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which iPad is the best ?


  • Total voters
    78

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,427
12,443
no need to make a poll, as it's clear that a fully maxed out 12.9" IPP with cellular option and 2GB storage is "the best" (until next year)

the only question is: do you really have a need for that and does it have the best price to performance ratio for you

Yep. The iPad Pros are technically the best iPads that Apple sells.

Whether it's best for you depends on a variety of factors (#1 being budget).

For price : performance/longevity, I'm a fan of the current Air 5 and certified refurb/clearance older model iPad Pros.
 

Isengardtom

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2009
1,012
1,517
The best is obviously the M2 12.9” iPad Pro if you want the best tech and biggest screen.

- if portability is important, first thing to look at is the screen sizes and compare the weight (incl accessories)
- what is your budget : high range (M2 iPad Pro), high midrange (iPad Air, iPad Pro refurbs), low midrange (iPad 10, air refurbs), low (iPad 9)
- if budget or size is not a factor, are the following things important for you ?
* mini LED? if yes you need an iPad Pro 12.9’
* promotion 120 Hz and or quad speakers - if yes you need an iPad Pro (either size)
* Apple Pencil 2 and or Magic Keyboard - if yes you need to look at more recent iPad Air / iPad pro’s
* laminated displays : if yes you need an iPad Air or Pro
* …
 

CharlesShaw

macrumors 65816
May 8, 2015
1,489
2,307
Oh, this is easy…

1671753052309.png

Kidding aside, you forgot to include the iPad mini 6, which I have deemed the best.
 

1BadManVan

macrumors 68040
Dec 20, 2009
3,153
3,288
Bc Canada
best when it comes to tech specs is the 12.9 m2 pro. Best for you is entirely based on what you want out of the experience and a budget
 
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russell_314

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2019
6,046
9,006
USA
can you please suggest me that which iPad is the best ?
I'm glad you turned on multiple choices on the poll because I had to pick all three. They're all the "best" for what they do best

Now if you finish the question What iPad is the best for _______ then I could give a more specific answer
 
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1rottenapple

macrumors 601
Apr 21, 2004
4,704
2,719
The way Apple lays out prices if you upgrade the air storage is so close to the iPad Pro. Therefore the sweet sport is the iPods pro 11. Best screen and nice amount of storage.
 

FeliApple

macrumors 68040
Apr 8, 2015
3,472
1,933
Meh. I regularly switch between Mini 6, Air 4 and Pro 11. Don't miss ProMotion or quad speakers at all.

Now the M1/8GB, I'm definitely missing particularly now that I've been playing some mobile games (which can sometimes get stuttery on the Mini 6).
Agreed. I don’t have a ProMotion iPad Pro, but I’ve tested them one next to the other (an Air 5 vs the iPad Pro 5th Gen) and I couldn’t tell a massive difference. Maybe it’s just me. Regarding Quad Speakers, I really like my 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers, but I haven’t been using them at all, ever since I got it. The rest of the then-unique features have been matched, like True Tone and the P3 display (which the 9.7-inch iPad Pro had as unique features), but the 11-inch iPad Pro is similar to the Air 5 in that regard, so there isn’t anything that makes me want to get the Pro instead of the Air. It only has the camera features, which I’ve never used on an iPad.
 

Woodcrest64

macrumors 65816
Aug 14, 2006
1,303
515
This is just my opinion.

Best bang for buck for performance is the iPad Air with the M1.

Best iPad for max features and performance is the 12.9 cellular iPad Pro.

Best iPad for value is 9th Gen iPad with the home button.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,427
12,443
Agreed. I don’t have a ProMotion iPad Pro, but I’ve tested them one next to the other (an Air 5 vs the iPad Pro 5th Gen) and I couldn’t tell a massive difference. Maybe it’s just me. Regarding Quad Speakers, I really like my 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers, but I haven’t been using them at all, ever since I got it. The rest of the then-unique features have been matched, like True Tone and the P3 display (which the 9.7-inch iPad Pro had as unique features), but the 11-inch iPad Pro is similar to the Air 5 in that regard, so there isn’t anything that makes me want to get the Pro instead of the Air. It only has the camera features, which I’ve never used on an iPad.

Storage and FaceID are two draws of the iPad Pro for me.

In my case, the reliability of the biometric authentication are as follows:

TouchID Home Button > FaceID > TouchID Sleep/Wake Button

As for storage, I have 1TB myself. For the family though, I’d prefer to get them at least 128GB nowadays (so $899 Air 5 256GB 5G vs $999 Pro 11 128GB 5G before discounts). I find 64GB too small considering how large System+Other has gotten (20-30GB).

