Apple iPad Pro Apple iPad Pro 12.9 64GB WiFi (2017) MQDC2LL/A Review

The 2017 iPad Pro 12.9 is a niche bargain. Its stunning 120Hz display and Pencil support make it a killer budget art tablet, but the 7-year-old chip and 4GB of RAM show their age. At under $300 renewed, it's a fantastic second device for Apple users, but don't expect it to be your daily driver. Only recommended for very specific, light-use cases.

Let's talk about a weird spot in the tablet world: the 2017 iPad Pro 12.9-inch. It's seven years old, but you can snag a renewed one for under $300. That's a massive 12.9-inch ProMotion display with 120Hz refresh for less than most budget Android tablets. Who is this for? Honestly, it's a perfect second screen for someone already in the Apple ecosystem, or a killer digital sketchpad for a hobbyist artist on a tight budget. The A10X chip was a monster in its day, and for basic tasks, it still holds up.

The thing that makes this interesting isn't the raw speed anymore. It's that combination of a still-great screen and Apple Pencil (1st gen) support at a price that feels almost accidental. Our database shows it scores an 86.6 for art and design, which is shockingly high for a device this old. That tells you the core experience—drawing on that big, smooth display—is still fundamentally good.

Just know what you're getting into. This is a renewed, pre-owned product. The specs are a bit of a time capsule: 4GB of RAM, WiFi 5, and a USB-C port that's mainly for charging. It runs iPadOS, but newer versions are starting to leave the A10X behind. Think of it as a specialized tool, not a do-everything tablet.

The benchmarks tell a clear story. The A10X Fusion chip lands in the 72nd percentile for both CPU and GPU performance in our tablet database. That means it's faster than most cheap Android tablets you'd find today, but it's definitely showing its age compared to modern Apple Silicon. For everyday stuff like web browsing, streaming video, and note-taking, it's plenty fast. You'll feel the lag if you try to run intensive creative apps with lots of layers or play anything more demanding than casual games.

The 4GB of RAM is actually in the 98th percentile. That sounds impressive, but it's mostly because so many budget tablets skimp on memory. In practice, 4GB is the bare minimum for iPadOS now. You'll hit app reloads if you multitask heavily. The real performance star is still that 120Hz ProMotion display. Scrolling and Pencil input feel incredibly fluid, and that's a feature you won't find on any new tablet near this price.

At around $290 for a renewed model, the value proposition is incredibly sharp, but with major caveats. You're paying about 10% of the original price for about 70% of the original experience. The screen alone would cost more to manufacture than this entire tablet sells for now.

The catch is that you're buying into a platform at the end of its life. Compare it to a new $300 tablet, and it destroys them in screen quality and stylus precision. Compare it to a modern iPad, and you're trading all future-proofing for upfront savings. It's a fantastic value if your needs are specific and modest.

Stacked against its modern cousin, the 13-inch iPad Pro with M4, it's not even a contest on power. The M4 is in another universe. But on price? The 2017 model costs less than the Apple Pencil you'd buy for the new one. That's the trade-off: ultimate performance and longevity vs. a capable tool for a fraction of the cost.

Compared to a Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ or a Lenovo Idea Tab Pro, the story changes. Those Android tablets offer more modern specs, better multitasking, and often more storage for a similar price. But neither can match the fluidity of the 120Hz ProMotion display for drawing, or the polish of iPadOS for creative apps. If your primary use is art, the old iPad Pro still wins. For everything else, the modern Android options are probably smarter buys.

Anyone who needs this as their primary computer should look elsewhere. The 4GB of RAM and aging processor will frustrate you if you're constantly switching between apps, working with large files, or trying to do real video editing. Business users scored it a low 61.6 in our database for a reason.

Also, skip this if you're deep into the modern Apple ecosystem and rely on Continuity, Universal Control, or Stage Manager. Those features either don't exist or run poorly on this older hardware. Gamers should also steer clear; the GPU is fine for casual titles but struggles with anything demanding. For those users, a newer base model iPad or a mid-range Android tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE would be a much better fit.

Buy this 2017 iPad Pro if you're a hobbyist artist, a student who needs a big screen for note-taking with the Pencil, or someone who just wants a gorgeous secondary display for their desk and doesn't care about cutting-edge speed. For under $300, it delivers an experience you simply cannot get new at this price point.

Do not buy this if you need a primary computing device, plan on using intensive apps like Photoshop or video editors, or want a tablet that will still be getting major updates in two years. Also, skip it if 64GB of storage sounds laughable to you—because it is. For those users, save up for a newer base model iPad or look at the Android competition.