iPad Worth upgrading from 64gb storage?

[jm31828]

I’m picking up a 10th gen ipad for Christmas, taking advantage of the $389 sale price.
(I know it’s a polarizing device- and the question isn’t about which version to buy- I’ve got some odd reasons why this one works best for me)

It of course has 64gb storage at that price point- and the upgrade to 256 storage is $140- bringing the price to $529.

My question is this- I will be using the device for social media, web surfing, email, working with occasional documents, and photo editing in pixelmator photo or affinity photo. I might even try to dabble in light video editing.

I would have no problem saving documents and pictures in the cloud or on external drives, so my use of the onboard storage would only be for the apps themselves.
I may transfer a handful of RAW images to the device, and after processing them I’d be moving them off of the iPad.

Would 64 gb be fine with no worries about running out of space even when iPadOS and apps eventually get more and more bloated? Would the space truly only be an issue if I was wanting to save a lot of those pictures and documents to the local storage?

Or, is it well worth spending the extra $140 for that bump to 256 gb?

As a comparison, I’m currently using 43 gb on my iPhone- but that’s with 2.5gb of pictures and 2.5 gb of music that I wouldn’t be keeping on the iPad- but I’d be adding photo editing apps that aren’t on my phone, as well as possibly a few other apps for productivity I don’t have on the phone.

I can afford the bump, but I’m cheap and don’t want to spend it unless it’s truly going to be necessary.

Thanks for hearing me out on this!

 

[teohyc]

iPadOS 16 is around 15GB so you're effectively left with 49GB before installing any apps.

If you're not going to import or create many and big files, 49GB may be enough but it's tight.

 

[1rottenapple]

It’s been for me. I have 64 iPad Pro and 256 iPad mini 6th gen. I barely use any storage. My iPhone Carrie’s most of my media. I think it depends on your case. If you willin*to offload the video editing it might work but then again it might get annoying to constantly transfer.

If I were you though you case seems more heavy use than mine with the photo editing. I’d upgrade to larger storage.

 

[wilberforce]

I think it is doable, but you need to manage things a bit. Use iCloud, "Optimize Storage," and "Offload Unused Apps" options.
On my 256GB iPad Pro I am using 52GB, about 30GB of which is apps and iPadOS, but I could unload a bunch of them.

 

[Shirasaki]

for iPad 10 256GB you are walking dangerously close to iPad Air territory, which has better internals in almost every way, plus Apple Pencil 2 support and USB-C port with USB3 speed. Either get away with 64GB iPad 10 or go for iPad Air 5th gen.
My 2c.

 

[rui no onna]

iPadOS 16 is around 15GB so you're effectively left with 49GB before installing any apps.

If you're not going to import or create many and big files, 49GB may be enough but it's tight.

More like 40GB after factoring in "Other".

 

[jm31828]

for iPad 10 256GB you are walking dangerously close to iPad Air territory, which has better internals in almost every way, plus Apple Pencil 2 support and USB-C port with USB3 speed. Either get away with 64GB iPad 10 or go for iPad Air 5th gen.
My 2c.

Yeah, the Air 256 gb would be about $100 more… I’ve checked out the Air snd really do like it- but it’s complicated, as I mentioned in another thread the Air and Pro bother my eyes, it’s likely the temporal dithering used to display the wide p3 color gamut that the 10th gen doesn’t have- and as a result is very easy on my eyes.

I actually ordered a 64 gb Air (but didn’t open it, as it was for Christmas, before deciding I should not go with it) but when testing it out in the store on multiple occasions it irritated my eyes just a bit- something that didn’t happen when moving over to the 10th gen each time.

That’s the weird situation that sucks, but has me looking at the 10 instead.

In this situation, if the 10 is really the only one that’s going to work- does it seem like a poor choice to pay up for the 256 gb, considering this isn’t a cutting edge device like the Air and Pro?
The $389 price for the 64gb is honestly great and think very fair for what I’d be getting- just not sure if the extra $140 on this particular model is crazy or not…

I do think I may be able to make 64 gb work as long as I’m not keeping too many photos on the device.. but it’s just the unknown on whether iPadOS and apps will balloon in size in the coming years, chewing up that space.

 

[sracer]

Yeah, the Air 256 gb would be about $100 more… I’ve checked out the Air snd really do like it- but it’s complicated, as I mentioned in another thread the Air and Pro bother my eyes, it’s likely the temporal dithering used to display the wide p3 color gamut that the 10th gen doesn’t have- and as a result is very easy on my eyes.

I actually ordered a 64 gb Air (but didn’t open it, as it was for Christmas, before deciding I should not go with it) but when testing it out in the store on multiple occasions it irritated my eyes just a bit- something that didn’t happen when moving over to the 10th gen each time.

That’s the weird situation that sucks, but has me looking at the 10 instead.

