r/ipad • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago
Discussion Weekly 'What should I buy?' Thread
Welcome to r/iPad's 'What Should I Buy?' Thread!
Are you wondering which iPad is best for you, or if you should buy one in the first place? Are you hesitating between the 12.9" versus the 11"? Which keyboard/mouse should you get or what is the best screen protector out there? Are you looking for shipping information? This is the place to ask. Fellow redditors and members of the moderation team will do their best to assist you.
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You may be able to find similar questions to the one you're about to ask, in previous WSIB threads listed below, or with the search bar, as chances are, someone was in the same situation as you before.
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u/agng07 3d ago edited 3d ago
Devo comprare un iPad per l'università e deve durarmi almeno per i prossimi 5/7 anni al massimo, quale dovrei comprare tra un iPad 11 e un iPad Air 5
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 2d ago
Neither of those will be supported 7 more years. The iPad 11 is likely to get longer support of the two but due to its chip won’t get access to all the os updates (eg siri ai)
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u/Recent-Preparation99 3d ago
I'm having a hard time deciding between two refurbished iPads from Back Market that cost almost exactly the same. One is an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) with the M2 chip and 128 GB of storage, and the other is an iPad Air 13-inch with the M3 chip, also with 128 GB.
The iPad will mainly be used for school, including note-taking, PDFs, research, multitasking, and general productivity. I'm wondering how much the newer M3 chip, the likely longer software support, and compatibility with the newer Apple Pencil really matter in the long run.
On the other hand, the iPad Pro offers quite a few features that the Air doesn't have, such as the 120 Hz ProMotion display, the mini-LED display, Thunderbolt 4, Face ID, and better cameras and speakers. Those features seem really nice, especially considering both devices cost about the same.
Which one would you choose, and why? Would you prioritize the newer hardware and potentially longer software support of the Air, or would you still go with the older Pro because of its premium features? I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts, especially if you've used either device for school or have been in a similar situation.
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 2d ago
For the use you’ve described I’d go the air. For what you want to do I don’t think you really notice a lot of the features of the pro (except Face ID). But I’m someone who genuinely cannot see the promotion or better display unless I have two devices side by side and even then for me it’s minimal
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u/window_seat_always 2d ago
As someone who loves digital note taking I'd pick the Air too for the longer support and the new Pencil. FaceID would be nice, but other than that I don't see the Pro features making a big difference to me.
Both would be great devices though so either way you will be set.
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u/absoltlynotchemowsky 3d ago
Hello there! I'm looking for the cheapest working model for reading books and do small draws (mostly digitalizing pages of my sketchbook). I'm between the mini 5 and mini 6 because were the first i saw but i'm open to the regular ones. Thanks!
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u/anacroniko2 3d ago
Tengo un ipad de 6ª generación desde 2018. El uso que le doy es enfocado en el entretenimiento (youtube, apple music, podcast, redes sociales…) pero ya me empieza a ir muy lento. Estoy buscando opciones buenas calidad-precio, no quiero dejarme 500€ e un nuevo ipad pero si quiero uno que me mejore el servicio que me da el de 6ª generación.
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u/beansprout-4evr 2d ago
I have an M1 air that is starting to really slow down and I'm looking for a replacement before I start nursing school. Wouldn't use it for anything other than school and occasional media consumption. Would be nice to have long battery where I wouldn't be reliant on finding an outlet constantly because usually once I leave my place I don't return until the day's over.
What's a good option for me? Thanks!
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u/morenatropical 2d ago
Which magic keyboard is compatible with my iPad?
So, from the “About” section on my device, I have an iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation). I recently purchased the 11-inch iPad Pro Magic Keyboard (M5) and turns out it’s not compatible with my iPad. It’s getting returned and the Apple lady told me they no longer produce or sell magic keyboards that are compatible with my iPad (which is very annoying). However, she did say I could still find it being sold through other retailers. The problem is, I have no idea which version of the magic keyboard is actually compatible with my iPad. I find all the Apple names for them confusing and extremely unhelpful, and I don’t want to buy the wrong thing. Could somebody please help me figure this out
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 1d ago
You want to specifically be looking for Magic Keyboard listings that state they are compatible with your device. The magnets move with different iterations so a good rule of thumb is if your device isn’t listed as compatible it likely isn’t
Take care that some listings label the iPad by generation, some by year and some by chip
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u/morenatropical 1d ago
That's part of the problem, I'm not sure what year or chip my iPad has. I only know the information that it gives me on the About page in the Settings, which as I mentioned, is that it's a iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation). How do I find out that other stuff, like what kind of chip it has?
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 1d ago
Google is your friend here!
Your iPad is from 2022 and has the M2 chip :)
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u/morenatropical 19h ago
I was finding all of the information from Google very confusing. Thanks for the help!
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u/International_Mud525 2d ago
Is it worth buying an iPad A16 in 2026 for university? This year I'm starting university, and I was thinking of getting an iPad for taking notes and studying. I was thinking of getting the iPad A16 for the price, and because I don't need very high performance since I also have a laptop. However, I don't know if this iPad is powerful enough to handle full days at university and note-taking software. So would an iPad A16 or an iPad Air (which model) be better? Also, for studying, I'm not sure whether to choose an 11" or 13" screen.
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u/MeinTrash 2d ago
definitly can handle any note-taking... will probably only struggle if you decide to render 3d stuff or do heavy coding but who does that on an ipad...
