I have an iPad Air I have been using for a couple of years. I backup the iPad to my iMac every once in a while. I plan to buy a new iPad Pro, 10.5″ in a few weeks. I want to have the iPad Pro start off with the same apps and data I’ve been using such as Good Reader.
Can I use the iPad Air backup as the initial setup for the iPad Pro? That is, when I do the I trial set up, just choose the backup from iTunes and let it process the apps and data.
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Mike W
Yes, that's the process. When you get your new iPad, done one last backup of your old iPad to your Mac. Then start up the new iPad. During the initial process, it should ask if you want to restore from a backup of an old iPad. Then you can connect it to your Mac and choose the backup. It is like a brain transplant -- the new iPad gets all the apps, data and settings of the old one. It may still take a while to download and install the apps, sync cloud services, etc.
Apple's page about that is here.
Thanks Gary. I assume once the new iPad Air is set up, I can simply back up each device individually and separately. With the iPad Pro, I expect to have some new apps and data accumulation which I will not have with the older iPad Air.
Mike: Yes, you can continue to use both devices. Check the options in Settings under App Store as you can set each iPad to automatically download new apps you get on the other.