iPad buying guide

Have Apple made the iPad pro no longer necessary?

The original iPad Air started life back in 2013, inheriting its branding from the iconic MacBook Air, which has been hugely successful for Apple.  This has been a wining formula for Apple, combining products with great performance, style and impossibly thin designs (apart from the M4 iPad pro which we will come to later).

The iPad Air is now in its 6th generation, released back in May 2024 with some significant upgrades over the 5th gen model, such as a new landscape camera and M2 chip.  When Apple released the 5th gen Air, they started a new era in tablet computing from my perspective, offering a desktop class processor (Apple M1) in an affordable light package. 

We had already seen the M1 chip debut in Mac's and the iPad pro's, but the Air had historically been ladened with mobile based chips such as the A14 bionic in its 4th gen form.  These were no slouch as we know from the iPhone, but it finally enabled non-pro users to access Mac-level performance in a tablet form, meaning purchasing a Mac was no longer a must.

Now, there is one large caveat to this statement, which is iPad iOS, that is still very much a mobile/tablet operating based system.  It has come on leaps and bounds over the years and we now have access to many desktop style features, such as stage manager, enabling a proper external display output.  There are many people who would love to see Mac OS come to the iPad, but I am not currently jumping on this band wagon.  My reasoning, if you look back to the original iPad launch by the late Steve Jobs, was that the iPad was designed to offer users a new way of accessing data, without having to load up their Mac's.  Steve said, 'What we want to do at Apple, is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes'

I believe this ethos is still reflected in the iPad line up today, including the new M2 iPad Air.  The moment you unbox the Air, it is immediately noticeable just how light it is (weighing only 618g in its heaviest form of 13inch with cellular).  I appreciate the M4 Pro is even lighter, but as a midrange tablet, I think the Air offers a decent balance between the two.  I also have a Pixel tablet - yes, an Android tablet! - and this only has an 10.5" display but feels heavier.

We now get a larger model in a mid-range tablet!

For the first time, the Air comes in two sizes as the last few generations were only offered in the smaller form factors.  I think this is a sensible move by Apple, as larger 13 inch tablets and above are now becoming much more common, mainly due to the amount of power these devices have, allowing users to do more and more.  In my unboxing video, you can see I choose the 13" size, which will go to one of my family as a replacement for an ageing A18 iPad pro.

This leads me on to my first point about who should buy the Air.  Now, my famly member is not a power user by any stretch.  He mainly users a tablet for viewing videos, photos and reading content on.  I believe this is what the vast majority of people do with their tablets, so screen size is important.  As tablets have become lighter, increasing the screen size hasn’t been a bad thing, allowing more viewing area without breaking your back.  Two years back, if he wanted to upgrade his iPad and keep the same screen size, he would have been forced to choose a Pro model.

When I floated the idea to him, of choosing a non-pro model, he looked at me and said I have always chosen 'Pro,' including the iPhone, which is for separate discussion!  So, off we went to our nearest Apple Store and I was determined to show him, that he simply did not need a 'Pro' iPad, if all he wanted was the larger screen.  I know, a lot of you reading this will be thinking, hang on, the Tandem OLED screen on the new Pro is absolutely stunning and you sacrifice 'Pro Motion' on the Air.  I admit as a tech enthusiast, I was immediately drawn to the OLED screen on the Pro model, but the standard LCD screen on the Air, I think actually holds up pretty well next to its more aggressive sibling.

When you factor in the significant price different between the Air and the Pro, the 13" Air starts to make even more sense.  Sure you can spec a pro with Nano-Texture glass offering a super anti reflective coating, but these are features very few people need. So we walked out of the Apple store, brand new 13" iPad air in hand, with the magic keyboard (which is still crazy expensive at £350) but admittedly a great keyboard.  The Logitech third party keyboard cases are also worth a look, as they are significantly cheaper but still very Apple esk.

 I just want to quickly mention, some other features missing from the Air's, such as Face ID, with the true depth camera system and support for Thunderbolt/USB 4.  The onboard Mic's and speakers aren't quite as good, but still offer decent quality on the Air.  Please don’t bother with the cellular option either as it adds £100 to the price, when you can simply tether your existing Android/iPhone to the Air.  I have had this on my best few tablets and never used it!

 Ultimately, my advice is that if you just use your tablet for surfing the web, email and occasional game etc, get the Air M2.  You will not regret it as the M2 chip has more power than you will ever need.  I have even tried Final Cut pro on the Air, which runs beautifully because of the M2, so if your needs change you wont feel short changed.  I would only consider the pro line up now, if money is no object and you simply have to have the best screen etc on a tablet.  Also, if you produce content/video for your profession, then the pro would make sense due to its portability and fantastic screen.