Gonna buy a 12.9" iPad Pro for sheet music purposes. Do I really need the latest 5th gen/2021 model? Are there any features in any of the later generations that one might find useful? I'd imagine I don't need much at all.

Dunno if there are recent improvements but ForScore with a foot pedal works just fine on a second generation.

Definitely 4th Gen (2020)

2021 gives you bad blooming effects and headache. Thats why I returned the 2021 model and bought the 2020 instead.

Heres a search query. https://www.google.com/search?q=ipad+2021+bloom afterwards click on images.

Although 2021 gives a better image, it doesnt give an easier to read text.

Have you considered e-ink alternatives? If $ is not an issue for example the Gvido gives you dual screen (2x 13.3") at not much more than an iPad pro, depending on configurations. Availability wise, I can't say.

The Gvido in the US is $1,600 — want a goit switch $300
IPad Pro 4th generation is $779

Basically the Gvido is 2x as much. Granted, it has dual screens . I’ve lusted after one for several years, but the price is staggering.

I’m also not sure about storing scores in the Gvido library rather than on the device itself.

The GVIDO is a usability Nightmare. You are limited to small PDF ( in size ) and you won't have a good resale value to name two.
Edit: Also the GVIDO is slow.

I don't know about availabilty but the launch price for the 4th generation 12.9" starts from $999 and goes up to $1649 depending on configurations (the 11" of course is cheaper).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_Pro

Boox max lumi might be a worthy contender.



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There isn't any improvement for ForScore, but what I do like about the latest gen iPad is it's boardless now. The tablet is smaller than previous gen even though the screen size is the same because they took away the button. It's just the screen now. Other than that it's not necessary to have the latest. ForScore is really just a beefed up PDF reader/ manipulator for musicians.

No.
You can turn pages using only your mouth in forscore, making use of the truedepth camera.
Also, you can add almost any bluetooth device for use of page turning

How nice it would be to have an Ipad Pro 12.9 that had a 2nd screen to flip open. How much could that cost to add to price? $300 and I'd be down for that.

How does having two ipads make any sense? When you are looking off center, you will have even more increased load.

This is only if you get the latest gen iPad?

Nope. Every model thats newer than the first generation should have a truedepth camera.

Ok. Tupac wanted to know if there was an update to forScore that the newer gen iPads took advantage of that older ones didn't. So there really isn't.

That's a very good note, thank you. Maybe I'll try and go in a store and look at a few.

Thanks, but I was more concerned about hardware upgrades to the iPad Pros themselves. E.g. do I need the any of the 5th gen features vs. 4th, for the purpose of using it for sheet music only?

I think for sheet music only, no, you could go with previous models.

I recommend to get the 4th generation. I looked at second and third gen iPad pro on Ebay, one of which was offered for 300 EUR.
Although it was a very low cost iPad, there was an uneven backlighting, which seemed to be ocurring to older iPad Pros quite often.
My stepfather insisted that I dont get the 'cheap' one, cause he said it looks already like trash.

So I went with the 4th gen. I believe it's mostly just aging.

>>Thanks, but I was more concerned about hardware upgrades to the iPad Pros themselves. E.g. do I need the any of the 5th gen features vs. 4th, for the purpose of using it for sheet music only?


I think the 5th gen will have a dramatically more colorful picture. But the display is having more distance to the glass, so it might be more straining to the eye, along with the other issues described. You might not always have a very bright lit room, too. So bloom will be more visible.

Not a problem on 4th gen.
In many applications, including Gaming, 5th gen is partially even slower. You know, you can play Shooter games on it.

Perhaps you should visit youtube. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=reasons+to+not+buy+ipad+pro+2021

I got the latest one. I figured it would last the longest before Apple doesn't make updates for it. I have no problems with the screen or anything for that matter. Bluetooth pedals work great. I haven't tried the head gesture turning. I think it's a great tablet.

I have a 3rd and a 4th generation. Both are fine, both are quick, both work perfectly with ForScore and Apple Pencil. The 4th gen has a slightly better screen, but the 3rd gen is really all you need for sheet music. I sometimes use both side by side: ForScore handles this well and I find it very comfortable.

