All iPads iPad Air 4th Gen or iPad Pro 2018 11-inch

[Pozeidon]

Hey guys! I want to get an iPad and this would be my first iPad ever, kinda excited. I'm deciding between the iPad Air 4th Gen and the iPad Pro 2018 11-inch, which one do you guys think I should go with? I will mostly use it to browse the internet, check emails and watch videos on YouTube and Netflix. From what I've read both are great but the IP 2018 could be a good one but I'm kinda scared that if I choose that one it will stop getting software updates in like a year or two.

 

[Shirasaki]

TBF, iPad Air 4th gen and iPad Pro 2018 will stop getting software update roughly at the same time so you don’t need to worry about that, and certainly not “a year or two”, even though iPad Pro 2018 started with iOS 12.

I dunno about iPad Air, but iPad Pro 2018 seems to suffer some weird screen issue where it will display garbage briefly and go back to normal, also ghost touch, which is possible for all modern touch screen devices. I think it’s mostly me but after replacing iPad Pro twice I’m not sure. Rest assured that there is no other issue I have encountered, but keep that in mind when you buy those second hand.

iPad Pro’s multitasking capability is amazing imo. Dunno about iPad Air.

 

[Pozeidon]

TBF, iPad Air 4th gen and iPad Pro 2018 will stop getting software update roughly at the same time so you don’t need to worry about that, and certainly not “a year or two”, even though iPad Pro 2018 started with iOS 12.

I dunno about iPad Air, but iPad Pro 2018 seems to suffer some weird screen issue where it will display garbage briefly and go back to normal, also ghost touch, which is possible for all modern touch screen devices. I think it’s mostly me but after replacing iPad Pro twice I’m not sure. Rest assured that there is no other issue I have encountered, but keep that in mind when you buy those second hand.

iPad Pro’s multitasking capability is amazing imo. Dunno about iPad Air.

Thanks! I will take this in mind. I didn't know about the screen issues with iPad Pro 2018, however, I've read some stuff about the iPad Air 4th having some backlight bleed issues. I'll try to investigate a bit more because here in my country we don't have Apple Stores. I'm planning on going to this store that is selling both devices almost at the same price brand new, sealed, and everything.

 

[Gandek]

TBF, iPad Air 4th gen and iPad Pro 2018 will stop getting software update roughly at the same time so you don’t need to worry about that, and certainly not “a year or two”, even though iPad Pro 2018 started with iOS 12.

I dunno about iPad Air, but iPad Pro 2018 seems to suffer some weird screen issue where it will display garbage briefly and go back to normal, also ghost touch, which is possible for all modern touch screen devices. I think it’s mostly me but after replacing iPad Pro twice I’m not sure. Rest assured that there is no other issue I have encountered, but keep that in mind when you buy those second hand.

iPad Pro’s multitasking capability is amazing imo. Dunno about iPad Air.

If the leaks are true for iPadOS 15 supported devices then it seems like Apple is going by age and not specs. iPad 5th gen from 2017 is rumored to get the update (A9) but the iPad Pro 9.7 from 2016 (A9x) is not. No doubt the Air 4 will get longer updates than the Pro 2018 even if specs are similar.

With that said I’d still get the Pro 2018 if you can find one mint with a fresh battery or get lucky and get a certified refurbished. I had the Air 4 it was great but that LCD leak issue once I saw it ruined the experience if that’s something that could potentially bother you see the many threads on here about it. From talking to 2018/2020 pro owners the displays seem to be issue free.

 

[Pozeidon]

If the leaks are true for iPadOS 15 supported devices then it seems like Apple is going by age and not specs. iPad 5th gen from 2017 is rumored to get the update (A9) but the iPad Pro 9.7 from 2016 (A9x) is not. No doubt the Air 4 will get longer updates than the Pro 2018 even if specs are similar.

With that said I’d still get the Pro 2018 if you can find one mint with a fresh battery or get lucky and get a certified refurbished. I had the Air 4 it was great but that LCD leak issue once I saw it ruined the experience if that’s something that could potentially bother you see the many threads on here about it. From talking to 2018/2020 pro owners the displays seem to be issue free.

Thanks! Yeah, if the leaks are true then the 2018 iPad Pro most likely will have like 2-3 more years of support. I've been reading a lot of the Air 4 and the backlight leak and that's kinda worrying, I think I'm going with the 2018 Pro, it's still sealed brand new!

 

[rui no onna]

If the leaks are true for iPadOS 15 supported devices then it seems like Apple is going by age and not specs. iPad 5th gen from 2017 is rumored to get the update (A9) but the iPad Pro 9.7 from 2016 (A9x) is not. No doubt the Air 4 will get longer updates than the Pro 2018 even if specs are similar.

With that said I’d still get the Pro 2018 if you can find one mint with a fresh battery or get lucky and get a certified refurbished. I had the Air 4 it was great but that LCD leak issue once I saw it ruined the experience if that’s something that could potentially bother you see the many threads on here about it. From talking to 2018/2020 pro owners the displays seem to be issue free.

If this is based on the TechRadar article, then that's not even leaks, it's just conjecture.

If anything was to go, we'd imagine it'd be iPad Air 2, iPad Pro 9.7 (2016) and iPad Mini 4 that get dropped, as they're the oldest slates on the list. We'll post below the iPadOS 14 compatibility list with those models removed, and this is our current guess at the tablets that'll get iPadOS 15.

There's logic to Apple's firmware support and that's likely based on internal performance testing. The last round, they dropped all 1GB RAM devices. With the hiccups I've gotten on 2-4GB RAM (2GB especially) on iPadOS 13+, I'd say dropping 1GB was a necessity.

If the iPad 5th gen remains supported, I expect so will the faster Pro 9.7. They both have the same amount of RAM.

With that said, both 2018 Pro and Air 4 are good choices. I'd opt for the Air 4 myself for potentially healthier/newer battery as well as lower power iPhone A14 chipset.

 

[ericwn]

Hey guys! I want to get an iPad and this would be my first iPad ever, kinda excited. I'm deciding between the iPad Air 4th Gen and the iPad Pro 2018 11-inch, which one do you guys think I should go with? I will mostly use it to browse the internet, check emails and watch videos on YouTube and Netflix. From what I've read both are great but the IP 2018 could be a good one but I'm kinda scared that if I choose that one it will stop getting software updates in like a year or two.

Any iPad could do these tasks and wouldn’t necessarily have to be up to date even. These services will probably support older versions of iOS for a while too.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Any iPad could do these tasks and wouldn’t necessarily have to be up to date even. These services will probably support older versions of iOS for a while too.

Netflix has already dropped support for iOS 12.

 

[ericwn]

Netflix has already dropped support for iOS 12.

Oh wow. Be that as it may, maybe access via a browser is a workaround for those users?

Looking at iOS 13 compatible devices, my iPad Air 2 from 2014 is still compatible in its seventh year if that is any indication for future software support.

 

[rui no onna]

Netflix has already dropped support for iOS 12.

This isn't really an issue as long as the old Netflix app still works. It just means the old device won't get newer features.