Which iPad?

[Fromtherough]

Looking to buy a new iPad for my soon to be 9 year old daughter. She currently has an iPad mini 4 (I think) which she’s had for over 5 years. She’s never off the thing, using it to chat to friends, stream films/tv and TikTok/YouTube, so I don’t mind the purchase as she’ll use it a lot. Plus, in school this year they’ll be doing some ‘computer’ stuff and have some homework assignments to do. School use a combination of Microsoft enabled desktops and iMacs.

Things seem to have moved on since we got her the Mini. Price wise, plus there is a seemingly never ending plethora of models available. Choice seems to be between iPad Air and iPad Pro 2021 (she wants a bigger screen), both of which attract eye watering prices.

I’m trying to future proof my purchase somewhat (as best you can). Am I just best getting the Pro given the new chip is akin to what is used in iMacs? She also wants to be able to use a keyboard/pen which her current iPad Mini does not allow and the new magic keyboard looks good (these will either will be from her grandparents or from Santa looking at the prices).

Any advice appreciated.

 

[HampshireHog]

I don’t think an iPad, even the Pro with the big screen is a good long term alternative for a laptop anymore than a Windows laptop that you can detach the keyboard makes a good tablet.

I’d go standard iPad and a cheap laptop for school work. On the other side the Surface Pro is a good laptop and just about usable as a tablet for occasional use.

 

[Rooter]

My daughter (14) has the new iPad air 2021 (the smaller of the 2, must be 10/11"?) and its awesome. It is basically last years iPad pro. She does a lot of drawing on it with the apple pen, she is wanting to be a graphic designer. With anything apple, you have about 4-5 years from release until they stop supporting its software.

My younger 2 (7 and 9) both had iPad mini 2's, we just upgraded the older ones to the newest mini (4?5?) (even though a new new one is out this year) the ios stopped at 11 ish and it wasn't supporting the game/app updates she wanted, so we have gone for the latest.


EDIT: PS. The eldest one does all of her school work on it. She has a keyboard and full integration to all O365 applications via the school

 

[bobmac]

My friend just updated his ipad to a Lenovo tablet which he is delighted with, especially with the £229 price ticket.
Perfect unless it has to be apple

 

[road2ruin]

I use the iPad Pro 12.9" and have a keyboard with it. Over the last 12 months the support for Office apps has completely changed my usage completely and I now don't take a laptop when I'm out of the office, I use the iPad.

Going back to your original question I would ensure you get the largest amount of memory you can afford, my daughter has an old iPad Mini of mine and it's storage goes in an instant so I would definitely be looking at 128gb or more. In terms of screen size the bigger the better for me.

 

[Rooter]

Going back to your original question I would ensure you get the largest amount of memory you can afford, my daughter has an old iPad Mini of mine and it's storage goes in an instant so I would definitely be looking at 128gb or more. In terms of screen size the bigger the better for me.

I think 64GB is the smallest AIR, and imho that's plenty when you consider cloud storage etc, most stuff like music and film is streamed these days, so we are not storing as much as we used to

 

[road2ruin]

I think 64GB is the smallest AIR, and imho that's plenty when you consider cloud storage etc, most stuff like music and film is streamed these days, so we are not storing as much as we used to

Most of the time I would say that's true however when we are travelling and I download a load from Amazon or Disney+ onto the iPad itself it goes quickly. I think my old iPad that she's presently using is 32gb and that's definitely not enough, maybe 64 would be but if you're after future proofing I would try and get 128 personally.

 

[Hobbit]

I went from an iPad Pro 9” to a new M1 iPad Pro 12.9”, with keypad, a few months ago. It’s too big, and heavy, to be used comfortably as a tablet and its balance is wrong for a LAPtop, unless you use it at a table.

For me, would I buy the 12.9” now having experienced it? No, I wish I’d stuck with the 9” and replaced the damaged laptop.

 

[Fromtherough]

I don’t think an iPad, even the Pro with the big screen is a good long term alternative for a laptop anymore than a Windows laptop that you can detach the keyboard makes a good tablet.

I’d go standard iPad and a cheap laptop for school work. On the other side the Surface Pro is a good laptop and just about usable as a tablet for occasional use.

