Our number one choice is the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which offers the largest display you can buy along with the best internals. Add to that ProMotion high-refresh rate, P3 wide color, and True Tone, it’s far and away the best display on an iPad and a top pick for creatives. If you’re working with large files, you may also stand to benefit from the extra storage an iPad Pro offers with up to 2TB configurations available. Though not necessarily for graphic designers, the feature works with the device’s dual cameras, motion sensors, and frameworks to measure depth.
11-inch iPad Pro (2021) More portable choice Today’s Best Deals From $749 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + More portable + Powerful M1 chip + Up to 2TB storage and 16GB RAM + Apple Pencil 2 support + Face ID + Thunderbolt port Reasons to avoid – Lacks mini-LED that the larger model offers – Still expensive – Replacement could be incoming It brings many of the same features found on the iPad Pro series but for a little bit less, including the super-speedy M1 chip and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil. If you can live without the higher refresh rate of the iPad Pro and the mini-LED tech offered by the 12.9-inch model, the Air could be a good way to save some cash while still enjoying the features that matter most. As we mentioned above, the iPad Pro offers some advanced, AR-ready cameras, but those aren’t necessarily all that useful for graphic designers. Apple’s most colorful tablet, the iPad Air (2022) is available in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue with 64GB or 256GB of storage.
iPad Air 5 (2022) – 10.9-inch, Wi-Fi, 64GB Feel it in the Air Today’s Best Deals From $600 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Affordable price + M1 chip + Still has a large display + Apple Pencil 2 support + Choice of colors + USB-C port Reasons to avoid – No ProMotion or mini-LED – Touch ID instead of Face ID – Limited to 256GB of storage Apple Pencil using color wheel tool in drawing app (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore) It does feature True Tone, which automatically adjusts white levels to match your ambient lighting, but misses out on the P3 wide color display found on every other iPad, as well as the ProMotion of the Pro models.
The display also isn’t fully laminated like the other models in the lineup meaning your taps and Pencil swipes feel a little more detached from the content on-screen. iPad (2021) Save cash with this selection Today’s Best Deals From $329 at Apple (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Excellent price + True Tone display Reasons to avoid – Smaller and lower quality display – Old-school design – Limited to Apple Pencil 1 support – Less powerful A13 Bionic chip – Lightning port If you can get away with a larger device, it may well be worth spending the additional $100 to get the extra screen real estate and M1 chip of the iPad Air. iPad mini 6 (2021) – Wi-Fi, 64GB, space gray Portable powerhouse Today’s Best Deals From $459 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Super-portable design + Speedy A15 chip + Apple Pencil 2 support + USB-C port Reasons to avoid – Pricey for its size – No Smart Connector
It supports the second-generation Apple Pencil and includes a super-fast Thunderbolt port for hooking up extra storage or an external display — all of which will be a boon to designers.
Can You Do Graphic Design on an iPad?
However, it does depend on the kind of niche you specialize in as the iPad is not a one-size-fits-all and can be difficult for some graphic designers to utilize based on what they are using it for. For some graphic designers, the iPad is an essential part of their overall workflow as it allows them to do multiple tasks by hand which they would rather do with a mouse or keyboard. Graphic design is a broad term for a variety of fields so below I’ve highlighted some niches where an iPad would be beneficial: Working on a computer with a mouse and keyboard can be a nightmare as you would just tail behind the competition due to being inconsistent.
– Animators need to have a good grip on drawing pictures consistently accurate and having an iPad helps them do just that. Working on a computer with a mouse and keyboard can be a nightmare as you would just tail behind the competition due to being inconsistent.
