I have had the 11” for a few years and always felt to carry around the 8” mini would be good. But I watch films on the train so feel a 13” would be cool. Is it worth having two iPads to do that? And my partner had a mini so is a 13” air a good buy to compliment a Pro? I felt little changes over the 2018 pro I updated to but the £700 more screen Pro or a 13” Air as second iPad may offer something new in 2024 for me. Or should I save money and use my 11” M4 Pro as my travel iPad? The screen sizes are important as I watch movies on trains.
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iPad What size do you use for travelling?
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11" as I regularly fly for work. I find it's large enough for good viewing but not so big as to prevent sitting both a drink and snack on the tray table as well.
Note that the 13" has a more square aspect ratio than the 11", so movies have taller black bars and you lose a bit more space. The 13" corresponds to a 12" 16:9 screen, and the 11" corresponds to a 10.5" 16:9 screen. The mini 6 corresponds to an 8" 16:9 screen.
11" for economy class on the plane IMO, and for general portability.
Just be aware they have different key spacing though:
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I haven't had a chance to measure it, but I'm guessing the 13" is 19 mm key spacing and the 11" is 18 mm key spacing. They are both considered ergonomically appropriate, but 19 mm is the usual Mac key spacing and may be preferred by those with larger hands.
I have small hands but still prefer 19 mm because that's what my Macs have, but I am fine with 18 mm as well. I dislike key spacing that is smaller than 18 mm though. The 9.7" iPad Pro had 17.5 mm and I found that one irritating, and I had a Logitech one for an old iPad that was 16.9 mm and that made my wrists hurt.
Just be aware they have different key spacing though:
2024 Magic Keyboard key spacing - 18 mm (11") and 19 mm (13")?
Just to confirm, is the key spacing of the new 2024 11" Magic Keyboard 18 mm? And 19 m for the 13"? You can measure the key spacing on a US keyboard by measuring the distance between the left edge of the "Q" key to the left edge of the "[" key. That should measure either 180 mm (11") or 190 mm...
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I haven't had a chance to measure it, but I'm guessing the 13" is 19 mm key spacing and the 11" is 18 mm key spacing. They are both considered ergonomically appropriate, but 19 mm is the usual Mac key spacing and may be preferred by those with larger hands.
I have small hands but still prefer 19 mm because that's what my Macs have, but I am fine with 18 mm as well. I dislike key spacing that is smaller than 18 mm though. The 9.7" iPad Pro had 17.5 mm and I found that one irritating, and I had a Logitech one for an old iPad that was 16.9 mm and that made my wrists hurt.
My last trip, I carried all three - 8.3” Mini, 11” Pro and 12.9” Pro.
The most used one was the Mini. I carried that one with me everywhere. I prefer the iPad mini over any iPhone for searching for places to eat, browsing, reading, etc.
The 11” was used at the hotel for watching Netflix and web browsing for sites that have layout issues on the Mini.
The 12.9” just stayed either in the carry-on or the closet the whole time so I’m not bringing that one next time.
The most used one was the Mini. I carried that one with me everywhere. I prefer the iPad mini over any iPhone for searching for places to eat, browsing, reading, etc.
The 11” was used at the hotel for watching Netflix and web browsing for sites that have layout issues on the Mini.
The 12.9” just stayed either in the carry-on or the closet the whole time so I’m not bringing that one next time.
Back in the old days I had a 4" iPhone, a 7" Android tablet, and a 13" MacBook Pro.
Now with the larger iPhones, I have a 6.7" iPhone 12 Pro Max and an iPad. It used to be a 10.5" iPad Pro, and will soon be an 11" iPad Pro. In that context I have no use for an iPad mini and wouldn't carry it around with me. I typically don't have pockets that large and don't carry a bag unless it's for a meeting or something, but in that case I'd have my 11" iPad Pro (or 12" MacBook) anyway.
I’ll chime in since everyone has his or her own opinion anyways. As a family of five I bring 2 12.9” ipp and 1 8.3” ipad mini to travel around the world for years. They are mostly used during flights for the kids. This year with my new 13” ipp that makes it 3 large ipp and 1 mini. These devices just last forever and I keep passing them down.
I have a mini 6 and an 11. When I travel I take my MBA and the mini. Not sure if I’m going to stay with just the mini now that I have the 11 IPP. This is so much nicer to use vs the mini on my eyes.
For about a year I thought a baseline M2 Air was my "all-in-one" but as others have shared, it was so bulky to travel in spaces like trains and planes.
Then I started pushing the 8GB and M2 chip and I then I knew mobile setup wasn't working. Traded in the M2 for a refurb M1 Pro 16 inch and bought the iPad Pro 11inch on release day this week.
