I would stay away from the iPad 10, even the air 4 is better than that.
IPad pro from 2021 is an amazing device. The only lottery is battery health. I guess there is no way for you to go and check (connecting it to a pc/mac), right?
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All iPads Undecided between iPad Air 4 or iPad 9
- Thread starter Yuuuki
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IPad pro from 2021 is an amazing device. The only lottery is battery health. I guess there is no way for you to go and check (connecting it to a pc/mac), right?
Correct. I would buy it from a refurbished seller so I could check the battery health and could just RMA it if the battery health is bad.
The battery won't be bad, but the difference between 95% and 85% is pretty big....
A new battery is above 100% (102 to 107% generally)
Don't take the battery health percentage as a battery life percentage.
For instance if at the full 105% it lasts 10 hours of video playback, at 95% will still last 8-9 hours, but at 85% it will be more like 5-6 hours and at 75% it will be 2-3 hours.
A battery under 80% lasts only a couple of hours.
Also battery degradation is far from linear.
You can have a battery health of over 90% after 10 years with 1000 cycles if the battery has been taken care of ("healthy cycles")
At the same time you can have a device 10 cycles and a battery health well below 80% because it has been left dead for months.
Once a battery gets into heavily degraded territory, it gets worse very quickly. So while you can maintain a battery healthy for an extremely long period of time with good habits, if the battery is heavily degraded (typically because of some dead cells due to prolonged low voltage state) it goes downhill extremely fast.
I wouldn't consider RMA a solution, as they wouldn't sell a device with a degraded battery. The question is will they ship the iPad to you or can you go and see it with a pc?
Rumor has it new iPads aren’t coming until 2024, so it all depends on how much teh OP wants it now.
Have they historically? I can see a smaller price increase, but prices tend to be sticky and if you sell enough at the current price there’s no reason to drop tham and not get the extra money.
It all comes down to your budget. The 10th gen is a fine machine for what you plan to use it.
People talk about screen quality differences for movies but you also have to ask yourself “What is the quality of the video file I will be watching and will the screen difference make a notable difference?” In most cases the answer is no, in my experience with regular iPads, the original 12” Pro and now the M2 Pro. All played back streaming video and my ripped DVDs just fine for my viewing. The only reason I bought a new M2 pro was because I wanted it.
The one advantage, if your budget allows, of an M1 Air is it is likely to get iOS updates longer. However, if you are using it for movies and reading the current iOS version will be just fine in the future.
As for used machines, I have bought them from Apple in the past when the price was right becasue you get a machine in essentially like new condition, 1 year warranty and the option of adding AppleCare.
My recommendation: Go to the nearest Apple reseller and look at all the machines for yourself. What ultimately matters is your budget, how you perceive the quality of display and sound for each device, and whether one is worth several hundred Euros more.
despite what many poster think, not everyone needs the latest and greatest to meet their needs.
Thank you. I would love to go to an Apple Store but the nearest one is almost 3 hours car drive away from me unfortunately. But I could look if some resellers have them here at the stores to take a look at them.
My budget would allow me to buy the Air 5 but I just don’t wanna spend more then I would actually needed to. That is my dilemma. I like to pay for what I need rather then to have some fancy features that I don’t even gonna use (like the pencil 2 for example, can’t see any reason why I would need a pencil ever)
My budget would allow me to buy the Air 5 but I just don’t wanna spend more then I would actually needed to. That is my dilemma. I like to pay for what I need rather then to have some fancy features that I don’t even gonna use (like the pencil 2 for example, can’t see any reason why I would need a pencil ever)
As I already said, for watching movies and reading, a modest iPad like the 9 or the 10 are good options, although I think there’s a high chance for Apple releasing the iPad 11 and the Air 6 in the next two months. But I don’t know how much OP wants to wait.
However, it seems like OP has already decided they want the new iPad form factor, and I cannot blame them. So the options come down to the iPad 10 or the Air 5. And, if the usage (use or usage?) is going to be occasional, then the 10th gen could be appropriate. But then again, someone said the sound quality of the speakers seems important to OP, and if this is true, the M1 Air could be the best bet. And any Pro would sound even better. But then again, that’s going up to the expense ladder Apple so well designs. To what extent are laminated display and quality speakers important to OP? That’s a good question to help him choose the right device, and right now, from what they said, I would be between the 10th gen and the Air 5.
To be fair, I don’t remember on hardware, but they did lower the App Store in some countries in the past due to currency exchanges. What makes me think they could lower -even if slightly- the prices , is that during the past two years, due to the low value of the euro compared to the dollar, they rose prices in Europe a 20% on average, while the US prices remained unchanged. Maybe now that the euro is almost back to where it was before this crisis, with a value of $1.12 in July, and $1.07 right now… we’ll see, but I’d like to be optimistic.
However, it seems like OP has already decided they want the new iPad form factor, and I cannot blame them. So the options come down to the iPad 10 or the Air 5. And, if the usage (use or usage?) is going to be occasional, then the 10th gen could be appropriate. But then again, someone said the sound quality of the speakers seems important to OP, and if this is true, the M1 Air could be the best bet. And any Pro would sound even better. But then again, that’s going up to the expense ladder Apple so well designs. To what extent are laminated display and quality speakers important to OP? That’s a good question to help him choose the right device, and right now, from what they said, I would be between the 10th gen and the Air 5.