The iPad can cost a lot no matter which version you choose and getting a powerful laptop might be a much better investment as it would provide you with a faster RAM, processor, and more space in the same price. Now that you have a clear idea of what the iPad is capable of in the graphic design industry it might be helpful to look into the best pieces Apple has to offer. Apple’s flagship 12.9 inch iPad Pro is the gold-standard for graphic designers, digital artists, photo editors, and content creators. The iPad Air is a much lighter and thinner option for graphic design work and offers great performance at a lower price range. It supports the first-gen Apple pencil which is super-responsive and gives you those smooth flowing lines. To fully unleash the potential power of your iPad you need to have some good graphic design apps installed.
It is a professional-grade vector tool that allows for a much more natural workflow when combined with the Apple pencil. Autodesk Sketchbook is geared more towards graphic designers who’s primary focus is on sketching, drawing, and painting digitally.
It is used by people of top companies such as Apple, Disney, and Microsoft and provides you with hundreds of different features and functions for your graphic design work. Astropad is a unique app that can transform your iPad into a graphics tablet that can be used with your mac computer. It functions like a proper graphics tablet allowing you to access all your desktop apps and a smooth uninterrupted workflow between your tab and computer.
Is iPad Air the best tablet for Graphic Design
While we analyze how iPad Air runs, then we should acknowledge that being updated with a newer processor, sharper screen resolution, higher quality cameras, the gadget is nothing but an upgradation in itself.
Best iPad for graphic designers 2022
Our number one choice is the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which offers the largest display you can buy along with the best internals. Add to that ProMotion high-refresh rate, P3 wide color, and True Tone, it’s far and away the best display on an iPad and a top pick for creatives.
If you’re working with large files, you may also stand to benefit from the extra storage an iPad Pro offers with up to 2TB configurations available.
Though not necessarily for graphic designers, the feature works with the device’s dual cameras, motion sensors, and frameworks to measure depth. 11-inch iPad Pro (2021) More portable choice Today’s Best Deals From $749 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + More portable + Powerful M1 chip + Up to 2TB storage and 16GB RAM + Apple Pencil 2 support + Face ID + Thunderbolt port Reasons to avoid – Lacks mini-LED that the larger model offers – Still expensive – Replacement could be incoming It brings many of the same features found on the iPad Pro series but for a little bit less, including the super-speedy M1 chip and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
If you can live without the higher refresh rate of the iPad Pro and the mini-LED tech offered by the 12.9-inch model, the Air could be a good way to save some cash while still enjoying the features that matter most. As we mentioned above, the iPad Pro offers some advanced, AR-ready cameras, but those aren’t necessarily all that useful for graphic designers.
Apple’s most colorful tablet, the iPad Air (2022) is available in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue with 64GB or 256GB of storage.
iPad Air 5 (2022) – 10.9-inch, Wi-Fi, 64GB Feel it in the Air Today’s Best Deals From $600 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Affordable price + M1 chip + Still has a large display + Apple Pencil 2 support + Choice of colors + USB-C port Reasons to avoid – No ProMotion or mini-LED – Touch ID instead of Face ID – Limited to 256GB of storage Apple Pencil using color wheel tool in drawing app (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore) It does feature True Tone, which automatically adjusts white levels to match your ambient lighting, but misses out on the P3 wide color display found on every other iPad, as well as the ProMotion of the Pro models.
The display also isn’t fully laminated like the other models in the lineup meaning your taps and Pencil swipes feel a little more detached from the content on-screen. iPad (2021) Save cash with this selection Today’s Best Deals From $329 at Apple (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Excellent price + True Tone display Reasons to avoid – Smaller and lower quality display – Old-school design – Limited to Apple Pencil 1 support – Less powerful A13 Bionic chip – Lightning port If you can get away with a larger device, it may well be worth spending the additional $100 to get the extra screen real estate and M1 chip of the iPad Air. iPad mini 6 (2021) – Wi-Fi, 64GB, space gray Portable powerhouse Today’s Best Deals From $459 at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Super-portable design + Speedy A15 chip + Apple Pencil 2 support + USB-C port Reasons to avoid – Pricey for its size – No Smart Connector
It supports the second-generation Apple Pencil and includes a super-fast Thunderbolt port for hooking up extra storage or an external display — all of which will be a boon to designers.
