce wear on a smaller SSD being constantly reused, especially if I were using something that would use more than 8GB regularly. But if that's the case, you'd probably have a larger SSD anyway.
 
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JamesTheMac said:
256GB is the minimum size required for ipadOS to use the new 16GB SSD swap feature.
Click to expand...
That’s for iPad Air, air doesn’t have 128g option

www.apple.com

iPadOS 18

iPadOS 18 brings new ways to work with Apple Pencil, new experiences in apps, deeper customization options, and support for Apple Intelligence.
www.apple.com
  1. Available on iPad Air (5th generation) with a minimum of 256GB storage, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later).
 
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whitney225 said:
That’s for iPad Air, air doesn’t have 128g option

www.apple.com

iPadOS 18

iPadOS 18 brings new ways to work with Apple Pencil, new experiences in apps, deeper customization options, and support for Apple Intelligence.
www.apple.com
  1. Available on iPad Air (5th generation) with a minimum of 256GB storage, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later).
Click to expand...

darngooddesign said:
No, 128GB is required.
Click to expand...

OK my bad. I misread the early reports of 256GB being needed for the Air, and hence understood it to be the case for the iPad Pro too. - Thinking that anything less than the 256GB would cane the SSD and cause premature wear as there is less space to lose the tired wear blocks over. (which is still a consideration actually if you think you're going to using apps that extend to 16GB regularly). But I agree, reading the footnote Apple has posted on the link above, there is no minimum specified for the IPPs.
 
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