Should You Buy the iPad Pro in 2024?

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Having covered the iPad a lot over the last four years, I’m acutely aware that there’s always a significant number of people out there either waiting to upgrade their iPad, or who are heading into the world of iPadOS for the very first time.

However, the iPad suffers from an achilles heel, which isn’t obvious at first. It’s the fact that we never know when a new one if going to arrive.

Waiting desperately for the iPad mini 7? Wondering if the iPad Air is a good buy today with a potential update on the horizon? Trying to figure out if the iPad 10th generation makes sense as a purchase for your kid?

And what on earth is going on with the iPad Pro?

Apple doesn’t appear to stick to any form of predictable release cycle for iPads. New iPhones arrive every September, without fail, but iPads fall into the same category as the Mac when it comes to the emergence of new versions. Sometimes they come in the spring, sometimes they arrive in the winter. Sometimes, they don’t arrive at all – for years.

As I write, it’s mid-March, 2024, and we’ve been waiting on a potential bunch of iPad announcements (namely the new iPad Pro and iPad Air) for what feels like weeks.

This begs several questions: should you buy the iPad Pro in 2024? Is it worth waiting for a new one? Should you just buy the M2 version? What about the M1 iPad Pro?

Or should you stick with what you’ve got?

Let’s figure it out together.

A confession

In order to keep the lights on at the studio, pay the people I work with, and put food on the table at home – not to mention continue to grow the Mark Ellis Reviews brand by creating more awesome content – I get paid by brands to feature their products on my YouTube channel.

This results in the integrated adverts most of you skip as soon as I say something like “…but first, a quick word from our sponsor!”. Usually, these partnerships are pretty straightforward and everyone does their bit to ensure the sponsor integration doesn’t slow down the release of the video.

The only time things get drawn out is if a video needs to go through a round of revisions to correct factual errors or omissions on behalf of yours truly (not a regular occurrence, thankfully). There’s an exception to this rule, however, which is when Apple is involved. And boy has March 2024 been one of those months.

Put simply, I have two sponsored videos that need to be published this month, both of which need to be iPad focused (the sponsoring brands are iPad accessory manufacturers, if you hadn’t guessed). Normally, that’s no trouble at all; even if an iPad announcement doesn’t appear to be on the cards, we can revisit an old friend (hey, iPad mini 6!) or provide some buying guidance for anyone who is stuck on which iPad to buy.

I wish it were that simple this month. It isn’t, because Apple is clearly up to something. The iPad Pro and the iPad Air have been rumoured for a Spring upgrade for months now, and regardless of my aforementioned misgivings about the rumour mill, there’s usually no smoke without fire.

The risks are significant. Picture this: I publish a video about the iPad Pro, suggesting that it is definitely on the way this month. Or I comment on a bunch of rumoured features that we’ve been told are coming to the iPad Pro and iPad Air as though they are nailed-on. Then, I ‘drop’ the video, and, moments later, Apple drops their press release announcing a new iPad 11th-generation. Even if they go ahead and launch the new iPad Pro and iPad Air, my video is immediately dated and pointless.

Worse still, imagine if Apple does nothing. I would be committing the worst form of clickbait: suggesting that something is going to happen when I have no solid data or insight to back that up. Clickbait is an essential tool within any creator’s arsenal, but you have to deliver once you’ve drawn people in, and if you fail to do that, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

This presents a serious issue when you’re running a full-time creator business like I am. And I’m not willing to take the risk of misinforming my audience. And that’s why you’re reading a generic iPad Pro buying guide today – which I think still holds value for plenty of people.

I’ve probably spent way too long on that topic… but I’m sure some of you find this stuff interesting!

The new 2024 iPad Pro

I appreciate the irony laced through the following sentence, given what I’ve said about rumours today, but I’m going to say it anyway.

The latest rumours about the iPad Pro announcement suggest it’s going to take place on 26th March.

What are we expecting? An M3 chip, a new OLED display, a thinner enclosure, a landscape-oriented front camera, and some new accessories (namely updates to the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil).

The theory currently doing the rounds is that iPadOS 17.4 is holding back the release of the new iPad Pro. Until that’s ready, it can’t be shipped to the factory to be installed on the new units. Which makes total sense.

By all accounts, this 2024 iPad Pro is going to be a fascinating machine. It’ll be biblically powerful, too – if the M3 chip makes an appearance. If new accessories are on the way, I’m looking forward to seeing what Apple does with them (what more can be done with a keyboard case and stylus?). That OLED display is overdue, but should represent a significant upgrade over the current IPS LCD unit.

However, the current iPad Pro remains a beast in all of those areas and none of the above is guaranteed. This is where the buying confusion starts, and where I hope to end it for you today.

Should you buy the iPad Pro in 2024?

The new iPad Pro, whenever it arrives, is probably going to be an expensive tablet. The good news is that its introduction will reduce the cost of the device it replaces – the M2 iPad Pro – on the second hand market.

It’ll reduce the price of the M1 iPad Pro even further. That’s even better news.

If we look at what we’re possibly going to get from a new iPad Pro in 2024, it amounts to a chip spec bump, new display technology, and the ability to interact with some new official accessories. Oh, and a reduction in size.

Is that worth waiting for? Is it worth paying for?

Possibly. If you’re the sort of person who wants the latest Apple stuff as soon as it’s available, the new iPad Pro is going to be a great buy. There’s no way it can’t be; if you have the budget and your love of Apple runs that deep, the latest iPad Pro is always going to be a thing to behold. You’ll love it, and you’ll no doubt put it to serious use until it’s time to upgrade again to the next latest and greatest.

However, if you don’t fall into that category (and I have a feeling that’s a sizeable group of people), waiting on the next iPad Pro is a fool’s game.

Take a look at your budget. Think about how often you’re going to use the iPad Pro. Combine those two pieces of research and make the decision as to whether or not you’ll benefit from the M1 or M2 iPad Pro instead. The only thing separating those two iPads (bar the Apple Pencil hover mode) is some marginal gains in performance and the price. You’ll know which of those differences matters to you.

The more I look at this situation, and the more I think about it, the faster I reach the conclusion that the M1 iPad Pro is turning into a no-brainer purchase for all but the most power-hungry users (or major Apple fans).

Final thought

No one knows when Apple is going to release new products. The rumour mill is categoric proof of this. Industry insiders, journos, and analysts who were once reliable sources of insight into Apple’s next moves are now regularly left with their tails between their legs.

They don’t know what’s going on. I suspect they’re often fed completely false information to throw them off the scent. As a result, I have no idea what’s going on – and neither do you. It’s all guesswork, but of the most frustrating kind, because they are total guesses.

If you’re thinking about buying an iPad Pro in 2024, I urge you to heed my advice above. And, before you go, let me know below what you’re going for, please!

Before you go