Is this worth going for? | MacRumors Forums

This is for a 512 gb 12.9" iPad Pro through Apple with trade -in + cover. Or should I wait to see what the 2022 iPad Pro brings?

Apple Trade In​

RemoveApple Trade In
Your trade-in device:iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th Generation)
Serial NumberMPD97L5NR72
Price of new iPad:$1,399.00
Trade-in credit:$405.00**
Price after trade-in:$994.00

Unless you absolutely need the Thunderbolt capability, or better HDR support (local dimming zones and higher HDR brightness), or more than 600 nits of brightness for SDR content (1000 nits for the newer model), or the performance isn't good enough and you need the M1 chip, these devices are nearly identical. Even so, retailers have that model available slightly cheaper and that trade-in value is a joke for a device of the previous generation. Even Apple themselves still sell your model for 1,129 USD before tax in their own refurbished store.

If you really want to give that iPad away for less than a third of the price you paid for it barely two years ago, at least sell it to a student or someone who will appreciate it. Apple will replace the battery in yours and put it in their store for 1,129 again...

Not to mention that new iPad Pros are likely to be announced within the next three weeks, so you'd be paying full price for an already old generation.

And again, the new iPad you are looking to buy will look and feel just like your current iPad. It runs the same OS with the same features.

I use my iPad Pro very often for watching TV, movies and shows so I'm interested in the difference in the display. Is there a noticeable difference between the 4th generation screen resolution and the current iPad Pro, which I assume will be the same in the 2022 version. Processor speed doesn't matter to me; just video quality. And yes, I see your point about the trade-in being a joke. Thanks!

The display uses a new backlight made up of thousands of mini LEDs, thus they call it the miniLED display. It's certainly better, especially for HDR content since it can light up or turn off individual dimming zones, thus increasing the contrast and making blacks blacker and bright parts brighter. For HDR content the difference is pretty big, but except for some shows on Apple TV and some showcase youtube videos there isn't much out there you can use HDR with. Netflix does support it if you pay extra, but then it's limited to FullHD resolution whereas Apple TV -at least for the shows I watched, like Ted Lasso- has them in 4k resolution.

To put it differently, I wouldn't purchase a new device without such a miniLED display anymore nowadays, but I would not spend 1k just for that upgrade. There are only a handful of shows that were filmed with HDR support. For proper HDR the cameras used for filming need to support that, and only the latest and more expensive productions do that.

For SDR content the difference isn't big. I use the same kind of miniLED display on my Mac, and SDR content looks about the same. In direct comparison I could make out darker blacks, sure, but that's about it. And even for HDR content when I switch it on and off to see the difference, yes it's there but it's a nice-to-have bonus, not something that's essential to me. And I finished Ted Lasso now, so now I have no HDR filmed shows left to see.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply. I did happen to call Apple customer support to see if they had any idea when the new iPad pros would be out and of course they said they had no word as to when they would be out.