Apple’s iPad Pros differentiate with ProMotion screen tech, better cameras, and a 12.9-inch option. Get honest reviews on top products & services — delivered weekly to your inbox.
But if you value a bigger screen, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is essentially one of this line’s primary differentiators. If you’re using an iPad for simpler tasks like browsing the web, running standard apps like email, social media, or shopping apps and playing casual games, you’d likely be fine with 64GB iPad Air. Just keep in mind that the iPad Air doesn’t come with Apple’s ProMotion screen tech, if that sounds tempting to you, as well. The iPad Pros also have a LiDar scanner that helps with better focus when taking photos in low light.
I’d also consider this a niche feature that should only really speak to professionals who are often transferring big projects to and from the iPad and external storage devices. It basically means that big files or projects will transfer faster on the iPad Pros.
After considering the storage options and their prices, knowing that they possess the same processing power, the iPad Air 2022 poses the best value at the time of writing.
While ProMotion on the iPad Pro is great, it’s still a cosmetic feature that adds to the experience rather than the utility of the tablet. But if 128GB of storage is enough for you, and you value a more premium experience from Apple’s ProMotion screen tech, the iPad Pro is for you. If you want the best cameras possible on a tablet, or super fast data transfer speeds, the iPad Pros are again your best bet.
iPad vs iPad Air – Which is Best?
If you have to have the thinnest, lightest tablet – and money is no object – then spoil yourself with an iPad Air. It offers more impressive specifications, including a larger screen and faster processor, as well as being compatible with Apple’s excellent Smart Keyboard. Verdict: Any casual user who just wants to browse, stream and email should go for the 10.2-inch iPad rather than the nice, but pricey Air.
iPad Air 2022 vs. iPad Pro 2021 Buyer’s Guide
In March 2022, Apple introduced the fifth-generation iPad Air, featuring the M1 chip, 5G connectivity, and a new front-facing camera system. The updated iPad Air comes almost a year after in Apple introduced its current iPad Pro lineup, which also features the M1 chip and 5G connectivity, but sports a number of high-end features like ProMotion and a Thunderbolt port. Liquid Retina display with 264 ppi, full lamination, oleophobic and anti-reflective coating, P3 Wide Color, and True Tone
ƒ/1.8 12MP Wide rear camera, with digital zoom up to 5x and Smart HDR 3 for photos
ƒ/2.4 12MP front-facing Ultra Wide camera with 2x optical zoom out and Center Stage Apple’s specification breakdown shows that the two iPads share many of their most important features, not least the M1 chip.
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. ƒ/2.4 12MP Ultra Wide front camera with 2x optical zoom out and Center Stage 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, an oleophobic and anti-reflective coating, 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 of the iPad Pro for tasks such as gaming. 8GB in the iPad Air will be adequate for casual users, but 8GB will be defter at handling multiple windows of the same application and a range of intense background tasks. The iPad Pro has extended dynamic range when recording video up to 30 fps, and also features a True Tone flash. 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. Both devices offer “Center Stage” for video calls with the front-facing camera. 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. In terms of wireless connectivity, both iPads feature Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and 5G on cellular models.
If you need a high-speed 5G cellular connection in the United States, this may be a good reason to invest in the iPad Pro. 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. This iPad has a 10.2-inch display, the A13 Bionic chip, Center Stage, and is compatible with accessories such as the Apple Smart Keyboard and the first-generation Apple Pencil. While it lacks the all-screen design of the iPad Air, USB-C, and 4K video recording, the eighth-generation iPad is an excellent low-cost alternative to the mid to high-end iPads.
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, and a ProMotion display with refresh rates up to 120Hz. Some iPad Pro features, such as LiDAR, the Ultra Wide rear camera, larger storage options and up to 16GB of memory, and Thunderbolt connectivity, will only be practically useful to a small niche of iPad users. 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 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 latest Apple accessories.
Should you buy the new iPad Air or the 11-inch iPad Pro? Here’s how they compare
In 2021, the 11-inch iPad Pro arrived with the powerful M1 chip, Thunderbolt connectivity, 5G for cellular models, new camera features like Center Stage, and more. But for the vast majority of users, the M1 with 8GB RAM will be more than powerful enough for years to come.
With the iPad Air’s screen, you’re getting a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone and P3 wide color.
It’s almost exactly the same Liquid Retina display as the 11-inch iPad Pro (ok, technically 0.1″ smaller 😅).
