I've been thinking of upgrading my iPad Pro 10.5 that I've had since launch to an iPad Air 4th gen. Other than ProMotion, is there anything significant that'd I'd might miss or is it a worthwhile upgrade? I've loved the Pro but I just don't do enough on it to warrant the cost of the newest models I believe so those I've already ruled out.
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iPad Air Is there anything I'll miss by upgrading to 4th gen Air?
- Thread starter CarolinaFoxGT
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I don't believe so.
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You wont get quad speakers. It has only two and some little tunnel thing to make it seem like four.
Yes and like a pathway from the speaker above it so sound will travel thru and make it sound like four.
IMHO, iPad speakers is a joke anyhow, 2 or 4, so it is better to invest into some serious audio ear-gear. ?
The absence of ProMotion might be an issue for you, as you are used to it by now. Also some people on these forums were complaining of the Air 4 display quality (light leaking), not sure if that had been resolved by now. The rest is all good.
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This is what i worked out when comparing a 2020 pro vs 2020 Air 4
2020 Pro has over the air 4
Face ID (Air has Touch ID)
6GB ram (Air has 4GB Ram)
Better Camera's
Lidar Scanner
Brighter Screen (600nits vs 500nits)
The PRO Screen meant to have better Blacks
120hz ProMotion screen
Four Speakers (Air has two)
8 core CPU (Air has 6 core)
Pro CPU is faster multi core (Air CPU is faster single core)
Pro has More powerful GPU (But am not sure on this )
2020 Pro has over the air 4
Face ID (Air has Touch ID)
6GB ram (Air has 4GB Ram)
Better Camera's
Lidar Scanner
Brighter Screen (600nits vs 500nits)
The PRO Screen meant to have better Blacks
120hz ProMotion screen
Four Speakers (Air has two)
8 core CPU (Air has 6 core)
Pro CPU is faster multi core (Air CPU is faster single core)
Pro has More powerful GPU (But am not sure on this )
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Your comparison is about right, but wanted to mention that the touch id on the Air 4 is on the power button, which was newly developed and debuted on this ipad. It works very fast and reliably, and takes you instantly to the home screen (no swipe up required). Also regarding the CPU’s. The pro has a 2 year old A12Z chip, and the Air has the brand new A14 chip which is the worlds first 5nm processor (same as the iphone 12). The A12z has 8 cores yes, but only give you 10% more multicore performance than the more efficient 6 cores in the A14. The A14 single core performance is 40% faster which is on par with the Mac M1 chip, so the Air will feel snappier than the pro with day to day tasks. In terms of GPU its about even, with some tests showing the A14 to be faster and others the A12z. Another benefit of the A14 is its neural engine for machine learning, which is significantly more powerful than the A12z. If you really want a Pro ipad, its best to wait a few months for the 2021 version which will have the A14x. Right now though, the Air 4 is the overall better value proposition in my opinion.
The other thing is i feel apple will support updates for longer on the new A14 CPU's compared to the older A12/A12z CPU's
But no one knows this for sure
Yeah that’s anybody’s guess these days. As the tech is pretty much on a plateau and services become more and more important well likely see longer and longer support at least with Apple who have an ecosystem to rely upon.
.they are far from a joke, they are actually pretty incredible for the size of the device...
What did the OP go for in the end? if you wen for the Air,, do you miss the 120Hz? @
I'm in the same boat, i've been trialling a family member's ipad pro 10.5. Despite being a 120hz screen, i believe its not laminated in the same way the newer Air and Pros are. As a user of the apple pencil i wonder which is more important ... 120hz or laminated screen.
CarolinaFoxGT
I'm in the same boat, i've been trialling a family member's ipad pro 10.5. Despite being a 120hz screen, i believe its not laminated in the same way the newer Air and Pros are. As a user of the apple pencil i wonder which is more important ... 120hz or laminated screen.
I am certain that the ipad pro 10.5 has a laminated screen just like Air 3 and 4 as well as 2018/2020 Pro models.