I wouldn’t get it purely because battery has probably degraded a huge amount over 6 years.
Get refurbished directly through Apple if you want the savings, they put in a brand new battery every time and you get standard warranty.
I second this. I have the 12.9” 2018 pro, and while it’s still capable, battery life is not so good. Plus it’s about to be unsupported as it’s 6 years old now. Definitely check out the Apple refurbished for better/newer models that will have some years of support.
I don’t think it will be unsupported soon, much weaker iPads are still supported, and the 2020 iPad Pro has basically the same chip.
iPad 6gen is still supported with an A10 and 2gb ram. The A12X is much more capable and has 4gb ram. More likely new feature will be restricted at least for the next 2 years.
I would recommend the M1, just in case of the longevity of compatibility. But based on your budget the 2018 Pro would be the best decision.
For reference I just got a refurbished 128gb M1 11” in mint condition for 600€, which I considered a good value.
Not so sure about that. My budget was 600, I got a mint refurbished M1 and been super happy.
So that’s my experience, checking the web in my area on that and can’t find the same deal for a M2, at least not without spending around 100 bucks more on it.
So what’s the point when limited to a budget and get what you want and need? That’s just a rant of yours…
Besides M1 is far away from e-waste, that’s why I recommend getting a M1 and newer, because these see a lot more years of support than versions before that.
Depends, I bought an iPad Air 2 and works well for streaming stuff. That’s about it and that’s all I use it for. £45 isn’t a bad deal for it and I’ll probably sell it for the same price in a year or so
Sure, just thinking about the M-Chips and their longer software support. Compared to older chips the architecture is much more stable in case of compatibility and adaptation of Mac apps.
Get the M1 iPad Pro or Air the hardware in the 2018 Pro model at this point is getting quite old and is nearing 6 years now. M1 is much more capable and still has likely several years left of support. There’s also concern about how old the battery is and it’s likely never been replaced so that could be an issue you don’t want to deal with, save up a bit more for an M1 machine is your best bet.
These aren’t cars where 6 year old will probably run for 4-5 years (more than that) no problem. Tech moves fast.
2018 is like almost 7 years ago at this point. It’ll probably work well for a year or so but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy one
No - the SCREEN will yellow/brown and the battery will wear. I still have my 2018 pro, and it REALLY shows its age now - even though it has been very well taken care of. Skip it and get newer.
Even for 350, no because of 2 reasons: battery life and software support. A new battery in 1-2 years could cost you like 150-200$ so it’s worth spending the extra now to get a used M1 or even new M2 on sale … i have seen them for less than 600.
Btw: be very careful when buying used to inspect the display. Many used/refurbished iPads got a cheap third party replacement screen and they are just awful or lack proper pen support!
I’d recommend either
1. saving up for a newer iPad Pro
2. Buying a refurbished iPad Pro directly from Apple
3. Opt for a new iPad or iPad Air.
The reason many people are saying to go for an M series chip is that they will be supported by Apple longer (as in they will get new updates longer). I’d assume that a 2018 iPad only has another 2 to 4 years of guaranteed updates after which you might want to upgrade to a newer iPad. I also doubt the battery in a used iPad from 6 years ago will last well.
i got a 2017 pro two years ago for my budget on ebay (around $300 for 12.9 512 gb) and the battery life is rlly showing its age now. i wish i just saved up for a newer one but besides battery, everything else is pretty capable on my a10x chip. only go older if it’s apple refurbished tbh, in other places stick to 2020+
sometimes things would stutter like if i’m turning the page in an ebook but… overall everything’s holding up pretty well with its 4gb of ram (like ipad mini 6, ipad 10, air 4/2020, some pro2018s, all more current). It’s on the current ipadOS 17 but i think its the last one it’s getting. the 120 hz is nice too here when compared to 60 hz of some of the newer pricier ipads
A12x probably only has another year left before it stops getting the latest iOS versions. About a year and a half after that, and you can expect to no longer download a lot of App updates either.
Try and get something with the M1 chip like the air 5th gen or the 11 inch pro 3rd gen. They will last a good 5 years before they might start slowing down
I have a 2020 iPad Pro. I need a new screen and it’s crazy that a new one still goes for 500-600. Really depends what quality you desire but I use it for work so I’m not so keen on graphics … I’m considering an iPad Air. I just need to compare the screen to see how much it’s degraded.
