Ipad Air Vs Pro Review

A few months later, the company introduced the sixth-generation iPad Pro, which stands as the most powerful and responsive tablet in Apple’s current lineup. On top of that, the iPad Pro includes Apple’s ProMotion high-refresh-rate display for a silky smooth experience when navigating and working on the tablet.

Best iPad for students in 2023: Leisure and learning in one tablet

You’ll likely have tonnes of questions that need answering before you make your purchase, but luckily, we’ve done all the research for you and picked the best iPads to suit your college needs. You’ll still be able to connect it to keyboard covers with the smart connector at the bottom, and the camera on the front is a new landscape model. For $150 less than the iPad Air, the only thing you’re really going to miss out on is the M1 chip and perhaps second-generation Apple pencil support.

It’ll make pretty much everything you do with it look great, and is fantastic for reading digital texts for school, taking notes during class, and, in the post-lockdown era, watching prerecorded lectures. There’s a new Magic keyboard accessory, and you can hook up an Apple Pencil first-generation to take those handwritten notes. Helpfully, the front camera has been shifted to the side of the device to make those weekly facetime calls in landscape mode a lot easier.

It brought a new design to the line, with its bezel-less, edge-to-edge display and the M1 chip to a lower price point. It also features P3 and True Tone, so everything will look vibrant and colorful, while the oleophobic coating negates finger smudges.

The main differences between the Air and the new Pro are the lack of ProMotion on the display, no Face ID, and a less impressive rear camera setup. It may not have the newest hardware inside, but the A13 Bionic chip keeps things buzzing away nicely under the hood, and the two 64GB or 256GB storage options should be plenty for most. This also means no Touch ID on the front – but worry not, for Apple has simply shifted it to the top edge on the power/lock button. It’s one thing to look at Apple’s claims of “40% faster than the last model” with “80% more graphics performance”, but it’s also important to think about what this means for students and their workloads.

Whatever happens, the iPad Mini is going to smash through pretty much all but the heaviest workloads, dealing with paper writing, video watching, and even some light photo editing. Those photos you’ll be editing could well be from the little 12MP rear camera, which is more than capable of taking some fantastic shots. The front camera is also 12MP and has a larger field of view for Center Stage, making those class meetings a little more visually appealing for everyone you’re talking to. There’s also support for Apple Pencil 2, so art students rejoice, and there are some really solid landscape speakers for when you fancy listening to some tunes or watching a spot of Severance.

For doing normal, everyday college or school work, this is a lot, but it’s also going to last a long time, so you might not have to upgrade quite as much – spending more now may save you some money in the future. The rear cameras remain the same as from the previous model, with wide and ultrawide options, so you can take photos of all your documents, presentations, and other school work. The camera on the front of the device features Center Stage, so you’ll always be in the picture when you’re chatting with coursemates or watching online lectures and remotely joining study groups. Stage manager only works on M-chip-equipped iPads, and organizes your apps and windows as tiny screenshots along the left side of the screen, becoming more like a Mac or laptop than ever.

6. iPad Pro 12.9-inch Average Amazon review: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Specifications Display: 12.9-inch Liquid Retina, 1668 x 2388 Processor: Apple M2 Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB RAM: 8GB, 16GB Rear Camera: 12MP Wide, 10MP Ultrawide, 3D LiDAR scanner Front Camera: 12MP Ultrawide Dimensions: 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4mm Weight: 682g (WiFi), 685g (WiFi + Cellular) Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon View at Amazon Reasons to buy + It’s big! It’s big, with the largest screen of the whole range, powerful, with the laptop grade M2 chip, and portable with a very slim chassis. Our team of Apple experts have years of experience testing all kinds of tech and gadgets, so you can be sure our recommendations and criticisms are accurate and helpful.

Apple iPad vs iPad Air: What’s the difference?

