I have a pretty good idea of my needs/wants, but there are some things you just can't pick up on or decide based on specs and benchmarks alone.
I currently own a 6th gen iPad and a 5th gen iPad mini. Work also provide me with a 6th gen ipad which I leave there, the mini is a device I carry between work and home.
I have a 2018 mac mini which serves most of my computing needs with a 27" monitor. I also have a base model mid-2014 rMBP sitting on my desk (not fully relevant to this situation, but I swapped it with my wife who took my late 2013 13" 2.8GHz i7/8GB/512GB model after it returned from a battery & top case replacement because i didn't need the storage in a secondary computer). Lightly used is an understatement for the 2014 mbp - iStat shows 27 cycles on a computer that is now more than 5 ½ years old - and it spends much of its time on my desk asleep. I share a mouse and keyboard between them thanks to Logitech Flow (I actually quite like having two computers rather than two screens, in case I get network issues with my VPN). When either of these devices die again - by the end of the month, both will apparently be vintage and I'm wondering how many more versions of macOS they'll run - I probably won't be rushing to replace them with new macs. The 2013 MBP battery expanded in part, I think, because it spent so much time attached to my desk. I guess the point of this paragraph, for those who have the sense to skip to the bold text here, is to show that my mobile computing needs are fairly minimal.
I'm looking to replace my 6th gen iPad with something with more storage and power. 128GB isn't really enough for anything in addition to my photo library, but I'm not keen on optimising storage - I really want a mobile, large-screen device that has all of my photos right there in full quality (i only bought the 64GB mini). I'd also find playing games like civilization 6 a bit more comfortable on a larger screen than the mini. Of course... I could just save money and work with what I've got. I'm just tempted to buy now because I don't see an Air 4 coming out anytime soon with an A13 or A14 in september while the pro still has A12Z. If I'm going to end up buying one of the current models a year down the line, why not enjoy it now? On the flip side, the only thing the 6th gen can't do (rather than not being able to do as quickly or as well) that I can think of is fast/18W charging.
So with mouse and trackpad support here in iPadOS, i figure that I might as well replace the 6th gen ipad with something that has enough capability that I definitely don't need to replace my MBP when it is no longer supported. I'm looking at two options. Refurbs aren't an option here, Apple only seems to sell refurb macs in China at the moment. Both of these costs include education discount etc.
But then there are questions of longevity. It's no longer 3GB vs 4GB RAM as it was last time I thought about this and settled for the 6th gen ipad. 3GB vs 6GB of RAM is a huge difference, and I have a feeling the 2020 ipad pro will feel snappy/have a useful life for at least 50% longer than an iPad Air bought today - meaning that it would be "worth" the investment to have a better ipad now and still have it for a longer time. So essentially... I'm in a situation where I'm leaning towards the "not as good" model because the accessories that have been announced appear to fit my needs better, even though at this point I think the iPad Pro would be the better "value" device of the two taken into its own account. Has anyone who already has the IPP 2018/2020 made plans to address this when they pick up the magic keyboard? I try not to expect the impossible, so I'm presuming that the more protective cases out there will also not be as easy to transfer the iPad into/out of regularly, and when I want to use it like a regular ipad it'll end up being naked. The air definitely seems to have the advantage there.
So we're on to real world, performance differences. Benchmarks say the A12 and A12X were pretty much identical in single core speeds and the A12X blows away the A12 (and even the A13) in multi-core. But these are only benchmarks... which of these is most relevant day to day? Am i going to notice better performance in onenote on an iPad Pro vs an iPad Air? The Pencil 1/Pencil 2 aspect is not important, by the way; I use logitech crayons which are fine for my needs and are transferrable between all of my ipads. Even with an iPad pro i'd probably still just use the crayon.
How much "better" will the pro be now vs the air? Is there anything i'm missing that swings it further towards the pro (I've been considering that I could wait until the MBP dies before picking up a magic keyboard)? Given that I'm not really "mobile" at all right now, should I just stick with the 6th gen ipad, enable optimised storage for photos and call it a day until the next gen iPads come out?
Thank you for reading.
I currently own a 6th gen iPad and a 5th gen iPad mini. Work also provide me with a 6th gen ipad which I leave there, the mini is a device I carry between work and home.
