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 Pro (2022) vs. iPad Air (2022): Which Apple tablet is right for you?
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.
iPad – Compare Models
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music
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.
Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (2022) vs. iPad Air (2022)
While some may chide Apple for its adherence to visual tradition, most users give a thumbs up to a familiar design that works well. Each year, new iPads fresh off the assembly line get loaded with technical improvements invisible to the eye, but obvious in the hand. iPad Pro 11-inch (2022) iPad Air (2022) Size 247.6 x 178.5 x 5.9mm (9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches) 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm (9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches) Weight Wi-Fi: 466 grams (1.03 pounds) Wi-Fi + Cellular: 470 grams (1.04 pounds) Wi-Fi: 461 grams (1.02 pounds) Wi-Fi + Cellular: 462 grams (1.02 pounds) Screen size 11 inches 10.9 inches Screen resolution 2388 x 1668 pixels at 264 ppi 2360 x 1640 pixels at 264 ppi Operating system iPadOS 16 iPadOS 16 Storage space 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB 64GB, 256GB MicroSD card slot No No Tap-to-pay services No No Processor Apple M2 Apple M1 RAM 8GB/16GB RAM 8GB Camera Rear: 12-megapixel wide and 10MP ultrawide cameras Front: 12MP TrueDepth camera system with ultrawide Rear: 12MP wide camera Front: 12MP ultrawide front camera Video ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB capacity) 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p at 25/30/60 fps 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p at 25/30/60 fps Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 5.0 Ports USB-C supporting Thunderbolt/USB 4 port Smart Connector USB-C Smart Connector Fingerprint sensor No Yes Water resistance No No Battery TBC 28.6Wh App marketplace Apple App Store Apple App Store Network support All major carriers (cellular version only) All major carriers (cellular version only) Colors Silver, Space Gray Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, Blue Price $799 $599 Buy from Apple Apple Review score News 4.5 out of 5 stars It unlocks via Face ID and features 120Hz Pro Motion tech, which makes a huge difference between the two models.
The iPad Air 5th Gen sports a thin aluminum body, one camera lens on the back, and Touch ID embedded in the power button. Its pleasing rounded corners are comfortable, while the 10.9-inch LED-backlit screen with 2360 x 1640 pixel resolution is controlled by Apple’s True Tone color management system. Differing screen refresh rates separate the Pro model from the Air in terms of quality and user experience. The new iPad Pro 11 show stars Apple’s latest M2 chip, featuring an eight-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.
The built-in Neural Engine is designed to be 40% faster than previous models to expedite machine learning and provide 50% more memory bandwidth. Pro-level users can depend on the M2 chip to facilitate creation of 3D designs, AR models, and accelerated gameplay.
In terms of performance, both are admirable, but as we mentioned earlier, the ProMotion 120Hz screen refresh rate offers a better and more efficient overall tablet experience. Apple provides a 20-watt charging block and a USB Type-C cable in the iPad Air 5th Gen box, which works well but not quickly, taking 2 hours and 20 minutes to reach 100%.
The new iPad Pro 11-inch model features a stellar two-camera system with 12-megapixel wide and 10MP ultrawide cameras, the same as last year, except they have fresh upgrades. Apple traditionally offers great long-term software support so your tablet should stay current for at least four years, and probably much longer than that. Since both tablets arrived in the same year, you can expect both to get around the same number of updates in the future, so that shouldn’t be top of your list separating the two.
When you hover your Apple Pencil above the iPad Pro, it will be detected, and show a preview of where your stylus is going to touch the screen, adding a new level of precision. In addition to the new M2 chipset, the new iPad Pro features a 120Hz ProMotion Liquid Retina screen, improved Apple Pencil support, Wi-Fi 6E support, Thunderbolt 4, a lidar camera, and multiple mics that put it into a more advanced category than the iPad Air — though both are only so-so performers in the battery department. It’s an enormously powerful tablet with a thin attractive design that will suit most professionals, students, and casual users and even act as a laptop substitute in most situations.
iPad Pro 2022 vs iPad Air 2022: What are the biggest differences?
Apple has unveiled its latest update to its high-end tablet line in the iPad Pro 2022. The iPad Air is available in five colours that includes a handful of eye-catching pastel shades: Space Grey, Starlight, Pink, Purple and Blue. The iPad Pro only comes in the more neutral Space Grey and Silver shades. When it comes to the display the iPad Pro definitely wins with its larger screen, higher resolution, XDR support and 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate.
The iPad Pro 2022 also supports the new Apple Pencil hover feature, allowing users to see a preview of their mark from up to 12mm above the display before they start drawing or taking notes. Finally, while both cameras also include 12-megapixel (f/2.4) front cameras, only the iPad Pro offers portrait mode support with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting effects, Animoji and Memoji support and Face ID.
iPad Pro vs iPad Air: What do you get or give up?
But now you’ve got the option to get the latest with an M2 chip or save some money with the previous M1 iPad Pro. However, the vast majority of users will likely find the iPad Air with an M1 and 8GB RAM to be more than powerful enough for years to come. Thunderbolt and 16GB RAM with the iPad Pro will likely only be tempting for professionals or those who aren’t price-sensitive. With the iPad Air screen, you’re getting a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone and P3 wide color.
11″ M2 iPad Pro 11″ M1 iPad Pro M1 iPad Air Display 11″ 11″ 10.9″ Resolution 2388 x 1668 2388 x 1668 2360 x 1640 PPI (pixels per inch) 264 264 264 Display brightness 600 nits 600 nits 500 nits True Tone ✅ ✅ ✅ P3 wide color ✅ ✅ ✅ ProMotion (120Hz) ✅ ✅ ❌ Anti-reflective coating ✅ ✅ ✅ Liquid Retina Display ✅ ✅ ✅ Apple Pencil Hover ✅ ❌ ❌ Two other small upgrades with the M2 iPad Pro are Bluetooth 5.3 and WiFi 6E support. Like the iPhone SE 3, the iPad Air doesn’t get mmWave 5G support with its cellular models. However, with the iPad Pro, you’ve also got a 10MP ultra wide lens plus the LiDAR Scanner, and the True Tone flash. The main difference is the M2 iPad Pro’s ability to shoot ProRes 4K video at up to 30 fps.
11″ M2 iPad Pro 11″ M1 iPad Pro 2022 iPad Air 12MP wide lens ✅ ✅ ✅ 10MP ultra wide lens ✅ ✅ ❌ Smart HDR 3 – ✅ ✅ Smart HDR 4 ✅ ❌ ❌ LiDAR ✅ ✅ ❌ 4K video ✅ ✅ ✅ ProRes video up to 4K 30 fps ✅ ❌ ❌ Extended dynamic range ✅ ✅ ✅ Slo-mo video ✅ ✅ ✅ Rear camera flash ✅ ✅ ❌ TrueDepth camera with Face ID ✅ ✅ ❌ Ultra wide 12MP front camera ✅ ✅ ✅ 2x optical zoom out ✅ ✅ ✅ Center Stage auto-tracking ✅ ✅ ✅ Stereo recording ✅ ✅ ❌ A couple of smaller differences – the iPad Pro front camera features support for Portrait mode, Portrait Lighting, and Animoji/Memoji while the iPad Air front camera does not. If you know you’ll often be pushing your tablet to the limit, the iPad Pro delivers the top-performing package with up to 16GB RAM and 2TB storage, 120Hz ProMotion display, Thunderbolt support, and the ability to capture ProRes 4K video, all powered by the new M2 chip.
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