iPad Pro To upgrade or not? iPad Pro 11 in. M1 vs iPad Pro 11 in. M4

[awintersdaybyth]

I'm having a real tough time working this one out...

At the moment I currently have the 11 Inch iPad M1 and considering upgrading to the iPad Pro M4 whilst I can still get a decent trade in price for the M1. With the Educational discount I get plus the trade in cost I'm looking at £658 (including the cost of the new Smart Folio). What would you do?

Main benefits I can see are:

* The OLED screen
* Improvement in performance
* Double the storage on the baseline version
* Slightly better battery life
* Slightly lighter weight
* Not going to get a better trade in price over time

Main drawbacks I can see are:

* Will not really notice that much of a difference in terms of day to day use and performance
* Will have to buy a new case
* Will feel I've splurged a lot of money (which I will have!)

My main usage is a bit of light photo editing, watching movies/TV away from home, some light music production, general tablet type tasks.

 

[crellude]

Based on how you use the iPad, I recommend staying with the M1 for at least another year or two. M1 is still more than powerful for all the stuff you do.

 

[leperry]

I traded my 12.9 M1 for an 11-inch M4. I wanted to reduce the screen size and eventually get a cellular model, and this was the right time to do it. But I wouldn’t have done it if it was a 1:1 upgrade.

 

[MacDevil7334]

I think you’ve analyzed the pros and cons accurately. You’re the only one who can really decide if that OLED screen is worth the cost of upgrading. If the screen is not worth the cost to you, I would stick with the M1 for another generation or two.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I'm having a real tough time working this one out...

At the moment I currently have the 11 Inch iPad M1 and considering upgrading to the iPad Pro M4 whilst I can still get a decent trade in price for the M1. With the Educational discount I get plus the trade in cost I'm looking at £658 (including the cost of the new Smart Folio). What would you do?

Main benefits I can see are:

* The OLED screen
* Improvement in performance
* Double the storage on the baseline version
* Slightly better battery life
* Slightly lighter weight
* Not going to get a better trade in price over time

Main drawbacks I can see are:

* Will not really notice that much of a difference in terms of day to day use and performance
* Will have to buy a new case
* Will feel I've splurged a lot of money (which I will have!)

My main usage is a bit of light photo editing, watching movies/TV away from home, some light music production, general tablet type tasks.

Tándem OLED is a must.

 

[awintersdaybyth]

Thanks for all the feedback, I suspect I will end up not upgrading in the end as the majority suggest as the prime benefit would be the screen and the rest are "nice to haves" on the whole.

I have had a look at the screen on the M4 and it is gorgeous, you can really see the difference when looking at photos: the colours pop a bit more and the blacks are definitely deeper. Whether that justifies the upgrade I really don't know: its not like I haven't been satisfied with the screen on the M1, it looks great, just not as great.

 

[DeepSix]

I would say save your money. For people saying that OLED is a must, give me a break. Not everyone cares for OLED. Revisit this idea in 6 months time when M4 users have burn-in on their new M4 ipads.

 

[iosuser]

I waited for years for an OLED iPad. Traded my 11" M1 Pro for it on day 1 and am throughly enjoying it. I kept a Samsung S6 tablet just because it has an OLED screen which I will no longer need. It is 5-6 years old now and I have zero burn in.

It is strictly media consumption device for me, so I do not notice any performance difference. Watching videos though the difference is dramatic. If you get a chance to demo it, pull up one of those "8K" HDR video on YouTube. Absolutely stunning. It looks better than my 77" LG OLED. I've been paying for the Apple family subscription for years now so I have access to Apple TV+, but I hardly used it until I got the M4 Pro. Everything just looks so beautiful on that OLED screen. Half way through first season of For All Mankind. Before someone asks why I "need" an OLED iPad if I already have a 77", it's just a difference experience viewing it on a tablet up close. I enjoy both equally.

No one can answer for you whether something is worth the cost. You're going to get opposing views as you can see here. I will say though that if you care for video quality and are willing to splurge it is a great upgrade. I am set for many years.