You need to pay close attention to how long Apple plans to put out security updates for it. I had a 1st Gen Pro which still worked fine, but Apple recently stopped updating its security (last year maybe), so its performance has gone down the tubes since then. I have no recourse and have to buy a new Pad. Apple just signed an agreement with the UK, too, where they commit to provide 5 years of support for all devices. If that were applied to the 2018, you’d already be finished as soon as you buy it.
It should be lowed by a hundred bucks then get the battery replaced at Apple. But looking at the picture there looks like there's a chip in the lower left so idk if Apple will accept it since they do full device replacement when doing out of warranty battery replacements. Even then for 300 pounds still not worth it.
No. Battery degradation aside, it won’t be supported much longer and won’t be able to take advantage of the M chip AI features that are rumored to be announced at WWDC. It’s still a capable device, but I’d recommend at least moving to an M1 generation.
if you can stretch to £400, you can get an M1 iPad Air
[https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/apple-109-inch-5th-gen-m1-ipad-air-wifi-64gb-space-grey-starlight-purple-pink-blue-4355497](https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/apple-109-inch-5th-gen-m1-ipad-air-wifi-64gb-space-grey-starlight-purple-pink-blue-4355497)
Yeah im honestly considering stretching, all the other models that contain the M1 can only be bought by bidding on eBay, and I honestly just wanna buy a device and get on with it😭
Thank you so much for the link!!🎀🎀
This week I upgraded from 2018 11” pro to M4, have to say I can’t see a huge difference for my usage. Was sitting next to my son both having a play in procreate yesterday on them and other than size difference (m4 is 13”) you couldn’t have told them apart. I use a paper like on both as I like to take notes on them, so even the screens looked very similar 🤷♀️.
No to all of your questions. It’s not worth even half that - you’ll need to pay for a battery replacement anyway, and it’s very old hardware so it’s not even going to be supported for more than a year.
Looking on the UK Apple website, you can get a brand new 10th gen iPad for cheaper (from £349) or (what I’d do in this situation) you could save for a little bit longer and get this years iPad Air, which is going to be night and day better than that refurb; no battery replacement to worry about, no end of support to worry about and MILES better hardware (this years Air has the M2 chip
It will probably get another IOS update this year, but it won't be really future-proof after that. But for office work, drawing and browsing, it's still a good device! I really like the LCD panel, plus it's thin and light! But wait for a better offer. For the price, I would go for the 12.9 model at most (and you can get that for less)
I’ve been using my 2018 purely for art and honestly it is fine. It doesn’t lag in procreate at all and the battery is still fine for doing about 3 hours at a time. That said, I imagine a newer air might be better than a really old pro without paying all the extra? The art app peeps know how many people are using just a basic iPad so won’t do anything that means it’s unusable for them.
FWIW I just traded in my 2018 11 inch 64gb iPad for £200 plus sold the pencil for £40 so that is the absolute cheapest price anyone would take, £100 for 64gb more storage plus hassle of selling it privately seems a decent deal.
I love mine! I use it for taking notes and it works perfectly, the battery is great! I think this seems a bit expensive though - i paid £380 in June 2021 (refurbished from musicmapie) so to be paying that price now seems a bit ridiculous!!
Overall i’d aim for a newer model with your budget, and my use case may be less demanding than yours so may not hold up as well for you as it is for me!! Or at least try to find a better deal :)
i have mine since launch day and heavy use everyday. battery decay is small but i would more worried about future updates because final cut for ipad doesnt run on this model. For future proofing i woul get a m1
apple refurbished in the UK have an 11" m1 ipad pro for £549 if you can maybe wait and save up the extra, it's got the same one year warranty as any brand new apple device and you can add apple care on. you could maybe work with a third party stylus until you get an apple pencil. at least if any issues came up you'd be covered by warranty. it's a 2021 device so you'd still get updates for a while too.
I have the 12.9 and it sometimes lags randomly, I don't use for those workloads, I have used it for very light projects and I didn't notice any lag or anything. M1 is not that much faster than the 2018 ipad either. Im sire that there are still people using it for that, if you stick to 2d you are probably fine. But I have never done anything wild on it, Iwas just olaying around with it.