Especially so for long-term use considering I believe the M1/M2 + 8GB offers very good longevity performance-wise. I used my i7+8GB RAM laptop bought in 2012 (similar performance to the 2017 iPad Pro) for 8 years.
 

FeliApple

macrumors 68040
Apr 8, 2015
3,472
1,933
Storage and FaceID are two draws of the iPad Pro for me.

In my case, the reliability of the biometric authentication are as follows:

TouchID Home Button > FaceID > TouchID Sleep/Wake Button

As for storage, I have 1TB myself. For the family though, I’d prefer to get them at least 128GB nowadays (so $899 Air 5 256GB 5G vs $999 Pro 11 128GB 5G before discounts). I find 64GB too small considering how large System+Other has gotten (20-30GB).

Especially so for long-term use considering I believe the M1/M2 + 8GB offers very good longevity performance-wise. I used my i7+8GB RAM laptop bought in 2012 (similar performance to the 2017 iPad Pro) for 8 years.
Yeah, I like Face ID too, but I have no problem with any version of Touch ID, I’m fine with anything really. Biometric authentication is millions of times better than manual passcode input, so I’m okay.

Agreed, the M1 and M2 chips with 8GB are great for performance. That said, like I’ve said, performance is a lot better. The issue to be solved is battery life: I thought the iPhone Xʀ with the A12 would be the one to break the pattern, but it wasn’t: it’s a lot worse on iOS 16. My hope now is the iPad with the M1. Hopefully the M1 Pro is still good, but I haven’t seen any solid evidence either way (the M1 5th-gen iPad Pro debuted with iPadOS 14, so it could be affected by now). Hopefully it remains just like on iPadOS 14.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,427
12,443
Yeah, I like Face ID too, but I have no problem with any version of Touch ID, I’m fine with anything really. Biometric authentication is millions of times better than manual passcode input, so I’m okay.

The new TouchID button fails 99% of the time for me whenever I use my left hand.


Agreed, the M1 and M2 chips with 8GB are great for performance. That said, like I’ve said, performance is a lot better. The issue to be solved is battery life: I thought the iPhone Xʀ with the A12 would be the one to break the pattern, but it wasn’t: it’s a lot worse on iOS 16.

I use small iPhones so I've given up on those maintaining good battery life for a long time.


My hope now is the iPad with the M1. Hopefully the M1 Pro is still good, but I haven’t seen any solid evidence either way (the M1 5th-gen iPad Pro debuted with iPadOS 14, so it could be affected by now). Hopefully it remains just like on iPadOS 14.

My iPad usage is divided among M1 Pro 12.9, M1 Pro 11, A14 Air 4 and A15 mini 6. Before that, I was juggling A10X Pro 12.9, A10X Pro 10.5 and A12 Air 3. Spreading out my usage seems to help greatly with maintaining battery life/health (makes sense since there are fewer charge/discharge cycles per device).

Amongst my previous generation iPads, only the 10.5 has noticeably degraded battery life but I'm guessing that was due to the very heavy use for around a year as my primary iPad.

I've posted battery life on my M1 12.9 here and it's doing very well on iPadOS 16. Granted, it's only got a little over a year of battery wear.
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,216
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The new TouchID button fails 99% of the time for me whenever I use my left hand.




I use small iPhones so I've given up on those maintaining good battery life for a long time.




My iPad usage is divided among M1 Pro 12.9, M1 Pro 11, A14 Air 4 and A15 mini 6. Before that, I was juggling A10X Pro 12.9, A10X Pro 10.5 and A12 Air 3. Spreading out my usage seems to help greatly with maintaining battery life/health (makes sense since there are fewer charge/discharge cycles per device).

Amongst my previous generation iPads, only the 10.5 has noticeably degraded battery life but I'm guessing that was due to the very heavy use for around a year as my primary iPad.

I've posted battery life on my M1 12.9 here and it's doing very well on iPadOS 16. Granted, it's only got a little over a year of battery wear.
Same, I prefer small (under 6in) phones so I am ok with their battery life. Battery life stopped being an issue when I finally stopped doing what everyone thinks it's the only possible thing and every other option is terrible: charging at night.
I am absolultely happy to charge my phone partially a couple of times a day (which I do things like shaving, having lunch etc.) and it's always ready, no ansiety... I never charge at night. I have chargers in every room. It's just a matter of habit and I have zero issues, it's actually so liberating compared to hoping that the phone makes through the day....

As for iPads all my USB C iPads have very good battery life because I spread use and I never fully discharge them (and really full charge them either). My lightning ones are not as good, but I was not taking care of them as much back then...
 
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