# Best iPad for StaffPad in 2021?



## Composer 2021

I posted about StaffPad compatibility before but that was with a different line of current iPads. Now, it is between the iPad 8th gen, iPad Air, and the 11 inch iPad Pro. I feel uneasy as to how the entry-level iPad can run StaffPad with just 3 GB of RAM. iPad Air has 4 GB now and the upcoming iPad Pro refresh will have at least 8 GB of RAM on all models (and 16! on the high-storage configurations). My budget is very low and I do not intend on using the premium sample libraries for now, just the stock sounds. I know StaffPad says all iPads starting with the 6th gen are supported. However I have a hard time believing that the cheapest iPad can handle an entire orchestral project. Would be happy to be proven otherwise.

iPad 8th gen
Pros: Cheap, familiar design with no need for the stupid headphone dongle
Cons: Only 3 GB of RAM (concerning about the future of software support), only supports 1st gen Apple Pencil

iPad Air
Pros: Relatively affordable only for the 64 GB model, got upgraded to 4 GB of RAM this time
Cons: 256 GB model is very expensive (only 50 dollars cheaper than the iPad Pro), no headphone jack this time

iPad Pro
Pros: 8 GB of RAM this time, M1 chip
Cons: Starting price gives less storage than the high-end iPad Air, not out yet and can't be tested

I'm also open if anyone suggests the Microsoft Surface tablets as long as they are in the same price range and perform equally as well. But since they have Intel chips, IDK, I think Apple chips will destroy them in performance.


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## dcoscina

Start with at least the Air if not the Pro if you plan on writing large dense scores


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## Jett Hitt

Given the way this tech is progressing, I’d get the iPad Pro if I at all could. App developers will soon try to harness that power, and older designs will be obsolete faster. I might be wrong about this, but I don’t think so.


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## rsg22

I agree with what's been said so far. Speaking from experience, I definitely would not get the base model - iPad Air (newest model) would be the bare minimum I'd start with.


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## jonathanparham

Composer 2021 said:


> I'm also open if anyone suggests the Microsoft Surface tablets as long as they are in the same price range and perform equally as well. But since they have Intel chips, IDK, I think Apple chips will destroy them in performance.


I have a Surface Pro 5 and 6 both used and haven't run into problems yet with add ons. I'm currently mocking up a Cue from Back to the Future and it's pretty dense IMO. With my surface pro 3 it would choke but the latest are fine. However I think David Hearn is pretty excited about Ipad now


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## Composer 2021

A recent reviewer of StaffPad mentioned that it kept crashing on his new iPad Air. So either it wasn't optimized yet or 4 GB of memory is still not enough to use it. I'm leaning toward the new iPad Pro (against the wishes of my wallet).


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## Montisquirrel

Composer 2021 said:


> A recent reviewer of StaffPad mentioned that it kept crashing on his new iPad Air. So either it wasn't optimized yet or 4 GB of memory is still not enough to use it. I'm leaning toward the new iPad Pro (against the wishes of my wallet).


I would never buy a tablet with just 4GB in 2021


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## rsg22

I'm still running Staffpad on a regular non-Pro iPad, which I think has 3gb RAM, so I stick to smaller scores like quartets. It can crash if I'm doing a lot of heavy editing for an extended period of time, I always wondered if there was a memory leak at play. I have a new iPad Pro on the way though, looking forward to that.


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## Composer 2021

I would want to use it for full orchestral writing. Going cheap on a tablet seems like a bad idea.


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## Composer 2021

How much storage does a tablet need in order to use all four sections worth of a premium library from the StaffPad store? Would 128 GB be enough? Would it let me store them on a USB drive?


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## emasters

StaffPad runs fine with full orchestral scores, on my 12.9" 2018 iPad Pro (512 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM). If I were buying a new one today, I would get the new M1 12.9" iPad Pro with a 1 TB SSD (to get the 16 GB RAM), to future-proof with upcoming StaffPad features that will likely require more processing power and benefit from more RAM (E.g., real-time transcription per the Apple announcement video with David). Yes -- it does cost more. But the whole point with StaffPad is not cost... it's what it can do. Let's face it, StaffPad and it's expansion libraries are for those who want the features and are willing to pay (by IOS app standards, it's all very expensive). At this point, until the app requires more processing power, I'll stay the course with my 2018 model. But if I were buying new today, put the money into something that will last for at least 2+ years, so you don't have to upgrade again for a while. Every time I've purchased new tech trying to save $, I've always ended up regretting it later. Because at some point, a great feature requires more hardware capability than I purchased. M1 processor, 16 GB RAM - you'll be set for some time to come with StaffPad. My 2 cents...