Best iPad for artists 2022
iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) The best tablet Apple’s ever made is great for artists Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Expansive 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion + Packs in Apple’s M1 chip + Improved cameras with Center Stage + Up to 16GB RAM + Supports 2nd-gen Apple Pencil Reasons to avoid – Pricey – Size might be too much for some – M1 chip limited by iPadOS The iPad Pro’s 12.9-inch display is a great canvas size for your art, whether you’re sketching, painting, or editing photos — that still lets you be mobile. In an iMore review, we noticed that the new Liquid Retina XDR display in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro offers incredible color accuracy and shows off HDR images and video in all of its glory. This is great when working with the Apple Pencil, as your strokes appear on the screen nigh-instantly, like a real piece of paper, and renders more fluidly than it would on other iPads.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro combines impressive power and a large, beautiful display in a top-notch mobile artistic tool. The front-facing TrueDepth camera is a 12MP Ultra Wide lens with a 122-degree field of view and ƒ/2.4 aperture with support for Portrait mode and more.
And to top it off, the new TrueDepth camera can be used for video calling with Center Stage, which uses the new resolution to digitally crop in and “follow” you as you move around in the frame. Center Stage works in pretty much every video calling app that you may use regularly, so it’s one of those built-in features and requires no additional setup. The front-facing TrueDepth camera is a 12MP Ultra Wide lens with 122-degree field of view and ƒ/2.4 aperture with support for Portrait mode and more. The Pencil recognizes things like tilt and pressure applied to the tip and supports palm rejection. The Apple Pencil also has a small gesture area on its flat side, which you can double-tap to switch between your two most recent tools quickly. iPad Pro 2021 (11-inch) Almost as great as the 12.9-inch but more portable Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Also packs in M1 chip with up to 16GB of RAM + Smaller and lighter than 12.9-inch Pro + Face ID + Liquid Retina display with ProMotion + Support for 2nd-gen Apple Pencil Reasons to avoid – Still a bit pricey – Some might want a bigger display – Does not have the Liquid Retina XDR display of the 12.9-inch
The 11-inch still only has a regular Liquid Retina display, so the 12.9-inch edges it out just slightly in terms of HDR content, vibrant hues, and deepest blacks. It packs in M1 power in a smaller package, but you just don’t get the Liquid Retina XDR display on the 12.9-inch version. iPad Air 5 (2022) A great balance of power and price Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) View at AT&T (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + A great balance of price and power + Reasonably large screen + Apple Pencil 2 support + Excellent display Reasons to avoid – No ProMotion display – No Face ID When reviewing the iPad Air 5, we concluded that the 10.9-inch screen offers decent real estate for drawing and painting, as well as an excellent portal for inspecting and editing your photos. The biggest shock of the iPad Air 5 is what lies inside — the M1 chip, which has a fair bit of power behind it. iPad mini 6 (2021) The most compact iPad yet Today’s Best Deals View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + New 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display + Apple Pencil 2 support + Up to 256GB storage + A15 Bionic + Better cameras with Center Stage Reasons to avoid – More expensive than previous iteration – Only starts at 64GB
iMore reviewed the iPad mini 6, and it’s our opinion that this model can’t be beat for convenient portability. This means flat edges, smaller bezels surrounding the new 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, USB-C charging, and no more Home button. iPad mini 6 is perfect for travel, and it now has a redesigned bigger screen, Apple Pencil 2 support, and more.
iPad 9th-Generation (2021) Great for tight budgets Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Apple (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Plenty of space with a 10.2-inch display + The A13 Bionic is still great for the price + Supports first-generation Apple Pencil + Very affordable + Up to 256GB of storage Reasons to avoid – Starts with only 64GB – A13 outdated compared to other models – Only works with first-generation Apple Pencil The A13 Bionic chip is still plenty powerful for basic drawing, sketching, watching videos, reading, writing, and much more. You get a beautiful 10.2-inch LCD Retina display that delivers incredibly sharp and detailed graphics and text with the iPad.
