iPad Pro vs iPad Mini – Dilemma Solved

I started off with the decision to buy an iPad Mini 6.

Before all these, I was waiting for the new “M2” chip on the new Macbook Pro which later Apple launched it with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips instead some time in October 2021.

But getting the new Macbook Pro 14” is closing in to S$3.5k .. that’s including some upgrades of course. 

With my Macbook Air (2014) still going strong, by the way, I’ve been using my Mac Air for more than half-a-decade now! Yeap, this has turned me into an Apple fanboy (alright, disregard the “boy” part). 

As such, from supposedly targeting to get the latest more powerful Macbook Pro, the idea of getting the “cheaper” iPad was conceived. 

Again, with my Mac Air still usable, I’d target to get an iPad to complement my notes taking. Yes, I’m a notes junkie with countless hardcopy notebooks, sticky notes and memos, foolscap … spreading to online resources like Google Doc, Notion, Trello .. okay, I shall not go into this rabbit hole for now.

This kick started my deep dive into YouTube watching tons of reviews on the best notes taking apps and, most importantly, which iPad is better for paperless note taking. 

It’s kind of funny to recall my thought process as in which iPad I’ve decided that would be best for me – starting off with iPad Mini 6 for portability to iPad Air, then with a bit of upgrade, the price range led me to consider iPad Pro and it keeps going round and round.

Kudos to Apple for making such a family of products that are so hard to make a decision which one to buy, haha.

I’m equally awed by the creativity of so many YouTubers even coming out with the Ps framework – with Ps for Price, Portability, Performance, Purpose etc. 

I particularly like one of the YouTubers suggesting to get a Mac Mini to complement the iPad to complete the MacOS experience. And that the iPad can even act as a secondary screen, cool.

In the end, my potential candidates boiled down to iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Pro 11” (or 12.9”). And that’s because instead of the expensive Macbook Pro, I’d likely add-on a Mac Mini (ideally with the new M2 chip; rumoured to launch in upcoming Apple’s March Event) to enjoy both MacOS and iPadOS. Also, with Mac Mini, not only I can use it with my bigger 27” Dell monitor, it is still quite portable due to its size and weight and I can use my iPad as a quick screen. 

After zooming in and almost confirmed that I’d go for the iPad Mini 6 for its portability, I’ve switched to iPad Pro 12.9” (instead of iPad Air or iPad Pro 11”) at the very last minute. 

This is all because of this YouTuber called Ali … I agree strongly to his rationale to focus on Productivity – after all, while spending or investing in an expensive gadget like an iPad, instead of just for entertainment and portability, one should focus on increasing productivity in order to justify the dollars spent on such an item. As such, getting the iPad Pro with the biggest screen size at the moment at 12.9” is my best bet.

Now, after 2-month of having fun with my new iPad Pro 12.9”, coupled with gen 2 Apple Pen, paper-like screen protector, the fantastic Zugu protective cover and an excellent Logitek MX Keys Mini bluetooth keyboard, I’m convinced I’ve made the right decision to get the biggest iPad Pro 12.9”.

So, for those who are still having the dilemma of which iPad to go for, now you know you’ve a very biassed view here – go for the biggest screen – size matters!

And here’s my no-talking unboxing video of my iPad Pro 12.9″ … didn’t know that watching this can be quite therapeutic 🙂