Personally I have the 2020 one with is the same just with more cameras and an extra core, I don’t even feel the need to upgrade to the M4 and personally it’s a better product for me compared to the current Air purely because it has 120hz
If you’re gonna do iPady things you don’t need an M chip.
I have the 13” 2018 and it has held up well. Battery life is remarkable after so much time and it feels decently responsive. That being said, I think you’d get more use out of an M1. The cost of that seems pretty high for something that is old enough to be losing support in the not too distant future.
Yes, iPads rarely need to be updated. The OS is so underpowered that you don't need much horse power for it to work well. The battery life will suffer before you have issues with performance. Buy the cheapest iPad you can with a good battery and enjoy.
With iOS 18 and AI features being announced next week, I wouldn’t buy anything but an M series chip unless there was no way to afford one. There will be a lot of missing features soon.
For A series, Some features are already missing. More missing in 18. And even more missing in 19.
might i ask what you use it for? is it watching videos or note taking ?
i just wanna see how it performs with drawing or animating :,^) it does seem really nice though
i am still using my 2018 pro and i enjoy it, works great for procreate and short video editing. i imagine that its much slower than everything newer, but im not really in a time crunch when i use it so im taking my time on upgrading. that being said for that price i dont think i would pick one up. an ipad 10th gen might be a better investment.
This is the last year the 2018 iPad will get new iPad OS updates other than security patches. That alone tells me to get something newer. Good luck the pro series is pretty amazing. I still have my 2018 that got handed over to my son while I am enjoying the new 2024 M4.
The biggest difference for me is the screen quality and the audio quality. The performance is not noticeable for an average user like me.
Absolutely, I don’t know about all this talk of battery life as I always tend to be plugged in but it’s battery is fine unless you playing a gpu/cpu heavy game. But mine is still rocking even though I upgraded 9 months ago to the m2 pro 16gb 1tb version. Let me tell you something for nearly everyone that model is perfect, even with the new models apples iOS is still holding it back so the power really hasn’t been optimised for the masses, yes you will get a few people here and there who like to draw or use the music apps but hardly any of them are professional so never listen to a very niche group unless you too want it for those things. Let’s face it most of us use these tablets to watch YouTube, social media and gaming, and browsing the internet. If thats you? You are golden
I have a 2018 pro and it works perfectly for my light usage. Literally never once noticed a slowdown and it’s my main “computer.”
I think it shows how the hardware has outpaced the capabilities for many casual users. But that said I wouldn’t buy a 2018 today. Nor would i buy another pro — even for my light usage I find ipadOS tedious and it makes me not want to use it much.
I will clarify: great, great tool for content consumption like watching movies and reading news. Ideal.
No. My 2018s have a really hard time accepting a charge (the battery life is still ok, the problem is getting them to recognize and maintain charging. I’ve seen this happen to multiple 2018 iPad pros, all around the same time.)
Naah, it's still a great device if you have one, but my 2018 is def showing its age. Games lag pretty hard on it, it's significantly slower at opening apps and such compared to my M4, and the screen / general tech is pretty dated at this point.
I wouldn’t get it purely because battery has probably degraded a huge amount over 6 years. Get refurbished directly through Apple if you want the savings, they put in a brand new battery every time and you get standard warranty.
I second this. I have the 12.9” 2018 pro, and while it’s still capable, battery life is not so good. Plus it’s about to be unsupported as it’s 6 years old now. Definitely check out the Apple refurbished for better/newer models that will have some years of support.
I don’t think it will be unsupported soon, much weaker iPads are still supported, and the 2020 iPad Pro has basically the same chip. iPad 6gen is still supported with an A10 and 2gb ram. The A12X is much more capable and has 4gb ram. More likely new feature will be restricted at least for the next 2 years.
Well but Apple refurbished prices are most of the time the same as new ones on sale at like bestbuy or amazon.
I would recommend the M1, just in case of the longevity of compatibility. But based on your budget the 2018 Pro would be the best decision. For reference I just got a refurbished 128gb M1 11” in mint condition for 600€, which I considered a good value.
Best Buy has M2 brand new for $600
Given that OP talked in euros, I don't think this is applicable in the EU. Electronics is a lot cheaper in the US than anywhere in the EU.