Though the price has fluctuated and grown in line with inflation, the 10th-gen iPad will generally set you back around £499/$449. Though it got a little flatter and bigger in recent years, it’s still quite reminiscent of the original iPad with thick bezels and a now-ageing Home button. It’s also more limited in terms of accessory support, lacking the smart connectors present on most other recent models of iPad.

It ditches the Home button completely to expand screen space with much smaller bezels than the entry-level tablet, sports smart connector support for advanced accessory use and, as the name suggests, it’s pretty damn lightweight too. That said, the processing power of the iPad Air is usually equal to – or greater than – what’s available on the equivalent flagship iPhone of the time. That means that the iPad Air 4 shared the same A14 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 12, both of which appeared in September 2020.

That’s a significantly more powerful chip compared to the A14 Bionic inside the vanilla iPad, with our benchmarks (see above) proving so. Rather than supporting the older first-gen Apple Pencil and basic folio keyboard, recent models of iPad Air boast support for the same pro-level second-gen Apple Pencil and premium Magic Keyboard, making them a tempting option for those that want a tablet for both work and play without forking out for an iPad Pro.

But you’ll likely only notice that performance difference if you engage in heavy duty tasks such as video editing – the iPad 10 is perfectly fast enough for day-to-day jobs.

Elsewhere the iPad Air boasts an advantage with the addition of a fully laminated display, support for the 2nd Generation Apple Pencil, and a marginally slender design. If you think those features are worth paying the extra cash for, then the iPad Air is your go-to tablet.

iPad Pro (2022) vs. iPad Air (2022): Which Apple tablet is right for you?

iPad Air (2022) vs iPad Pro (2022): How to choose

So good, in fact, it gave me a hint of buyer’s remorse for paying $2,000 for my 2021 iPad Pro. iPad Pro VS. iPad Air Specifications iPad Pro iPad Air Processor Apple M2 Apple M1 Display 11-inch/12.9-inch 10.9-inch Memory Up to 16GB 8GB Storage Up to 2TB Up to 256GB Front Camera True Depth 12MP Ultra Wide 12MP Ultra Wide Rear Cameras 12MP Wide, 10MP Ultra Wide 12MP Wide Battery 10 hours 10 hours Biometrics Face ID Touch ID Connectivity Thunderbolt 4, 5G, Wi-Fi USB-C, 5G, Wi-Fi Colors Space gray, silver Space gray, starlight, pink, purple, blue Starting price $799/$1,099 $599 I think most users will find that 64GB just isn’t enough space to store apps, games, videos and photos in 2022 when all of those things are only growing in size. Additionally, with the introduction of Stage Manager and a multi-window multitasking experience in iPadOS 16, memory is even more important.

Add in the fact that both iPad models will also feature improved — and true — external monitor support once iPadOS 16.2 launches (likely in December), allowing you to use up to eight apps at the same time, and the importance of more memory gets even clearer. You can pick between an iPad Pro with 8GB or 16GB of memory, but that decision is also based on the amount of storage you buy.

There were other under-the-hood performance improvements that Apple made to memory usage in the update that may have positively impacted the experience. Additionally, Apple has been very purposeful about which iPads are getting Stage Manager features, and which aren’t.

The iPad Pro line has a faster refresh rate of up to 120Hz (called ProMotion), a higher max brightness level, and the larger iPad Pro uses mini-LED technology for a better picture, which Apple calls a Liquid Retina XDR display.

The smaller iPad Pro has an 11-inch Liquid Retina Display that’s resolution is 2388×1668, with True Tone, ProMotion, and a max brightness of 600 nits. The iPad Air’s Liquid Retina display measures 10.9-inches and is an LED panel. For the iPad Air, Apple added USB 3.1 Gen 2 to the USB-C port.

That means you’ll see speeds of up to 10Gbps when transferring files, or you can connect the iPad Air to an external monitor with support for resolution of up to 6K. The iPad Pro offering has a USB-C port, as well, but with support for Thunderbolt and USB 4.

