Video: Which iPad Pro is right for you? 10.5" vs. 12.9"

This year's iPad Pro lineup is bigger than ever, with the smaller model making a jump to a 10.5-inch display. Choosing between it and the jumbo-sized 12.9-inch iPad Pro can be difficult, but AppleInsider is here to help.

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14 Comments

fasterquieter

said about 6 years ago

I had the 12.9" 1st gen model and loved the screen size. I decided to go smaller this time, because of the weight. It was just slightly too heavy. I really miss that bigger screen, especially for web browsing, but I think I made the right decision. It was such a shame Apple kept the same form factor for the latest 12.9". If they had shaved off some more bezel and reduced the weight I would definitely have bought that one.

noicc1138

said about 6 years ago

I really like this website and the hardwork done. I was thinking these segments would be better if you just wrote notes down and than talked off the top of the head, then edit the video around it. That's kind of how Youtuber tech reviewers do them. Each has their own personality. It helps livin' up the tech reviews.

jbdragon

said about 6 years ago

I just got myself a iPad Pro 12.9" 256 Gig about a week and a half ago. I was going to go with the 10.5" BBBUUUUTTTTTT,. what the hell, I'll have it for a number of years. It's replacing my iPad 3 which was pretty SLOW. It wasn't speedy NEW, even the iPad 2 was a little faster, which was one of the reasons 6 months later it got replaced with the iPad 4 which had the faster CPU and the Lightning Port.

I pulled it out of the BOX it came in, peeled off the plastic and popped it right into a Case. This case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0744J2CLL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When I carry it around with me to and from work and other places, I have it inside of this carrying case. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDT6G6K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It just fits!!! A week after I got my iPad 3, I had it inside of a Amazon Basics iPad case for 10" tablets. it worked so so. Was CHEAP, but one day I dropped it onto a brick going to my house and it hit the corner and the iPad cut threw the case about a 1/4" or so and got a little dinged. After that I put it into a case, to go into the Amazon Basic case. So like what I'm going now, but overall better cases now.

It's working out well. The Tablet is HUGE, but it's really not any harder to carry around then my smaller iPad 3 was. The Apple Pencil works great on it. Even with that built in screen cover the case has. The stereo sound on it is nice. I'm moving around in a game and something is making noise and I can hear it as it moves from one side to the other side of the screen. Much louder then my old tablet. Larger Tablet, better stereo separation. From writing, to playing games, watching Video, using whatever app, the larger screen is easily worth the few negatives of being a little larger and heavier. I played around with both at Best Buy, and then got it from someplace where it was $50 dollars cheaper then everywhere else and free shipping and no tax! That's a bunch saved right there.

Now the other tablets are starting to look small to me. The iPad Mini never made much sense to me, and even less now with big phones. If you're going to spend money on a tablet, go BIG!!! I sold my iPad 3 quickly to someone at work for $100. I may have gotten more from ebay, but then I'd have to go through all that hassle. I had at least 3-4 people who wanted it and I had to tell them, ops to late, already sold it. Cash in pocket. This new tablet was actually cheaper by a little. Because I didn't pay tax, and I didn't get the Cellular version. I think I used it twice on the iPad 3. Never used it for GPS. These days I can just link to my iPhone and get cell service that way anyway.

In the end, I'm glad I went larger. The Pro's far outweigh the minor cons. Months I was set on the 10.5" , out the window that went. I was trying to hold out for iOS 11 to get released, oh well, I'm, running the Public Beta. At least it's not my Primary device which is my iPhone 6. I've noticed a few bugs. But also things that were changed from the early build on how things work to how it works now from watching the iOS11 Video Demo's and seeing how , nope, it's not working quite like that now! The worse thing with iOS11, all the many App's I have that won't run on it now. Most I think will never get updated. I threw them all into my 32-bit app folder. Some of the games I'm really going to miss. I wouldn't even care if they updated it to 64-bit and changed for the app once again. 99 cents, who cares.

makeintosh

said about 6 years ago

Traded in my 12.9 gen 1 iPad Pro for a 10.5 and couldn't be happier. In almost the same size as my very old iPad Air, I have larger, more vibrant screen real estate, better sound and other Pro features. With the 12.9 being almost the same size and weight as my 12-inch MacBook, I found I always left it behind. The 10.5 is perfect and sees miles and miles and miles...

firelock

said about 6 years ago

I recently sold my iPad Pro 9.7 on eBay and bought a 10.5. Extremely happy with the purchase. This screen size is just about perfect. Additional RAM and processor speed is also noticeable. I use a desktop iMac for most of my professional work including Adobe Photoshop (I'm a professional retoucher) and MS Office, but my iPad is my main portable computer now that I use in meetings and when traveling. I am using the Apple Pencil more and more for note taking, sketching diagrams, and markup. Also a big fan of the Smart Keyboard. Beginning to use my iPad more for light retouching and color correction of photos. About my only complaint is that with the smaller side bezels I occasionally have trouble with "thumb rejection" not working as well as Apple claims. In other words if my thumb is resting partly on the screen I sometimes have issues with the multitouch not responding as expected. It actually took me a little while to figure out what was happening. Now if it seems like the touch screen isn't responding like it should I adjust my grip to make sure my thumb is not touching the screen area.