By Hartley Charlton
The iPad Air is now available in two sizes, just like the iPad Pro. However, after a significant update to the iPad Pro which introduces thinner designs and OLED displays, how different are these two product lines and which one should you buy?
Introduction of the fourth generation iPad Air in September 2020, the device became much closer to the iPad Pro in terms of design, and the latest iPad Air features the same M2 chip and Apple Pencil pointing support as the previous iPad Pro, bringing the two even closer together. Latest version of iPad Pro The models introduced a large number of significant new changes, such as the M4 chip, OLED displays and a higher price, meaning that the high-end iPad models are now even more different from the iPad Air than before.
If you are thinking about purchasing an iPad Air to save money, or do you want the high-end features of the iPad Pro? Our guide answers the question of how to decide which of these two iPads is best for you.
| iPad Air (M2, 2024) | iPad Pro (M4, 2024) |
|---|---|
| Liquid Retina display Multi-touch LED-backlit IPS display |
Ultra Retina XDR display Tandem OLED |
| ProMotion technology for up to 120Hz refresh rate | |
| 11- Inch model SDR brightness: 500 nits maximum SDR brightness 13- inch model: 600 nits maximum |
SDR brightnesss: 1000 nits maximum XDR brightness: 1000 nits maximum in full screen mode, peak 1600 nits (HDR content only) |
| Nano textured glass display option on 1TB and 2TB models | |
| M2 chip (5 nm, N5P) | M4 chip (improved 3 nm, N3E) |
| 8- core CPU | Up to 10-core CPU |
| Hardware accelerated ray tracing | |
| H.264 and HEVC with hardware acceleration | Hardware accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW |
| ProRes encoding and decoding engine AV1 decoding |
|
| 100 GB/s memory bandwidth | Memory bandwidth 120 GB/s |
| 8 GB memory | 8 GB or 16 GB memory |
| Advanced cooling system using graphite sheets and copper | |
| Touch ID in the top button | TrueDepth camera system for Face ID |
| Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and depth control | |
| Portrait lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage mono, High mono) | |
| Animoji and Memoji | |
| LiDAR scanner | |
| Adaptive True Tone flash | |
| Rear ambient light sensor | |
| ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30fps ( 1080p at 30 fps for 256 GB capacity) | |
| Record ProRes video up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording | |
| Two microphones | Four studio-quality microphones |
| Increase sound | |
| Stereo recording | |
| Landscape stereo speakers | Four sound speakers |
| Weight: 462 grams or 617 grams | Weight444 grams or 579 grams |
| Depth: 6.1 mm | Depth: 5.3 mm or 5.1 mm |
| USB-C connector | USB-C connector with Thunderbolt/USB 4 support |
| Magic Keyboard support | Supports Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (M4) |
| 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB |
| Available in Space Grey, Starlight, Purple and Blue | Available in Space Black and Silver |
| Price from 599 USD | Price from 999 USD |
Overall, iPad Air is the best option for most users simply in terms of price and quality. For most people, an additional $400 is required to purchase an iPad Pro It's unnecessary to use features like Face ID, quad-speaker audio, and a ProMotion OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate.
Some iPad Pro Features like LiDAR, up to 16GB of storage, and Thunderbolt connectivity are only of practical use to a small niche of users, and most of them will never use some of these high-end features. Many features, such as audio upscaling and stereo recording, may not be effective for many users.
Pros with a clear use case require more RAM and storage, a matte display, Thunderbolt and OLED connectivity HDR content will clearly benefit from purchasing an iPad Pro. At the same time, clients focused on “prosumers” who simply want the best iPad will enjoy features like 120Hz ProMotion for smoother scrolling and gaming, deeper blacks and more vibrant colors on the OLED display, and adaptive True Tone flash for scanning documents even when they're not needed.
In addition to these individual circumstances, iPad Air This is the best value for money and will be more than enough for most users' needs. With iPad Air users can get a modern full-screen design, M2 chip, practical features like USB-C and 5G connectivity, and compatibility with major Apple accessories at a price significantly below the price of the iPad Pro.
Related reviews: iPad Pro, iPad Air Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now), iPad Air (Buy Now) Forum on topic: iPad111 comments
