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So I don't want a faster iPad, with better sound, a better screen, and pencil support?

Ok.

I have an iPad Air 2 (64GB), which costs what, £429. A 128GB iPad Pro (the direct replacement for the 64GB Air 2) would cost £619. If you want a pencil that's another £79.

So, the question I ask myself: is a speed bump, 2 extra speakers and a slightly different screen (same resolution) worth nearly £200? (Plus £79 & £129 for a keyboard). I think, for most, that just isn't good value.
 
I have an iPad Air 2 (64GB), which costs what, £429. A 128GB iPad Pro (the direct replacement for the 64GB Air 2) would cost £619. If you want a pencil that's another £79.

So, the question I ask myself: is a speed bump, 2 extra speakers and a slightly different screen (same resolution) worth nearly £200? (Plus £79 & £129 for a keyboard). I think, for most, that just isn't good value.


Exactly, I remeber lines into stores when apple released better models before. No lines and they all available day one now. Price is extrimely high, useless additions for the most people, minimal performance improvements, what else? Why would I need pen for $100? Skipped until next ipad...
 
iPad Air 2 was so far ahead of its time like the iPad 2. It should easily last the "average not macromors customer" 4 years.
In fairness, aside from the original iPad (which was horribly underpowered) and possibly the iPad 3, all the iPad models should easily last the average not MacRumors customer 4 years. My mom's actually still happily using an iPad 3. Been trying to convince her to upgrade but she says she doesn't need to.
 
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I played with the smaller pro, and couldn't see a reason to upgrade from the air 2.

However, the 12.9 pro - absolutely! I love that thing..
 
In fairness, aside from the original iPad (which was horribly underpowered) and possibly the iPad 3, all the iPad models should easily last the average not MacRumors customer 4 years. My mom's actually still happily using an iPad 3. Been trying to convince her to upgrade but she says she doesn't need to.

Pretty much agree here. I have the iPad3, and I'm ready to upgrade. It does work just fine, the most annoyances being symptoms of being out-of-ram (app crashes, and safari refreshes), and a battery that can't keep up with my daily Hearthstone playing.

Out of curiousity, do we think the Air2 still has four more years left in it? If I bought it new today, could I use it for four more years? It's already 1.5 years old...
 
Pretty much agree here. I have the iPad3, and I'm ready to upgrade. It does work just fine, the most annoyances being symptoms of being out-of-ram (app crashes, and safari refreshes), and a battery that can't keep up with my daily Hearthstone playing.

Out of curiousity, do we think the Air2 still has four more years left in it? If I bought it new today, could I use it for four more years? It's already 1.5 years old...
Depends on one's usage and patience. Personally, I think I'd be able get 2-3 more years out of the Air 2 at best before wanting to upgrade to something else.

Of course, ever since iOS 7, I couldn't stand using the iPad 3 for anything other than watching Netflix and reading comics so I'm probably more impatient than you. :p

The thing is I'm quite used to fast computers with SSDs. For most tasks, the bottleneck on my Windows-based PCs is the internet connection rather than internal hardware. Webpage rendering on iPhones and iPads isn't quite instantaneous as they are on my PCs so until mobile ARM-based processors get to that point, I don't think I'll be satisfied with performance.
 
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I've been battling the fence line on whether or not I'll upgrade from my Air 2 to the iPP 9.7". I think the upgrades that are there can justify it, but I've decided to wait.

When there are more bullet points that matter to my usage, then I'll go for it.
I don't necessarily need the extra speakers.
I won't use the pencil.

All that is left is the screen improvement and CPU/GPU, which aren't even being pushed on the Air 2 at this point.
 
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There are features some Air 2 owners really felt would be great to have when the 12.9 released that we couldn't do. I personally couldn't wait for them to release a version that would work with the Pencil. This in itself changed the dynamic for me personally from a consumption device, to more of a productivity tool.

I am not finding any lag at all. Air 1 owners complained about the RAM, Apple released Air 2 with 2GB's, and we were happy with the performance and lack of refresh. I found the Air 2 to perform extremely well, and I am not feeling any lacking of performance with the 2GB of RAM in my new Pro. I didn't feel the Air 2 was slow, or slowing and was not my reason for the upgrade, it was for the noticeable features the Air 2 didn't have that I wanted when they released the 12.9.

The brighter screen is noticeable. The 4 speakers sound MUCH better. The True tone is a much more attractive feature than I thought it would be. The Pencil is a huge time saving and better organizational tool. Anybody that takes a lot of written notes and loses notes all the time will know what I am saying. And to top it all off, the cost to upgrade was offset nicely with the sale of my Air 2 and tax deduction :)
 
I am really struggling with refurb iPad Air 2 for £299 or 9.7 iPad Pro for £499.. I don't want the pencil or keyboard so I don't think the "upgrades" are worth £200.. I have the money for either of them but that doesn't mean I should blow the extra £200 on worthless (to me) upgrades.
 
