I have finally upgraded from my 2018 11" iPad Pro. Tempted as I always am by the 13" model, I ultimately went with the "safe" choice of the 11" iPad Pro because I knew that's what would work best for me at work (the 13" iPad is simply too unwieldy to hold with one hand no matter how thin and light it gets). However, I will never stop thinking about how much nicer reading on that larger screen could have been. 🥲
My model is the 256gb black 11" version with cellular. Purchasing an e-sim online from my carrier seemed more cumbersome than I thought it would, until I realised the reason why the webpage seemed so buggy was that it was apparently not optimised for use with Safari. Switching to Chrome on my Mac fixed the issue and the transaction went through without a hitch.
I am now finally on 5g on both my iPhone and iPad. Previously, I was still on 4g because I was sharing a data plan with my iPad and that multi-sim arrangement wasn't compatible with 5g. When I get it, everything seems to load a little more quickly. And this will be a recurring theme. Everything is just a little better than before, and it all adds up.
For accessories, I also purchased the Apple Pencil pro, Magic Keyboard and the black Smart Folio. My thinking is that the magic keyboard will stay at my desk as a charging dock. When I am away, I need a case that can be easily attached and removed, hence the Smart Folio with its magnetic backing. So far, I noticed the Magic Keyboard seems to take up a little more space on my desk, probably because of the row of function keys. Writing with the new Apple Pencil feels a little different, like there's a bit more friction or feedback compared to the previous pencil which was just writing across smooth glass. But it could also just be me?
So far, I haven't yet decided what action to map to the "squeeze" feature. Thinking of either a shortcut that brings up a list of apps to launch, or to quickly take a screenshot and annotate before sharing it. Suggestions would be welcome here. 😄
The sucky thing is that all of my existing iPad accessories are no longer compatible with it, but I knew this going in. My Benks magnetic stand, my previous Apple Pencil and cases.
When setting up my new iPad, my fingers got itchy and I decided to set it up as new, something I would come to regret. Feels like the act of setting everything up manually from scratch didn't really seem worth it for me, vs simply restoring from a backup. Ah well, a once-every-5-years problem, I guess.
Funnily enough, I don't really have much to say about the screen. It seems brighter, everything seems a little clearer and more crisp, but I can't say it's very noticeable to me.
Sound-wise, I do seem to hear a small difference. Sound feels a little more "hollow" sounding? Can't really describe it. But it's definitely a step down.
Overall, performing the same tasks seem to drain my battery less quickly and heat up my device less (and I did have the battery replaced last year). I have yet to put my new iPad Pro through a full day of use though. Performance-wise, everything is faster (and this varies from slightly to fairly significantly), but I am unsure how much of it is attributed to the M4 chip vs my A12x chip simply being old. For example, switching focus modes is now instantaneous (it used to take like half a second, with the loading progress bar very visible in the shortcuts widget). Pressing down on a link in safari brings up the menu immediately (there was also a noticeable delay with my 2018 iPad). Apps launch snd load data faster (eg: twitch and google drive). Playing slay-the-spire no longer drains the battery so quickly. When reading comics in Mangadex, I used to encounter problems with pages not loading (it's super smooth now), but I also know they were having server issues a few months ago, so again, I am not sure how much of my perceived improvements in performance is thanks to the hardware improvements in the new M4 ipad vs some other external factors.
Basically, there is almost zero lag in my daily tasks. I think this is really the biggest quality of life improvement here if you are coming from an older iPad, even moreso than the screen upgrade.
Will get round to playing with stage manager one of these days (I want to test it out with my 27" 4k monitor at work). 😬
So yeah, a nice, albeit somewhat pricey upgrade (but it was mainly the magic keyboard that jacked up the cost significantly). But heck, in for a penny, in for a pound.
My model is the 256gb black 11" version with cellular. Purchasing an e-sim online from my carrier seemed more cumbersome than I thought it would, until I realised the reason why the webpage seemed so buggy was that it was apparently not optimised for use with Safari. Switching to Chrome on my Mac fixed the issue and the transaction went through without a hitch.
I am now finally on 5g on both my iPhone and iPad. Previously, I was still on 4g because I was sharing a data plan with my iPad and that multi-sim arrangement wasn't compatible with 5g. When I get it, everything seems to load a little more quickly. And this will be a recurring theme. Everything is just a little better than before, and it all adds up.
For accessories, I also purchased the Apple Pencil pro, Magic Keyboard and the black Smart Folio. My thinking is that the magic keyboard will stay at my desk as a charging dock. When I am away, I need a case that can be easily attached and removed, hence the Smart Folio with its magnetic backing. So far, I noticed the Magic Keyboard seems to take up a little more space on my desk, probably because of the row of function keys. Writing with the new Apple Pencil feels a little different, like there's a bit more friction or feedback compared to the previous pencil which was just writing across smooth glass. But it could also just be me?
So far, I haven't yet decided what action to map to the "squeeze" feature. Thinking of either a shortcut that brings up a list of apps to launch, or to quickly take a screenshot and annotate before sharing it. Suggestions would be welcome here. 😄
The sucky thing is that all of my existing iPad accessories are no longer compatible with it, but I knew this going in. My Benks magnetic stand, my previous Apple Pencil and cases.
When setting up my new iPad, my fingers got itchy and I decided to set it up as new, something I would come to regret. Feels like the act of setting everything up manually from scratch didn't really seem worth it for me, vs simply restoring from a backup. Ah well, a once-every-5-years problem, I guess.
Funnily enough, I don't really have much to say about the screen. It seems brighter, everything seems a little clearer and more crisp, but I can't say it's very noticeable to me.
Sound-wise, I do seem to hear a small difference. Sound feels a little more "hollow" sounding? Can't really describe it. But it's definitely a step down.
Overall, performing the same tasks seem to drain my battery less quickly and heat up my device less (and I did have the battery replaced last year). I have yet to put my new iPad Pro through a full day of use though. Performance-wise, everything is faster (and this varies from slightly to fairly significantly), but I am unsure how much of it is attributed to the M4 chip vs my A12x chip simply being old. For example, switching focus modes is now instantaneous (it used to take like half a second, with the loading progress bar very visible in the shortcuts widget). Pressing down on a link in safari brings up the menu immediately (there was also a noticeable delay with my 2018 iPad). Apps launch snd load data faster (eg: twitch and google drive). Playing slay-the-spire no longer drains the battery so quickly. When reading comics in Mangadex, I used to encounter problems with pages not loading (it's super smooth now), but I also know they were having server issues a few months ago, so again, I am not sure how much of my perceived improvements in performance is thanks to the hardware improvements in the new M4 ipad vs some other external factors.
Basically, there is almost zero lag in my daily tasks. I think this is really the biggest quality of life improvement here if you are coming from an older iPad, even moreso than the screen upgrade.
Will get round to playing with stage manager one of these days (I want to test it out with my 27" 4k monitor at work). 😬
So yeah, a nice, albeit somewhat pricey upgrade (but it was mainly the magic keyboard that jacked up the cost significantly). But heck, in for a penny, in for a pound.
Last edited:
