You guys may have noticed that most of our iPad videos have been done by Vadim. It's
not that I don’t like iPads, I just like my MacBooks better, but after this new release
and the latest software updates I decided to finally give up the new MacBook Air that
I’ve been using and give the new iPad Pro a go.
In this video I’m going to share all the real world differences that I noticed and
if I’ll be switching to the iPad Pro for my basic daily use.
Let’s start off with something I’ve been pleading for in a Mac for a few years now,
Face ID! Obviously this isn’t a Mac but attached to a keyboard it feels like it. Logging
in is super quick and what’s even better is auto authentication, I love it. Sure you
still have to swipe but maybe with the new keyboard It will be automatic.
The touchscreen is actually useful sometimes. At first it was weird but I had to use it
since I didn’t have a trackpad. Surprisingly there were a few things that were much more
comfortable to use a touchscreen for. One is moving my pointer when writing a script.
It’s so much quicker just touching the right spot.
I also used it for scrolling and for gestures. Now I know you windows guys have been using
touchscreens for years now, but this was the first time I really got into it and it works
better than I expected especially with a 120hz screen.
The first day I kept accidentally trying to use the trackpad but obviously its not there,
but as you know that’s going to change soon.
I used the Brydge Pro Keyboard, and even though its the best option right now I have to be
honest, it doesn’t really compare to the new magic keyboard in the MacBook Air that
I replaced. One thing that REALLY bugged me was deleting when I’m writing since it just
goes at one consistent speed. Along with that it takes longer to select a portion of text
compared to using a trackpad.
Even though the keys feel decent they are just a bit too small and for long typing sessions
my fingers feel too cramped and get tired.
The display also felt a bit cramped, now I have the 11” iPad which is perfect for tablet
use but if you’re trying to replace a MacBook I think the 12.9 might be a better choice.
Thankfully the iPad displays have a more square ratio and just like the keyboard, for most
tasks I got used to it.
Now even though its smaller that doesn’t mean that its worse, in fact in many ways
its better. Its more compact and lighter, so its nicer to lug around and I ended up
The iPad’s screen can display more colors which is better if you want to edit images
or video but that didn’t matter much to me. What did matter was the display brightness.
My MacBook Air maxes out at 350 nits which isn’t bad but its a struggle using it outdoors.
The iPad on the other hand reaches 600 nits, almost twice as bright and its definitely
noticeable and very handy at times. Heck even the best MacBooks can only do 500.
Another difference I noticed is playing back videos.
I noticed the quad speakers sound more immersive when watching movies but they are quieter
so that was a downside especially if my kids are running around. Another downside is that
even though the display has almost twice as many pixels as a 1080P screen, you can’t
select the 4K option in Youtube which I do all the time on the air for better quality.
Now 1080P looks fine on an 11” screen and saves battery but If you get the 12.9” it
would be an even bigger bummer. While I’m at it I noticed the iPad didn’t last as
long as the MacBook Air getting about 2 hours less real world use but that could be because
I pushed the display brighter.
If you’re someone that does web conferencing or FaceTiming, which is something I’ve done
a lot during the lockdown, I noticed the video quality from the iPads 7 megapixel front camera
absolutely destroys the 720P camera that comes in MacBooks which equates to 1.2 megapixels.
One issue did come up though. If you’re using your iPad as a laptop the camera is
on the left side, so if you’re looking at the person on your screen it actually looks
like you’re ignoring them and looking away.
Of course with the iPad you have the flexibility to pull off the keyboard and rotate it to
fix this but if you need to use a keyboard at the same time most iPad keyboards don’t
support this orientation. I also want to mention the rear cameras. MacBooks obviously don’t
have them and even though I didn’t use it to take photos and 4K video which you can
do, I did use it to scan a document which was very convenient.
You also get Lidar for augmented reality which might be very useful for some, but that’s
something that I didn’t use. One thing the iPad is missing is a headphone jack but to
be honest I use AirPods for almost everything so that didn’t matter to me.
Performance was excellent and I didn’t feel held back at all. I know the 2020 Pro isn’t
much more powerful than the 2018, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t still smoke
my brand new MacBook Air that uses an quad core 10th gen intel i5.