I am really struggling with refurb iPad Air 2 for £299 or 9.7 iPad Pro for £499.. I don't want the pencil or keyboard so I don't think the "upgrades" are worth £200.. I have the money for either of them but that doesn't mean I should blow the extra £200 on worthless (to me) upgrades.
Hahah but your signature says that you still got the 9.7 PRO. Nice backflip :p

Still a good choice upgrading from Air 1. I would've done the same. Just that I can't upgrade from Air 2.
 
Hahah but your signature says that you still got the 9.7 PRO. Nice backflip :p

Still a good choice upgrading from Air 1. I would've done the same. Just that I can't upgrade from Air 2.

I did decide on the pro in the end after I went and looked at the both in store, the screen seemed a lot nicer on the pro and I figured £200 over the years I'm going to keep it will pay for itself. I kept the air for 2.5 years after all and it was known as a bit of a dud lol.
 
I believe the best bang for the buck for the moment would be either an iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 4. I returned my 9.7 Pro after one week. I loved the device but at the same time I realised the 2GB ram was limiting step for my experience overall and I could not justify spending 619 pounds on it like this. Hence, I ended up getting a Mini 4 128GB for 479 pounds, and you know what? I am loving it, especially the form factor which allows me to carry it with me in my jacket's pocket. I wouldnt care much about processing power in the next year on iPads as there is not a single application that makes full use of A8 processors. The limiting step here is really the ram
 
I'm seriously considering upgrading my iPad 4 to the Pro 9.7. As a sweetener, going to get my other half a mini 2 to replace her aging original mini. I take it that 4 to 9.7 is a sufficiently significant upgrade to make it worthwhile?
 
I'm seriously considering upgrading my iPad 4 to the Pro 9.7. As a sweetener, going to get my other half a mini 2 to replace her aging original mini. I take it that 4 to 9.7 is a sufficiently significant upgrade to make it worthwhile?

Mini2? Not mini4?

As for 4 to 9.7, yes, it's a no-brainer.
 
I'm seriously considering upgrading my iPad 4 to the Pro 9.7. As a sweetener, going to get my other half a mini 2 to replace her aging original mini. I take it that 4 to 9.7 is a sufficiently significant upgrade to make it worthwhile?
I went from the 4 to the Air 2 and it was day/night difference.
 
She has said she's not bothered about having the newest mini - she's more bothered about higher capacity for apps (she has a 16gb original mini at the mo). And the difference between 32gb mini 2 and 64gb mini 4 is £140.

But for that £140, you get more storage, faster cpu, better display, lighter device that's way more future proof. If she plans to hang on to this iPad for more than a year, I think she should go for the mini4.
 
But for that £140, you get more storage, faster cpu, better display, lighter device that's way more future proof. If she plans to hang on to this iPad for more than a year, I think she should go for the mini4.

You're probably right - I'm just juggling figures. Another option would be to upgrade to Air 2 to free up some cash for the Mini 4.
 
I got my Air 2 128GB for $599 about a year ago (good deal). Didn't think the next iPad would have pencil support or 3D Touch. As a student I use my iPad for note taking and it works well sometimes. I wish I could use the Apple Pencil since it is the best stylus for the iPad and will greatly increase my note-taking uses with my iPad. Pencil support alone makes me want to upgrade but since I'm graduating this year, I don't think it will make sense...
 
I'm seriously considering upgrading my iPad 4 to the Pro 9.7. As a sweetener, going to get my other half a mini 2 to replace her aging original mini. I take it that 4 to 9.7 is a sufficiently significant upgrade to make it worthwhile?

I went from a iPad 4 to Air 2 and that was a lovely jump, so yes, 4 to iPad Pro9.7 will be great. You will greatly appreciate:
1. How lite it is
2. How super thin it is
3. How fast it is
4. Keeping more than 2 tabs open in Safari at a time
5. Being able to use AdBlockers
6. All having Touch ID


I could go on, the iPad 4 is super old now, it was a fantastic tablet but the Air 2 and Pro 9.7 are a nice jump from it. :)
 
Thank you I feel the same way. Unless your a graphic designer and the pencil would actually have a profound benefit to your work flow there is no reason to go get a pro if you have a Air 2 . It would be a waste of money. iPads are so powerful now they are being supported for 4-5 years by Apple and people should not upgrading just because a new processor. The Air 2 easily has another 3 years of solid support from iOS. I mean no one goes out and buys a new MacBook every year because it has a new processor?
 
I'm honestly glad they made the camera stick out; that was already the deal breaker for me on upgrading. Saved me a whole bunch of $$$ and made me appreciate my air 2 more.
 
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