But does the "bloom" effect actually affect reading scores in forScore? From what I've read "bloom" is most noticeable with white text on a black background, not black text on a white background.

I don't see any bloom effect when I'm reading music. Very clear.

Have you used it for playing the piano?

>> I don't see any bloom effect when I'm reading music. Very clear.


It's easier than that. Apple introduced new, half-baked technology, called Mini-LED.
There are simple facts of that technology that make it for some good reasons not favorable, especially in dark rooms. The color accuracy seems better at first glance.

Unless we are arriving at NANO-LED, which is approximately not there until 2024 or longer, we are stuck within technologies that aren't good for people who are having sensitive eyes.
What happens is that there are local dimming zones which aren't fine enough to shut off at a range within a black or a white field. So the area will have a bloom / blurred border.

It is harder on the eye, objectively.
Going deeper.
Technically, glare type Screens like the iPad has, aren't suited for a bright room, simply because they reflect much.

Deeper.
If you are using lighting that does make the glare of the screen less obvious, you are getting more problems with the bloom.

Deeper.
Although Apple provides Nano coated Screens, they are still having problems with the underlying technology.

If you are sensitive, I would strongly argue against glare+mini-led. Glare+(usual) is okay, though.
Can you imagine? I have a iMac 2019 here, and can use it only in absolute darkness, and only in darker scenes, cause I get severe eye Problems otherwise.
The iMac is the next thing I am going to sell.

I already have a old 1920x1080 TN panel attached, but this is kinda defeating the purpose of having a nice high resolution retina monitor.

I have not, I am using a MS surface pro for that. This looks very promising and think it has potential to be a Ipad/Surface replacement.

I have heard good things about it though.

I've got a first gen 12.9" iPad Pro and it works fine with ForScore. I got it used and it's pretty great!

I just upgraded from a 2016 iPad Pro (the 9.7 inch model) to the latest (2021) model iPad pro 12.9 inch.

I LOVE it!!

I have never noticed the "bloom." You can set the screen brightness and other visual features, so maybe that helps? Another detail that may or may not be relevant is that my piano glasses are also my computer glasses, and I have those special lenses which IIRC filter out the blue light, so I'm guessing that's also a benefit for the iPad.

I use forScore and a Butterfly Flip bluetooth pedal. (I haven't tried the mouth/face thing yet for page turns, but now I want to!!)

I also love the newest iPencil, I had a first gen. iPencil that I used with my previous iPad, but it was inconvenient in a variety of ways. This one works so much better and it's so convenient to write on the score etc.

As to the original question of whether it's worth it to get the newest iPad pro versus the 2020 model, I don't know how readily available the 2020 models are, but I would guess you should be fine with that.

Personally, I keep my devices for a long time so I wanted to get the newest model, but it's definitely more expensive, that's for sure! I did get some money for my old iPad, which helped.

Anyway, good luck to the OP!

There is absolutely no need to buy the latest 5th gen/2021 model. Moreover, for these purposes, I do not recommend buying 2021 model, not only because of its excessive capabilities and high price. This model uses a transient experimental screen technology (mini LED, which is a compromise between OLED and micro LED technologies). It may be good for media content, but has some side effects. Take a look from here, for example.

The latest 5th gen/2021 model is too redundant for our task. The 2018 model (3rd gen) is absolutely enough for the moment. Even many tech geeks note that the 2018 model still copes with all the tasks perfectly (and the tasks of tech geeks can be much more demanding on hardware than those of people just working with PDFs).

Thanks for supporting what I priorly said.
I have to add something, though.

The 2018 Model might not have the bezel issues as the 2017 iPad Pro 12.9" has.
The 2017 Model has backlighting issues around the bezels after long usage.

I'll add about the iPad Pro 12.9" 5th generation (2021) with some quotes:

From this page

From this page

And it seems that some people are really sensitive to PWM in mini-LEDs. Here is one example.

Thus, I finally became convinced that I would purposefully avoid the 2021 model if I needed to buy an iPad Pro 12.9 today.