Got an ageing Galaxy Note 10.1 which has long been at the stage where it struggles to actually work and it seems to be the case that Android tablets just don’t seem to have the useful life of the iPad.

I don’t own anything Apple, but do want a new tablet. Not too worried about it integrating with my phone or PC. But from people I know who have iPads they don’t seem to have the same problems with older ones just grinding to a halt.

So, assuming that is true, is the 11″ iPad Pro worth the extra over the 9.7″ iPad? Assuming I’m just paying for a faster processor and maybe more RAM along with slightly better camera, but it does seem a huge step up in price over the standard iPad. I’m only really thinking of the Pro model as it has USB C connector rather than the lightning port.

Use wise its basically for playing vids, reading mags, maybe doing some video clips from the gopro.

Any advice from the STW hive mind?

Cheers

Well, they work better with a MAC Apple Account IMO.. Just so you can use them properly.

IMO.

Don’t know about the newer ones but I’ve an iPad 2 which is still going strong after just short of eight years. In the last few months the battery does seem to take longer to charge but that’s about it.

helps this site come alive

#inbeforeonion

But from people I know who have iPads they don’t seem to have the same problems with older ones just grinding to a halt.

There have been a great many people complaining on here that later versions of iOS don’t work on their older iPads, or at least don’t work well.

But an 11″ iPad pro is NINE HUNDRED QUID! For a tablet! I’m pretty sure whatever Android you could buy for that price would last just as well!

I’ve got an iPad 2 that I’ve had for years. Use it every day for email, web, news, videos, a few games when I have a moment, testing websites on, etc etc.

Wouldn’t be without it.

For your uses you will hardly tickle the processor, anything you’d just about do it.
First up do you want a 10/11 tablet? Lots of options out there especially for 900 quid!

The thing with the Android tables and to some degree the phones, is that every bloody app update seems to just gobble more storage, so an app just gets bigger all the time, plus the newer OS updates get too much for the device, seemingly very quickly!
I wasn’t sure whether the same happens with the iPads.

128GB standard 9.7″ iPad is about 400 quid and the 64GB 11″ Pro is nearly 800 quid, that’s whats putting me off to be fair. Having a single charger for my phone and the tablet would be a bonus, but not worth 400 quid more really.

Just worried that anything I spend on a new Android tablet is lost after 2 years again. The investment seems to last longer with the iPad. Or that’s what it seems like to me.

I just bought a 128gb 9,7” iPad, replacing a 7 year old mini, I really couldn’t see the added value in the the pro models.

I have a ipad that I thought was about 18 months old. Turns out it’s three and a half years old and the insurance has finished! Apart from the cracked screen and battery that lasts slightly less than it used to it’s still great. Kids give it a hammering most days, it’s been dropped, kicked, trodden, on had food + drink all over it but just keeps trucking.

Since the children fight over the one we have I’d thought about buying a cheap tablet as a spare but after talking to friends about the issues they’ve had with other tablets and the fact you can have a new ipad for little over £250 we will be getting another shortly.

Not sure I’d go Pro over standard tbh. You sound like you want to do the same sort of stuff as we do and our standard one is well up to the job.

Should say don’t take the iOS upgrades straight away. They invariably require more resources, let others work out the problems. I think I took a couple of upgrades then they became too resource hungry. They aren’t that regular though.

Think I’m erring towards the current model 9.7″ with 128GB to be honest. Been reading some reviews and for the same money the Android alternatives all seem to be stacked with bloatware which is yet another pet hate.

I’ve just got one of the 9.7″ iPads, for very similar uses. So far it’s been great, I’ve not yet tried anything from the Go Pro but can’t imagine it’ll struggle with it and it’ll certainly be faster than my iPad Mini 2!

For the sake of carrying around 1 extra cable and waiting a little longer for videos to render I’d save the money, although the new ones do look great 🙂

Should last a while too, my Mini was released 5 years ago and was supported by the latest updates from Apple, iOS 12 even made it faster (once it had started up) when using it.

The 9.7″ does support the 1st Gen Pencil too so could be handy for note taking/doodling.

For your useage there is no need whatsoever to have the pro model,save your money and get the standard ipad.