However, the biggest difference is you only get ProMotion with up to 120Hz refresh rates with the iPad Pro display. 2022 iPad Air 2021 iPad Pro 2020 iPad Air Display 10.9″ 11″ 10.9″ Resolution 2360 x 1640 2388 x 1668 2360 x 1640 PPI (pixels per inch) 264 264 264 Display brightness 500 nits 600 nits 500 nits True Tone ✅ ✅ ✅ P3 wide color ✅ ✅ ✅ ProMotion (120Hz) ❌ ✅ ❌ Anti-reflective coating ✅ ✅ ✅ Liquid Retina Display ✅ ✅ ✅ Like the iPhone SE 3, the new iPad Air doesn’t get mmWave 5G support with its cellular models. But as mmWave is the rarest version of 5G coverage to find, that’s probably not an issue for most people. The new model comes in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue. However, with the iPad Pro, you’ve also got a 10 MP ultra wide lens plus the LiDAR Scanner, and the True Tone flash. 2022 iPad Air 2021 iPad Pro 2020 iPad Air 12 MP wide lens ✅ ✅ ✅ 10 MP ultra wide lens ❌ ✅ ❌ LiDAR ❌ ✅ ❌ 4K video ✅ ✅ ✅ Extended dynamic range ✅ ✅ ❌ Slo-mo video ✅ ✅ ✅ Rear camera flash ❌ ✅ ❌ TrueDepth camera with Face ID ❌ ✅ ❌ FaceTime 7 MP front camera – – ✅ Ultra wide 12 MP front camera ✅ ✅ ❌ 2x optical zoom out ✅ ✅ ❌ Center Stage auto-tracking ✅ ✅ ❌ Stereo recording ❌ ✅ ❌ A couple of 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 be pushing your tablet to the limit regularly, the iPad Pro still delivers the top-performing package with up to 16GB RAM, up to 2TB storage, 120Hz ProMotion display, and Thunderbolt support.
iPad Pro vs MacBook Air: What should you buy?
Comparing the iPad Pro 2020 vs MacBook Air 2020 may seem odd but it actually makes a lot of sense. And if you don’t need all the bells and whistles added in the 2021 models, the iPad Pro 2020 paired with a Magic Keyboard offers a decent laptop-like experience — complete with a trackpad.
If you can afford to wait a bit, the recently revealed MacBook Air 2022 may change the calculus on this decision.
The iPad Pro also offers a Wi-Fi + Cellular option that adds built-in LTE connectivity, something the MacBook Air doesn’t have. When it comes to resolution, the iPad Pro’s display is sharper at 2732 x 2048 pixels, compared to 2560 x 1600 for the MacBook Air. The iPad Pro also pulled ahead in terms of the sRGB color gamut (122% vs 114%), so you should expect more vivid hues from Apple’s tablet.
The iPad Pro’s optional Magic Keyboard uses the same scissor mechanism as the MacBook Air and offers the same 1mm of travel, and provides a similarly pleasant typing experience. The iPad Pro attaches magnetically to the Magic Keyboard’s floating cantilever design, allowing you to adjust the display’s angle up to 130 degrees.
The iPad Pro runs iPadOS, which is a touch-first operating system that now supports cursor input across the OS. iPadOS continues to support multitasking features like Slide Over (running apps on top of others) and Split View (running two apps side by side), and the customizable Today Screen gives you helpful widgets to stay on top of your day. You also have a lot more choice in terms of software and what you can download on macOS, whether you choose to go through the Mac App Store or the web. The iPad Pro can also record 4K video up to 60 frames per second, something the MacBook Air can’t do.
The iPad Pro also has a front 7MP TrueDepth camera for selfies and quickly unlocking the devices with face recognition. And, unlike the MacBook Air, the iPad Pro features a LiDAR scanner that dramatically improves the performance in augmented reality apps.
Unfortunately, the MacBook Air only features a low-res 720p camera for video chats, though it uses some machine learning smarts to improve the quality of your stream. And you can’t use your face to log in; instead, there’s a Touch ID button on the keyboard deck. Again, though, when talking special features, the ability to run iPhone and iPad apps on the MacBook mean the Air can’t be cast aside easily. On our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of screen brightness, the iPad Pro lasted a very good 10 hours and 16 minutes.
iPad Pro MacBook Air Price and Value (20) 13 18 Display (20) 19 15 Keyboard and touchpad (10) 8 9 Ports (10) 7 8 Performance (10) 10 8 Software (10) 6 10 Camera and Special Features (10) 9 7 Battery Life (20) 13 20 Total 85 95 But after comparing this tablet and laptop in multiple categories it’s clear where these devices excel — and where they don’t.
