All iPads iPad Air 4 as a laptop replacement and get a desktop or that and go for the pro?

[TopGuy1104]

I'm thinking of selling my gaming laptop and replacing it with a gaming desktop while using my iPad to replace my laptop for doing my work on the go. I have owned the iPad Air 4 since November and despite how powerful the Pro is, I feel as the Air is more than capable to fulfil my needs and is capable of replacing my laptop to do any on the go work with college but I plan to have a desktop to do it at home as well as to play pc games and I plan to use cloud gaming on the go with my iPad. I do tons of causal media stuff on my iPad as well as use external storage as backup for my photos and I rarely ever travel with my laptop rather I almost always take my iPad with me. Should I do it or not and should I possibly upgrade to Pro if I do this?

 

[cupcakes2000]

I ditched my laptop for an iPad + Mac mini. I use 12.9 pros but if the air works for you now it’s prob ok for your case.

 

[Shirasaki]

I’d say go for iPad Pro since you use iPad predominantly. I go to iPad Pro so I can enjoy better Apple Pencil, keyboard and better performance. Yes, the upfront cost is high, but experience is much better and longevity of iPad Pro will be amazing.

Of course, if budget is a major concern, you can go for iPad Air, which can do 95% things iPad Pro can do, just slower (than M1 iPad Pro).

 

[mr_jomo]

That's an interesting consideration.

Out of curiosity: what work - in general terms - do you need to accomplish on the go?

Anecdotal: I tried the same experiment over 12 months using a 12.9 2018 Pro and had to abort . Luckily the M1 macBook Air is amazing ?

 

[AutomaticApple]

I'm thinking of selling my gaming laptop and replacing it with a gaming desktop while using my iPad to replace my laptop for doing my work on the go. I have owned the iPad Air 4 since November and despite how powerful the Pro is, I feel as the Air is more than capable to fulfil my needs and is capable of replacing my laptop to do any on the go work with college but I plan to have a desktop to do it at home as well as to play pc games and I plan to use cloud gaming on the go with my iPad. I do tons of causal media stuff on my iPad as well as use external storage as backup for my photos and I rarely ever travel with my laptop rather I almost always take my iPad with me. Should I do it or not and should I possibly upgrade to Pro if I do this?

Yes, you will probably notice a major difference while using the iPad Pro.

 

[Lukkee24]

I’m in a similar position, with a gaming pc which I use for both gaming & working from home. I then have an iPad Pro (2018 11’) which is amazing for everything else, whether casual web browsing/watching YouTube or tv, or of course note taking/studying when I have exams (& like you I take it with me everywhere when travelling). When I built my gaming pc, about a year ago, I sold my 2015 MBP and also wanted to see if I could go without a laptop. I would say it has worked out mostly, though I am beginning to want a laptop again for 2 reasons; firstly so I could work from home without being restricted to my desk (can’t use iPad), and similarly for online lectures it would be nice to not be restricted to my desk (can’t notetake and watch the lecture on the iPad simultaneously, though could potentially do so with a 12.9”). I’m holding out for now, but will probably end up getting a laptop later this year. We’ll see! But I’d say definitely go for it and see how it works out for you, it sounds like you’re able to do work-based stuff on your iPad which I can’t (need a specific programme).

 

[Username-already-in-use]

In our house we have the iPad Air 4 and the 12.9 iPad Pro. The iPad Air is perfectly do-able for office type tasks on the go. You will need to consider the cost of a keyboard maybe, but there’s plenty of options if you can’t get a deal on the Magic Keyboard (Logitech’s range, smart keyboards, bluetooth keyboards etc).

 

[ejin222]

If you have the Air 4, you probably won’t need the Pro to be honest, except if you really utilize a lot of multitasking/split screen. Only then can I see you benefiting having the Pro over the Air 4. I would just save your money and purchase external SDD’s if you need them? Or maybe a good keyboard for the Air to help you take notes if you don’t have one already. Good luck~

 

[snipr125]

If you have the Air 4, you probably won’t need the Pro to be honest, except if you really utilize a lot of multitasking/split screen. Only then can I see you benefiting having the Pro over the Air 4. I would just save your money and purchase external SDD’s if you need them? Or maybe a good keyboard for the Air to help you take notes if you don’t have one already. Good luck~

Yes indeed, and remember OP that the IPad Air 4 uses the exact same Apple pencil 2, Magic keyboard and USB C connectivity as the iPad Pro 11. It also has serious performance with the Apple A14 bionic chip, just like the IPhone 12‘s do. The newer M1 iPad Pros do offer more performance but after the WWDC, apple made it clear that the Pro models will not be getting any special Pro software or anything like that, they are just more luxurious iPads that’s all. The reality is that your iPad Air 4 can do absolutely anything the M1 Pro models can do, bar nothing, maybe a bit slower in very intense tasks like video rendering that requires multiple cores, but that’s it.