In this situation, if the 10 is really the only one that’s going to work- does it seem like a poor choice to pay up for the 256 gb, considering this isn’t a cutting edge device like the Air and Pro?
The $389 price for the 64gb is honestly great and think very fair for what I’d be getting- just not sure if the extra $140 on this particular model is crazy or not…

I do think I may be able to make 64 gb work as long as I’m not keeping too many photos on the device.. but it’s just the unknown on whether iPadOS and apps will balloon in size in the coming years, chewing up that space.

My current iPads are a 256GB iPad Mini 5 and 64GB iPad (9th gen). I bought the 9th gen after owning the 5th gen for a year or so and experienced similar concern about buying the 64GB 9th gen. But the price for the 64GB 9th gen was compelling and I was willing to take the risk.

As it turns out, 64GB is absolutely fine for the everyday work I do on it... and I use it for more purposes than those you listed in your original post. When I need more storage for media consumption, I use a microSD card+lightning-to-USB dongle and that has worked very well.

Because of Apple's pricing for the different storage tiers, the value proposition drops significantly when increasing the storage... so unless one knows that they'll need the extra space, getting a larger storage capacity to sooth that FOMO (fear of missing out) is going to cost.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

64GB is really, really tight if you're going to be doing photo or video processing on he device. I have a 64GB iPad mini but it's JUST a consumption device - media, email, looking at photos in iCloud Photo Library, etc. For that it's fine, and then only because I do use iCloud where possible (messages, photos, music). It has JUST enough free space to comfortably download 2 or 3 movies if I'm going to be on a flight, which is rare.

My iPad Pro which is where I do any "Creation" is 256GB.

 

[lambertjohn]

Just get the 256GB and be done with it. You spend $100 eating out anyway, right? Use it for more storage instead and the long term use of your iPad is secure. My ten cents.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I’m picking up a 10th gen ipad for Christmas, taking advantage of the $389 sale price.
(I know it’s a polarizing device- and the question isn’t about which version to buy- I’ve got some odd reasons why this one works best for me)

It of course has 64gb storage at that price point- and the upgrade to 256 storage is $140- bringing the price to $529.

My question is this- I will be using the device for social media, web surfing, email, working with occasional documents, and photo editing in pixelmator photo or affinity photo. I might even try to dabble in light video editing.

I would have no problem saving documents and pictures in the cloud or on external drives, so my use of the onboard storage would only be for the apps themselves.
I may transfer a handful of RAW images to the device, and after processing them I’d be moving them off of the iPad.

Would 64 gb be fine with no worries about running out of space even when iPadOS and apps eventually get more and more bloated? Would the space truly only be an issue if I was wanting to save a lot of those pictures and documents to the local storage?

Or, is it well worth spending the extra $140 for that bump to 256 gb?

As a comparison, I’m currently using 43 gb on my iPhone- but that’s with 2.5gb of pictures and 2.5 gb of music that I wouldn’t be keeping on the iPad- but I’d be adding photo editing apps that aren’t on my phone, as well as possibly a few other apps for productivity I don’t have on the phone.

I can afford the bump, but I’m cheap and don’t want to spend it unless it’s truly going to be necessary.

Thanks for hearing me out on this!

Yes

 

[culo77]

it’s a tough call and a good reason to ask. Personally I think 128gb is the perfect amount for the iPad. I have a 64gb mini and utilize iCloud but I do think at times think I should have got the 256 as I noticed some games are huge file sizes now. I don’t game but it’s something to consider.

My wife’s iPad is only 32gb and it’s her sole computing device, and she is okay with that combined iCloud. Yes you can get by with 64gb, but you might have to manage it or not depending how you use it. 256 you won’t even bat an eye, depending how you use it.

 

[CharlesShaw]

It of course has 64gb storage at that price point- and the upgrade to 256 storage is $140- bringing the price to $529.

I might even try to dabble in light video editing.

I may transfer a handful of RAW images to the device, and after processing them I’d be moving them off of the iPad.

I personally think 64gb is fine since I also utilize icloud, but since you say you’re willing spend a bit more, I would suggest the 64gb iPad Air 5 that can be found for $499. Then you get the laminated screen, M1 chip and faster port.

 

[jm31828]

I personally think 64gb is fine since I also utilize icloud, but since you say you’re willing spend a bit more, I would suggest the 64gb iPad Air 5 that can be found for $499. Then you get the laminated screen, M1 chip and faster port.

Yeah, I can afford a bit more, but don’t want to spend more than I have to. Lol

So realistically, if not gaming, and if keeping photos, videos, and other files in the cloud or on external storage, 64 gb should be fine, even if I use quite a few different apps?

As noted above, I do think the Air would be great with the M1 and 8gb Ram- it would by far be my top choice- I actually had previously ordered one for $499 and haven’t opened it yet (restocking fee if I return it opened)… reason being as I explained above- the air and pro irritate my eyes just a bit- likely due to the temporal dithering to achieve the p3 wide color gamut- and the 10th gen doesn’t bother me, as it doesn’t have temporal dithering.

So, I could go with the Air and just hope my eyes adjust, but I felt I’d be better off going for the model that still is powerful- but just not as cutting edge as the Air- that is sure not to cause me eye strain.