I couldn't be happier! For quick trips where I don't need to work, I leave the MBP at home and take the iPad. Was at a public speaking engagement for work yesterday (just as an attendee, nothing to work on heavily) and using the 11inch iPad at the coffee shop before the event, and during and after the function was surreal in the best ways.
I feel like I have a portal of magical glass in my hand. The OLED feels deep, like the opposite of a 3D display if that makes any sense, and it's SO light and portable.
I never could've had that experience with my M2 Air, and if I really need to work (like if it's an event I'm organizing instead) then I need to bring the M1 Pro MBP anyway.
If form factor and portability are a concern, I highly, highly recommend the new 11 inch iPad Pro. You really don't process it as a "bulkier device" than say, the mini, cause it's so light and gorg.
Then I started pushing the 8GB and M2 chip and I then I knew mobile setup wasn't working. Traded in the M2 for a refurb M1 Pro 16 inch and bought the iPad Pro 11inch on release day this week.
I couldn't be happier! For quick trips where I don't need to work, I leave the MBP at home and take the iPad. Was at a public speaking engagement for work yesterday (just as an attendee, nothing to work on heavily) and using the 11inch iPad at the coffee shop before the event, and during and after the function was surreal in the best ways.
I feel like I have a portal of magical glass in my hand. The OLED feels deep, like the opposite of a 3D display if that makes any sense, and it's SO light and portable.
I never could've had that experience with my M2 Air, and if I really need to work (like if it's an event I'm organizing instead) then I need to bring the M1 Pro MBP anyway.
If form factor and portability are a concern, I highly, highly recommend the new 11 inch iPad Pro. You really don't process it as a "bulkier device" than say, the mini, cause it's so light and gorg.
Depends what the purpose of the trip is really. I'll generally always take a laptop if working, but if on vacation, I'll generally take the 12.9" as I like the larger screen for watching stuff on the plane, editing photos, music in the hotel room etc and can also take the keyboard if I want to do any emails etc.
For work stuff I'll usually take my 15" MacBook Air and an 11" iPad, but I think with the new lighter iPads, I'll just take the 13" which I can use if I want to get work done somewhere there's limited space.
I love the 11" iPad, but the size of the screen and keyboard hampers me if I want to do anything other than an email or two.
For work stuff I'll usually take my 15" MacBook Air and an 11" iPad, but I think with the new lighter iPads, I'll just take the 13" which I can use if I want to get work done somewhere there's limited space.
I love the 11" iPad, but the size of the screen and keyboard hampers me if I want to do anything other than an email or two.
If I need to work, I’d actually bring the 13” iPad as 2nd monitor for my laptop.
Plus the Mini for personal consumption.
I have been traveling for several years with an iPad mini 6 along with a 13” MacBook Air even though
I‘ve had either a 11 or 12.9 iPad Pro since they were released. However, I just got the 11” M4 iPad Pro and with the intention of replacing 2 devices with one and I’m researching for a good iPad photo workflow for my upcoming travels.
I‘ve had either a 11 or 12.9 iPad Pro since they were released. However, I just got the 11” M4 iPad Pro and with the intention of replacing 2 devices with one and I’m researching for a good iPad photo workflow for my upcoming travels.
iPad Pro 11” and Mini 6. My traveling is in vehicles and to our camp most of the time. I know from experience that 13” is too large (went from 13” Windows portable to 12” to 11” and 11” happens to be my “sweet spot”). Did just get a 13” Air but that will be used at home to watch videos for art tutorials, that sort of thing.
I’ve been travelling with an m1 12.9 for years - with the 11 getting the oled screen I traveled yesterday with the smaller device for the first time in years yesterday and it was just perfect. Stage manager with keyboard shortcuts and the MKB made it an excellent on the go machine for me, a great companion to my mbp16. Happy to be back, and as a handheld for document review and facilitation etc, the 11 was really, really good.
The 12.9” works really well for this. If I’m outside working with the laptop I’ll often have it setup as a second monitor.
Here is the 13” on a Delta tray table. Especially with the new angles on the silicone case, it works great. I wouldn’t travel with anything else.
I am the same—lately, I have been using the Mini more than my iPhone since the battery on my IP15 Pro Max seems to drain faster than the Mini. If only iPad OS would carry the Apple Watch App, I would ditch my iPhone and use my mini as a primary device. I am slowly trying to incorporate my new iPad pro M4 13 into my workflow. I do grab my mini before I grab the 13inch which will take time to slowly incorporate the newer larger iPad.
I have 16 MBP and a 12.9 M2 iPad Pro. Recently spent a week in Germany and only brought the iPad, since the MacBook is really too big and heavy to travel with. It honestly was the perfect size as a laptop replacement with the MK. Made me rethink even having the MBP in the first place.
