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mizelly41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2007
153
7
Illinois
I have a 1st Gen iPad Pro and I am looking at upgrading to the newest Air or Pro. Does anyone have any idea how these new IPad speaker‘s volume compare to the 1st Gen iPad Pro? I know the newest Pro has the louder speakers (4 vs 2), but I don’t know if the newest Air would be as good or better than my 1st Gen Pro. I don’t want anything that is not as loud.

I don‘t mind spending the extra money for the Pro, but I would rather have Touch ID. I would settle for Face ID if the Air’s speakers won’t be loud enough for me.

Wish I could get a Pro with Touch ID….
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,340
4,097
I guess you have the 9.7 pro. Well, its sounds virtually as good as the 11in pro, and better and louder than the air, so go with the pro
 

TorbenIbsen

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2021
176
145
You really should consider two other options.

Get a pair of Airpod Pro and go with iPad Air. or go with the iPad Air and a Homepod Mini.

There are three different iPad Pro models in my home. We have also had non-Pro iPads. the 4 speaker can play louder than the 2 speaker models. But it is absolutely not worth your money to pay for a Pro to get better sound. The only "real" thing you get on a new iPad Pro is LIDAR. So you can take 3D photos/scans. Well, you also get more power than you will ever need. Like buying a Ferrari to drive around in a suburban area with speed limits.

The Airpods Pro gives you spatial audio. The Homepod Mini is what you want in your kitchen. That is what we do.
 

FeliApple

macrumors 68040
Apr 8, 2015
3,545
1,988
I guess you have the 9.7 pro. Well, its sounds virtually as good as the 11in pro, and better and louder than the air, so go with the pro
I compared the 9.7-inch iPad Pro to the Air 5, and I was shocked at how much better the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers are even when compared to a device that’s 6 years newer (even if “only” a dual speaker setup), I found them louder, with fuller sound, and significantly more bass. A LOT better, really.

So, you’re saying that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers are similar when compared to the 11-inch (I assume 2018) iPad Pro? How are they compared to the M1 12.9-inch?
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,340
4,097
I compared the 9.7-inch iPad Pro to the Air 5, and I was shocked at how much better the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers are even when compared to a device that’s 6 years newer (even if “only” a dual speaker setup), I found them louder, with fuller sound, and significantly more bass. A LOT better, really.

So, you’re saying that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers are similar when compared to the 11-inch (I assume 2018) iPad Pro? How are they compared to the M1 12.9-inch?
So, after reading your question, I took my 9.7 pro, my 10.5 pro, my 2018 11" pro, my 12.9 2018 and 12.9 M1.
The 11" sounds louder than the 9.7 but not by much, it's more or less the same difference I had between the 2015 12.9 and the 2018 12.9 (slightly louder/better than the first gen). The 10.5 is closer to the 11", they are basically the same volume but difference sound signature. The 12.9 2018 is louder than the 11", again not by much but enough the hear the difference. And the M1 is a step above everyone else, especially in terms of bass.
To give even more context (Macs), in my experience the M1 air sounds very similar to the 12" Macbook pro (with a slight edge to the 12" actually, but let's say they are equal, it's more a matter of sound signature) and they are basically on par with the 2018 12.9. The M1 12.9 is still a step above. To give even more context, the Tab s8 ultra is in between the 12.9 2018 and the M1 12.9.
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,340
4,097
You really should consider two other options.

Get a pair of Airpod Pro and go with iPad Air. or go with the iPad Air and a Homepod Mini.

There are three different iPad Pro models in my home. We have also had non-Pro iPads. the 4 speaker can play louder than the 2 speaker models. But it is absolutely not worth your money to pay for a Pro to get better sound. The only "real" thing you get on a new iPad Pro is LIDAR. So you can take 3D photos/scans. Well, you also get more power than you will ever need. Like buying a Ferrari to drive around in a suburban area with speed limits.

The Airpods Pro gives you spatial audio. The Homepod Mini is what you want in your kitchen. That is what we do.
Very inconvenient to me. I have the homepod mini and only use it with the Mac Mini since I want to move around the house with my tablets. I use airpods pro at night in order avoid bothering neighbours but during the day I want to be free to use my speakers with nothing in my ears.
Pros have other advantages than Lidar, they have more storage at the base model, promotion and, precisely, speakers (and as nice small bonus, a bit more screen real estate)
 

Dented

macrumors 65816
Oct 16, 2009
1,119
899
I use the speakers on my 10.5 all the time, great for music around the house, streaming video, even things like Facetime are better with a good set of speakers built in. Definitely will be sticking with the pro line in future if the Air’s don’t stack up.
 

Vivian125

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2017
387
86
I have iPad 10 it also has stereo if I were to rank iPad speakers here are my list:

Top 1: iPad Pro 12.9
Top 2: iPad Pro 11.0”
Top 3. iPad Pro 10.5”
Top 4. iPad Pro 9.7”
Top 5. iPad Air 4/5
Top 6. iPad Mini 6 :
Top 7. iPad Air 3
Top 8. iPad 10 : My iPad but sounded muffled even it’s stereo not as loud as Air 3
Top 9. iPad Mini 5 :
Top 10. iPad 7/8/9 - I’m so surprised when I was at store the iPad 9th has more clear sound than my 10, though not as loud.
 
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