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All iPads What’s your perfectly sized iPad?

What’s the perfect iPad size?

  • > 12.9”

    Votes: 10 6.6%

  • 12.9”

    Votes: 31 20.5%

  • 10.5”

    Votes: 51 33.8%

  • 9.7”

    Votes: 17 11.3%

  • In between 9.7” and 7.9”

    Votes: 5 3.3%

  • 7.9”

    Votes: 23 15.2%

  • < 7.9”

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Something else

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • In between 10.5” and 12.9”

    Votes: 12 7.9%
  • Total voters
    151
willmtaylor

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Original poster
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
We’ve seen quite a few iterations of iPads now. Additionally, iPhones are ever-increasing in size.

Assuming we can continue to decrease bezels, which iPad size is perfect for your needs and/or wants?
 
As much as I appreciate the 12.9 iPad and the larger display, I really do think the 10.5 iPad is the ideal size in between the 9.7 and 12.9 iPad. I didn't think the 10.5 iPad would make that much of a difference over the 9.7, but with the reduction of the bezels and resulting in more display area, it made a significant difference for me. It's the perfect median.
 
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Relentless Power said:
As much as I appreciate the 12.9 iPad and the larger display, I really do think the 10.5 iPad is the ideal size in between the 9.7 and 12.9 iPad. I didn't think the 10.5 iPad would make that much of a difference over the 9.7, but with the reduction of the bezels and resulting in more display area, it made a significant difference for me. It's the perfect median.
Click to expand...
That’s where I tend to land as well.
 
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willmtaylor said:
Sorry, didn’t think this would cause confusion.

Apple has made and continues to offer several different sizes of iPads. Which one is your ideal size and why?
Click to expand...

All good. Right now it’s the 10.5. I feel that an iPad should be extremely mobile, while still providing enough surface area to be productive and immersive. The 10.5 hits on this while the remaining do not. I love the size of the mini in terms of the portability, but it’s not great for much else. Plus a 7 plus fills that role. The 9.7 was good, but a little bit constrained. Probably the close second in my view. The 12.9 offers great surface area, but I don’t think it is very mobile. It felt awkward when trying to use it in certain situations, but great on a desk. I could see the argument for having both the 10.5 and 12.9 in the future.
 
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Hard to answer because depends what you use the iPad for. I use different iPads for different purposes: 12.9 primarily for drawing and secondarily as a part-time laptop replacement and for content immersion; and 7.9 for casual consumption.

But I voted for <7.9 because since I could only vote for one, I voted for the size that would be most ideal for me for typical iPad usage (the uses for iPad that Steve Jobs listed when he introduced the iPad). Like I said, the 12.9 for me is almost exclusively for drawing, not so much for any of those other things. In other words, if it wasn't for drawing I wouldn't have gotten a 12.9. Maybe a 12" MacBook instead. For typical iPad usage I prefer something small and very comfortable that I can palm in one hand. Something comfortable to read an ebook for hours on end. 8" is a bit too big for me; something like 6.5-7" would have been ideal, like kindle size. And no I don't want a giant iPhone.

Edit- elaborated a little
 
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I'd probably want something between the 10.5 and 12.9". 11.5-12" would be a good halfway size that is more portable than the 12.9" yet still has a large screen. At the moment I'm leaning towards buying the 12.9" Pro to replace my 9.7" iPad Air 2. The 10.5" is an improvement over 9.7" but can be small for multitasking.
 
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No "perfect one." Just multiple sizes perfect for different uses. I would not want to read a book on a 12.9. I would not want to edit a PDF or spreadsheet on a mini. A 9.7 or 10.5 is OK for watching video but doing so on a 12.9 is even better. A mini is great as a remote control or couch companion. On and on.

Right now I have two mini 4s, a outgoing 9.7 Pro and an incoming 12.9.
 
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For *me* the 9.7 size is perfect. I have not yet seen a 10.5, so I may be different if I had, but the 12.9 is too big, and the mini is too small. I bought an iPad 2017 a couple of weeks ago and thought long and hard about it.
 
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You are missing the option I would vote for, which is in between 10.5 and 12.9. I just went from the first gen 12.9 to a 10.5. Main reason for switching was improved portability, but of course when using while at my desk, the 12.9 is a little nicer. Perfect would be somewhere around 11.5 but with the narrow bezels of the 10.5.
 
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9.7 does the job for me for now. I bought the 2017 iPad as a Swiss knife thing really. It is my all in one device. I do general admin related work on it while away from my mac and also occasional coding by remotely accessing my mac while out and about. Also it's more portable compared to my MacBook Air.

I also kept the budget in mind. The difference between the new 9.7 and the pro 10.5 was big enough for me to just be satisfied with the cheaper version seeing my usage typically will not require all the bells and whistles that come with the pro models.
 
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kasakka said:
I'd probably want something between the 10.5 and 12.9". 11.5-12" would be a good halfway size that is more portable than the 12.9" yet still has a large screen. At the moment I'm leaning towards buying the 12.9" Pro to replace my 9.7" iPad Air 2. The 10.5" is an improvement over 9.7" but can be small for multitasking.
Click to expand...

I’m leaning towards the same in between size. For now I will wait on the sidelines to see if Apple reduces the bezels and/or reduces the screen size of the larger iPad Pro.

A 12” screen with higher ppi could fit the same content from 12.9 with reduced size/weight. Not likely but one can dream...
 
I always believed the 9.7-inch iPads were kind of the perfect size. But now that I own the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, that has completely changed. The combination of the slightly larger display while yet not increasing the size of the tablet itself too much makes it so much better. 9.7-inch is still not too small neither too large. However, 10.5-inch just seems like the sweet spot here.

Pity you don't get full sized apps side-by-side like on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Would've been a nice touch as well.
 
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No such thing as a perfect size as different times the bigger screen is needed just like a smaller screen is needed.
 
Although I like the 10.5 I actually think it's just a tad too big. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet. I wish they kept the 9.7 frame and shrunk the bezels even more (not entirely sure if you could fit a 10.5 screen on that frame) without increasing the size at all.
 
11 inches or whatever the size of the 10.5 is physically but with exceedingly slim bezels.
 
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