There’s not many ways to quantify the performance difference but I used browser bench to test
safari and the Ipad scored 150 while the MacBook scored a still high 112. The iPad does have
an advantage with that 120hz screen for super smooth scrolling and the fact that you never
hear a fan spinning up. The other thing that you don’t ever get is heat on your lap which
is noticeable after using the MacBook for a while.
Comparing a few more metrics, in Geekbench 5 the iPad Scores a massive 4688 compared
to my best ever score with the Air of 3934, and that score I got when I liquid cooled
the MacBook Air. Out of the box it got 3231 while running quite hot. You'd also get an
i7 in the Air but the performance is barely any better because the cooling system is inadequate.
The other performance difference is Wi-Fi. The new Pro supports WiFi 6 and in the toughest
part of my house the iPad still achieved 192 mbps out of my total 250, where the MacBook
Air managed 96 since it only supports WiFi 5.
On the graphics side the story is similar, my Air’s new G7 graphics score high but
the iPads is even better at Almost 10,000. Now most people who buy a MacBook Air aren’t
going to be needing great graphics, but graphics are being used more and more for normal tasks.
For example, acceleration for Photo editing.
I did some photo editing using Lightroom and while the Air does a decent job the iPad is
actually smoother. In general some tasks just feel faster on the iPad which is likely due
to apps being so well optimized since they are designed from the ground up to use metal.
That’s something I have to touch on.. Apps. That’s what’s been tying me to MacOS but
in just the last year Apple gave us a usable file system with external drive support and
many companies have really stepped up with powerful apps like Photoshop, LumaFusion and
affinity.
In fact, it seems like many companies are putting more focus on iPad and mobile. Not
only do we have lots of productivity app options but they are less expensive while being really
good. For example Pixelmator Photo which can be bought for $5.
In some cases they actually provide a better experience than on the MacBook. For example
Googles Apps are quicker on the iPad.
Along with this you are MUCH MUCH better off with an iPad if you like to play games. The
last few years we’ve gotten some amazing iPad Games with good graphics and even 120hz
support. Now sure MacOS has certain programs like final Cut that you can’t get on an
iPad, at least for now, but I think the overall app selection is definitely in favor of the
iPad, and that’s not even counting the pen support.
I’m not one who really uses the Apple Pencil, but if you are someone that wants to write
or draw, or design, the iPad is amazing at that and the MacBook can’t compte.
Overall I was very impressed with how well the iPad Pro does when being used as a macbook
replacement…. no its not perfect… but it does all the basic tasks that you would
buy a MacBook Air for quite well, and in some cases better. Along with that it has so much
more capabilities that the MacBook does have.
After using it as a Mac replacement, I now have even less doubt that if you’re going
to be buying one device the iPad is a no brainer. Now I’m obviously not in that camp and already
own a ton of devices, so will I replace my MacBook with an iPad, no, at least not yet.
There’s still something great about a standard well balanced clamshell notebook, especially
one like the MacBook Air with a great keyboard and trackpad. What I do most on my Air is
web browsing, researching and scripting, and the MacBook Air simply does a better job at
that.
With that said, this may change once we get Apple's new overpriced magic keyboard. iPads
software is finally capable enough but the hardware is still lacking which is why I’m
really really intrigued by it. There’s gunna be many keyboards with trackpads like the
new brydge but I’m guessing Apples will be the best and that will solve many of the
issues I had this time around.
I think that floating design is going to be amazing, allowing the 11” size to be more
usable and it will also help in cramped spaces. That extra usb-c port will be nice to charge
or use a headphone adapter while leaving another one available.
The biggest thing for me is the keyboard. If its actually the same one as in the new
MacBook Air that will finally solve the keyboard issue and make the iPad a MacBook Killer,
but for now, I’m personally sticking to my MacBook.
If you’ve switched let me know your experience down in the comments section and if you want
to get a great deal on an iPad or MacBook check out the links in the video description.
Click above to subscribe and check out one of those great videos right over there.
This has been Max and I’ll see you in the next video.