The iPad Air is now obtainable in two dimension choices, identical to the iPad Professional. But after a big replace to the iPad Professional that introduces a thinner design and OLED shows, how completely different are the 2 product traces and which do you have to purchase?
The introduction of the fourth-generation iPad Air in September 2020 introduced the system a lot nearer to the iPad Professional when it comes to design, and with the newest mannequin, the iPad Air gained the identical M2 chip and Apple Pencil hover assist because the earlier iPad Professional, bringing them even nearer collectively. The newest iPad Professional fashions launched numerous important new modifications, such because the M4 chip, OLED shows, and the next value level, and it signifies that the high-end iPad fashions at the moment are additional differentiated from the iPad Air than earlier than.
Must you think about buying the iPad Air to save cash, or do you want the high-end options of the iPad Professional? Our information solutions the query of the way to determine which of those two iPads is greatest for you.
| iPad Air (M2, 2024) | iPad Professional (M4, 2024) |
|---|---|
| Liquid Retina show LED backlit Multi-Contact show with IPS know-how |
Extremely Retina XDR show Tandem OLED |
| ProMotion know-how for refresh charges as much as 120Hz | |
| SDR brightness: 600 nits max | SDR brightness: 1,000 nits max XDR brightness: 1,000 nits max full display, 1,600 nits peak (HDR content material solely) |
| Nano-texture show glass possibility on 1TB and 2TB fashions | |
| M2 chip (5nm, N5P) | M4 chip (3nm enhanced, N3E) |
| 8-core CPU | As much as 10-core CPU |
| {Hardware}-accelerated ray tracing | |
| {Hardware}-accelerated H.264 and HEVC | {Hardware}-accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW |
| ProRes encode and decode engine AV1 decode |
|
| 100GB/s reminiscence bandwidth | 120GB/s reminiscence bandwidth |
| 8GB of reminiscence | 8GB or 16GB of reminiscence |
| Improved thermal design with graphite sheets and copper | |
| Contact ID in prime button | TrueDepth digicam system for Face ID |
| Portrait mode with superior bokeh and Depth Management | |
| Portrait Lighting with six results (Pure, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, Excessive-Key Mono) | |
| Animoji and Memoji | |
| LiDAR scanner | |
| Adaptive True Tone flash | |
| Rear ambient mild sensor | |
| ProRes video recording as much as 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 256GB capability) | |
| ProRes video recording as much as 4K at 60 fps with exterior recording | |
| Two microphones | 4 studio-quality microphones |
| Audio zoom | |
| Stereo recording | |
| Panorama stereo audio system | 4 speaker audio |
| Weight: 462 grams or 617 grams | Weight 444 grams or 579 grams |
| Depth: 6.1 mm | Depth: 5.3 mm or 5.1 mm |
| USB‑C connector | USB‑C connector with assist for Thunderbolt / USB 4 |
| Helps Magic Keyboard | Helps Magic Keyboard for iPad Professional (M4) |
| 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage |
| Out there in Area Grey, Starlight, Purple, and Blue | Out there in Area Black and Silver |
| Value beginning at $599 | Value beginning at $999 |
Total, the iPad Air is the higher possibility for almost all of customers, merely on the premise of worth for cash. For most individuals, the extra $400+ wanted to purchase the iPad Professional isn’t justified to get the likes of Face ID, four-speaker audio, and a ProMotion OLED show with refresh charges as much as 120Hz.
Some iPad Professional options, akin to LiDAR, as much as 16GB of reminiscence, and Thunderbolt connectivity are solely virtually helpful to a small area of interest of customers and most won’t ever use a few of these high-end capabilities. Many options akin to Audio zoom and stereo audio recording will not be meaningfully utilized by many customers.
Professionals who’ve a transparent use case for needing bigger quantities of RAM and storage, a matte show, Thunderbolt connectivity, and OLED for HDR content material will clearly profit from shopping for the iPad Professional. That being stated, “prosumer”-style clients who merely need the very best iPad will take pleasure in options akin to 120Hz ProMotion for smoother scrolling and gaming, deeper blacks and extra vivid colours with the OLED show, and the Adaptive True Tone flash for doc scanning, even when they don’t seem to be essential.
Past these particular person circumstances, the iPad Air is the very best worth for cash and shall be greater than ample for many customers’ wants. With the iPad Air, customers can get a contemporary all-screen design, the M2 chip, sensible options like USB-C and 5G connectivity, and compatibility with the core Apple equipment for a value effectively beneath that of the iPad Professional.