That means you get up to 40Gbps during file transfers (thanks to USB 4), and support for the same 6K resolution when connected to an external monitor. If you do a lot of file transfers between your iPad Pro and external storage or a camera, then you’ll benefit from the newer USB connection technology.

Review: Apple iPad Pro (2021): Impressively powerful, but the hardware is only part of the story So, then you’re left asking yourself whether you want an iPad with a better display and a faster USB-C connection, with more base storage.

But for the majority of people, the display and USB-C differences are something that won’t make or break the experience, and thus, the iPad Air is the best pick.

iPad Air M1 vs iPad Pro M1: Which one should you buy?

Credit: Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith The iPad Pro display’s clearest advantage is its higher 120 Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling web pages, playing fast-paced games, and watching videos all look significantly better. In addition to slightly slimmer bezels, the 11-inch Pro’s display is also brighter than the Air’s with a max brightness of 600 nits.

The Pro also has a higher refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which makes scrolling look smoother, and can reduce lag when doing illustrations with the Apple Pencil. Credit: Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith With a good accessory or two, you can take better advantage of the Air and Pro’s snappy M1 chip.

While the M1 chip is a welcome upgrade to both tablets, these limitations make it hard to take full advantage of all that extra power. Luckily, picking between the Air and Pro won’t mean choosing from a different pool of accessories, since both iPads share roughly the same design and work with all the same gear.

For instance, both can snap onto Logitech’s Combo Touch keyboard case when you need to type out an essay or two, and both have magnetic panels on their sides to hold the Apple Pencil when not in use. The entry-level iPad Air only has 64GB of storage, which won’t be enough if you plan on making this your workstation, want to install games, or if you like storing your photos on a local drive instead of the cloud.

That’s less than what you’d get for the same price increase on the Air, but you’ll get FaceID instead of TouchID, two additional speakers, plus a higher refresh rate, and 128GB of storage should be plenty for most people. Credit: Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith Despite the slightly larger display on the iPad Pro, both work with the same pool of accessories. For that extra $150, you’ll get double the storage with 128GB, a four-speaker stereo array instead of the Air’s 2, a higher refresh rate for games and movies, and better security measures.

iPad Air 2022 vs. iPad Pro 2021: Which M1 Tablet Is Best?

Introduced at the company’s “Peek Performance” event last week, the new, nearly 11-inch tablet is outfitted with 5G support, an M1 processor and a Center Stage front-facing camera. Apple upcharges $200 for the entry-level iPad Pro over the iPad Air, but adds more storage, better cameras, a slightly better display, Face ID (instead of Touch ID), lidar depth sensing, faster USB/Thunderbolt 4 data transfer, extra speakers, more storage and RAM on higher-end configurations and mmWave 5G support (if you care).

Apple’s latest iPad Air gains an M1 chip and 5G, but still has one rear camera.

Scott Stein/CNET iPad Pro 11-inch (2021) The smaller version of Apple’s two 2021 iPad Pro models has an M1 chip and optional 5G, and adds a smoother refresh-rate ProMotion display, more speakers, faster Thunderbolt data throughput via the USB-C port, lidar, more storage tiers and extra front and rear camera features.

The 11-inch version doesn’t have Mini LED like the 12-inch model, so the display lacks that extra bit of pop (but is still very, very good).