You’ll be able to seamlessly draw with tilt and pressure sensitivity, as well as palm rejection, so there won’t be any unwanted marks on your sketch. Plus, it packs in the beautiful new Liquid Retina XDR display, so you get the absolute best colors, and it is the best way to view HDR content.
From new features like tapping support on the Apple Pencil to the increased graphical power on the 8-core GPU compared to previous models, the latest iPad Pro is perfect for your artistic endeavors, no matter how demanding they are. If the 12.9-inch size is a little too unwieldy for you, then the 11-inch iPad Pro is the second-best alternative — just know that it won’t have the Liquid Retina XDR display, but it still packs in the M1 chip and all the other goodies.
iPad Air vs iPad Pro for graphic design? : graphic
I decided to talk to my wife first and make it clear what kind of path she wants choose. I want to get a tablet for graphic design for my wife.
There are lots of debates going on between these two tablets but I want to hear your experiences.
iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Which Apple tablet is right for you?
With the new iPad Air 4 adopting the same fancy all-screen design language as the the Pro line up, the differences between the two aren’t as clear-cut. Both are extremely capable, so is the Air all the tablet you’ll need, or should you spend the extra to get the features and quality-of-life improvements that the iPad Pro brings? Both iPad models have a single USB Type-C port, which means you can connect accessories to it easily, either directly or via a USB-C adapter (or even a hub): microphones, USB storage, 4K monitors, cameras for importing photos – it’s usefully flexible.
And both iPad models are compatible with Apple’s brilliant (but expensive) Magic Keyboard, making either a worthy laptop replacement in certain situations.
The iPad Pro has better speakers than the iPad Air, with a tweeter and woofer configuration in all four corners, so however you hold it, it can create a sound balance with convincing stereo and good balance – the quality of these speakers is kind of mind-blowing, actually, given the size of device the sound is coming from. This gives you more flexibility when shooting, and can be useful for a range of extra needs, including scanning documents. There’s also a LiDAR scanner as part of the rear camera array on the iPad Pro, which can accurately measure the distance from the iPad to objects in physical space, which makes for much more advanced and stable augmented reality applications. This has a lot of potential, depending on how apps can use it – decent motion capture and 3D scanning could be possible without any other equipment, for example. In terms of size and sharpness, it’s so close to the 11-inch Pro that it makes effectively no odds which you choose in that regard. It’s extraordinarily difficult to make an iPad Pro stumble, and it’s possible to create huge multi-layered canvases in image apps, to edit 4K video (in certain formats) on multiple tracks without issue, and to have as many as four apps on-screen at the same time. It’s only when you get into some quite demanding needs that the iPad Pro may become a necessary option, though it can crop up in some unexpected ways: for example, popular Photoshop rival Pixelmator on iPad limits the maximum megapixel size of your file depending on the machine you’re using, and this will change depending on the number of layers you’re using as well as the size of the canvas. You clearly get a lot more headroom on the iPad Pro than the iPad Air – the issue when using the Air is that it’s hard to tell what balance of canvas size and layer use will turn out to be the upper limit for you.
When it comes to battery life, Apple rates all of its tablets for 10 hours of light use, and it’s easy to get this from both the Pro and the Air for web browsing, movie watching and similar. But you can expect high-res image editing, or prolonged 3D rendering, to reduce this pretty severely, just as it is with any laptop.
Exactly how much depends on the app, but something that taxes both processor and GPU, such as high-end games, can bring it down to about half that.
The official options are Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro – which is, let us be clear, VERY expensive but very good – or the Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard for iPad Air, which was produced in cahoots with Apple and is a much more reasonable price. If so, then obviously you should get the Pro, but for anything more middle of the road, the Air is really just as fast – if you’ll mostly use it for viewing and some admin work on the go, there will be no meaningful performance difference. However, as we mentioned, the ways that the Air might hold you back are not always predictable, so the Pro is definitely the future-proof option.
