Transferring everything to a new iPad, will the Quick Start method not only result in data and files transferred but all apps, text history, contacts and everything else. In other words will the new iPad be a mirror of the old one?

Yes. For the most part it will be a mirror of the old one. Apps will be set to download from the App Store, not transferred directly however.

Yes. The app layout on your home screens and any created folders will be recreated during the transfer exactly as they were in the old iPhone.

Both methods will end with the same result. It comes down to what you feel is more convenient to you.

I have done it both ways, and prefer direct migration however. It's very much personal preference.

They should have been transferred if they were stored locally on the device within the Pages App.

If they were saved to iCloud, then logging in to the same account should make them available in the Files app under iCloud Drive.

Link-> Use the Files app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

When the Apps download after the Quick Start transfer, will the user created iOS App groupings (ie, nested Apps clusters that show as one grouping and then expand when touched on the home screen and subsequent pages of home screens) be preserved? For example, all of my map and navigation Apps are in one nested group. My iPhone XS is running iOS 15.2.1.

If you had a recommendation, would you use Quick Start to migrate OR restore from an encrypted backup in iTunes 12.9.5.5 running on MacOS 10.14.6? I appreciate my MacOS is way out of date.

Thank you!

There were indeed saved on my old iPad, I do not use Cloud storage. This is my old iPad (there are 48 total files):

This is my new iPad. Note the BW2 2 file…the -2 shows that when I manually airdropped the file to my new iPad (twice), an older one with the original file name was there somewhere. But where???

Ok, I see what you are saying. Yes, you are right. When I open the Files app on my old iPad, this is what I see…everything my new iPad has, plus a Numbers and a Pages folder. I can select them, but not share them.

What about Numbers and Pages files? I used the Quick start method, but cannot find any of my spreadsheets…

Has the Numbers App finished installing? and have you opened it at least once?

The Numbers folder does not appear to be available on your new iPad.

Yes and yes. I have opened the app several times, and the above is all I see. Is there supposed to be something else?

Here is what the Files app gives me with my new iPad:

I shut my iPad down completely, and waited an hour…came back to it and the Pages and Numbers files are there! Thanks for the hint….it helped me know what to look for.