The iPad is the best product Apple do I think. I’d love to be able to ditch a laptop/desktop and just have iPads…it a capable device but not quite there yet. I actually don’t think they’re too pricy really. I bought the wife one for Christmas a couple of years ago, the full size one and it was £299. She uses it alot and I had an iPad 2 that ran on for over 5 years before it was dropped and broken.

The Pro is an awesome bit of kit…a chap at work has one, but it is probably way too capable for general home use. The normal iPad is not exactly a weak and pathetic thing lacking in processing power. So you’d be probably better off going for the normal iPad and investing additional money in a good cloud service.

We bolstered Birthday & Xmas money to get my lads a basic spec iPad each.
Pound for pound the best money we have spent. They still work as fresh as they did 3 years ago. They had Samsung tablets before that, they went in the bin when the iPads came along. Not looked at Android since, they quickly end up bloated & unsupported in terms of software updates; same with my HTC phones. Apple has its critics but by heck does the stuff just go on working, & working properly.
I’m writing this on an iPhone 6 that still works perfectly.

So, assuming that is true, is the 11″ iPad Pro worth the extra over the 9.7″ iPad?

go to a shop, hold them in your hands and use them to decide – a lot depends on what you would do with them. If you’re consuming content and want mobility then all the larger machine gives you is something bigger and heavier to carry around. For me I use one for creating content – recce sites, draw, mark up photographs and be able to pass that info on while on the move – but although thats a very portable use (and I expected to buy the smaller one for that reason) in that kind of application its all about working with the pencil really. Holding both in my hand and using the pencil I went for the larger one just because, for me, its a better space to work on not just for drawing but for managing files between applications too. The result – once its in a case – is it feels as big and heavy as my laptop (although thats also pretty small and light) so I don’t take it anywhere in preference to my lappy unless theres work to do that would warrant it

The Amazon tablets are very good vfm, but if you’re going to spend more it’s hard to look past the basic iPad.

I’ve got an iPad Air2 which Apple tells me launched late 2014. So that’s over 4 years old. It runs the latest version of the OS and has never felt slow or laggy. I reckon it’s got a good few years in it yet.

I’d not worry about the lightning port – it’s rarely hard to find an Apple cable to borrow and you can buy one for a few quid now that’s better than the official ones (just picked up a really well made one for £2 from Wish).

I’d love to be able to ditch a laptop/desktop and just have iPads

Well then Samsung and Microsoft might have something for you.

I’ve got the 9.7” Pro, had it a couple of years and its still excellent. Never went with ios11 upgrade on phone or ipad and i think that has helped… although 12.1.2 seems to reintroduce some of the battery issues!
Had a choice between the larger screen when I was buying, but it just looked too big for a tablet. Happy with my choice anyway.

I’ve just recently got a basic ipad and happy with it, though we do use them for work. The Apple pencil works a great and personally can’t see the point of a pro unless you really need the processing power.

Some of the ones at work are starting to come to the end of their useful life as they either no longer update or the batteries are starting to fail but they are coming up to 5 years old.

I’d love to be able to ditch a laptop/desktop and just have iPads

Well then Samsung and Microsoft might have something for you.

In some ways the Pro always look like a solution looking for the right problem, by the time you add a keyboard and maybe a mouse then you have a surface/dell 2 in 1 etc that is a full computer running a full OS.

I’ve just replaced my 6year old iPad with an Apple refurb 2018 32Gb iPad for £270. Apple refurb units have new batteries, screens and cases and the same 1 year warranty. Its running the latest iOS and perfectly suitable for web browsing, email and I keep about 10Gb of music on it. With my Apple account and iCloud shizzle I can now create and edit documents, spreadsheets et al. It’s plenty quick enough and capable for my domestic use.

The refurb deals come along quite regularly, just keep an eye out on the Apple site.

Furthermore, I can now visit this forum and not lose the will to live.

The other option, which I’m considering for Slackjr when he goes to college later this year is a Surface Pro, which I know nothing about but my sample pool of one person so far, who is in the know, suggests that they perform well, although personally, I have a windoze intolerance.

My 9.7 Pro has been faultless, can’t find a reason to change it.

iPad Pro is a brilliant bit of kit, but not worth it for your stated use. Go with the current generation 9.7, its more than up to the job

I have a 3yr old iPad Mini with the new IOS 12 on it now installed on it. Brilliant for films, kindle reading and even photo editing in Lightroom. Got rid of my laptop as I didn’t use it enough. I do have a bluetooth keyboard from ebay for it for the occasional writing when I’m not at a computer.
Google Drive lets me use it as part of the workflow on a production day when I can sit in the pub for an hour and monitor everyone else’s progress.