The iPad Pro is the better option for those who want to travel light and who want a touch-first experience with a superior display.
But that being said, the MacBook Air has pulled ahead of the iPad Pro when it comes to sheer speed and battery life.
iPad Air (2022) vs iPad Pro (2021): What’s the difference?
So good, in fact, it’s giving me a hint of buyers remorse for paying $2,000 for my 2021 iPad Pro. iPad Pro VS. iPad Air Specifications iPad Pro iPad Air Processor Apple M1 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 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.
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.
The iPad Air’s Liquid Retina display measures 10.9-inches and is an LED panel. 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. 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. For the average person, the lack of mmWave on the iPad Air is a non-issue.
See: Apple iPad Pro (2021) review: 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.
11-inch iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Which M1 tablet is right for you?
The standard 10.2-inch iPad is the budget option, with an aging design (big bezels, home button, Lightning port) and older processor, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at a whopping $1,099 and is geared toward only the most demanding of users. But a tablet is more than its processor, and the Pro model does offer a few improvements that might be worth your money.
You’re also getting ever-so-slightly smaller bezels on the iPad Pro, which is why Apple says it has room for an 11-inch display instead of 10.9 inches. Both displays also have True Tone and a wide P3 color gamut and follow Apple’s “liquid” retina design, meaning the corners of the screen are rounded to match the device itself.
But the big benefit is ProMotion, which lets the display run-up to 120Hz for smoother motion and lower latency, especially when using the Apple Pencil. Our pick: The extra brightness isn’t a huge deal, but ProMotion is really nice and helps justify the higher price of the iPad Pro.
Those storage options don’t come cheap, however, and the extra RAM probably isn’t going to make much of a difference with iPadOS. On the other hand, the iPad Pro’s brighter display will likely drain the battery a little faster if you crank up the brightness.
More important is that the starting storage is twice as big on the iPad Pro, and 64GB might be a little small for all of the apps and games you’re going to download. Like the iPhone, the iPad Pro uses Face ID, which uses the TrueDepth sensors on the front to unlock the tablet and authenticate purchases and passwords.
The iPad Air doesn’t have a TrueDepth module; it has Touch ID built into the side button. On the rear of the iPad Air, you’ll find a 12MP standard wide-angle camera.
We don’t think you’ll be taking too many pictures with either of these somewhat awkward cameras, but if you want to, the iPad Pro has a clearly superior array. Apple upgraded the iPad Air to a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera on the front, with support for Center Stage, which pans and zooms to keep you the subject (you) in the frame.
The iPad Pro has a TrueDepth sensor for Face ID, which means it also supports Apple’s Animoj/Memoji, but photo and video-taking should be about the same when using the front camera. The iPad Pro has an edge with its 10MP Ultra Wide rear camera if that sort of thing matters to you. The iPad Air has decent sound from its two-speaker stereo setup and a dual microphone array. We love the iPad Air’s USB-C port, and it’s event fast with the fifth-generation model, supporting data transfers up to 10Gbps.
Both models support the new Magic Keyboard—though the camera cutouts fit a little nicer on the 11-inch Pro—as well as the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil. Both iPads have Wi-Fi 6 with MIMO, simultaneous dual-band, and speeds up to 1.6Gbps, so they’ll work great at home.
Our pick: You should consider carefully whether you really need cellular access on your iPad—using your iPhone as a wireless hotspot works extremely well.
This year, thanks to the processor upgrade and improved front camera in the iPad Air, our opinion has reversed. The iPad Pro is essentially the same size and performance and supports the same peripherals, but it costs $200 more ($250 more if you want a cellular-equipped model).
iPad Air vs. iPad Pro: Which tablet is right for you?
The iPad Air is in the middle of Apple’s tablet lineup when it comes to features and price. For that, you’ll get a 10.9-inch tablet with slim bezels, 64GB of storage, a Touch ID sensor in the sleep/wake button and an A14 processor inside. Both of those prices are for the base models that include 128GB of storage but lack any sort of cellular connectivity.
Instead, the border around the screen was shrunk down, and the sleep/wake button started pulling double duty, thanks to the addition of a Touch ID sensor that reads your fingerprint and unlocks the tablet as you press the button to wake the device.
From using the same M1 processor that the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro use, to two different display sizes, to full support for Thunderbolt 4 and faster data transfer speeds, the iPad Pro is more like a true computer than it is a tablet. The iPad Pro maxes out at 16GB of memory and 2TB of storage for $2,199, and that doesn’t include the extra $200 if you want to add 5G connectivity to it.
