13-inch iPad Pro M4 [left], 13 iPad Air -inch [right]
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With the release of the 13-inch iPad Air comes a super-sized tablet that can compete with the iPad Pro. Here's what makes Apple's biggest iPads different.
The first major update to Apple's iPad lineup in more than a year brings with it some big changes. For starters, the iPad Pro gets new displays, updated styling, and the performance of the M4.
Meanwhile, the iPad Air had its own optional spec upgrade, but with a twist. Not only did it move from the M1 to the M2, but Apple also released a 13-inch iPad Air alongside the existing 11-inch model.
Consumers who want a larger tablet now have two lists of prices and specifications to choose from.
Although the 13-inch iPad Pro and 13-inch iPad Air have the same screen size, there's more to consider than just size.
13 13-inch iPad Pro and 13-inch iPad Air specifications
| Specs | 13-inch iPad Pro | iPad Air 13 inches |
|---|---|---|
| Screen size (inches) | 13 | 13 |
| Base price | USD 1,299 | USD 799 |
| Processor | M4 | M2 |
| Resolution | 2752 x 2064 | 2732 x 2048 |
| Pixel Density (dots per inch) | 264 | 264 |
| Brightness (nits) | 1000 (SDR), 1000 (XDR full screen), 1600 (HDR with peak brightness) |
600 |
| Display type | Ultra Retina XDR, Tandem OLED , ProMotion, True Tone, Wide Color (P3), Full Screen Laminated, Nano Texture Display Glass (1TB, 2TB) |
Liquid Retina , True Tone, Wide Color (P3), Fully Laminated, |
| Apple Pencil | Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C |
Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C |
| Smart Connector | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions (inches) | 11.09 x 8.48 x 0.20 | 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 |
| Weight (lbs) | 1.28 | 1.5 |
| Capacities | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB |
| Rear camera (MP) | 12 wide, LiDAR | 12 wide, |
| Front Camera (MP) | 12 MP TrueDepth Landscape | 12 MP Ultra Wide Landscape |
| Video recording | 4K at 24/30/60fps (wide) and 60fps (ultrawide), ProRes up to 4K 30fps (1080p30 on 256GB) |
4K@24/30/60fps |
| Biometric | Face ID | Touch ID |
| Speakers | 4 | 2 |
| Port | Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 | USB-C |
13-inch iPad Pro vs 13 iPad Air (inch) – appearance
The iPad Air borrows heavily from the design aesthetics of the previous generation iPad Pro. A slab of aluminum and glass with flat edges and an edge-to-edge display, it definitely looks like a typical iPad Pro to observers.
And the 2024 iPad Pro has undergone a slight redesign. While the core design aesthetic is retained, Apple has worked to make it a little thinner and lighter than before.
In terms of size, the 13-inch iPad Air measures 11.04 by 8.46 inches and is 0.24 inches thick. The iPad Pro is slightly larger at 11.09 by 8.48 inches, but it's thinner at 0.20 inches.
Slimming down the iPad Pro also contributed to its weight loss. It weighs 1.28 pounds, which is lighter than the 1.5-pound iPad Air.
2024 iPad Air 6
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13 -inch iPad Pro vs 13-inch iPad Air – displays
The 13-inch iPad Air uses a Liquid Retina display, just like the previous generation. This is an LED-backlit screen with support for True Tone and Wide Color (P3).
OLED made its debut on Apple tablets in the 13-inch iPad Pro. The Ultra Retina XDR in the new 13-inch iPad Pro display uses Tandem OLED, which uses two OLED layers instead of one, delivering high brightness levels and wide dynamic range.
As for brightness, Apple says the 13-inch iPad Air has a brightness of 600 nits. The iPad Pro's new technology means brightness can reach 100 nits for full-screen mode and 1,600 nits peak for HDR content.
The iPad Pro's Ultra Retina XDR display uses tandem OLED
The iPad Pro's top display also has a significantly higher contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. While Apple hasn't said what the iPad Air is capable of, the display technology is unlikely to match that of the iPad Pro.
Along with True Tone and Wide Color (P3) support, the iPad Pro screen also features ProMotion technology. Apple's Adaptive Variable Refresh Rate technology can range from 10Hz to 120Hz.
This should give iPad Pro users a smoother scrolling and drawing experience compared to the iPad Air.
13 iPad Pro 13-inch and iPad Air 13-inch: performance
In the new generation, iPad Air received M2 status. Quite a well-known figure, this was the chip that used to be in the iPad Pro.
It uses eight CPU cores, four performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a ten-core GPU. It also has a 16-core Neural Engine as well as a Media Engine for hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding.
Memory capacity – 8 GB, bandwidth – 100 GB/s.
Meanwhile, the iPad Pro skipped a generation and moved to the M4. Of these, Apple has two variants of the iPad Pro.
The first version has a nine-core processor with three performance cores and six efficiency cores, which is sold in capacities of 256 GB and 512 GB. The 1TB and 2TB models feature a ten-core processor with four performance cores and six efficiency cores.
Both chip variants feature a 10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing. There is also a Media Engine with support for AV1 decoding and an updated Neural Engine.
Memory consists of 8 GB on gigabyte-class models, 16 GB for terabyte versions. Memory bandwidth is higher than M2, reaching 120 GB/s.
According to Apple's promotional materials, the M4 is supposedly capable of rendering four times faster than the M2, with 1.5 times the processor performance. Neural Engine speed increases from 15.8 trillion operations per second in M2 to 38 trillion in M4.
For a direct comparison, we can pit the M2 in the iPad Pro against purported benchmarks for the 10-core iPad M4 that surfaced shortly after the announcement as a benchmark.
