I’ve been a 13-inch iPad Pro customer since the first one was released in 2015. I bought another in 2018 and another in 2021. I was trying to resist buying the latest one, but after reading and participating in @Bmosbacker’s epic post, I couldn’t resist any longer and just picked up my 4th 13-inch iPad Pro. The first thing that jumps out at me is the screen. I had my 2021 iPad Pro on the table next to me playing the Yankees game. I took the new one out of the box, set it up and put the same Yankees game on the new iPad and the contrast was immediate. The colors look so much richer and the brightness of the screen stood out.
The second thing I appreciate is the weight. One downside of the 13-inch iPad for the last 9 years has been the weight. But now it is significantly lighter and I no longer think this is much of a compromise. I feel comfortable holding it in my hands more than any iPad I’ve owned in a long time. The weight of the iPad in the new case is also lighter, which is an unexpected bonus.
I also love the keyboard. I didn’t realize how much I missed having a function row until I started using this one. Now that there is an escape key, I’m looking into running vim on it, is that possible? The larger trackpad is also nice and I find myself using it more than I did on the previous model.
I bought the Apple Pencil Pro even though I only use it for highlighting in books and handwriting notes sometimes. My needs could definitely be satisfied by the cheaper pencil, but it seemed like a silly thing to save $50 on. I would’ve kept using the previous pencil, but sadly it isn’t compatible.
So I’ve kept up my habit of buying a new iPad Pro every 3 years and the improvements are worth it to me.
