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iPad Pro What iPad do you have, and do you plan on upgrading?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
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4 years ago, I bought the 9th iPad 64GB on the day it came out. Amazing how fast and well it performs still, no reason to upgrade, although the 11th would be a great upgrade.
2 years ago, I bought a second-hand M1 11" pro 256GB. I can't imagine anything that could improve the experience for me - it is fast. I also run DaVinci Resolve on it on a regular basis. Currently on iPadOS 26 beta, the windowing feature opens up a lot of potential.
What I have noticed, is that storage space is more important for me than having the latest chip and the greatest processor speed. Having 256GB instead of 64GB enables me to use the device in a completely different way. So, for me it is quite attractive to buy second-hand, as I do not need the latest. In fact, in terms of performance, I don't really bother that much when using the 9th and not having the M1 power. I believe the "performance problem" has been solved long ago already on iPads.
2 years ago, I bought a second-hand M1 11" pro 256GB. I can't imagine anything that could improve the experience for me - it is fast. I also run DaVinci Resolve on it on a regular basis. Currently on iPadOS 26 beta, the windowing feature opens up a lot of potential.
What I have noticed, is that storage space is more important for me than having the latest chip and the greatest processor speed. Having 256GB instead of 64GB enables me to use the device in a completely different way. So, for me it is quite attractive to buy second-hand, as I do not need the latest. In fact, in terms of performance, I don't really bother that much when using the 9th and not having the M1 power. I believe the "performance problem" has been solved long ago already on iPads.
Still on the Air 4 from 2020. It's the longest I've had an iPad or iPhone without upgrading. I just can't see a reason to. The form factor hasn't changed. It just gets a faster processor and sometimes more RAM each generation, but the Air 4 already does everything I need it to and performs perfectly well.
I wonder how well the Air 4 (A14/4GB) will work on iOS 26. The iPad 9th gen (A13/3GB) runs pretty awful on the beta.
How did it run on 18? My mini 5 is on 17 and runs well on it. If I update to 18 and not to 26 (which I have not intention to) I would lose stage manager (which I could hack into it, but on 18 it has been patched). On the long run 18 might be better than 17 for compatibility although I doubt it will make a big difference.
I also wonder how much of the slowdowns of 26 are due to CPU and how much to RAM. My guess is that RAM is the main culprit...
I guess I'll find out. That might be what finally gives me a reason to upgrade.
The iPad 9th gen worked fairly well on 18 even during the early betas. Didn't feel much different from my mini 6 (A15/4GB).
Still got mine with its MKB and it works well and like new like you said. I had to upgrade due to its 64GB storage though as it was pretty much full.
I have a 2020 iPP 12.9. I would have upgraded already except there is a spurious line on the display that makes it worthless on trade in. It still runs just fine except for that. But I will still try to justify the upgrade. 
Yet another useful input in a long litany of the same.
I had an iPad 2 until 2020, and I replaced it with a 8th gen base iPad. Then I later got an iPad Air M2 11”. Now I have an M4 Pro 13” with nano texture. I am loving this device and want nano texture on everything now
Did you manage to upgrade a year later?
Air 2 is still strong app support wise especially since WhatsApp was released for iPads a few months ago and soon a native Instagram app for iPads
It will get OLED, A19 Pro and be a S+ Tier iPad
The A10X Pro would have handled iPadOS 18 quite well IMO. But then the A10X is the only X/M Chip that has existed beyond an iPad (Apple TV 4K) and is still being supported.
Heck I think A10X iPad Pro can do iPadOS 26 well ( yes it wouldn’t have Liquid Glass like the Apple TV Version) but then the only really good thing about A10/X iPads is they had longer support than the A11 iPhones ( 7th gen iPad has the same number of OS Upgrades as the A11 iPhones since it came out in 2019 but better support)
We wouldn't know since Apple didn't support it.
From experience with A10 devices, it would probably be a tad slow for my liking. Single-core performance would be a bottleneck in some tasks and I believe that doesn't differ much between A10 and A10X.