 

[jm31828]

My current iPads are a 256GB iPad Mini 5 and 64GB iPad (9th gen). I bought the 9th gen after owning the 5th gen for a year or so and experienced similar concern about buying the 64GB 9th gen. But the price for the 64GB 9th gen was compelling and I was willing to take the risk.

As it turns out, 64GB is absolutely fine for the everyday work I do on it... and I use it for more purposes than those you listed in your original post. When I need more storage for media consumption, I use a microSD card+lightning-to-USB dongle and that has worked very well.

Because of Apple's pricing for the different storage tiers, the value proposition drops significantly when increasing the storage... so unless one knows that they'll need the extra space, getting a larger storage capacity to sooth that FOMO (fear of missing out) is going to cost.

Thanks!
If you don’t mind my asking- do you use a lot of different apps, and do you use some rather big apps in terms of install size?

And how much free space do you have?

As noted, my iPhone has 128 gb space, and with all apps I have installed and 5gb of music and pictures I still only am using 43 gb… I would be adding a couple of additional apps on the iPad that I don’t have on the phone, and would not be installing several that I have on my phone- and of course won’t be putting the music or pictures on it.

I suspect I’d be sitting with 25-30 gb of free space initially, with that only changing if iPadOS or existing apps get more bloated, or as I add a few more apps over time.

 

[saudor]

As a comparison, I’m currently using 43 gb on my iPhone- but that’s with 2.5gb of pictures and 2.5 gb of music that I wouldn’t be keeping on the iPad-

Do you plan to have 37gb of stuff on the iPad?
How long do you keep your devices? If it's 5-7 years like me, I'd go with the upgraded storage.

I've always survived on 64gb and generally did ok for note taking, research - generally basic stuff (iPad Air 2). However, Im currently using the 128 iPad pro M1 and it's sitting at 59 gb. There's about 10gb of stuff I didnt have on the previous iPad so it'd actually be sitting around 49gb with the previous use case. Even with that 49, i could move 19gb (old lecture notes from university) out if i wanted to (but don't since i have 128). Despite being a laptop replacement now, I can probably still survive with 64.

If you're ok with micromanaging, you should be ok. Apps are getting bigger but as long as your needs don't change considerably, that shouldnt be too much of an issue.

That being said, even on computers I'm generally ok with 256gb of SSD space on the boot drive. However, I recently got a good deal on a 2TB ssd and have to say, it's so nice not having to move things over to my archive drives all the time and letting it sit. It's a nice quality of life improvement

 

[sracer]

Thanks!
If you don’t mind my asking- do you use a lot of different apps, and do you use some rather big apps in terms of install size?

And how much free space do you have?

As noted, my iPhone has 128 gb space, and with all apps I have installed and 5gb of music and pictures I still only am using 43 gb… I would be adding a couple of additional apps on the iPad that I don’t have on the phone, and would not be installing several that I have on my phone- and of course won’t be putting the music or pictures on it.

I suspect I’d be sitting with 25-30 gb of free space initially, with that only changing if iPadOS or existing apps get more bloated, or as I add a few more apps over time.

I use a lot of different apps... I use the iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), Google Docs suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides), PDF readers/markup apps, Bible software and reference books, locally stored ebooks, magazines, and vintage catalogs, iMovie, GoodNotes, Joplin, streaming service apps, a handful of games, a few GB worth of music, movies, and tv shows.

That leaves 33GB free.

 

[JD2015]

I’m picking up a 10th gen ipad for Christmas, taking advantage of the $389 sale price.
(I know it’s a polarizing device- and the question isn’t about which version to buy- I’ve got some odd reasons why this one works best for me)

It of course has 64gb storage at that price point- and the upgrade to 256 storage is $140- bringing the price to $529.

My question is this- I will be using the device for social media, web surfing, email, working with occasional documents, and photo editing in pixelmator photo or affinity photo. I might even try to dabble in light video editing.

I would have no problem saving documents and pictures in the cloud or on external drives, so my use of the onboard storage would only be for the apps themselves.
I may transfer a handful of RAW images to the device, and after processing them I’d be moving them off of the iPad.

Would 64 gb be fine with no worries about running out of space even when iPadOS and apps eventually get more and more bloated? Would the space truly only be an issue if I was wanting to save a lot of those pictures and documents to the local storage?

Or, is it well worth spending the extra $140 for that bump to 256 gb?

As a comparison, I’m currently using 43 gb on my iPhone- but that’s with 2.5gb of pictures and 2.5 gb of music that I wouldn’t be keeping on the iPad- but I’d be adding photo editing apps that aren’t on my phone, as well as possibly a few other apps for productivity I don’t have on the phone.

I can afford the bump, but I’m cheap and don’t want to spend it unless it’s truly going to be necessary.

Thanks for hearing me out on this!

worth bearing in mind Ipad 10th Gen even though is USB C only has USB 2 transfer speeds