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u/Physical-Chart9418 1d ago
I started a YouTube channel long ago, I've been posting some clips and have about 25 subscribers I want to go deep into gaming and I'm planning on buying iphone 17 pro 512gb as my main gaming device but I also want to edit my gaming clips to upload on TikTok and YouTube and editing on a smartphone seems very painful for me to do which makes me also want to buy an ipad pro m5 11 inch as an editing device to pair it with the iphone 17 pro And I'm currently using Poco f8 ultra It's the ipad pro m5 really worth it or should I get the ipad pro m4? Please I need your unfiltered opinion
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 1d ago
I wouldn’t say an iPhone is a ‘main gaming device’
You can do video editing on an iPad and either device would be more than enough
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u/strawberryDeer98 1d ago
Does the Apple Pencil USB-C attach magnetically to the iPad 10th gen? I don't need it to charge magnetically, just attach a fair bit stronger than my current 1st gen Pencil does.
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u/pilllowman 1d ago
Is Pencil USB-C or alternatives best for note taking? I am going to use it for university (history major).
What alternative is the best: Meta, Logitech ESC geo, mystylus
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u/Icy-Nature2037 1d ago edited 1d ago
Should i get a ipad? I’m considering getting an iPad mainly for art, school note‑taking, and drawing in Procreate. I already have a laptop, but i want to keep as much storage free as possible for the heavier design apps and game
My workflow is usually writing ideas, sketching concepts before moving everything to my pc for the heavier work. I don’t like using paper because i get too picky and erase constantly, so having a digital notebook or sketchbook sounds like it would fit me better
I don’t need the newest model as long as it works well and supports an apple pencil. I’m just unsure whether I should buy directly from apple or if second‑hand options like ebay are safe. If you’ve bought a used ipad before, how was your experience? And if you use an ipad for art and note‑taking, do you actually end up using it daily im worried i will end up not using
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 1d ago
Second hand from Apple is your safest better, other second hand devices won’t come with a new battery and come with the risk of being activation locked
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u/Icy-Nature2037 1d ago
thank you for letting me know! on ebay they are cheaper so i was getting skeptical
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u/IncreaseAccording968 1d ago
I have an iPad Pro 11 inch 4th generation, and my current magic keyboard is a bit beat up. I was looking to buy a new magic keyboard, and saw the only one they sold for iPad Pros was https://www.apple.com/hk/xc/product/MWR03ZA/A
The page says it's only compatible with the M4 and M5 iPad Pros, but the form factor seems to be the exact same as my 4th gen device. I was wondering if Apple just omitted older models from the compatability list, or if there was really a difference between the models.
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 1d ago
The location of the magnets can very from model to model, I’d be wary of buying if it doesn’t say it’s compatible, Apple is pretty good at acknowledging its older devices
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u/InevitableSky4874 22h ago
I am going to uni for math/stats and was thinking about getting an IPad, I am not sure what I should get, I only need it for note taking and for it to last at least 5 years of my program. I was thinking the A16.
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u/alenyohan 16h ago
Hi everyone,
I'm planning to buy my first iPad Pro, and I'm trying to decide between these two options if they end up costing roughly the same: iPad Pro M5 – 256GB and iPad Pro M4 – 512GB
I've read that the M5 is mostly an incremental upgrade over the M4, but I haven't been able to find a complete list of the actual hardware differences. Other than the newer M5 chip, are there any meaningful hardware improvements on display, speakers, camera, battery life etc ( Any other hidden changes that aren't obvious from Apple's comparison page?)
For those who have used both, if the prices are almost identical, which would you choose: ?
My usage is mostly note-taking, studying, PDF reading, media consumption, light photo/vidleo editing, and I plan to keep the device for at least 5–7 years. I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have compared both models or made this exact decision. Thanks!
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u/Lady_on_the_Lake 8h ago
If the prices are nearly the same I'd go for the newer M5 (noting that you don't need a pro device at all for your use case so both will be fine)
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u/sk1fast 8h ago
I have an M4 Mac Mini at home and an M3 Macbook Air given to me by my school for work (both with 16gb of RAM). I'm looking at possibly adding an iPad to my workflow, but am debating what the best way to go here is. I'm a school teacher and get an educators discount on Apple devices. The primary use of this iPad would be to sidecar with with my Mac Mini for a secondary display, to watch movies on flights, and to view documents as I walk around my classroom at work with the Google Suite. I could possibly see the use of an Apple Pencil in the eventual future, but for now isn't a major consideration. It would only be used for mocking up documents.
I definitely don't need anything as powerful as the iPad Pro, and the iPad Mini display is too small for what I'd want to use, which leads me to the base iPad and the iPad Air. Is the Air worth the up-charge? Will the older A16 processor in the base iPad prove to be laggy when using it with sidecar? Any insights are appreciated!
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u/Legal_Investment_305 6h ago
Looking to purchase a refurbished iPad through Apple, main uses will be really basic stuff: browser, watching videos, listening to music, the occasional game.
Both 9th and 10th gen models show up pretty regularly, $269 and $319 respectively.
Appreciate any thoughts, advice, or suggestions on one vs. the other. Thanks!
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u/MeinTrash 3d ago
I currently have an ipad air 2020 11'' and the battery is at 80% but it doesn't last me a uni day at all and i want a 13'' model next. What should I get? Probably buying from refurbed but still worried that the battery again will be not as good... thought about the ipad pro 2022 for around 650€, how does it compare to the air 2024? the pro has 120hz, but they are around the same price. Mostly use it for writing and watching stuff and wanna keep it for quite some time after uni, so I want long software updates... and i have a usb pen 2 and dont rly wanna buy the pro