When Apple released the updated iPad Air in 2020, which looks almost identical to the
iPad Pro, it made it much more difficult to answer the question, should you go with an
iPad Air or iPad Pro, and when is it worth it to go for the Pro?
I've been using both the iPad Air and the iPad Pro for several months now and I'm going
to walk you through my decision process that I use when choosing one over the other.
And this doesn't just apply to this year's iPads but it will also apply to future iPad
generations down the road as well.
One question that I think can help you decide between these two iPads is this: is the iPad
that you're planning to buy going to be your main mobile computing device?
Meaning, is this going to be the device that you can carry around with you?
It's got a keyboard, and you can do word processing on it.
Now, I've been using an iPad for a few years now as my main mobile computing device, ever
since I upgraded from a MacBook Pro to an iMac and I typically have gravitated towards
the smaller sized iPad.
But ever since I got the 12.9 inch iPad Pro earlier, this year, that has actually been
the device that I have gravitated towards as my main mobile computing device, simply
because it's size is much more similar to a 13 inch MacBook Pro.
The iPad Air currently only comes in 10.9 inch display size, while the iPad Pro comes
in two sizes: 11 and 12.9”.
I’d definitely considering looking an the larger sized iPad especially if you plan to
do a lot writing on it with a magic keyboard, the typing experience for me has been better
on the iPad Pro because the keys are just slightly more spaced out and exactly what
you’d be used to if you do a lot of typing on a 13” or 16” laptop.
Now, another obvious benefit of a larger screen size is more screen real estate, doing split
on the larger iPad Pro gives you more room to see details in video content or in a game,
or read content, like for example, when I’m writing video scripts for the channel and
want to have my Google doc on one side of the screen and tech specs for the product
I’m reviewing on the other side.
So if you think that you'd benefit from the extra screen real estate, take a look at the
iPad Pro.
Now, on the flip side, another question that might sway you over to the iPad Air is how
often you think you're going to be carrying your iPad around?
I can tell you the smaller iPad size is easier to carry around and throw in bag than larger
version not only because of the size but also the weight difference.
My iPad Pro with a magic keyboard weights just over 3 pounds or 1.36 kilograms which
is around the same weight as a 13” M1 MacBook Pro, while the iPad Air with a Magic Keyboard
weighs 2.3 pounds or 1.04 kilograms.
Now if you’re not using a magic keyboard with your iPad, then there’s less of a difference
in the weight with the larger iPad Pro weighing 641g and the iPad Air at 458g.
So, that's the screen difference.
Now, the next thing I'd look at between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro is accessory compatibility.
And as of 2021, there is not that much difference between these two devices in this category,
Both support the the two main Apple iPad accessories which are the magic keyboard and Second generation
Apple Pencil.
So, the next thing I look at after the screen size and accessory compatibility is power,
specifically processing power.
Does the iPad Air’s processor currently meet your needs?
Or is there a significant difference between the iPad Air’s processor and what the iPad
Pro’s processor is capable of?
Now, in 2021 Apple put an M1 chip, which they previously only reserved for the Mac line
products, into the iPad Pros, and just seeing that may sway you over to a Pro.
But again, the question is what are you going to use an iPad for?
If you mainly use it to write, take notes with an Apple Pencil, check email, FaceTime
friends etc, the iPad Pro’s better processor, at least in my experience, doesn’t make
a difference compared to the iPad Air’s performance.
However, if there's a specific app that you think is going to run better on the iPad Pro,
that is definitely something to consider as well.
And in my experience, it's worth doing a quick Google search for these specific apps that
you're trying to run on your next iPad and just seeing how they perform on an iPad Air
versus an iPad Pro. because sometimes you might be surprised that even with some games
or graphics intensive apps, there might be a huge difference or that might not be.
The next question I'd ask myself is how much storage am I going to need?
Now, typically, the iPad Air has lower starting storage than the iPad Pro.
For example, this year the iPad Pro can top out at 2 TB of internal storage while the
iPad Air tops out at 256 GB.
Now, if you ask me, how much storage should you actually get on an iPad, that really depends
on how you answer this question: What exactly are you going to use your iPad for?
If you’re just using an iPad to stream movies, check email and social media, write, surf
the web etc,
You can easily in my experience get away with getting a 64 gig version of an iPad.
Now while admittedly for any device, now that it is now 2021 and moving forward, that is
a low amount of storage.
However, I got an iPad Air last year with 64 gigs of storage, had it for almost a year
now, and the thing still has 39 GB of storage on it, and that's for my use case, though.
I mainly use my iPad air to write in Google Docs, which barely takes up any on device
storage at all.
However, if you use a lot of storage for intensive gaming apps, store a lot of photos or videos
on your iPad or want a lot of room to download movies and tv shows for offline viewing through
streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+
Then you'd likely want to go to 128 gigs in that case.
Now, another question that I'll help you determine how much storage to get on your iPad is this:
how long are you planning on keeping this iPad for?
If you're planning on keeping it for four to five years and it's going to be your main
personal computing device, for that type of scenario.
I would recommend getting 256 to 500 GB of on-device storage, which is where a lot of
comparable laptops start and that should give you enough room to continually add files to
your iPad over time without having to worry about running out of storage.
Now the last two things that I can think of that'll help sway you to either the iPad Air
or the iPad Pro are this Display technology and then any other specific new hardware feature.
The iPad Pro historically has had better display technology, utilizing a 120 hz refresh rate
screen that makes everything on the display feel wicked fast.
This year’s larger 12.9” iPad Pro also features Apple’s new Mini-LED display that
in general looks great and improves the contrast ratio so blacks look true black and can get
very bright, great for HDR content.
So in general, if you want the best display technology possible for an iPad, typically,
you're going to go with an iPad Pro and Apple also typically reserves their most cutting
edge “pro” hardware for the iPad Pro models as well.
like Lidar sensors, better cameras and of course this year’s M1 chip, so if you want
any of those features, you’ll need go for the Pro.
So now, let's bring it back to one of the questions I asked at the very top of this
video and that is...so, when is it worth it to go for the iPad Pro?
I think you should for an iPad Pro if you want a larger screen, better screen technology,
need a large amount of storage, or you need a faster processor.
Otherwise, you’re better off going with an iPad Air.
This year the iPad Air starts at $599 and the iPad Pro starts at $799 and I’ve left
purchase links on the side of the video and in the description below.
I hope going through my thought, process on how to choose between the iPad Air and iPad
Pro was helpful for you.
If you have any questions at all or you want to share your experience with one or both
of these devices, leave a comment below, hit that thumbs up button if you liked and found
this video useful, and subscribe to the channel to see more comparison videos like this one
as well as other videos on Apple products.
For 6 Months Later, I'm Josh Teder, thanks for watching.