I seriously doubt it. iPad 9th gen is already awful on 26 and that one has A13. I've also seen someone complaining about iPad Pro 2018 performance on the 26 betas.
Yeah it won’t differ much between A10 and A10X but considering A10X is better protected from heat and also 10nm it would do ok
Yeah but then it’s a beta. Not just a typical beta but one which includes the liquid glass design. And I saw that thread about the 2018 Pro but I wouldn’t be surprised if the user was talking about the first beta ( which was the most unstable beta one in a long time)
No. My circumstances have changed, and my iPad Air 2 is still chugging along. You've got to give it to Apple, these things just keep going!
My plan is a bit more humble now. I'm hoping to be able to afford an A18 iPad next year. I do need an iPad of some sort!
yeah they are still updating iOS/iPadOS 15 ( last update was March 31) but still this update gives the Air 2 over 10 years of software support even if its security patch’s
As I said these things keep going because of the amount of users stuck on OS 15/16, not so much for iPadOS 17 since only two iPad models didn’t get iPadOS 18
a little late to the party....
M1 12.9" iPad Pro - graphic design (procreate, affinity), games
2018 12.9" iPad Pro - have the yellow screen, seems to be getting worse (watch shows at night, and use it for DnD - encounter tracker LOL)
M2 11" Air (Procreate, YouTube)
Mini 6th gen (reading on kindle app, YouTube and occasionally take around town). this one is getting a little harder to use as I get older. I want the bigger screen of the 11". but not there yet.... LOL
5th gen mini - used vary rarely. Did have it connected to my Mac mini as a monitor for awhile.
We have a few other iPads in the house - 2 daughters, some are passed down from me....
M1 12.9" iPad Pro - graphic design (procreate, affinity), games
2018 12.9" iPad Pro - have the yellow screen, seems to be getting worse (watch shows at night, and use it for DnD - encounter tracker LOL)
M2 11" Air (Procreate, YouTube)
Mini 6th gen (reading on kindle app, YouTube and occasionally take around town). this one is getting a little harder to use as I get older. I want the bigger screen of the 11". but not there yet.... LOL
5th gen mini - used vary rarely. Did have it connected to my Mac mini as a monitor for awhile.
We have a few other iPads in the house - 2 daughters, some are passed down from me....
Since some my iPads have changed since my post over a year ago, here is the updated version:
First, what has not changed:
-11": still 2018 pro and 2021 pro, both maxed out
- mini 5
What has changed since last year is that larger models:
last year I had a 2018 512 and 2021 128, both have been sold, now I have a maxed out 2021, a maxed out 2022, and a base M4. The only iPads I might sell are the M4 (to get a M5), and maybe the 2021. All the others are staying for good.
All my iPads are cellular versions.
First, what has not changed:
-11": still 2018 pro and 2021 pro, both maxed out
- mini 5
What has changed since last year is that larger models:
last year I had a 2018 512 and 2021 128, both have been sold, now I have a maxed out 2021, a maxed out 2022, and a base M4. The only iPads I might sell are the M4 (to get a M5), and maybe the 2021. All the others are staying for good.
All my iPads are cellular versions.
Upgraded from an 11 inch M2 Pro to the 13 inch M4 Pro I got at a steal. It's insane how much better the screen is on the OLED.
2020 iPad Pro 11"
Bought at launch. Still a beast. Shows no signs of wear, handles anything I do on it with ease. It's the pretty much only device or consumer good in my life I wish would wear out 😂 but it's as quick and fluid as the day I got it.
While I would like the bigger screen and OLED, it's just not worth it to get a new one.
Bought at launch. Still a beast. Shows no signs of wear, handles anything I do on it with ease. It's the pretty much only device or consumer good in my life I wish would wear out 😂 but it's as quick and fluid as the day I got it.
While I would like the bigger screen and OLED, it's just not worth it to get a new one.
