my current ipad buying dilemma

[kofman13]

I am currently at a crossroads. I wanted a 12.9 for work in january. I teach music and use my ipad all day to read and display sheet music and bigger screen would make it more enjoyable. BUT i always try to time tech purchases around refreshes since i like to enjoy the latest and greatst for longest. told myself, ok ill just stick with my Air 2 until WWDC because everyone is saying new ipad in june. i dont want to get a ipad in january and then a new inticing one will be out in june. so i waited.

low and behold no new ipad in june. So now people are saying one with face id (thinner bezels?) is coming in september or october. So now i am in the same rut all over again. I could just keep using my air 2 all summmer and then maybe if a new one comes out in september ill get that. OR get the 2017 12.9 Pro and use it, but then if a new one comes this year and its super sick and i want to upgrade, i will lose a few hundred trading in to apple the 12.9 i get NOW, towards the hypothetical new one in sept/october.

But then what if there is no new ipad in october, and it comes in 2019 ( like it came in 2017 two years after 2015 first gen). then i will have waited for no reason again. ugh

thoughts? what would you guys do? buy now, enjoy the 2017 and then trade in for next gen? or just keep waiting until some refresh comes

EDIT: I did some math
If i get the 2017 12.9 and trade in my  Air 2 for $180, the 2017 12.9 will be $619. 
the current trade in for 2015 12.9 is $250, so lets say that stays true for next gen,  I trade in the 2017 i buy now for $250 making the future redesign 2018 Pro now $549.
SO, i would be basically paying a $549 premium to be able to use a pro now, and then also get the redesign whenever that comes later this year.

or, if i wait and use my air 2, the air 2 trade in value will probably drop down to $100 by the end of the year, so the 2018 pro will cost me $699 if i wait it out and trade in air 2. so that makes it more expensive if we are talking about JUST the redesign ipad pro, so really if we look back to the previous paragraph, i would be paying more like $500 premium to use a pro NOW and still buy the latest later this year. hmmmm so i have to decide if its worth $500 to benefit from the pro now.

ANOTHER thing that just came to my mind is... what if i trade in the air 2 for a 2018 ipad and pencil. I would benefit from the pencil for work, and the speed bump, then  in the fall trade that in for the pro. and i would be keeping the pencil for the pro anyway.. just a thought

[AlTech]

20 minutes ago, kofman13 said:

ANOTHER thing that just came to my mind is... what if i trade in the air 2 for a 2018 ipad and pencil. I would benefit from the pencil for work, and the speed bump, then  in the fall trade that in for the pro. and i would be keeping the pencil for the pro anyway.. just a thought

That could be interesting. Try to buy the 2018 iPad through your school or Educational institute to get the largest discount. 

[kofman13]

6 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Want to have the latest Apple product all the time?

 

Jebaited

yeah i do. i love apple products and the ecosystem. for power user stuff i have a monster windows workstation because im not paying $5000-$10,000 for a locked in mac power desktop. but for everything else i couldnt be happier with macbook/apple watch/iphone/ipad/airpods/apple tv

[Darkseth]

Then just buy it now, and enjoy it. Maybe look out for a deal the next 2-3 weeks~

 

When the new launches, and really offers some killer-Features (if you consider iPhone X-like design that), you can simply sell it, and buy the new one.

As you know, Apple products don't lose much value over time. You will be able to sell it for a tiny loss - which will already be worth all the time you have spend with it untill then.

 

Or, you ignore the next one (because it will probably only bring bezel-less design, and more performance (which you probably won't even need. If it even does make a noticeable Difference in day2day usage)), be happy with the one you have now, untill 2020, for the next iPad Pro (if they really will come every 1,5 years), so you have THEN the latest and greatest.

 

 

Lets say, you wait, and buy the new Pro in oktober - if they release it. You will probably NOT sell it and buy the iPad Pro that comes right after that 1.5 years later, will you? You will probably sit that one out, and have this new one for the next 3-4 years, maybe 5 years. Either way, you will "jump over" one generation. 

 

 

Benchmark jump will be quite nice for sure, but will you ever "feel" it in practical use? Not much great things they could bring...

The 2nd gen already has a 120 Hz Display, they won't change that.

 

 

It's like with Gaming GPUs.

2016 when Nvidia 10 series launched, i've read from sooo many AMD fanboys "i won't buy it, vega will destroy it, it will come in a few month, i'll wait".

They were right. They did wait. And wait.... and wait.......... and wait 1.5 years, and the result was disappointing, and prices did skyrocket before any custom design was even out. Even as of today, it wasn't possible to buy a custom Vega for a normal decent Price.

 

What do you think the early-adopter Nvidia buyers did when they didn't wait for AMD? They had countless of hours/days of fun gaming.

 

 

--> A new iPad pro will for sure come out in 3-4 Months. And it will be better.

But maybe it's not worth for YOU to wait for it. Maybe you can be perfectly happy with the already 1 year old 2nd gen, that will still be a beast in 2-3 Years.

 

 

I would say:

Wait for their Keynote september for the new iPhones, and most likely iPads. Then buy it - or buy the 2nd gen. It's just 3-4 more Months.

 

If you can't wait, just buy it today, and either keep it for another generation, or sell it for a small loss, and get the new one.

Next year you won't ever care anymore if you sold it 4 months later for 100 bucks less.