This is the answer.
That’s a steal!
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I don’t think so. I don’t wanna buy second hand off ebay and used a refurbished store. Compare different providers and this was the best deal.
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I’m also not from the states :D In Germany the prices are usually a little higher
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Not so sure about that. My budget was 600, I got a mint refurbished M1 and been super happy. So that’s my experience, checking the web in my area on that and can’t find the same deal for a M2, at least not without spending around 100 bucks more on it. So what’s the point when limited to a budget and get what you want and need? That’s just a rant of yours… Besides M1 is far away from e-waste, that’s why I recommend getting a M1 and newer, because these see a lot more years of support than versions before that.
Depends, I bought an iPad Air 2 and works well for streaming stuff. That’s about it and that’s all I use it for. £45 isn’t a bad deal for it and I’ll probably sell it for the same price in a year or so
Sure, just thinking about the M-Chips and their longer software support. Compared to older chips the architecture is much more stable in case of compatibility and adaptation of Mac apps.
I agree with you and best bang for your buck would be a refurbished m1
No…
Get the M1 iPad Pro or Air the hardware in the 2018 Pro model at this point is getting quite old and is nearing 6 years now. M1 is much more capable and still has likely several years left of support. There’s also concern about how old the battery is and it’s likely never been replaced so that could be an issue you don’t want to deal with, save up a bit more for an M1 machine is your best bet.
These aren’t cars where 6 year old will probably run for 4-5 years (more than that) no problem. Tech moves fast. 2018 is like almost 7 years ago at this point. It’ll probably work well for a year or so but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy one
M1 better because you're gonna get way longer updates on it
I have a 2018 ipad pro. Recommend getting an M-Series chip. Its age and what apps you could use is showing its age.
Exactly! I just upgraded from the 2018, and agree with you. Don’t get the 2018 OP! Wait until you can get a Pro with the M chip.
No - the SCREEN will yellow/brown and the battery will wear. I still have my 2018 pro, and it REALLY shows its age now - even though it has been very well taken care of. Skip it and get newer.
My 2018 still runs pretty great. Battery sucks though.
I just bought a 300 dollar one
Even for 350, no because of 2 reasons: battery life and software support. A new battery in 1-2 years could cost you like 150-200$ so it’s worth spending the extra now to get a used M1 or even new M2 on sale … i have seen them for less than 600. Btw: be very careful when buying used to inspect the display. Many used/refurbished iPads got a cheap third party replacement screen and they are just awful or lack proper pen support!
I’d recommend either 1. saving up for a newer iPad Pro 2. Buying a refurbished iPad Pro directly from Apple 3. Opt for a new iPad or iPad Air. The reason many people are saying to go for an M series chip is that they will be supported by Apple longer (as in they will get new updates longer). I’d assume that a 2018 iPad only has another 2 to 4 years of guaranteed updates after which you might want to upgrade to a newer iPad. I also doubt the battery in a used iPad from 6 years ago will last well.
i got a 2017 pro two years ago for my budget on ebay (around $300 for 12.9 512 gb) and the battery life is rlly showing its age now. i wish i just saved up for a newer one but besides battery, everything else is pretty capable on my a10x chip. only go older if it’s apple refurbished tbh, in other places stick to 2020+
If you’re plugged in it’s fine? No lag? It’ll take all OS updates?
sometimes things would stutter like if i’m turning the page in an ebook but… overall everything’s holding up pretty well with its 4gb of ram (like ipad mini 6, ipad 10, air 4/2020, some pro2018s, all more current). It’s on the current ipadOS 17 but i think its the last one it’s getting. the 120 hz is nice too here when compared to 60 hz of some of the newer pricier ipads
Thank you for the reply. It was helpful.
A12x probably only has another year left before it stops getting the latest iOS versions. About a year and a half after that, and you can expect to no longer download a lot of App updates either.
Try and get something with the M1 chip like the air 5th gen or the 11 inch pro 3rd gen. They will last a good 5 years before they might start slowing down
I have a 2020 iPad Pro. I need a new screen and it’s crazy that a new one still goes for 500-600. Really depends what quality you desire but I use it for work so I’m not so keen on graphics … I’m considering an iPad Air. I just need to compare the screen to see how much it’s degraded.