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## Composer 2021

16 RAM and 12.9 models are too expensive for me. The 8 GB model should be fine for a few years. I don't plan on using real time transcription.


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## Jett Hitt

I have the 2020 iPad Pro, and I will only upgrade it when I have to. Whether I would get the 1TB version for the extra RAM is a tough call. I am not sure that it would be future proofing in an economical way. StaffPad may introduce a few features that require the M1, but a huge part of the user base is using lesser tablets. I can't imagine StaffPad leaving too many people behind, and I sure can't imagine them adding something that requires 16GB--at least not before another iPad Pro is released.


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## Composer 2021

I'm more concerned about the storage being futureproof. I can't find any info about how large the Spitfire/OT/CineSamples StaffPad libraries are.


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## Jett Hitt

Composer 2021 said:


> I'm more concerned about the storage being futureproof. I can't find any info about how large the Spitfire/OT/CineSamples StaffPad libraries are.


No worries. The biggest StaffPad library is less than 3GB. All of the libraries together total less than 30GB.


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## emasters

Composer 2021 said:


> I'm more concerned about the storage being futureproof. I can't find any info about how large the Spitfire/OT/CineSamples StaffPad libraries are.


I own them all which takes up in total, 33.36 GB. The app itself is another 1.21 GB. So those two together is your worst case storage requirement for the iPad SSD with StaffPad and all of it's current expansion libraries. BTW, I understand your perspective regarding price. There is a reality of what can be afforded. Will be interesting to see what the StaffPad folks decide in terms of new features versus hardware requirements.


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## Composer 2021

Oh wow, they _really_ optimized them. That's great.


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## SLRSoundworks

I'm also considering this since realizing how amazing the M1 is compared to anything Intel on the Microsoft Surface side. I'm leaning toward the base model 12.9 inch iPad Pro for the bigger screen workspace, and because StaffPad would be the only thing I use it for, so 128GB storage would be fine. And I think 8GB RAM is plenty for this application. 

I see you updated your signature to include iPad Pro. Which one did you end up getting? How's it been?


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## Composer 2021

I got the 11-inch 128 GB Pro. It's alright, I'm trying to get used to StaffPad's handwriting recognition. There is also an issue with the headphone dongle so I will need to get bluetooth headphones.


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## rsg22

Regarding RAM, any recent iPad Pro will be fine for StaffPad - as Apple caps RAM-per-app anyway. For example, on the new M1 iPad Pro 12.9 (8GB RAM variants), iPadOS only allows an app to use a max of 5GB RAM. Which is even more eye-opening when you consider there are more expensive variants of the M1 iPad Pro with 16GB RAM.

Hopefully Apple relaxes these constraints, but Apple being Apple, who knows.


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## oriolsr

rsg22 said:


> Regarding RAM, any recent iPad Pro will be fine for StaffPad - as Apple caps RAM-per-app anyway. For example, on the new M1 iPad Pro 12.9 (8GB RAM variants), iPadOS only allows an app to use a max of 5GB RAM. Which is even more eye-opening when you consider there are more expensive variants of the M1 iPad Pro with 16GB RAM.
> 
> Hopefully Apple relaxes these constraints, but Apple being Apple, who knows.


Following up on this topic, Apple has opened the door to developers to request more RAM exceeding the RAM-per-app limit, exactly because of the complains of 16GB RAM Ipad buyers, no surprise

https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/25/apps...lement-exceeding-normal-system-memory-limits/

It would be interesting to know:

- Is StaffPad already planning to use this IOS feature?
- How much RAM are we talking about? (hopefully all the exceeding RAM after a multitasking threshold)

any following news on that will be appreciated, let's see how events unfold


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## Composer 2021

Looks like the new 5th gen iPad Air is making the iPad Pro 2021 unnecessary for anyone who doesn't get the Pro with the top specs with 16 GB of RAM. Hope someone gets it and can see how well StaffPad runs on it.


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## ssnowe

I have an older last version ipad mini (version 5) and a new ipad pro 12.9 with the m1. I find that there is very little difference in terms of how well either of them run Staffpad. The ipad pro seems a bit more stable and maybe a bit quicker to respond but not some huge jump in performance like you might expect. 

At this point it doesn't look like the Staffpad developers are taking advantage of the extra memory capability or m1 chipsets in the newer ipads. That is great news for owners of older or less expensive ipads but in my case it is a bit of a disapointment as I thought the new ipad pro would make a world of difference and it doesn't really appear to matter a whole lot.