I think the new chip installed possibly relieves the need. I have a Surface Pro for work. Great machine. No where near as intuitive as an iPad though, which is what she’s used to.

 

[Fromtherough]

My daughter (14) has the new iPad air 2021 (the smaller of the 2, must be 10/11"?) and its awesome. It is basically last years iPad pro. She does a lot of drawing on it with the apple pen, she is wanting to be a graphic designer. With anything apple, you have about 4-5 years from release until they stop supporting its software.

My younger 2 (7 and 9) both had iPad mini 2's, we just upgraded the older ones to the newest mini (4?5?) (even though a new new one is out this year) the ios stopped at 11 ish and it wasn't supporting the game/app updates she wanted, so we have gone for the latest.


EDIT: PS. The eldest one does all of her school work on it. She has a keyboard and full integration to all O365 applications via the school

Just looking at the Air. Looks great. Apple aren’t daft - I can’t seem to find any package deals to buy the iPad, pen and keyboard where you actually save any money. The O365 integration is definitely good news and will enhance the use of it as an alternative to a desk top.

 

[Fromtherough]

I use the iPad Pro 12.9" and have a keyboard with it. Over the last 12 months the support for Office apps has completely changed my usage completely and I now don't take a laptop when I'm out of the office, I use the iPad.

Going back to your original question I would ensure you get the largest amount of memory you can afford, my daughter has an old iPad Mini of mine and it's storage goes in an instant so I would definitely be looking at 128gb or more. In terms of screen size the bigger the better for me.

Sounds perfect. I think the lowest memory available in the Pro is 128gb.

 

[Fromtherough]

I went from an iPad Pro 9” to a new M1 iPad Pro 12.9”, with keypad, a few months ago. It’s too big, and heavy, to be used comfortably as a tablet and its balance is wrong for a LAPtop, unless you use it at a table.

For me, would I buy the 12.9” now having experienced it? No, I wish I’d stuck with the 9” and replaced the damaged laptop.

Did you look at the 11” Pro? Not sure if it comes with the mini-LED capability the 12.9” does though? Which keyboard do you use? The magic one looks great.

 

[Rooter]

as an fyi, we went with the Logitech keyboard for the Air. even the guy in the shop (Stormfront, apple reseller) said there are no massive benefits to the apple keyboard (Although the magic one does look awesome!)

 

[hairball_89]

My only advice with an iPad is don't be afraid of going second hand. I've bought my last 3 iPads and iPhones from CEX. I go buy the last year (or year before)'s top range model and save 20% on the purchase price.

I've got a 2028 iPad 10" which I bought last year. It's fab. I've got a bluetooth keyboard to go with it, O365 runs like a dream and a stylus pen for note taking and pdf edits makes it a doddle when I'm not at my Mac.

 

[Fromtherough]

as an fyi, we went with the Logitech keyboard for the Air. even the guy in the shop (Stormfront, apple reseller) said there are no massive benefits to the apple keyboard (Although the magic one does look awesome!)

Great thanks, will check that out. Kind of want the magic one just for me... does look amazing.

 

[road2ruin]

Great thanks, will check that out. Kind of want the magic one just for me... does look amazing.

I have the magic keyboard and it's amazing, I do a lot of typing and whilst I have had keyboards from Logitech in the past they've never been nice to work with (for me). Whether it is worth the money when compared to the alternatives is probably debatable however I do love a gadget and now wouldn't be without it.

 

[harpo_72]

I get mine from John Lewis because of the 2 year cover .. plus price is matched and I don’t have to go in to an Apple store.

 

[Hobbit]

Did you look at the 11” Pro? Not sure if it comes with the mini-LED capability the 12.9” does though? Which keyboard do you use? The magic one looks great.

I specifically wanted the bigger screen (oh how I wished I’d listened to the YouTube reviews), as my HP laptop that failed the bounce test was 15”. I bought the Apple keyboard the doubles up as a case, but it isn’t the magic one. I felt that it’s just a keyboard, and calling it magic is just marketing hype.

The reviews suggest the 11” is more manageable.

The Apple Pencil is brilliant for meetings. Turn the notes into a Word doc, add in graphs/photos etc and send straight out as an email. Best bit of kit tbh.