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iPad Air IPad Air 2021
- Thread starter magicschoolbus
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Highly doubt it. Ming Kuo has rumoured that the next Air will be coming next year with an OLED screen, and based on the Air 3 (A12) and Air 4 (A14) releases, it should be getting the A16 bionic. If we are lucky, it might get Pro-motion as its been around on the Pro models for a few years now, so fits the criteria for trickling down to the Air, but its not a big deal to me if it doesn't.
I doubt promotion with OLED as that was the main reason pro went mini led.
Apple at this point view Mini LED as being more premium and suitable for the IPad Pro's which is why its on the flagship 2021 12.9 model.
Probably next year. It’s too soon for a refresh. The 2020 got the latest processor right when that processor came out. Going from A14 to A15 probably wouldn’t be significant enough, so they’ll likely wait for A16. Of course, that would mean they’d have to wait until the fall of next year. Not sure what Apple wants the release cycle to be for the Air.
The first and second Airs were a year apart, but the third and fourth were a year and a half apart. Maybe stretching it to two years isn’t the craziest notion, especially since the gap between the second and third was over four years.
The first and second Airs were a year apart, but the third and fourth were a year and a half apart. Maybe stretching it to two years isn’t the craziest notion, especially since the gap between the second and third was over four years.
i'm in the market for an air is their a thread for one? 599 seems like a killer deal for this thing. I've played around with one at work and it's super nice.
It‘s all a matter of priorities, but to me the $799 M1 offers more value for money for the $200 dollar. For 25% more you get double the storage, double the RAM, double the performance (4 power cores instead of 2), double the speakers, double the max framerate (and variable) with promotion, and Thunderbolt. And as a small bonus a little bit more screen real estate. Again you might not care about some of these features, but in terms of value for money you get a lot more for those $200.
Yeah, but for an extra $200 you get 1.9” extra screen, MiniLED, compatibility with a larger Magic Keyboard and possibly more battery life.
Oops, $300 more. But who’s counting?
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thing is, 1.9 extra screen is not a plus for everyone, some people care about weight and portability more than about screen size… so while all the advantages of the M1 11 over the air 4 are clear (at best some people don’t care for some), here some people might prefer the smaller one, even at the same price…
I don‘t have the larger magic keyboard but I have the 11in one, and I think it’s great already…. And costs less… Battery life doesn’t seem to be much different according to reviews. As for mini led, that’s an advantage but it really depends how much you care about that. I don’t, but then it’s because I have a 12.4 OLED tablet already. Some people might watch HDR movies on TVs. So it depends, but it’s a plus.
However in terms of value, you basically pay $200 for the larger screen (which again depends on preference size vs portablity) and $100 for mini led. The rest is the same.
In my opinion the value you get over the air 4 is huge for $200 (you get basically double everything for 25% more), while I don’t think it’s so huge for the 12.9 over the 11 pro, unless again you prefer the larger size (and in that case 11in is probably not for you anyway) and/or badly want that mini led
That's pretty much my assessment too. I would say that if 64gb is sufficient, then the Air is a very attractive device at $599, and you can often find for $40 to $50 less. But if you upgrade storage on the Air to $256 then the relative value vs the Pro diminishes.
Your point is valid, of course. My response was meant to be somewhat sarcastic, mostly because I tire of seeing people trying to upsell others on this forum.
In truth, I bought the Air right when it came out last year, but if I was deciding right now which iPad to get, I’d get the newest Pro.
It’s not because of promotion or the dual cameras with Lidar. The biggest thing for me is the Center Stage feature, but the quad speakers have always been a nice bonus on the Pros and the M1 with 8-16GB RAM is also nice for future proofing this time.
For those who dig these features/specs, go for the Pro. But the Air is still a great choice. My iPad does everything I need it to do. Some need/want more, so Apple will gladly take more of your money for it.
I bought the Air right after the Pro came out and couldn’t be happier with it. The screen is great, the processor is fast, and I like using USB-C accessories and charging, as well as the Magic Keyboard and Pencil. The nearly 30% difference in price between the Air and Pro just wasn’t worth it for my usage.
