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iPad Pro M1 or M2 refurb iPad Pro?

OneSon

OneSon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
130
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I'm buying a refurbished 11 inch iPad Pro from the refurb store. I previously owned an Air and want to try a Pro due to the speakers and Face ID. What length of software support can I expect from the M1 and M2 models from this point on? Are there any other differences between them other than the chip? The M2 is £110 more on the refurb store.
 
OneSon said:
The hover feature is no use I don't think. I use the pencil for annotating, highlighting and note taking. Will I get 1 year more support from the M2 do you think?
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It should even get 2 more years of support. If they get the same 7 years as other pros, M1 should be supported till iPadOS 21 (since it was released with iPadOS 14), while M2 should get till 23, since it was released with 16, unless Apple gives longer support to M series but in that case both should be supported for instance for 1 more year. I find the hover feature useless, personally. M2 may be better if you play games, but you don't mention that.
 
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While it remains to be seen how long apple will support the iPad Pros till the one feature about the m2 iPad Pro over the m1 is the longer software support. An extra year or two of iPadOS is not to be underestimated.

Speakers and FaceID on iPad Pros are nice by the way but pro-motion 120hz refresh makes even the 11 inch led screen a nice display over the iPad Air, however is the m4 OLED 11 inch pro off the menu in terms of cost? I would say if you can wait till m5 is out there will surely be refurb m4 devices available.
 
I got the M1 iPad Pro a year ago, and I use it a lot. I don’t feel that I’m missing anything by not having the other models, but YMMV.

I’m not sure what I’d replace it with if I needed to replace it today. It’s the same price on Apple Store that it was when I bought it a year ago and, if I was contemplating the £110 extra for the M2, I’m not sure if I wouldn’t just hold out until my savings could go all the way to the current model.
 
I’m in the same boat. Price difference of around £130 from the M1 and M2. Considering my use case I’m tempted to stick with the M1. I did have an M1 iPad Air and loved it apart from the screen! Coming from pro motion on my iPhone to not having it on the Air was very noticeable.
 
OneSon said:
I'm buying a refurbished 11 inch iPad Pro from the refurb store. I previously owned an Air and want to try a Pro due to the speakers and Face ID. What length of software support can I expect from the M1 and M2 models from this point on? Are there any other differences between them other than the chip? The M2 is £110 more on the refurb store.
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Either or, which ever has a 1TB SSD & most RAM
 
Considering the iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) is compatible with the latest OS (i.e., iPadOS 26), I think, it’s safe to assume M-series equipped iPad Pros will be (software) supported until nearly or beyond 2030.

I have an iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation). As far as hardware, the M1 is still plenty capable and a smooth user experience, in my opinion. I only went for the M4 iPad because of the (brighter) tandem OLED display for occasional outdoor use.
 
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MacCheetah3 said:
Considering the iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) is compatible with the latest OS (i.e., iPadOS 26), I think, it’s safe to assume M-series equipped iPad Pros will be (software) supported until nearly or beyond 2030.

I have an iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation). As far as hardware, the M1 is still plenty capable and a smooth user experience, in my opinion. I only went for the M4 iPad because of the (brighter) tandem OLED display for occasional outdoor use.
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M1 came with iPadOS 14 and should get till iPadOS 28, so 2 more updates, while M2 came with 16 and should get iPadOS 30 (M4 came with 17 and should get iPadOS 31). This is if Apple does not change its current policy of 7 OS upgrades (regardless of the chip or year or release) for air and pro, which has been unchanged since 2014.
 
Digitalguy said:
M1 came with iPadOS 14 and should get till iPadOS 28, so 2 more updates, while M2 came with 16 and should get iPadOS 30 (M4 came with 17 and should get iPadOS 31). This is if Apple does not change its current policy of 7 OS upgrades (regardless of the chip or year or release) for air and pro, which has been unchanged since 2014.
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So the A12 iPads (3rd-gen iPad Pro, 8th-gen iPad, and iPad Mini 5) should be dropped with iPadOS 27, right?
 
FeliApple said:
So the A12 iPads (3rd-gen iPad Pro, 8th-gen iPad, and iPad Mini 5) should be dropped with iPadOS 27, right?
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Absolutely, 26 is their last OS, I made a chart a couple of years ago with update cut-offs over the following 8 years and so far it has been correct, because Apple's policy has not changed (5 OS updates for the base iPad and 7 for air/pro)

PS Next in line is A12Z, which will get 27 and then M1, which will get 28.
In that post, I also considered the possibility that Apple extends the life of the pro from the M1 on, since otherwise the air M1 will get longer support and the air M2 will get longer support than the pro M2 and as much as the pro M4, but so far that's what has happened (see pro 2017 A10X vs iPad 7 with A10..) so I wouldn't get my hopes too high for that...
 
MacCheetah3 said:
Considering the iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) is compatible with the latest OS (i.e., iPadOS 26), I think, it’s safe to assume M-series equipped iPad Pros will be (software) supported until nearly or beyond 2030.

I have an iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation). As far as hardware, the M1 is still plenty capable and a smooth user experience, in my opinion. I only went for the M4 iPad because of the (brighter) tandem OLED display for occasional outdoor use.
Click to expand...
I’m with you about the M1. However I want the M4 just because..🤣
 
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