M1 iPad Air vs. M2 iPad Pro Buyer’s Guide

Liquid Retina display with 264 ppi, full lamination, oleophobic and anti-reflective coating, P3 Wide Color, and True Tone Even so, there are an even larger number of meaningful differences between the ‌iPad Air‌ and ‌iPad Pro‌ that are worth highlighting, including their displays, authentication technologies, and rear camera setups. ‌iPad Air‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ Touch ID built into the top button Face ID enabled by TrueDepth camera 10.9-inch display 11-inch or 12.9-inch display, with 120Hz ProMotion technology Liquid Retina LED display Liquid Retina LED display (11-inch) or Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display (12.9-inch) 500 nits max brightness (typical) 600 nits max brightness (11-inch) or 1,000 nits max brightness and 1,600 nits peak brightness (12.9-inch) – ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover ‌M1‌ chip with 8-core, 3.2GHz CPU and 8-core GPU ‌M2‌ chip with 8-core, 3.49GHz CPU and 10-core GPU Neural Engine 40 percent faster Neural Engine Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video encode and decode engine Higher-bandwidth video decode engine – ProRes encode and decode engine Image signal processor (ISP) “New” image signal processor (ISP) 8GB of memory 8GB or 16GB of memory 68.25GB/s memory bandwidth 100GB/s memory bandwidth Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth 5.3 Wi‑Fi 6 Wi‑Fi 6E Sub-6GHz 5G connectivity Sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G connectivity ƒ/1.8 12MP Wide rear camera ƒ/1.8 12MP Wide and ƒ/2.4 10MP Ultra Wide rear cameras Smart HDR 3 Smart HDR 4 – True Tone flash – ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps Digital zoom up to 5x Digital zoom up to 5x and 2x optical zoom out 3x video zoom Video zoom up to 3x and 2x optical zoom out – Audio zoom – LiDAR scanner ƒ/2.4 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera with 2x optical zoom out and Center Stage ƒ/2.4 12MP TrueDepth Ultra Wide front-facing camera with 2x optical zoom out, Center Stage, Portrait Mode, Portrait Lighting, Animoji, and Memoji – Stereo recording Two speaker audio landscape mode Four-speaker audio USB‑C connector USB‑C connector with support for Thunderbolt/USB 4 Up to 256GB storage Up to 2TB storage Available in Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue Available in Silver and Space Gray Price starting at $599 Price starting at $799 Unlocking is something that may be used dozens of times every day, so it is important to choose your preferred method of authentication if you feel particularly strongly about it.

These models are around half a pound lighter than the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ and will be best for users focused on portability and easy handheld use. Both the ‌iPad Air‌ and the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ feature Liquid Retina LED displays with 264 ppi, full lamination, oleophobic and anti-reflective coatings, P3 Wide Color, and True Tone. The display can reflect what can be seen in the real world by capturing the brightest highlights and subtle details in even the darkest images, allowing users to view and edit true-to-life HDR and Dolby Vision content, which is especially important to creative professionals, including photographers, videographers, and filmmakers. The ‌iPad Air‌’s Liquid Retina display will be sufficient for the vast majority of users, but some may prefer the responsiveness of ProMotion on the ‌iPad Pro‌ for tasks such as gaming.

Both the ‌iPad Pro‌ and ‌iPad Air‌ offer a high level of performance, but the ‌iPad Pro‌ features the ‌M2‌ chip – Apple’s latest custom silicon chip primarily designed for the Mac, enabling ProRes video recording and media acceleration for the first time on an ‌iPad‌.

Regardless, both of the chips are Mac-class and offer a high level of performance that should be able to meet most users’ needs, with more meaningful advancements being reserved for ProRes workflows. 8GB in the ‌iPad Air‌ will be adequate for casual users, but 16GB will be better at handling multiple windows of the same application and a range of intense background tasks. LiDAR allows the ‌iPad Pro‌ to measure the distance to surrounding objects up to five meters away, operating at the photon level at nano-second speed.