#inbeforeonion

Well, I laughed… 🤣

The new pro really does feel like a laptop replacement, but it might be overkill for your needs. Not sure when it will be in the refurb store.

In regards to its longevity, never ever update the iOS, I’ve got an iPad 3 the battery is fine yet the experience is now slow and laggy as a web browsing tool. Apps are still reasonable except I can’t download many as they only work with more modern iOS.

OP – have you tried a factory reset on your Android tablet?

I did one recently on my aging LG GPad 8.3 (cost me £160 about 5yrs ago) and it has really transformed it – almost back to how zippy it was when new.

@stumpy01 – Yeah, did a factory reset, but it didn’t really bring things back to an acceptable level. Maybe I’m expecting more from it than it actually ever had as other devices have become quicker over the years.

I’ve had the original iPad, IPad Air and I’m typing this on an 11” Pro.

In my opinion they are fantastic bits of kit that ‘just work’. Decent quality and reliability.

I’ve just ordered the pencil to go with mine so as I can be as paperless as possible.

I’m no diehard fanboi of any particular company, however I dorate Apple products highly.

My wife has a new iPad and my son has an iPad Pro – both are also happy with their tablets.

For that sort of money I’d be looking at a Surface Go.

Hard to look past the Amazon tablets really if money is a concern. They’re great value and if you break them it’s not going to be a masive financial crisis. We’ve an iPad at work which was just out of warranty and the battery swelled up, bending the case and pushing the screen out of the tablet. We didn’t buy another.

Apple stuff is fairly nice button general but it’s expensive and I personally dislike both iOS and OSX (which I have to use at work grumble grumble). I wouldn’t buy it if I was paying.

I’d echo the sentiment from an earlier poster about holding one in a shop I’d possible as that will give you a good idea.

One thing to add is once you start buying Apple stuff you get cornered into the whole Apple ecosystem with a fair amount of in house tech and protocols. Basically it means your whole house will become an apple showroom eventually, along with the associated cost of that. One doesn’t merely buy one apple product..

On the flip side it does all work together pretty well once you’ve forked out the money but you’ll be forever in Tim Cooks pocket.

On the flip side it does all work together pretty well once you’ve forked out the money but you’ll be forever in Tim Cooks pocket.

This is the weird bit, compared to what? MS/Google etc have got stuff working on multiple platforms seamlessly to the point where I can swap between laptop, desktop, table and phone mid email or message and carry on, work on docs in any format on any device including apple with no hassle or lag. Sync between everything with no issue as the cloud and openness is the real future tech
https://www.lifewire.com/can-you-use-facetime-on-windows-2000762

Have a mini 4, Mrs TiRed loves her iPad Air and Son2 has the latest non-Pro with pencil and cellular for non-GPS flying duties. They work. I would not go for the Pro for your needs, it’s a laptop replacement (and iOS is morphing into a proper OS too). For that I would buy a Surface Go. In fact, since I acquired an iPhone 8+ from work (RIP my BB Passport 🙁 ) I barely use the Mini. I’ll probably go the Surface route next.

Web sites are designed for phones or full-size iPads/laptops. They appear a bit too small on the Mini and don’t render as the phone.

The previous 10.5 inch Pro model is nicely discounted in places and might be a good bet if you are worried about the price of the 11.

Has the quad speakers and 120hz screen.

I hate everything Apple but our iPad 3 has been nothing if not a workhorse. I begrudgingly admit I’d probably get another if this one packed in albeit an older model. TBH I’d stick with the normal one myself, it doesn’t sound like you have any need for a Pro and TBH at that size it begins to lose its USP.

In regards to its longevity, never ever update the iOS, I’ve got an iPad 3 the battery is fine yet the experience is now slow and laggy as a web browsing tool. Apps are still reasonable except I can’t download many as they only work with more modern iOS.

Whereas ours is fine and is on the final OS update (9 I think) which was running facter than 8 ever did. Battery is fine as well, think we are safe from that one as it started after ours became obsolete.