The Best Graphic Design & Illustration App For iPad
This is proven by the various use cases that are possible for users of Graphic Design software and tools on the iPad. Not only is it lighter compared to a Macbook or another laptop, but it also enables people to fully dive into their designs by literally sketching, drawing or creating paths. As a result, there are a lot of reasons why designing on iOS devices like the iPad is more convenient for several different types of people, easier and more fun. An iPad equipped with a stylus and a good graphic design app allows everyone to create beautiful illustrations, layouts, and logos.
It is easy to transport, the battery has a good capacity and the screen resolution is great for graphic design. “Great apps on iPad offer easy to use and intuitive UIs to speed up the design process and make it much easier to use different features by just a few taps.” Here are some Inspirations of creations made with Vectornator which is a graphic design software for iPad, iPhone, and Mac: If you just aim for the biggest size, highest resolution and having the ability to use the 2nd generation of the Apple Pen, then you should go with the third-generation 12.9 inch iPad Pro.
Coming with the industry-leading 2732 x 2048 Liquid Retina display, ProMotion technology and the ability to use the second-gen Apple Pencil. Apple’s thinnest iPad comes with a light and slim design while providing a good price-performance. The app quickly identified and recognizes the font and additionally presents you with similar alternatives to choose from. The free version of What the Font is the perfect tool for typeface lovers or graphic designers looking to add new typography to their arsenal.
Although this is a very pricy app and might not suit beginners, it is packed with features for those who are doing a lot of iPad-based illustration. You can mirror screens with the Mac and the iPad, it syncs via Wi-Fi or USB and finally the app is pressure sensitive, which means it works with a variety of drawing tools and everything you create is high-resolution.
You can create sophisticated illustrations, beautiful designs, amazing layouts — all in one powerful tool. It combines all the powerful tools, advanced features, and high performance that desktop apps offer with a revolutionary card user interface that is built for the touch of your finger and the precision of your pencil.
It has a high rating on the AppStore, a large community and was also named Apple’s App of the Day at one point. With consistent updates, fixes and improvements, Vectornator keeps users happy and their experience as enjoyable as possible.
Vectornator allows you to seamlessly create precise paths and anchor points with all the sharp edges and beautiful curves. Vectornator became the first iPad graphic design App offering a feature to automatically vectorize images by one tap.
Vectornator allows designers to get full control over the text’s line height, kerning, tracking and more. Most iPad graphic design apps struggle when it comes to importing or exporting different file types. Having the possibility to add many Artboard can be super useful if you want to design the visual interface of your next app screens. To sum up, iPads are a great tool to do graphic design from everywhere you want while having the natural feeling of a real pencil.
As we already said, Vectornator is offering such an experience on the iPad but also on the iPhone and Mac which is one of the reasons why we reached 2M downloads.
Artist compares: iPad Pro vs iPad Air for Drawing
The announcement of the upgraded 4th generation of iPad Air has quickly caught the attention of the artist community. This is big news for digital artists – as they now have the option to get a top-of-the-line drawing experience without spending top dollars.
iPad Air iPad Pro (11″) iPad Pro (12.9″) Screen size 10.9 Inches 11 Inches 12.9 Inches Dimension 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm 247.6 x 178.5 x 5.9 mm 280.6 x 214.9 x 5.9 mm Resolution 2360 x 1640 p 2388 x 1668 p 2732 x 2048 p Brightness 500 nits 600 nits 1000 nits Stylus Apple Pencil Apple Pencil Apple Pencil Processor A14 Bionic From the comparison we can see, in spite of a massive price difference – iPad Air has still got a very comparable display.
The mini-LED backlight consist of thousands of small LEDs which can be controlled and turned on and off at will. Apple calls this faster refresh rate technology as “ProMotion display“.