You get a fast processor and your pick of the two biggest displays Apple offers in its iPad lineup. The only difference between the two designs is the display size, meaning you get all of the same internal specifications and have the same accessories available for them. The extra screen real estate gives us more space to take advantage of split-screen apps, and the broad multitasking included in iPadOS 15. We used the new iPad Pros for a week — here’s why they’re the new tablets to beat: https://cnn.it/3ot9LYg Posted by CNN Underscored on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 The iPad Air brings solid performance to the table, combining it with a more affordable price and smaller footprint. The iPad Pro is Apple’s best tablet, on paper at least, and it’s sure to be powerful enough to replace your laptop.
What Is the Difference Between the iPad Pro and the Air?
The main differences between the two iPad Pro models are size and price. The iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an 11-inch version and the more expensive 12.9-inch model.
Otherwise, both versions of the latest-generation iPad Pro share the same relative specs and improvements over the iPad Air (more storage, faster processor, and better speakers and cameras).
The 5th-generation iPad Air comes in a single size, a 10.9-inch model and has impressive specs, but it falls behind slightly in almost every category compared to the iPad Pro.
The iPad Pro models support multitasking in split-screen mode, which is an ideal way to use the extra screen space on the 12.9-inch version. Both the 12.9-inch and the 11-inch models run on an Apple M1 chip and have a 16-core Neural Engine.
iPad Pro Supports the Smart Keyboard Folio. This compatibility makes either model suitable for business as much as play.
Less dynamic audio quality than an iPad Pro.
The iPad Pro adjusts the sound based on how you hold it to avoid accidental muffling, and the sound is much fuller than the audio quality from the iPad Air.
The five studio-quality microphones on the iPad Pro are vastly superior to the two microphones on the iPad Air for calls, video recording, and audio recording. Camera and Video: iPad Pros Offer Ultra-Wide Shooting
iPad Pro Wide and Ultra-Wide rear-facing cameras. Storage Space: More Room to Grow With iPad Pros
iPad Pro Models start with 128 GB capacity. The iPad Pro offers more storage options than the iPad Air, starting at 128 GB and offering up to 2 TB of storage.
Price: iPad Pro Requires a Bigger Investment Final Verdict: The iPad Pro Offers Slightly More
The iPad Pro is an outstanding tablet, but do you need that much horsepower? The extra processing speed is handy for multitasking, but it won’t make streaming a movie on Netflix any smoother.
However, if the idea of spending an additional $300 or $400 or more doesn’t scare you off, the iPad Pro lineup is the way to go.
Apple iPad Pro vs MacBook Air: Which should you buy?
Both the iPad Pro and MacBook Air are excellent productivity companions, but if you need a new computing device for more complicated tasks than checking emails, one is naturally going to suit your needs over the other. If you add Apple’s Magic Keyboard, tack on another $299 to the total price—now suddenly you have a lower-specced machine that costs $99 more than a 13-inch MacBook Air.
If you opt for the more expensive MacBook Air, it’s still $149 less than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Smart Keyboard Folio and the same amount of storage space.
There are a lot of ways to configure both devices, but ultimately, the MacBook Air removes the headache of finding a reasonably-priced keyboard and you get more for your money when it comes to memory and storage.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser These two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack are all you get with the M1 MacBook Air. After the form factor, the major difference between the iPad Pro and MacBook Air is the operating systems.
This sort of cross-platform availability largely depends on where developers decide to make their apps available, but for Apple-made programs like the ones mentioned above, it’s a mystery as to why the same version (or a version at all) doesn’t exist on iPadOS even though the iPad Pro has the same processing power as the MacBook Air (and the 13-inch MacBook Pro M1). Both devices have Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, but the iPad Pro is the only one you can take with you to the park and play Doom in the cloud over a 4G or 5G connection. Credit: Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith The 12.9-inch version of the 2021 Apple iPad Pro has a bright, vibrant display with mini-LED technology.
Like both iPad Pro models, its display has a wide color gamut (P3) and True Tone technology, but that’s where the similarities end.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro also has a 2D backlighting system with 2596 full-array local dimming zones, so contrast and colors are going to really pop on that display. If you were considering getting the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement but were concerned about the battery life, you get more for your money with the MacBook Air.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser The M1 Air’s premium build, blazing speeds, and reasonable price makes it the obvious choice for most people. Along with better battery life, more physical ports, a fully-fledged operating system, and Apple’s Magic Keyboard, the MacBook Air boasts better value than the iPad Pro due to the simple fact that it already has everything you need, whether that’s sending a few work-related emails or editing videos in Final Cut Pro.
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