Hey all! I was wondering which one makes more sense to get. Apple right now has the M1 iPad Pro 11 in. for $600 in the apple refurbished store. That makes it a really compelling option versus the newest iPad Air, which they come about to the same price for me. My main worry is that the iPad Pro M1 is 3 years old now and it won't be supported for much longer (no more than 3 more years). I also know that the Air has the M2 chip, but I think that doesn't really matter because it's all running iPad OS, but still nice to have a newer chip. My question is if the M2 iPad Air 11 in. or the M1 iPad Pro 11 in. is the better buy. I want something that will easily last me 5-6 years. Thanks for all the help!!
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All iPads M1 iPad Pro 11 in. vs. M2 iPad air 11 in.
- Thread starter RedMango22
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Definitely the Pro. It has 4 speakers instead of 2 and most importantly a 120 Hz screen. The M2 is not much faster than the M1 which is still amazing.
I’m currently considering a new iPad, and this is one of the comparisons I’m looking at too.
I’ll be interested to read what you go for.
I’ll be interested to read what you go for.
By the time the M1 is obsolete the M2 will be old and slow as heck as well. You will be able to enjoy the M1 for a long time. I own the M1 iPad Pro and it‘s blazing fast, no signs of slowing down, even with the bigger 13 inch screen. Apple is still selling the M1 MacBook Air through resellers and it‘s their most popular chip so it’s not going to become obsolete anytime soon. Also don‘t forget they‘re still selling the normal iPad and iPad Mini which both have slower chips than the M1.
I also forgot the Pro has Face ID which is very comfortable to use compared to Touch ID on the Air.
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Will keep updating! I think this is a popular question as I kept seeing this question all over Reddit 😅
I think the Pro might be the one! Thanks for your help. I’ve been going back and forth the past few days.
I think the post above has settled any lingering doubts I had.
For my use case (it’ll be mostly media consumption, I feel), it’s going to be many long years before it’ll be unable to stream and play videos. I think the M1 pretty much guarantees that.
I‘m going to give myself most of the weekend to “cool off” my thoughts and browse reviews, but I expect I’ll be buying before the end of Sunday.
For my use case (it’ll be mostly media consumption, I feel), it’s going to be many long years before it’ll be unable to stream and play videos. I think the M1 pretty much guarantees that.
I‘m going to give myself most of the weekend to “cool off” my thoughts and browse reviews, but I expect I’ll be buying before the end of Sunday.
I think I’ll wait till next week when the iPad Air comes out. I am wondering if Apple is going to bin (not sure if that’s the right word) the performance like they did on the new iPad Pros that have the lower storage. Curious see the performance difference.
Similar use case here! Planning on also picking up Apple Pencil Pro to take notes. I also don’t care that it’s refurbished because apple’s refurbished is basically brand new.I think the post above has settled any lingering doubts I had.
For my use case (it’ll be mostly media consumption, I feel), it’s going to be many long years before it’ll be unable to stream and play videos. I think the M1 pretty much guarantees that.
I‘m going to give myself most of the weekend to “cool off” my thoughts and browse reviews, but I expect I’ll be buying before the end of Sunday.
Yes, having a new battery in it is the primary criteria for me and Apple’s website says it will.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Yeah these are the exact factors I'm considering. Except I'm looking at the 12.9 so that even adds in Mini-LED
That’s a bit tougher, since I see the blooming of the mini-LED as a negative.
That’s a bit tougher, since I see the blooming of the mini-LED as a negative.
Blooming on all non OLED screens. The mini LED on the 12.9" inch was a better screen than the 11" screen, according to reviews.
Blooming is specific to mini-LED. And mini-LED does provide better HDR brightness, which is why reviews say it's better. However if you don’t care much about HDR but can't unsee the blooming, then mini-LED is worse. It's fairly common for different tech to be better in one way but worse in another way, and then it's a matter of individual preference and usage whether it's overall better or worse.
Thanks for the help! One of the biggest factors was the 120hz screen! I don't mind the camera, and I think the M1 is lots of power.
I think the screen sizes/pixel counts are actually identical.
M1 Pro is the better value for Promotion, speakers, FaceID.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
No the iPad Pro 11" are actually 11". The former iPad Air and current iPad Air 11" are both actually 10.9". That was just a name change
Similarly the iPad Pro 13" is actually 13". The former iPad Pro 12.9" and current iPad Air 13" are both 12.9"
But this is all negligible. Honestly I don't know why they do that
According to MacTracker, all Pros, dating back to the iPad Pro (iPad Pro 12.9", 2015) is still getting security patches. That's 9 years of support.
For the M1 iPad Pro, 11 inch, that was released in May 2021. I would expect it to get security patches up to around 2030, and to be able to access high security websites (like banking/ finance websites) until around 2033.
The memory is usually more of a bottleneck and both have 8GB so M1 will be fine for a very long time to come
But to answer your question on which one is better to get:
1. Do you use processor intensive apps for commercial purposes? If so, get the iPad Air M2 IF the screen quality doesn't matter.
2. Do you need the larger screen? Get the iPad Pro; otherwise get the iPad Air (the screen is slightly smaller).
3. Do you need the quad speakers or 120 hz display? If so, get the iPad Pro; otherwise get the iPad Air.
4. Do you absolutely keep your machine as long as possible before replacing the machine? If so, get the iPad Air (since it's newer, it should be usable though the mid 2030's), otherwise get the iPad Pro (usable until the early 2030's).
1. Do you use processor intensive apps for commercial purposes? If so, get the iPad Air M2 IF the screen quality doesn't matter.
2. Do you need the larger screen? Get the iPad Pro; otherwise get the iPad Air (the screen is slightly smaller).
3. Do you need the quad speakers or 120 hz display? If so, get the iPad Pro; otherwise get the iPad Air.
4. Do you absolutely keep your machine as long as possible before replacing the machine? If so, get the iPad Air (since it's newer, it should be usable though the mid 2030's), otherwise get the iPad Pro (usable until the early 2030's).
The new pencil Pro only works with the new 2024 iPads Air and Pro