 

[awintersdaybyth]

I waited for years for an OLED iPad. Traded my 11" M1 Pro for it on day 1 and am throughly enjoying it. I kept a Samsung S6 tablet just because it has an OLED screen which I will no longer need. It is 5-6 years old now and I have zero burn in.

It is strictly media consumption device for me, so I do not notice any performance difference. Watching videos though the difference is dramatic. If you get a chance to demo it, pull up one of those "8K" HDR video on YouTube. Absolutely stunning. It looks better than my 77" LG OLED. I've been paying for the Apple family subscription for years now so I have access to Apple TV+, but I hardly used it until I got the M4 Pro. Everything just looks so beautiful on that OLED screen. Half way through first season of For All Mankind. Before someone asks why I "need" an OLED iPad if I already have a 77", it's just a difference experience viewing it on a tablet up close. I enjoy both equally.

No one can answer for you whether something is worth the cost. You're going to get opposing views as you can see here. I will say though that if you care for video quality and are willing to splurge it is a great upgrade. I am set for many years.

Thank you for your post, its good to hear the experience of someone who has actually done the upgrade.

 

[nappes]

I have done that upgrade. It’s not gonna change my life at all but it’s nice. My main reason for upgrading is Oled screen, I feel I some really dark movies these days it’s hard to see some things. And I like shiny new toys. The speed difference was obvious initially, as was the size difference but I only notice the size difference now 1 week later.

I didn’t do a trade in but did a hand me down to someone else in my fam. We had a 3yr old m1, 6yr old 10.5 pro and 9yr old air 2. So retired the oldest and everyone gets a hand me down.

yes it’s 100% true your m1 will last you longer, but your trade in value will also be worse in 1-2 years

 

[smooth0906]

I have done that upgrade. It’s not gonna change my life at all but it’s nice. My main reason for upgrading is Oled screen, I feel I some really dark movies these days it’s hard to see some things. And I like shiny new toys. The speed difference was obvious initially, as was the size difference but I only notice the size difference now 1 week later.

I didn’t do a trade in but did a hand me down to someone else in my fam. We had a 3yr old m1, 6yr old 10.5 pro and 9yr old air 2. So retired the oldest and everyone gets a hand me down.

yes it’s 100% true your m1 will last you longer, but your trade in value will also be worse in 1-2 years

I agree with the trade in value being worse in a year or two. That's why I traded my 12.9 M1 for the 13 inch M4 this past Friday. The OLED screen is great and the M4 is snappier than my M1. I also see images in games I didn't see on my M1 12.9.

 

[mustu]

If you are getting a decent value for the M1 do it. Two year later you will not get the same value so you will anyways land up spending more. This way it’s a win win situation where you are getting a new iPad… and a decent amount for the M1.

 

[teohyc]

Can the new M4 iPad Pro do anything with any new feature that your current tablet cannot?

The new tandem OLED is certainly nice but if you're using the tablet indoors, they are gonna look quite similar unless you know what characteristic to look for, and only when you have two tablets side by side to compare.

I upgraded specifically for the extra brightness for outdoor use. All other features are nice-to-have but not must-have to me. The extra brightness is what decides whether I can see or not see the content on the display when I'm out on a sunny day.

Regarding trade-in deals. You can save a lot more money by not spending money.

 

[smooth0906]

Can the new M4 iPad Pro do anything with any new feature that your current tablet cannot?

The new tandem OLED is certainly nice but if you're using the tablet indoors, they are gonna look quite similar unless you know what characteristic to look for, and only when you have two tablets side by side to compare.

I upgraded specifically for the extra brightness for outdoor use. All other features are nice-to-have but not must-have to me. The extra brightness is what decides whether I can see or not see the content on the display when I'm out on a sunny day.

Regarding trade-in deals. You can save a lot more money by not spending money.

Regarding trade-in deals; I would have spent a whole lot more for the 13 M4 if I didn't trade in my M1 12.9. Not sure what your statement of saving more money by not spending money. :-(

 

[Lustral]

I’m going from a M2 11” iPad Pro 256Gb WiFi to a M4 11” iPad Pro 256Gb Cellular.

