All iPads iPad Air vs iPad

[rui no onna]

Surprised more people haven't mentioned the difference with respect to speakers. If you plan on using it for any video content you really will appreciate the Air's true stereo speakers top and bottom versus the dual speakers on the iPad 9 that fire only from the bottom.

The stereo speakers were already mentioned in the 2nd post. No need to bring it up over and over.

And if the Air does get updated soon, I don't think you will have any buyers remorse as the changes should not be drastic.

Agree on this point. Based on the mini 6, the Air 5 shouldn't be a significant departure from the Air 4. Depending on release schedule, probably just A15/A16, Center Stage, back LED flash and 5G. If it's A15, CPU performance is practically the same as the A14. Main difference is just GPU.

 

[2mnycars]

Interesting post and great advice. I need to replace mine.

Do you get an education discount? I work for a school board; every little bit helps.

 

[ms.annette]

Interesting post and great advice. I need to replace mine.

Do you get an education discount? I work for a school board; every little bit helps.

Yes! I always order through the Apple education store.

 

[Isamilis]

deleted

 

[scupking]

Here’s the thing. The 9th gen is a fantastic device that you usually can find on sale for 299. It’s half the cost of the air with about the same performance. You wouldn’t notice any speed difference in day to day tasks. Then in a year or two you can trade it in for the 11th gen. I don’t see the point of the air at the price it is.

 

[snipr125]

Here’s the thing. The 9th gen is a fantastic device that you usually can find on sale for 299. It’s half the cost of the air with about the same performance. You wouldn’t notice any speed difference in day to day tasks. Then in a year or two you can trade it in for the 11th gen. I don’t see the point of the air at the price it is.

Yes the 9th Gen ipad is a great device, and performs about the same as the Ipad Air 4th gen... but the Air gives you extra things for the extra money that the Ipad 9 does not have, like the modern flat edge Pro design, larger 10.9" laminated screen with P3 wide colour gamut, Full USB C interface to connect more accessories at a faster data transfer rate, Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard support, 5 colour options and proper stereo landscape speakers.

There are a lot of people who want something a bit better than the base ipad (£329), and don't want to spend £750 on the iPad Pro, so the Air (£579) fits that middle ground 'Pro Lite' experience perfectly in terms of price/performance/features. Apple specifically tailored the Air to be able to appeal to as many people as possible, in the same way that the regular Iphone 12/13 does.

 

[Vivian125]

For me iPad 9 is still the Most Value for money. iPad Air and Pro price is no joke. Especially the PRO. Why get an iPad Air 4/5 or Pro when a regular iPad can do what 70% of iPad Air/Pro task.

Also if the iPad Pro has a rumoured redesigned this next year with even smaller bezels, it will make the current m1 iPad Pro and Air 5 ancient just as much as regular iPad 9.

 

[snipr125]

For me iPad 9 is still the Most Value for money. iPad Air and Pro price is no joke. Especially the PRO. Why get an iPad Air 4/5 or Pro when a regular iPad can do what 70% of iPad Air/Pro task.

Also if the iPad Pro has a rumoured redesigned this next year with even smaller bezels, it will make the current m1 iPad Pro and Air 5 ancient just as much as regular iPad 9.

The ipad 9 will also have better battery life than an Air or Pro, forgot to mention that before.

The IPad 10 should hopefully get the Air/Pro design with USB C and A14 chip with 4GB RAM, but let’s hope it does not get a hefty price rise though!