This makes the ‌iPad Pro‌ capable of a “new class” of improved AR experiences with better motion capture, understanding of the environment, and people occlusion. If you use your ‌iPad‌ for consuming lots of music and videos with the built-in speakers, the ‌iPad Pro‌ will deliver a slightly better experience. The ‌iPad Pro‌ betters the wireless connectivity specifications of the ‌iPad Air‌ with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and mmWave 5G in the United States. Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, and sub-6GHz 5G on the ‌iPad Air‌ will realistically be sufficient for most users, but if you have distinct needs for better specifications in this area, such as a high-speed 5G cellular connection in the United States, the ‌iPad Pro‌ could be a more worthwhile choice. As well as being considerably faster, Thunderbolt opens up the potential for compatibility with a much broader range of Thunderbolt-only accessories such as external hard drives and monitors. ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover is a new, ‌iPad‌ Pro-exclusive feature that allows for cursor-like interaction when the ‌Apple Pencil‌ is brought close to the screen. This ‌iPad‌ has a 10.9-inch display, the A14 Bionic chip, 4GB of memory, Center Stage, and is compatible with accessories such as the Magic Keyboard Folio and the first-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌. For most people, the additional $200+ needed to buy the ‌iPad Pro‌ will not be justified to get the likes of ‌Face ID‌, a more versatile rear camera system, four-speaker audio, a ProMotion display with refresh rates up to 120Hz, and ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover. Professionals who have a clear use case for needing larger amounts of RAM and storage, Thunderbolt connectivity, and mini-LED for HDR content will benefit from buying the ‌iPad Pro‌. Prosumers will also enjoy features such as 120Hz ProMotion for smoother scrolling and gaming, deeper blacks and more vivid colors with the mini-LED display, and LiDAR for AR experiences, even if they are not necessary, and those who want a larger 12.9-inch display for content consumption or better multitasking will similarly need to go with the higher-end ‌iPad Pro‌ model.

Prosumers and professionals who want the ‌iPad‌ to replace their laptop or computer should likely choose the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ if they are pairing it with the Magic Keyboard due to the added screen space for multiple applications. With the ‌iPad Air‌, users can get an all-screen design, the ‌M1‌ chip, practical features like USB-C and 5G connectivity, and compatibility with the core Apple accessories.

iPad Air 5 vs iPad Pro 2022: Is this the year to go Pro?

It should be noted that this pricing has received a huge bump for the UK and Australian markets since launch, thought to be driven by global economic pressures. Those prices are for the 128GB Wi-Fi-only models, it should be noted; adding cellular connectivity and more storage (256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB) will bump the fee up significantly. All three of these tablets have ditched Apple’s creaky old Lightning connector in favor of a universal USB-C port, though the Pro models use the faster Thunderbolt 4 standard. The cheaper tablet comes in an impressive selection of Space Gray, Starlight, pink, purple, and blue.

Both Pro displays distinguish themselves with a 120Hz ProMotion adaptive refresh rate, while the iPad Air 5 is stuck at 60Hz. This brings a number of benefits, including a much higher typical brightness of 1,000 nits and a much more vibrant, contrasty color output. This upgrade pays off, with us noting in our iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) review that its screen stands “head, shoulders and torso above anything else.” The latter also incorporates a ToF 3D LiDAR scanner, completing a much more comprehensive package for the Pro that complements AR (augmented reality) experiences.

Together with the more advanced processor (more on which in a moment), we’d back the iPad Pro 2022 to feature the better all-round camera system than the Air 5.

That said, our iPad Pro 2022 review notes that its cameras are no real upgrade on the previous model, and are good rather than great. This pays off, with our review finding the iPad Pro 2022 is massively powerful and almost impossible to make stutter. That said, the iPad Air 5 also offers speedy performance, so the extra horsepower in the Pro won’t be essential for everyone.

Although both tablets are compatible with the Apple Pencil 2, the iPad Pro 2022 packs in enhanced connectivity for the stylus, boasting the ability to detect its nib when it gets within 12mm of the screen. In practice those estimates felt a bit optimistic with both models, though the iPad Pro 2022 in particular struggled to last that long, with HDR video for example draining it in around 6 hours in our tests.

Apple has now completely refreshed its tablet range for 2022, with both Air and Pro models offering laptop-level performance, sleek flat-edged designs, and 5G connectivity options. Its new Apple M2 chip means a healthy bump in performance, and its display – whichever size you opt for – is brighter, more fluid, and (in the case of the 12.9-inch Pro, at least) more vibrant. The Pro also gives you a more advanced camera system, Face ID authentication, improved connectivity, and enhanced Apple Pencil interactivity.

iPad Air 5 vs iPad Pro: What should you buy?

