iPad Pro 256gb vs 512gb Storage

[kendo88]

I’ve been debating which storage option to get if I decide to pull the trigger. I thought I’d settled on the 256gb as I’ve just had to upgrade to 2TB iCloud, so will utilise cloud for photo storage.

However, I’ve just thought about the potential speed differences. Being the base model, and Apple has started using single chip 256gb SSD’s in the M2 iPad Pro, it could be likely that the 256gb is quite a bit slower than the 512gb.

Hopefully some speed tests before release to help clarify

 

[rui no onna]

Frankly, the difference in the SSD’s sequential read/write speed doesn’t make much of an impact in day to day use.

 

[kendo88]

Frankly, the difference in the SSD’s sequential read/write speed doesn’t make much of an impact in day to day use.

Maybe not. But on a pro device, when you are debating between 2 storage options and £200 price difference, it’s definitely something to consider

 

[cambookpro]

The bigger difference seems to be the jump from 512 GB to 1 TB considering you get 33% more performance cores and double the RAM on the M4 chip. Again, whether that makes much difference in day-to-day use remains to be seen.

 

[The Game 161]

I went for 512GB just to give me extra room with no worries about storage. 256GB I had about 130GB left

 

[kendo88]

The bigger difference seems to be the jump from 512 GB to 1 TB considering you get 33% more performance cores and double the RAM on the M4 chip. Again, whether that makes much difference in day-to-day use remains to be seen.

True. But comes with a £400 premium over the 512GB, so double the 256GB to 512GB upgrade cost, so it’s a different consideration

 

[cambookpro]

True. But comes with a £400 premium over the 512GB, so double the 256GB to 512GB upgrade cost, so it’s a different consideration

Yes agreed - I couldn’t justify it at that price!

Obviously nobody knows for certain outside of Apple yet, but recent products seem to indicate a move away from lower speeds on base storage devices: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/03/09/base-model-m3-macbook-air-faster-ssd/

 

[Shirasaki]

Maybe not. But on a pro device, when you are debating between 2 storage options and £200 price difference, it’s definitely something to consider

Here’s the thing. I know those iPads are marketed as “Pro” (which is false for most people) and there’s the £200 difference. What you should consider is not necessarily how fast those storage chips can go theoretically, but how much storage you will need and how long are you planning to use iPad for.

 

[max2]

Frankly, the difference in the SSD’s sequential read/write speed doesn’t make much of an impact in day to day use.

I agree.

 

[Shirasaki]

Frankly, the difference in the SSD’s sequential read/write speed doesn’t make much of an impact in day to day use.

Yeah and on iPadOS, which is essentially iOS, designed for mobile devices, r/w speed might never be maxed out to the chips theoretical maximum.

 

[Surfsalot]

For me may as well have 128gb than 256gb if was cheaper, have over 200gb of photos/videos so am using iCloud and have 80gb left. 512gb is another $350AUD.

 

[bk125]

I’ve been going through a similar handwringing process—though it occurred to me, if you’re going to be using an iPad alongside a Mac, you kind of need to keep everything in the cloud, so it will be hard for me, at least, to fill even 256gb.

But then I thought, well, what if they announce at WWDC that your new iPad can run MacOS? Then it sounds a lot more reasonable to have 512gb for two operating systems. My solution was to order a 256gb iPad from BestBuy, with their $50-off-if-you-sign-up-for-$50-BestBuyPlus offer, or whatever that was, then you get a 60-day return window so you can upgrade to 512gb if they announce that your month-old $1600 low-end iPad Pro is already obsolete.