Geekbench single-core test results for the iPad Pro M2 compared to the estimated performance of the M4
According to Geekbench, the M2 in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which We use the new iPad Air as a replacement, here it scores 2540 for single-core results and 9630 for multi-core results. The initial benchmark for the 10-core iPad Pro M4 claims it reaches 3,767 single-core and 14,677 multi-core.
Multi-core Geekbench scores for the supposed iPad Pro M4 compared to the iPad Pro M2
This equates to a 48% processor improvement for single-core processing and 52% for multi-core processing processors. This is very close to Apple's claimed 1.5x improvement.
We expected the M4 to perform better after moving to two generations of chips. If Apple's claims are to be believed and can be further verified, the chip swap could make a huge difference for both power users and Apple's future AI features.
13-inch iPad Pro and 13-inch iPad Air – cameras and sound
On the back, the iPad Pro and iPad Air are almost identical. Both use a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with f/1.8 aperture and 5x digital zoom.
The iPad Air simply has a raised camera, while the iPad Pro has a full protrusion. This is because there are other things attached to the back.
iPad Pro camera hits [left] iPad Air [right]
Additional elements of iPad Pro include a LIDAR sensor for depth sensing that helps focus in photography and other apps. Apple also includes True Tone adaptive flash, which the Air doesn't have.
Both are capable of recording 4K video at up to 60fps, as well as 1080p 240fps slow motion, and use 3x digital zoom for videos and 5x for photos.
The iPad Pro goes even further, adding ProRes video up to 4K, 30fps, 1080p, 30fps for the 256GB model. When recording to an external drive, the resolution increases to 4K at 60 frames per second.
The front camera is the ultra-wide landscape version of both and is capable of capturing 10MP images. Featuring an f/2.4 aperture with 2x stop, center stage, and Retina Flash with True Tone, they're pretty similar.
However, the iPad Pro version features a TrueDepth camera, so it supports facial recognition and depth mapping, allowing it to work with Face ID. The iPad Air lacks Face ID, instead using a button-mounted Touch ID sensor.
In terms of sound, the iPad Pro comes with a quad-speaker audio system, while the iPad Air comes with landscape-firing stereo speakers. At least the 13″ model has twice as much bass as the 11″ version.
The number of microphones is similar to the iPad Pro: four studio-quality microphones instead of two.
iPad M4
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iPad Pro 13-inch and iPad Air 13-inch – Connectivity and battery
In terms of physical connectivity, iPad Pro and iPad Air have a rear Smart Connector that can be used with accessories like the Magic Keyboard.
The iPad Air has a USB-C port at the base, but the iPad Pro has a Thunderbolt/USB 4 connector instead. This means the potential data throughput through the iPad Pro's connection is much higher: 40 Gbps vs. 10 Gbps, which can help in some applications.
Smart Connector on iPad Air and iPad Pro can work with Magic Keyboard
For wireless connections, both models support Wi-Fi 6E, as well as Bluetooth 5.3. Cellular coverage extends to sub-6GHz 5G signals, none of which work with mmWave.
A cellular change occurs that affects both models compared to previous generations. Earlier versions supported both physical Nano-SIM and eSIM cards, but now they only work with eSIM.
13-inch iPad Pro vs 13-inch iPad Air – capacity and prices
The 13-inch iPad Pro with 256GB capacity is available in Silver or Space Black. It starts at $1,299. The 512GB model costs $1,499, the 1TB model costs $1,899, and the 2TB model costs $2,299.
Adding nanotexture glass to the 1TB or 2TB models costs an additional $100, and cellular connectivity costs another $200. The most expensive configuration costs $2,599.
The iPad Air is available in four color options: space grey, blue, purple and starlight. Pricing starts at $799 for the 128GB model, rising to $899 for the 256GB model, $1,099 for the 512GB model, and $1,299 for the 1TB.
While there's no nanotexture glass option, you can still pay $150 for cellular connectivity, which is $50 cheaper than the iPad Pro add-on.
13-inch iPad Pro vs 13-inch iPad Air – which to buy?
Obviously, there are two separate levels of iPad models being compared here. There are many differences, and the vast majority of them benefit the iPad Pro more than the iPad Air.
The iPad Pro will have improved display technology, better sound and better performance. But at the same time you will have to pay for it.
The iPad Air may be cheaper, but it has more color options.
This price difference varies when comparing similar capacities. Between the 256GB and 512GB options, you pay $400 more for the iPad Pro than for the iPad Air.
At 1TB, the price gap widens to $600. And that doesn't include price differences of an extra $50 for cellular models or an extra $100 for nanotexture glass on some iPad Pro models.
Essentially, both iPad models are great versions of the shape on paper. Any of them will be able to satisfy the desires and needs of the average user for several years.
It's fair to say that spending $400 to $750 more on the iPad Pro is a better choice than the comparable iPad Air. However, you'll still have to justify it by saying you need that level of performance or a significantly better display.
But at the same time, this price difference may give you more storage or cellular data on the iPad Air compared to the iPad Pro with Wi-Fi. Or maybe an accessory or two, like the Apple Pencil Pro (discounted with promo code APINSIDER at Adorama).
The iPad Pro remains, without a doubt, the best of the best on the market. The iPad Air is for people who can settle for a pretty good tablet but still want to save a little money.
13-inch iPad Pro vs 13-inch iPad Air – Where to buy
For the best prices on Apple's 2024 iPad, check out our iPad Price Guide, plus exclusive deals on the latest models.
At the time of publication, iPad Air 6 and iPad Pro M4 are eligible for an exclusive coupon discount with promo code APINSIDER at Adorama. Tablets are up to $100 off, plus bonus savings on AppleCare, bringing the total discount to $130. The promo code also offers discounts on accessories including the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro.
You can also find the day's best deals in our iPad Deals Roundup, which covers the best deals across the entire iPad lineup.
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