This faster refresh rate minimizes the stylus latency and improves the responsiveness of the Apple Pencil. As you can see in the footage above, the lines drawn by the Apple Pencil is instantly visible on a 120Hz screen.
On the other hand, if you want the smoothest possible drawing experience with minimum stylus latency, get the iPad Pro (Amazon). If you are an artist and hang out in online art communities, you already know that – Apple Pencil is the most advanced stylus in the market. Since both iPad Air and Pro are compatible with the same stylus, you won’t find any difference in the actual drawing performance. The Apple Pencil 2 magnetically sticks to the top edge of the tablet where it charges wirelessly.
Both iPad Pro and Air have appropriate wireless charging pads to enable this feature. Their compact form factor enables you to use easily use them in places such as bus and Airplane seats. The 12.9 inch iPad Pro on the other hand while being thin and compact, it is not as portable as the other two options.
In order to have a good drawing experience, your tablet should be powerful enough to handle large resolution project files with hundreds of layers and shouldn’t lag when using the heaviest of texture brushes.
iPad Air comes with a A14 Bionic processor which again works on a 5nm nodes and has 4 cores inside. Thes processors does not stutter when working with large resultion in powerful apps such as procreate.
iPads, in general, are known for their long-lasting battery which can easily handle a full day of casual usage. Although the actual battery life depends on a lot of things including the screen size, resolution, and also apps you are using.
Mind that the 12.9 inch iPad Pro has the largest battery capacity but it also has a larger screen requiring more power. More storage is always better, considering the huge amount of space occupied by image and video files these days. Having a good camera is essential for artists as it allows you to take pictures of something that you are gonna paint later, right on your tablet. Speakers are one of the first compromises that budget-focused tablets make, but that is not the case with the iPad Air.
The TouchID sensor is conveniently located on the top right side of the tablet-like in older iPhones. For artists who are already in the Apple ecosystem and own a Mac computer, iPads can be a great add-on. This is a very powerful tool that can be used to natively use apple pencil with your desktop-based drawing apps. There is also a third part Sidecar alternative called AstroPad which is specifically catered towards artists and has better screen mirror capabilities.
– Wifi only, or Wifi+cellular Color – Space Gray, Silver, Green, Rose Gold, and Sky Blue With iPad Pro, you get multiple sizes and memory options but limited color choices
But if you are someone who can appreciate a larger screen and a bigger drawing area and willing to somewhat compromise with portability for that, the 12.9 inch iPad is a better choice. If you are getting these tablets for normal multimedia usage, the lack of ProMotion display is not that big of a deal.
But when you are buying these devices as a drawing tablet, having and not having the 120Hz ProMotion display can be a deciding factor. Now as we mentioned before, the iPad Air with its 60 Hz screen is good enough and still provides the best drawing tablet in that price range.
But the iPad Pro with its ProMotion display feels smoother to draw and write on. If you ask us – our recommendation would be – “iPad Air is a good fit for hobbyists and casual artist who draws every once in a while.
But if you are a full-time artist, we would highly recommend you get the Apple iPad Pro (Amazon).” Other than the display, you should also keep in mind that the lower variant of the iPad Air comes with just 64Gb of onboard storage. With the iPad Air, even at this lower price, you are getting a tablet with identical display quality, comparable processor, support for the same stylus, and same accessories.
If you are someone who wants a good drawing experience while saving some cash, you should for sure go with the new iPad Air (Amazon). We say this for one simple reason and that is – iPad Pro has a 120Hz display which will provide you a better pen experience, after all that what matters the most for an artist.
Is iPad Air the best tablet for Graphic Design
While we analyze how iPad Air runs, then we should acknowledge that being updated with a newer processor, sharper screen resolution, higher quality cameras, the gadget is nothing but an upgradation in itself.
iPad Air
Apps from the App Store can transform iPad Air into anything from a math classroom to an animation studio.
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