So I'm planning to buy a new iPad, but I'm not sure whether I should choose the iPad Pro 12.9" or 9.7", or perhaps just get the iPad Air 2, the price for the 64GB version is really attractive right now. However as a tech geek, I'm just magically drawn to the iPad Pro because of all the advanced features, and the very capable processor. But all that comes at a price at around 1000 USD, and that's definitely not cheap for a tablet, and makes me question whether I really need to pay that much for additional storage. Because right now I would probably choose the iPad Pro 9.7" with 256 GB, but before I press that preorder button, I want to analyse and see whether I'm really sure that this is the right way to go for me. Perhaps the analysis would be of use to you, too.
The iPad use case
Before you buy an iPad, it's good to ask yourself why do you actually need it? A lot of people ask me that, and to be honest, I usually don't know what to reply. I can survive very well only with my Mac and my iPhone. The iPad was always the less used computing device among the three, but when it comes to reading and social media, it was always my favorite device. And with the new incredibly powerful processor and 256 GB of flash storage, I would like my next iPad to be more than just a leisurely consumption device, I want to create videos, process images, and blog on it, as well as write my book. I want to bring it with me everywhere I go, and use it to its full potential. Whether I will succeed with that, I don't know, but I do hope so.
A comparison
I decided to make a comparison of the new iPad Pro models with the iPad Air models to see how they stack up, and highlighted in red all the features that I feel are important to me. I then gave 1 point for every such feature, and summed the points up at the end. Unfortunately this table doesn't display well vertically on smartphones, so please view horizontally.
| MODEL | iPad Pro 12.9" | iPad Pro 9.7" | iPad Air 2 | iPad Air 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch date | Mar 31, 2016 | Nov 11, 2015 | Oct 22, 2014 | Nov 1, 2013 |
| Weight | 0.71 kg | 0.44 kg | 0.44 kg | 0.47 kg |
| Thinness | 6.9 mm | 6.1 mm | 6.1 mm | 7.5 mm |
| Screen size | 12.9" | 9.7" | 9.7" | 9.7" |
| Resolution | 2732 x 2048 px | 2048 x 1536 px | 2048 x 1536 px | 2048 x 1536 px |
| PPI | 264 | 264 | 264 | 264 |
| Laminated display | Yes | Yes | Yes | - |
| Fingerprint resistant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Antireflective | Yes | Yes | Yes | - |
| Wide color display | - | Yes | - | - |
| True tone display | - | Yes | - | - |
| Chip | A9X | A9X | A8X | A7 |
| Clocked at | 2.24 GHz | 2.16 GHz | 1.50 GHz | 1.38 GHz |
| Number of cores | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Single core score* | 3224 | 3022 | 1812 | 1465 |
| Multi core score* | 5466 | 5107 | 4477 | 2643 |
| RAM | 4 GB (DDR4) | 2 GB (DDR4) | 2 GB (DDR3) | 1 GB (DDR3) |
| Back camera | 8 mpxl | 12 mpxl | 8 mpxl | 5 mpxl |
| 4k recording | - | 4k at 30fps | - | - |
| Full HD recording | 1080p at 30fps | 1080p at 60fps | 1080p at 30fps | 1080p at 30fps |
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 | ƒ/2.2 | ƒ/2.4 | ƒ/2.4 |
| Front camera | 1.2 mpxl | 5 mpxl | 1.2 mpxl | 1.2 mpxl |
| Speakers | 4 speaker audio | 4 speaker audio | Stereo | Stereo |
| Touch ID | 2nd generation | 1st generation | 1st generation | - |
| Battery | 10,307 mAh | 7,340 mAh | 7,340 mAh | 8,827 mAh |
| Pencil support | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| Storage options | 256/128/32 GB | 256/128/32 GB | 64/16 GB | - |
| POINTS | 7 | 11 | 3 | 1 |
So as it turns out, the iPad Pro 9.7" is indeed a clear winner for me, and the preferred device among all these iPads. Now let's check out the prices in Taiwan to see how much I will have to pay for my next iPad.
Prices in Taiwan
As of today, there are no official prices in NTD for the 9.7" iPad Pro, but I have made some calculations, and assumptions based on the USD price in the US, so here is what I believe will be the prices of all current iPads in Taiwan after the 9.7" Pro officially launches (the date is not known yet, but I assume it will be some time in April, in worst case May).
| MODEL | iPad Pro 12.9" | iPad Pro 9.7" | iPad Air 2 | iPad Air 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256 GB (Wi-fi) | 37,900 NTD | 30,900 NTD | - | - |
| 128 GB (Wi-fi) | 32,900 NTD | 25,900 NTD | - | - |
| 64 GB (Wi-fi) | - | - | 16,900 NTD | - |
| 32 GB (Wi-fi) | 27,900 NTD | 20,900 NTD | - | - |
| 16 GB (Wi-fi) | - | - | 13,900 NTD | - |
I do hope that I am wrong and that the 256 GB 9.7" Pro will cost "only" 29,900 NTD, but I'm pretty sure there will be an additional mark up on top of the USD-NTD conversion rate, as it usually is the case. The best value device here is definitely the iPad Air 2 64GB. The 128 GB 9.7" Pro also looks quite attractive to me, but my heart longs for the 256 GB version. I've sold my old iPad Air 1 for 8000 NTD this week, so effectively I might only pay around 23,000 NTD for my heart's desire. I'm not yet 100% sure, but once the new Pro is available in Taiwan and I made my decision, I will write about it in another post.