 

[Abazigal]

I think it can be done. Desktop for the heavy lifting and preparation of resources that go into your ipad for the day.

 

[ericwn]

Since you are content with the Air 4 you already have, you have answered your question.

Aside from Gear acquisition syndrome, the bigger iPad might be slightly nicer but wether or not that is enough value for a trade, only you can decide. Apple gives you a two week return period to answer that question.

 

[TopGuy1104]

That's an interesting consideration.

Out of curiosity: what work - in general terms - do you need to accomplish on the go?

Anecdotal: I tried the same experiment over 12 months using a 12.9 2018 Pro and had to abort . Luckily the M1 macBook Air is amazing ?

Something more like browsing the internet, using zoom, doing word documents, and powerpoints.

 

[TopGuy1104]

I ditched my laptop for an iPad + Mac mini. I use 12.9 pros but if the air works for you now it’s prob ok for your case.

Tbh I've had the air since about November and it has done a great job since and i've only now been taking advantage of these laptop like features i'm able to do on it and at the end of the day, I don't really need something crazy powerful like the pro considering i use it to look at media, watch videos, play video games (half of which I do via Google Stadia), and or do simple school work like an word document, or powerpoints.

 

[TopGuy1104]

I’d say go for iPad Pro since you use iPad predominantly. I go to iPad Pro so I can enjoy better Apple Pencil, keyboard and better performance. Yes, the upfront cost is high, but experience is much better and longevity of iPad Pro will be amazing.

Of course, if budget is a major concern, you can go for iPad Air, which can do 95% things iPad Pro can do, just slower (than M1 iPad Pro).

I actually have owned the Air since November and ended up with 64gb. I only really simply do media, watching videos, video games (mix of app store games and google stadia via the free service rather than their pro) and school work like powerpoints and word documents and when it comes to photos, that's on my phone but I carry around a flash drive to view any of it on my iPad. Idk whether a step up to the Pro is really needed for my expectations or not and if so, is there a way to trade the air rn for the Pro?

 

[TopGuy1104]

I’m in a similar position, with a gaming pc which I use for both gaming & working from home. I then have an iPad Pro (2018 11’) which is amazing for everything else, whether casual web browsing/watching YouTube or tv, or of course note taking/studying when I have exams (& like you I take it with me everywhere when travelling). When I built my gaming pc, about a year ago, I sold my 2015 MBP and also wanted to see if I could go without a laptop. I would say it has worked out mostly, though I am beginning to want a laptop again for 2 reasons; firstly so I could work from home without being restricted to my desk (can’t use iPad), and similarly for online lectures it would be nice to not be restricted to my desk (can’t notetake and watch the lecture on the iPad simultaneously, though could potentially do so with a 12.9”). I’m holding out for now, but will probably end up getting a laptop later this year. We’ll see! But I’d say definitely go for it and see how it works out for you, it sounds like you’re able to do work-based stuff on your iPad which I can’t (need a specific programme).

I think what im actually gonna do now is just buy a monitor and a desk and setup my laptop like a desktop and just use my laptop as a second monitor and leave it plugged all day. Luckily the laptop I have has a battery mean't to be plugged in so I can take advantage of that for when I do games and in the event of an emergency, I can take it with me on the go but its probably highly unlikely as long as I have a great working iPad to do the job.

 

[Shirasaki]

I actually have owned the Air since November and ended up with 64gb. I only really simply do media, watching videos, video games (mix of app store games and google stadia via the free service rather than their pro) and school work like powerpoints and word documents and when it comes to photos, that's on my phone but I carry around a flash drive to view any of it on my iPad. Idk whether a step up to the Pro is really needed for my expectations or not and if so, is there a way to trade the air rn for the Pro?

Apple usually offer 2-week trial period you can play around and see how it fits your workflow and such. But if you believe your workload is mostly light and no demanding stuff being done, iPad Air is perfectly fine. Just don’t pick older generation as 2020 iPad Air is better in almost every way.

 

[TopGuy1104]

Apple usually offer 2-week trial period you can play around and see how it fits your workflow and such. But if you believe your workload is mostly light and no demanding stuff being done, iPad Air is perfectly fine. Just don’t pick older generation as 2020 iPad Air is better in almost every way.

Interesting. Where can I get this 2 week trial offer? Do they have it online or would I have to go to the Apple Store?

 

[Shirasaki]

Interesting. Where can I get this 2 week trial offer? Do they have it online or would I have to go to the Apple Store?

Online or apple store should be fine, but I suggest to go to apple store.

Ok, “trial offer” is just my weird way to say you can buy from apple and return within two weeks for a full refund for any reason, as long as device is still functional and looks new. But it does allow you to try it out before changing mind. I did this for AirPods, some third party cases, phones and tablets.