iPad iPad Air 5 vs iPad Pro (2020)

[slickson72]

I ordered an iPad Air 5 yesterday, but today my girlfriend decided to upgrade to a 12.9 Pro and she wants to sell her 11 Pro (2020). I paid about $800 for the Air and she'll sell the Pro to me for $500, prices are different because I'm not in the US. I'll mainly use it for teaching (specifically to annotate.)

Is there any reason not to cancel my order and buy hers?

 

[sparksd]

Good price + happy girlfriend? Should be an easy answer ...

 

[slickson72]

Good price + happy girlfriend? Should be an easy answer ...

True, don't see any reason not to buy hers. M1 probably won't make a $300 difference.

 

[bniu]

iPad Pro from 2020 runs an A12Z, which for all practical purposes would be the “M0” chip. It’s got half the Neural engine cores, same number of graphics and cpu cores, but run slightly slower, not a big deal.

It has 2GB less RAM. It has an inferior front cam.

What does it gain over iPad Air 5?

Pro motion display
Ultra wide camera
Camera led flash
LIDAR
Face ID instead of Touch ID
Four speakers instead of two
Studio quality mics

And in your case, cheaper by $300+ tax

The 2020 iPad pros got a bad rap for being a somewhat minor upgrade over the 2018 ones, but they’re actually quite capable on their own. I have one, it’s fantastic in what it does.

 

[slickson72]

iPad Pro from 2020 runs an A12Z, which for all practical purposes would be the “M0” chip. It’s got half the Neural engine cores, same number of graphics and cpu cores, but run slightly slower, not a big deal.

It has 2GB less RAM. It has an inferior front cam.

What does it gain over iPad Air 5?

Pro motion display
Ultra wide camera
Camera led flash
LIDAR
Face ID instead of Touch ID
Four speakers instead of two
Studio quality mics

And in your case, cheaper by $300+ tax

The 2020 iPad pros got a bad rap for being a somewhat minor upgrade over the 2018 ones, but they’re actually quite capable on their own. I have one, it’s fantastic in what it does.

Thank you for this detailed reply - I don't know much about the technical stuff so this helps a lot. Think you've assuaged any fears of missing out on M1 (+ minor unboxing excitement.)

 

[SkiHound2]

I think bniu's post is spot on. Assuming memory is sufficient on both I'd take the 2020 Pro over the Air 5. There are very few tasks for which you'd notice a difference between the A12Z and M1. If you're doing lots of video editing or something really processor dependent, then the M1 might be a better choice. Indeed, because of the promotion display the Pro might "feel" faster and smoothing in a lot of day to day tasks. Until just recently I was still using a 2016 9.7" Pro with A9x, the A12z is much faster. In 4-5 years the difference between the M1 and A12z might be more important. But a savings up front kind of makes up for a possible difference in long term viability. I'm not a power user by any means. But I bought an 11" Pro because I find things like promotion, better speakers, etc. worth it to ME.

 

[slickson72]

I think bniu's post is spot on. Assuming memory is sufficient on both I'd take the 2020 Pro over the Air 5. There are very few tasks for which you'd notice a difference between the A12Z and M1. If you're doing lots of video editing or something really processor dependent, then the M1 might be a better choice. Indeed, because of the promotion display the Pro might "feel" faster and smoothing in a lot of day to day tasks. Until just recently I was still using a 2016 9.7" Pro with A9x, the A12z is much faster. In 4-5 years the difference between the M1 and A12z might be more important. But a savings up front kind of makes up for a possible difference in long term viability. I'm not a power user by any means. But I bought an 11" Pro because I find things like promotion, better speakers, etc. worth it to ME.

Thanks for the reply. The memory on the Air would've been 256gb and the Pro is 128gb - but I don't think that makes a big difference for me (slightly nudging Apple to release a 128gb Air 5 lol)

 

[The Game 161]

everybody is different but for me the pro motion is worth it for me.

 

[teh_hunterer]

I think bniu's post is spot on. Assuming memory is sufficient on both I'd take the 2020 Pro over the Air 5. There are very few tasks for which you'd notice a difference between the A12Z and M1. If you're doing lots of video editing or something really processor dependent, then the M1 might be a better choice. Indeed, because of the promotion display the Pro might "feel" faster and smoothing in a lot of day to day tasks. Until just recently I was still using a 2016 9.7" Pro with A9x, the A12z is much faster. In 4-5 years the difference between the M1 and A12z might be more important. But a savings up front kind of makes up for a possible difference in long term viability. I'm not a power user by any means. But I bought an 11" Pro because I find things like promotion, better speakers, etc. worth it to ME.

You're right, and what stuck out to me is where you say in 5 years the difference between A12Z and M1 might be more pronounced. My take is that using a device with a 60hz refresh rate in 5 years might feel way older than using something with the A12Z.

 

[Student of Life]

Go with the pro since its a better deal. Thats not even touching the make the GF happy aspect, thats like killing two birds with one stone type of deals.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

I ordered an iPad Air 5 yesterday, but today my girlfriend decided to upgrade to a 12.9 Pro and she wants to sell her 11 Pro (2020). I paid about $800 for the Air and she'll sell the Pro to me for $500, prices are different because I'm not in the US. I'll mainly use it for teaching (specifically to annotate.)

Is there any reason not to cancel my order and buy hers?

While the Air 5 has superior RAM/CPU, I am sure you will be fine with the 2020 Pro given you’re not doing anything intensive.

ProMotion, quad speakers, LIDAR (and a lower price) are all nice things to have.

 

[rui no onna]

You're right, and what stuck out to me is where you say in 5 years the difference between A12Z and M1 might be more pronounced. My take is that using a device with a 60hz refresh rate in 5 years might feel way older than using something with the A12Z.

Maybe, maybe not. My Air 3 A12, 3GB, 60Hz actually feels noticeably faster than my Pro 10.5 A10X, 4GB, 120Hz.

That said, for $300 less by all means go for the 2020 Pro.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Went to the store today and the Air has jelly scrolling in landscape mode so if you’re sensitive to that then get the Pro since the ProMotion helps with that.

 

[snipr125]

Tough choice, but although your girlfriends IPP 2020 is $300 cheaper, just bare in mind the A12Z is already losing features due to its weaker neural engine performance e.g does not feature Face ID with mask on with iPad OS 15. But if your using it for teaching, the IPP 2020 will be more than fine.

 

[Isengardtom]

I think at this price difference the Pro is the better choice. The RAM is high enough at 6GB and it has some nice Pro features such as the promotion 120hz and quad speakers.

There might be M1 exclusive software features coming along the way but you shouldn't base current purchases of off rumours.
Other things the Air has in favour are the Center stage camera which is nice but not crucial and 2 GB more ram.

 

[Digitalguy]

Maybe, maybe not. My Air 3 A12, 3GB, 60Hz actually feels noticeably faster than my Pro 10.5 A10X, 4GB, 120Hz.

That said, for $300 less by all means go for the 2020 Pro.

Same, my Mini 5 (basically the same as the Air 3) is clearly faster than my 10.5. Promotion makes it better only for scrolling. Apps open faster on the A12, pages load faster too.
Having said that a pro 2020 for so much less than an air 5 is a no brainer, even when taking storage into account.

 

[slickson72]

Thanks for all your feedback. Ended up going with the IPP as I think it's great value for money and Air 5 does not offer that much more.