I have a 2018 mac mini which serves most of my computing needs with a 27" monitor. I also have a base model mid-2014 rMBP sitting on my desk (not fully relevant to this situation, but I swapped it with my wife who took my late 2013 13" 2.8GHz i7/8GB/512GB model after it returned from a battery & top case replacement because i didn't need the storage in a secondary computer). Lightly used is an understatement for the 2014 mbp - iStat shows 27 cycles on a computer that is now more than 5 ½ years old - and it spends much of its time on my desk asleep. I share a mouse and keyboard between them thanks to Logitech Flow (I actually quite like having two computers rather than two screens, in case I get network issues with my VPN). When either of these devices die again - by the end of the month, both will apparently be vintage and I'm wondering how many more versions of macOS they'll run - I probably won't be rushing to replace them with new macs. The 2013 MBP battery expanded in part, I think, because it spent so much time attached to my desk. I guess the point of this paragraph, for those who have the sense to skip to the bold text here, is to show that my mobile computing needs are fairly minimal.
I'm looking to replace my 6th gen iPad with something with more storage and power. 128GB isn't really enough for anything in addition to my photo library, but I'm not keen on optimising storage - I really want a mobile, large-screen device that has all of my photos right there in full quality (i only bought the 64GB mini). I'd also find playing games like civilization 6 a bit more comfortable on a larger screen than the mini. Of course... I could just save money and work with what I've got. I'm just tempted to buy now because I don't see an Air 4 coming out anytime soon with an A13 or A14 in september while the pro still has A12Z. If I'm going to end up buying one of the current models a year down the line, why not enjoy it now? On the flip side, the only thing the 6th gen can't do (rather than not being able to do as quickly or as well) that I can think of is fast/18W charging.
So with mouse and trackpad support here in iPadOS, i figure that I might as well replace the 6th gen ipad with something that has enough capability that I definitely don't need to replace my MBP when it is no longer supported. I'm looking at two options. Refurbs aren't an option here, Apple only seems to sell refurb macs in China at the moment. Both of these costs include education discount etc.
- iPad Air 256GB Wifi (4870 RMB ≈ $687)
- iPad Pro 11" 256GB Wifi (6629 RMB ≈ $935, or 36% more expensive)
- iPad Air 256GB Wifi (5948 RMB ≈ $839)
- iPad Pro 11" 256GB Wifi (8828 RMB ≈ $1245, or 48% more expensive)
But then there are questions of longevity. It's no longer 3GB vs 4GB RAM as it was last time I thought about this and settled for the 6th gen ipad. 3GB vs 6GB of RAM is a huge difference, and I have a feeling the 2020 ipad pro will feel snappy/have a useful life for at least 50% longer than an iPad Air bought today - meaning that it would be "worth" the investment to have a better ipad now and still have it for a longer time. So essentially... I'm in a situation where I'm leaning towards the "not as good" model because the accessories that have been announced appear to fit my needs better, even though at this point I think the iPad Pro would be the better "value" device of the two taken into its own account. Has anyone who already has the IPP 2018/2020 made plans to address this when they pick up the magic keyboard? I try not to expect the impossible, so I'm presuming that the more protective cases out there will also not be as easy to transfer the iPad into/out of regularly, and when I want to use it like a regular ipad it'll end up being naked. The air definitely seems to have the advantage there.
So we're on to real world, performance differences. Benchmarks say the A12 and A12X were pretty much identical in single core speeds and the A12X blows away the A12 (and even the A13) in multi-core. But these are only benchmarks... which of these is most relevant day to day? Am i going to notice better performance in onenote on an iPad Pro vs an iPad Air? The Pencil 1/Pencil 2 aspect is not important, by the way; I use logitech crayons which are fine for my needs and are transferrable between all of my ipads. Even with an iPad pro i'd probably still just use the crayon.
How much "better" will the pro be now vs the air? Is there anything i'm missing that swings it further towards the pro (I've been considering that I could wait until the MBP dies before picking up a magic keyboard)? Given that I'm not really "mobile" at all right now, should I just stick with the 6th gen ipad, enable optimised storage for photos and call it a day until the next gen iPads come out?
Thank you for reading.