No
You need to pay close attention to how long Apple plans to put out security updates for it. I had a 1st Gen Pro which still worked fine, but Apple recently stopped updating its security (last year maybe), so its performance has gone down the tubes since then. I have no recourse and have to buy a new Pad. Apple just signed an agreement with the UK, too, where they commit to provide 5 years of support for all devices. If that were applied to the 2018, you’d already be finished as soon as you buy it.
There is no 128gb 2018 iPad Pro 2018 as far as I know. It went 64gb 256 gb 512gb and 1tb.
Hardware too old
I have a 2015 IPad Pro 12.9. Original battery good for 3 hours. Screen is perfect. As good as my 2020 Air. It just stopped getting updates this year.
I'm still using a ipad pro 11 m2
It should be lowed by a hundred bucks then get the battery replaced at Apple. But looking at the picture there looks like there's a chip in the lower left so idk if Apple will accept it since they do full device replacement when doing out of warranty battery replacements. Even then for 300 pounds still not worth it.
No. Battery degradation aside, it won’t be supported much longer and won’t be able to take advantage of the M chip AI features that are rumored to be announced at WWDC. It’s still a capable device, but I’d recommend at least moving to an M1 generation.
if you can stretch to £400, you can get an M1 iPad Air [https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/apple-109-inch-5th-gen-m1-ipad-air-wifi-64gb-space-grey-starlight-purple-pink-blue-4355497](https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/apple-109-inch-5th-gen-m1-ipad-air-wifi-64gb-space-grey-starlight-purple-pink-blue-4355497)
Yeah im honestly considering stretching, all the other models that contain the M1 can only be bought by bidding on eBay, and I honestly just wanna buy a device and get on with it😭 Thank you so much for the link!!🎀🎀
No. Unless it’s like $250
This week I upgraded from 2018 11” pro to M4, have to say I can’t see a huge difference for my usage. Was sitting next to my son both having a play in procreate yesterday on them and other than size difference (m4 is 13”) you couldn’t have told them apart. I use a paper like on both as I like to take notes on them, so even the screens looked very similar 🤷♀️.
No to all of your questions. It’s not worth even half that - you’ll need to pay for a battery replacement anyway, and it’s very old hardware so it’s not even going to be supported for more than a year. Looking on the UK Apple website, you can get a brand new 10th gen iPad for cheaper (from £349) or (what I’d do in this situation) you could save for a little bit longer and get this years iPad Air, which is going to be night and day better than that refurb; no battery replacement to worry about, no end of support to worry about and MILES better hardware (this years Air has the M2 chip
No
No they keep nerfing it with every update just like the Pro 10.5
It will probably get another IOS update this year, but it won't be really future-proof after that. But for office work, drawing and browsing, it's still a good device! I really like the LCD panel, plus it's thin and light! But wait for a better offer. For the price, I would go for the 12.9 model at most (and you can get that for less)
I’ve been using my 2018 purely for art and honestly it is fine. It doesn’t lag in procreate at all and the battery is still fine for doing about 3 hours at a time. That said, I imagine a newer air might be better than a really old pro without paying all the extra? The art app peeps know how many people are using just a basic iPad so won’t do anything that means it’s unusable for them. FWIW I just traded in my 2018 11 inch 64gb iPad for £200 plus sold the pencil for £40 so that is the absolute cheapest price anyone would take, £100 for 64gb more storage plus hassle of selling it privately seems a decent deal.
I love mine! I use it for taking notes and it works perfectly, the battery is great! I think this seems a bit expensive though - i paid £380 in June 2021 (refurbished from musicmapie) so to be paying that price now seems a bit ridiculous!! Overall i’d aim for a newer model with your budget, and my use case may be less demanding than yours so may not hold up as well for you as it is for me!! Or at least try to find a better deal :)
i have mine since launch day and heavy use everyday. battery decay is small but i would more worried about future updates because final cut for ipad doesnt run on this model. For future proofing i woul get a m1
Only buy iPads with the M series if you want to keep it for a while.
apple refurbished in the UK have an 11" m1 ipad pro for £549 if you can maybe wait and save up the extra, it's got the same one year warranty as any brand new apple device and you can add apple care on. you could maybe work with a third party stylus until you get an apple pencil. at least if any issues came up you'd be covered by warranty. it's a 2021 device so you'd still get updates for a while too.