I wanted it for the display tbh as I consume media on it and also the relocated FaceID camera as well for my teams call. I’ll prolly keep the M2 as a spare as I have recently sold my iPad Air 4th Gen.

 

[ManuCH]

I have done the exact same upgrade. And as others said: it's really really nice, although not life changing.

The life changing part for me came as I also added the Magic Keyboard to it, and compared to the old one, I find it to be massively better. It feels so much more "premium", I don't know how to describe it.

With the new OLED screen and the new keyboard, I find myself using the iPad way more often than before. So I'm really happy I did this upgrade.

 

[xeux]

Tándem OLED is a must.

A must for who? lol. Perhaps it’s a must for those that watch Netflix/youtube and have disposable income.

 

[3Rock]

I would say save your money. For people saying that OLED is a must, give me a break. Not everyone cares for OLED. Revisit this idea in 6 months time when M4 users have burn-in on their new M4 ipads.

I agree. I was on an upgrade cycle almost every other year and I purchased the M2 iPad Pro over the M1 I had previously and after getting it, I soon realized I made a mistake. It wasn’t an earth shattering upgrade, and I was doing just fine with my M1. i’ll never do that again since the screen that I have now on the M2 iPad Pro is just fine for my usage. OLED for me is not a “must have”. I even gave away my LGOLED 55 inch TV and purchased another Samsung QLED about a year ago and I’m very happy with the Samsun over the LG. Everybody’s different.

 

[Surfsalot]

I agree. I was on an upgrade cycle almost every other year and I purchased the M2 iPad Pro over the M1 I had previously and after getting it, I soon realized I made a mistake. It wasn’t an earth shattering upgrade, and I was doing just fine with my M1. i’ll never do that again since the screen that I have now on the M2 iPad Pro is just fine for my usage. OLED for me is not a “must have”. I even gave away my LGOLED 55 inch TV and purchased another Samsung QLED about a year ago and I’m very happy with the Samsun over the LG. Everybody’s different.

M4 is a bigger upgrade, m1 to m2 was a nothing upgrade no wonder you felt ripped.
Congrats by the way, the only person on here to agree with deepsix lol

 

[teohyc]

Regarding trade-in deals; I would have spent a whole lot more for the 13 M4 if I didn't trade in my M1 12.9. Not sure what your statement of saving more money by not spending money. :-(

These trade-in programs are designed to let people spend money. From your perspective you may be saving money, but from retail perspective, you are spending money.

If you're gonna be buying the new tablet anyway, then yeah maybe the perspective of saving money there.

My very simplified view of saving money is not spending money.

 

[rkuo]

Regarding trade-in deals; I would have spent a whole lot more for the 13 M4 if I didn't trade in my M1 12.9. Not sure what your statement of saving more money by not spending money. :-(

Depreciation happens the fastest and hardest on new devices. Trading in old devices to dodge further depreciation on that device does not save money, as the depreciation on an older device happens slower than the new one. Only you can decide if the new device is worth it to you.

 

[smooth0906]

These trade-in programs are designed to let people spend money. From your perspective you may be saving money, but from retail perspective, you are spending money.

If you're gonna be buying the new tablet anyway, then yeah maybe the perspective of saving money there.

My very simplified view of saving money is not spending money.

I wanted the M4 13 inch anyhow so you're right. There was a saving of money.

 

[smooth0906]

Depreciation happens the fastest and hardest on new devices. Trading in old devices to dodge further depreciation on that device does not save money, as the depreciation on an older device happens slower than the new one. Only you can decide if the new device is worth it to you.

As I mentioned previously, I wanted the M4 13 iPad Pro and my M1 iPad Pro 12.9 inch helped reduce the cost of the purchase. It had nothing to do with saving money. Just reducing the purchase cost of the M4 13 inch.

 

[mebehere]

I honestly wouldn’t have upgraded from the A12Z if it weren’t for the (hopefully) decent AI stuff coming soon.

 

[thelookingglass]

It all just depends on how much you value screen quality. I personally would do it because I love inky blacks and high contrast displays. But if you don’t really care that much, it’s a waste of time and money to upgrade. Everything you do on your iPad will feel exactly the same.