With more power under the hood (including Apple’s new M2 chip, in the iPad Pro 2022’s case) and some other upgrades across the board, we’re eager to get some in for testing to see how they improve on last year’s models. Apple unveiled the iPad Air 5 during its March Peek Performance event.

This invites direct comparison to the iPad Pro 2021, which was the first Apple tablet to feature the M1. Both slates have the aforementioned M1 chip, along with Liquid Retina displays, 12MP rear and front cameras and 5G support.

The iPad Pro 2021 is one of our favorite slates and has earned a spot on our best tablets list. Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 iPad Air 5 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 Starting price $599 $799 Display 10.9-inch (2360 x 1640) 11 inches (2388 x 1668 pixels) Processor M1 (16-core) M1 (16-core) Storage 64GB, 256GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Rear Cameras 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture 12MP wide (f/1.8), 10-MP ultra-wide (f/2.4) Front Cameras 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture 12MP TrueDepth Dimensions 9.7 x 7 x 0.24 inches 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches Weight 1.02 pounds 1.04 pounds Port USB-C USB-C Accessories Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil (gen 1 & 2) Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil (gen 1 & 2) Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, optional 5G Wi-Fi 6, optional 5G

The iPad Air 5 will go on sale on March 18 with a starting price of $599 for the Wi-Fi model with 64GB of storage. It can reach 500 nits of brightness (according to Apple), has a pixel density of 264ppi, an anti-reflective screen, True Tone and a P3 wide color gamut.

While we can’t say for sure, we expect the display on the Air 5 to be of similar quality (or better) as that of its predecessor: brilliant, sharp and colorful. If display quality is an important factor, then the iPad Pro seems like the better choice in this category. Even when we opened a slide-over window of the Files app to look at high-res HDR art, the iPad Pro kept chugging along nicely. The M1-equipped iPad Air 5 is shaping up to be a powerful tablet well-suited for certain types of content creation.

So while the old Air is no slouch, an M1 injection should deliver some significant performance improvements, especially in terms of general speediness. The iPad Pro’s 12MP front and rear-facing cameras do an exceptional job of capturing high-quality videos and photos.

Center Stage will also be available on the iPad Air 5, which makes sense since it appears to require an M1 chip. This would have been a neat enough feature two years ago, but now it seems especially valuable given how many of us now communicate remotely via video calls on a regular basis.

That makes the new Air directly competitive with the 11-inch iPad Pro 2021, at least in terms of camera array. Until then, it’s hard to say which tablet offers better camera options, though we can confidently say both are a bit unwieldy if you try to whip them out to capture a quick snapshot.

We loved the 120Hz refresh rate of the Pro since it makes scrolling and doodling on the screen feel smoother. The iPad Air 5, as great as it appears, lacks features like ProMotion, FaceID and Ultra-Wideband 5G.

From what we’ve seen, it has a high chance of ending up on our best tablets list alongside the iPad Pro.

Review: iPad Air vs iPad Pro

Starting at $929, it’s almost $700 cheaper and those looking for a tablet with the grunt of a laptop won’t be disappointed with additions like 5G and WiFi 6. Apple’s custom silicone has found its way into almost every new Mac and iPad, and despite an initial hesitancy that comes with unproven hardware, it’s quickly being adopted by media professionals. I personally didn’t notice the difference, but after lending the Air to an artistically talented colleague, it was the first thing she pointed out.

This is hardly a deal-breaker, but artists expecting that same responsiveness should be aware of it when choosing between the Pro and Air models.

iPad Air also lacks the Pro’s 10MP Ultra Wide camera and is limited to a maximum 256GB of internal storage. As its name suggests, the Air is 221 grams lighter than iPad Pro and 0.3mm thinner without sacrificing battery life – both models should last up to 10 hours when connected to Wi-Fi. Yes, the Pro’s four speakers get louder and sound clearer compared to the iPad Air’s but the greatest comparison of all is price.