That being said the new 5th gen ipad air will run Staffpad just as well as an ipad pro until the Staffpad developers start taking advantage of the new m1 chipset and the additional memory available in the ipad pro.


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## ZenBYD

ssnowe said:


> I have an older last version ipad mini (version 5) and a new ipad pro 12.9 with the m1. I find that there is very little difference in terms of how well either of them run Staffpad. The ipad pro seems a bit more stable and maybe a bit quicker to respond but not some huge jump in performance like you might expect.
> 
> At this point it doesn't look like the Staffpad developers are taking advantage of the extra memory capability or m1 chipsets in the newer ipads. That is great news for owners of older or less expensive ipads but in my case it is a bit of a disapointment as I thought the new ipad pro would make a world of difference and it doesn't really appear to matter a whole lot.
> 
> That being said the new 5th gen ipad air will run Staffpad just as well as an ipad pro until the Staffpad developers start taking advantage of the new m1 chipset and the additional memory available in the ipad pro.


are you finding the m1 struggles? I can't get it to struggle no matter how many staffs I throw at it. never heard my M1 dropout.... so it seems a bit irrelevant if they support the extra ram or not - it just doesn't seem to need it.. 

maybe the new Air does make the iPad Pro a bit redundant. that said... the larger screen of the iPad Pro and the fast refresh rate are brilliant.


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## Jett Hitt

I am fairly certain that where you will begin to encounter limitations is with piece length. I have a 2020 iPad Pro, and I have never hit a limit with the number of instruments I can run. This includes a full romantic orchestra with huge percussion, choir, and three string sections. Where I hit the limitation is when the piece starts to get too long. Then it begins to struggle. I don't know whether this limitation is due to the RAM or the chip.


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## ZenBYD

Jett Hitt said:


> I am fairly certain that where you will begin to encounter limitations is with piece length. I have a 2020 iPad Pro, and I have never hit a limit with the number of instruments I can run. This includes a full romantic orchestra with huge percussion, choir, and three string sections. Where I hit the limitation is when the piece starts to get too long. Then it begins to struggle. I don't know whether this limitation is due to the RAM or the chip.


oh that's interesting -- how long is "long"... so to speak? I've done pieces around 5-6 minutes long and it was ok...


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## Jett Hitt

ZenBYD said:


> oh that's interesting -- how long is "long"... so to speak? I've done pieces around 5-6 minutes long and it was ok...


I have no way to estimate this scientifically because there are too many variables, but the stumbling block seems to surface in the 10-12 minute range.


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## Composer 2021

That’s not bad. Rare to make a piece that long.


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## Kabraxis

Just bought the iPad Air with M1 the other day, and StaffPad works tremendously well, if anyone wonders. 64gb seemed enough for me since StaffPad projects usually tops 20mb and the app supports cloud saving.


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## fayez

Kabraxis said:


> Just bought the iPad Air with M1 the other day, and StaffPad works tremendously well, if anyone wonders. 64gb seemed enough for me since StaffPad projects usually tops 20mb and the app supports cloud saving.


Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?


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## dcoscina

fayez said:


> Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?


I think the Pros have more RAM. I started with an Air3 in 2020 and within a couple of months, I sold it and upgraded to a 2020 Pro 11" with 128bg of ram. Much more stable.


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## Composer 2021

The new Air should be functionally identical to the Pro with any storage configuration below 1 TB. They have the exact same chip.


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## Kabraxis

fayez said:


> Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?


It's going AWESOME! I'm toying with other Music stuff with it, and apart from there's no fully-featured DAW, it has AUv3 support which means there are plugins galore!



dcoscina said:


> I think the Pros have more RAM.


That's incorrect. Both Air 5 and latest Pro has same amount of RAM and CPU power. There are other differences, like better camera and more pro (?) screen with Pro model. If you're not doing visual stuff like video editing, those doesn't make up the price difference.


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## dcoscina

Kabraxis said:


> It's going AWESOME! I'm toying with other Music stuff with it, and apart from there's no fully-featured DAW, it has AUv3 support which means there are plugins galore!
> 
> 
> That's incorrect. Both Air 5 and latest Pro has same amount of RAM and CPU power. There are other differences, like better camera and more pro (?) screen with Pro model. If you're not doing visual stuff like video editing, those doesn't make up the price difference.


I’m pretty sure the Pro 12” w. 1TB has 16gb of Ram. The lower Pro models have 6 or 8. Apple is not great with sharing their specs on the iPad Pro unfortunately


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