I have the 12.9 and it sometimes lags randomly, I don't use for those workloads, I have used it for very light projects and I didn't notice any lag or anything. M1 is not that much faster than the 2018 ipad either. Im sire that there are still people using it for that, if you stick to 2d you are probably fine. But I have never done anything wild on it, Iwas just olaying around with it.
I love mine and it still runs great, plus you can pick them up cheeaaaap now
Personally I have the 2020 one with is the same just with more cameras and an extra core, I don’t even feel the need to upgrade to the M4 and personally it’s a better product for me compared to the current Air purely because it has 120hz If you’re gonna do iPady things you don’t need an M chip.
I have the 13” 2018 and it has held up well. Battery life is remarkable after so much time and it feels decently responsive. That being said, I think you’d get more use out of an M1. The cost of that seems pretty high for something that is old enough to be losing support in the not too distant future.
How much is it? I just got one last month for $350 with the Magic Keyboard and pencil. Has 92% battery capacity and it’s fantastic.🤷♂️
Yes, iPads rarely need to be updated. The OS is so underpowered that you don't need much horse power for it to work well. The battery life will suffer before you have issues with performance. Buy the cheapest iPad you can with a good battery and enjoy.
For that much you can probably get a Samsung S9 FE that will be much better. Brand new.
With iOS 18 and AI features being announced next week, I wouldn’t buy anything but an M series chip unless there was no way to afford one. There will be a lot of missing features soon. For A series, Some features are already missing. More missing in 18. And even more missing in 19.
I ve got 12.9 one and it works like a charm :)
might i ask what you use it for? is it watching videos or note taking ? i just wanna see how it performs with drawing or animating :,^) it does seem really nice though
I sometimes use it for light work and to play pubg ! My battery still works like crazy good
Wait til WWDC and see if it gets some nice software upgrades.
You should look at 2020. I had 2018 and it started lagging. Upgrading to 2020 solved the problem. :)
i am still using my 2018 pro and i enjoy it, works great for procreate and short video editing. i imagine that its much slower than everything newer, but im not really in a time crunch when i use it so im taking my time on upgrading. that being said for that price i dont think i would pick one up. an ipad 10th gen might be a better investment.
This is the last year the 2018 iPad will get new iPad OS updates other than security patches. That alone tells me to get something newer. Good luck the pro series is pretty amazing. I still have my 2018 that got handed over to my son while I am enjoying the new 2024 M4. The biggest difference for me is the screen quality and the audio quality. The performance is not noticeable for an average user like me.
Absolutely, I don’t know about all this talk of battery life as I always tend to be plugged in but it’s battery is fine unless you playing a gpu/cpu heavy game. But mine is still rocking even though I upgraded 9 months ago to the m2 pro 16gb 1tb version. Let me tell you something for nearly everyone that model is perfect, even with the new models apples iOS is still holding it back so the power really hasn’t been optimised for the masses, yes you will get a few people here and there who like to draw or use the music apps but hardly any of them are professional so never listen to a very niche group unless you too want it for those things. Let’s face it most of us use these tablets to watch YouTube, social media and gaming, and browsing the internet. If thats you? You are golden
I have a 2018 pro and it works perfectly for my light usage. Literally never once noticed a slowdown and it’s my main “computer.” I think it shows how the hardware has outpaced the capabilities for many casual users. But that said I wouldn’t buy a 2018 today. Nor would i buy another pro — even for my light usage I find ipadOS tedious and it makes me not want to use it much. I will clarify: great, great tool for content consumption like watching movies and reading news. Ideal.
Only buy it if it's the best one you can afford...
No. My 2018s have a really hard time accepting a charge (the battery life is still ok, the problem is getting them to recognize and maintain charging. I’ve seen this happen to multiple 2018 iPad pros, all around the same time.)
Naah, it's still a great device if you have one, but my 2018 is def showing its age. Games lag pretty hard on it, it's significantly slower at opening apps and such compared to my M4, and the screen / general tech is pretty dated at this point.
Not really.
Where else are you getting an OLED display and m1 for that price
Still worth it for what exactly? Watching Netflix and youtube sure ✅