To be fair, I don’t remember on hardware, but they did lower the App Store in some countries in the past due to currency exchanges. What makes me think they could lower -even if slightly- the prices , is that during the past two years, due to the low value of the euro compared to the dollar, they rose prices in Europe a 20% on average, while the US prices remained unchanged. Maybe now that the euro is almost back to where it was before this crisis, with a value of $1.12 in July, and $1.07 right now… we’ll see, but I’d like to be optimistic.
How long do you intend to keep it? How important are privacy and security? Updates for an iPad with an M chip will go years further than they will for an A chip, not least because of the additional RAM. But if you don’t put a credit card on device and only stream video not much is likely to happen.
Are you using ear/headphones with the device? Speaker quality will matter less. Are you someone who actually notices the screen quality differences? In use? Figure out what really matters to you…
Are you using ear/headphones with the device? Speaker quality will matter less. Are you someone who actually notices the screen quality differences? In use? Figure out what really matters to you…
My rule of thumb for these types of requests...
If a person has any hesitancy in running out and buying an iPad 9, then I suggest that they go buy the other model they were considering.
FOMO is a thing that many wrestle with. Spend more for that peace of mind. It's essentially no different than buying the AppleCare + extended warranty.
I could easily buy any iPad I want... and I chose the 9th gen. Loved it when I first bought it nearly a year and a half ago, still love it. But that's me... some rando caveman on the interwebs.
I have an 2016 iPad Pro 9.7” which is now a secondary device. The iPad 9 is more powerful than my Pro would be perfectly fine for occasional use of reading and watching things.
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Just wanted to update that I did order a new iPad Air 5 now. The iPad 10 would have been enough but I thought for the little better display and all I will just add the 100€ more. Hopefully it’s worth it. Thanks for all the help.
Great choice, you’re going to love it. Which color did you go for?
I wanted to get the purple but it was sold out. So I just went with pink
Slightly better display and speakers, but above all double the RAM, that will make a big difference if you use the browser
Great choice @Yuuuki, you’re going to love it. As @Digitalguy said, the 8GB of RAM are one of the best features of this devices, and one of the reasons I upgraded from a A12X iPad Pro (4GB) to an M2 iPad Pro (8GB). Also laminated display and stereo speakers. Enjoy it!
Oh no my partner has bought for me as a surprised a used iPad Pro 3 😶 it just came in today. I checked apple coverage and it seems the device is exactly 1 year old. It really looks like brand new and seem to work fine. It was 700€ seems like an OK price…?
Anyway not sure if I wanna keep it as I don’t really like used iPads (as stated before) expect from apple directly but this isn’t from apple.
Thoughts? Where I can check how the battery is? And if they removed anything from it and exchanged it?
Anyway not sure if I wanna keep it as I don’t really like used iPads (as stated before) expect from apple directly but this isn’t from apple.
Thoughts? Where I can check how the battery is? And if they removed anything from it and exchanged it?
How accurate is 3utools? It shows me this when checking battery but I can not really believe that this is true. This would mean the person who got it only charged like 5 times…?
Update: Had contact with Apple Support - long story short: they said the battery is in a very good state and that it seem to be a good purchase
Update: Had contact with Apple Support - long story short: they said the battery is in a very good state and that it seem to be a good purchase
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Man that's a much better device than the new iPad air 5 your ordered.... It's essentially unused
Yeah I know. Was pretty shocked. I also checked this tool with my phone and it really seems to show the accurate cycles of charging. For my phone it was at 62 which would make sense because I bought it 2 months ago.
Unfortunately apple support don’t tell you numbers. Idk why. Just said that it’s in very good condition and has no failure or anything.
Seems like whoever had this iPad Pro before was never using it
Just wanted to update on this… in the end I have returned the Pro now and got the 9th Gen. I figured that the minimal use I give to this device is not worth the cost at all realistically speaking. And honestly? Beside the speakers (which is the only thing that annoys me a bit) it does everything else just fine.
So I should’ve listend to everyone here who recommend me the 9th Gen - it is the right choice for me
So I should’ve listend to everyone here who recommend me the 9th Gen - it is the right choice for me
But you took the correct path for yourself. You won't be left wondering about the "path not taken". You don't have to wonder, you know, and it is why you ended up with the 9th gen. 😁
There are some great accessories for the 9th gen that are dirt cheap. Take advantage of the bargains while you can.
Thank you for your kind words, and for the update.
The iPad 9 is, indeed, a great device and a huge value (especially if you buy it with a student price or any other discount/sale). I bought this iPad 9 a couple of years ago at just 360€, mainly for my mom, and not only is an exceptional device for her, but now that I’m using it while I set everything up after a restore and clean install of iPadOS 16.6.1, I realize how snappy it still is, and how darn good this screen is, despite it not being laminated.
I decided to not install iPadOS 17 on it for now, because my mother doesn’t need the new features of iPadOS 17, and there are reports of worse efficiency/battery drain, so I decided to make a clean install (with DFU mode) of iPadOS 16.6.1 while it is still signed, and I have to say that so far, so good. I would even dare to say the keyboard is now snappier than on iPadOS 15.7, the previous version installed.
I initially decided to upgrade this iPad 9 from iPadOS 15.7 to iPadOS 16.6.1 because iPadOS 16 brings the weather app to the iPad, and I think at this point it is polished enough after one year of updates. And, as I say, so far so good, the iPad 9 is very snappy on this software version.
Mind you, the iPad 9 has an A13 and only 3GB of RAM, that’s why I’m so happy of this iPad 9 performing so well on iPadOS 16.6.1, on a landscape where most devices now have a minimum of 4GB of RAM. And I will study carefully wether to install iPadOS 17 in the future or not.
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