M.G. Siegler on being asked which iPad is the one to buy:
When pressed, my answer was that for most people, the 9.7″ iPad was probably the one to get. With the latest iterations of the iPad Pro, I think the answer is now much more clear: the new 10.5″ variety is the one to get.
The screen size gap has been closed a bit. The speed gap has been completely erased. The 10.5″ iPad Pro is absolutely amazing.
And:
When you start to use the 10.5″ and then try to go back, you cannot. The 9.7″ iPad feels short and stubby in a way similar to how the 3.5″ iPhone felt after using the 4″ variety. The smaller one now feels like a clown iPad.
And:
Size aside, the screen with its much touted 120Hz refresh rate is incredible. Again, it’s one of those things you have to either be a hardcore iPad user or use a newer iPad Pro versus an older iPad side-by-side to truly appreciate. Everything is just so much smoother.
At first, it’s a little weird. It almost makes some iOS animations like swiping through your app screens feel like how pan-and-scan used to feel on old non-lettered-boxed VHS movies. But this feeling goes away quickly and now it just seems normal. And old, non-120Hz animations now just feel janky.
The recommendation for the 10.5″ iPad Pro seems almost universal. There may be a review that didn’t love it and appreciate the leap forward in terms of product capability, but I have not run across it.
I think that people used to the 9.7″ iPad love the 10.5″. But people used to the 12.9″ iPad have a hard time going back down in size. I’m one of them, and I’ve talked to a few others. I looked back and forth between the 9.7″ and the 10.5″ at the Apple Store, and I barely saw a difference; between a 10.5″ and a 12.9″ though, it’s a big difference. I miss the lightness of the smaller iPads, but I love that big screen too much to switch back.
12.9″ is the way to go! There are more differences than just size and weight with the 12.9. For instance websites treat it as a laptop so full websites are displayed instead of the mobile versions that show up on smaller iPads.
Good to know, for testing purposes.
I can’t stand how tech people act as though the previous product is suddenly garbage or ridiculous (“looks like a clown iPad,” etc.) when the newest iteration comes out, especially if the previous iteration was itself nearly universally lauded.
It’s OK for older things to exist and still have merit, especially when we’re talking about things like the 9.7″ Pro which was already extremely powerful and capable.
I was taking a bigger jump than most people upgrading from the original iPad Air to a new 10.5 Pro. Honestly, I’ve been blown away by how much I like my new iPad.
The only downside is that I find myself reaching out to touch the screen on my MacBook Pro, and also wishing it ran as fast as my iPad.
Our only iPad is a model 2, bought late in its life cycle for ePub testing purposes (ugh). We’ve gotten very fond of its capabilities, and I strongly suspect its replacement will be a 10.5 Pro.
I interpret it as mostly exaggeration for rhetorical effect. I take it as a compliment on the degree to which the new model has surpassed the old.
I also don’t get MG’s (and others’) dismissiveness of the 12.9″ as “comically large.” I got a 2017 12.9″ and after a few minutes found the size completely natural. Apart from the awkwardness of holding the 12.9″ when lying down, the size feels right to me and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want the 10.5″.
(For context: I also have a 1st-gen iPad Mini at home that’s used for miscellaneous things. I handle both devices fairly often, as I’m the one who plugs them in at night. I just consider them different devices for different applications.)
I thought I would like the new iPad. I love it. I’m completely blown away. Can’t wait of iOS 11.
High praise. Looking forward to it, myself.
Original 12.9 user here, and I love the “downsize” to the 10.5, which is the perfect ‘bridge’ size ‘for me’. 12.9 was a joy, but often a pain.
Aren’t the 4 speakers on 12.9″ way better than smaller iPad or is it not the case anymore?
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I haven’t used the 10.5”, but the 12.9″ speakers are quite excellent. I read one report that suggested the 10.5, while better than the 9.7, isn’t as good, as it has less space for the speakers to project their sound.
Ditto. I’ve already reduced my laptop to work stuff and am just using this for all my personal tasks. Amazing devices, these new iPads are. And iOS 11, when it comes out, will take it to the next level.