Macbook pro 14 vs iPad 12.9 Display

[shahbaz275817]

hey folks,

I have an macbook pro 14 inch and is looking to buy an iPad just for netflix and video usage. Will be spending 90% of the time watching movies and videos in the iPad and hence my requirement is to get the best display quality possible.
As per the apple website both macbook pro 14 and ipad 12.9 have mini led display with similar contrast and brightness. So is there any other difference which makes one display better than the other?
Basically is there any difference at all b/w the two screens apart from size?
Will the iPad display any better than my current 14 inch MBP display?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I believe the MacBook Pro has a little less blooming in the display but to me the biggest difference for media consumption is the aspect ratio. The 12.9” loses a ton of viewing real estate to the point it’s almost laughable.

Unless someone really wants a tablet or can’t afford a MacBook Pro then it’s an easy choice.

 

[xraydoc]

Quality-wise, they’re very close. Major differences are really size and aspect ratio.
The battery on the 14” MBP lasts longer than the 12.9” iPad Pro at similar brightness.
I have both a 14” MBP M1 Pro and 12.9” iPad Pro M1.

 

[teh_hunterer]

The displays are quite similar, however as has been said the main difference is the aspect ratio. Because the iPad Pro is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, compared to the MacBook Pro's 16:10 aspect ratio, the video is smaller and the black bars are larger. But they're not just larger, they're way larger. Comically larger.

The other difference is there seems to be noticeably less blooming on the MacBook. It didn't bother me much but the difference was more than I was expecting.

I ultimately returned the iPad Pro, because the size was so close to the 14" MacBook that it became apparent having both devices was pointless. Any situation, even in bed, when I had enough space to use the 12.9" iPad Pro, the 14" MacBook made just as much sense to use. And since it had a better display with larger content, better speakers, better battery life, etc, it just made no sense to keep the iPad.

In any situation where the 14" MacBook was too big to use, well so was the 12.9" iPad Pro. The 12.9" iPad Pro even without the keyboard was too big to use in bed. I now use the 14" MacBook Pro for big screen stuff, and an 11" iPad Pro for when I need something smaller and portable.

 

[jace88]

I find the difference is whether or not you want a laptop keyboard in front of you particularly if you're trying to watch in bed. I have both a 14" MBP and a 12.9" iPad Pro, and at this moment happen to be sitting on the bed using Universal Control.

The Macbook Pro has to basically sit in the one position/form factor as it's a traditional laptop. To it's credit though, the display is a much more normal aspect ratio which aligns with most videos (ie not such big black bars) and the speakers are significantly better/more fullsome sounding than the iPad Pro. Like any other traditional laptop it's also a bit uncomfortable to try to use when lying down vs a tablet.

The iPad Pro benefit though is you can just detach it from keyboard/case and hold it closer (or up in the air if you're lying on your back), or prop it up on something, and it'll feel a bit more 'close'. The downside though is that aspect ratio which as others have pointed out is a bit wasteful.

To answer the original question though, I don't think the displays themselves are significantly different in quality.

 

[teh_hunterer]

I find the difference is whether or not you want a laptop keyboard in front of you particularly if you're trying to watch in bed. I have both a 14" MBP and a 12.9" iPad Pro, and at this moment happen to be sitting on the bed using Universal Control.

The Macbook Pro has to basically sit in the one position/form factor as it's a traditional laptop. To it's credit though, the display is a much more normal aspect ratio which aligns with most videos (ie not such big black bars) and the speakers are significantly better/more fullsome sounding than the iPad Pro. Like any other traditional laptop it's also a bit uncomfortable to try to use when lying down vs a tablet.

The iPad Pro benefit though is you can just detach it from keyboard/case and hold it closer (or up in the air if you're lying on your back), or prop it up on something, and it'll feel a bit more 'close'. The downside though is that aspect ratio which as others have pointed out is a bit wasteful.

To answer the original question though, I don't think the displays themselves are significantly different in quality.

I found that the conveniences of the iPad form factor for bedtime use, while very good, didn't justify the added cost and complexity of owning both a 14" MBP and 12.9" iPad Pro.

If the aspect ratio of the screen wasn't such a blocky 4:3, and the camera was in the right place, I'd probably revisit that equation.

 

[Surfsalot]

Sounds Like the 14” MacBook and 11” iPad would be a great combo. I have a iMac 24” and a 11” iPad but am looking at a 14” too.

 

[Digitalguy]

Becase of the aspect ratios, the video size on the 12.9 iPad is roughtly the same as the 12" Macbook, so you'll be loosing around 2". But if you often carry it around the house while watching, the 14" iPad is noticeably heavier.

 

[Surfsalot]

who walks around the house watching a video long enough to be a weight problem lol

 

[jace88]

I found that the conveniences of the iPad form factor for bedtime use, while very good, didn't justify the added cost and complexity of owning both a 14" MBP and 12.9" iPad Pro.

If the aspect ratio of the screen wasn't such a blocky 4:3, and the camera was in the right place, I'd probably revisit that equation.

True. For me the MacBook Pro is 100% personal device whereas the iPad Pro 12.9” is a BYOD which is enterprise managed so I can use it to do lots of work, and also bought it pre tax.

 

[Isengardtom]

if it’s just for movie watching ‘ Netflix and such I would consider a galaxy tab S8+ if “ecosystem“ is not an important factor in your decision.

They’re OLED and have a better aspect ratio for video

 

[darngooddesign]

I have the 16" M1 MBP and 13" M1 iPad Pro; the MBP's speakers are noticeably superior and the same is true for your 14" MBP. Videos will be a lot smaller on the iPad because its screen is also squarer. Despite this things, I sometimes watch on my iPad because I don't always need the video as large as possible, even though I have access to my MBP. Tonight I'll take a photo of both screens so you can compare blooming.

All that being said, the squarer iPad screen is great for all my non-video watching usage.

 

[msackey]

Quality-wise, they’re very close. Major differences are really size and aspect ratio.
The battery on the 14” MBP lasts longer than the 12.9” iPad Pro at similar brightness.
I have both a 14” MBP M1 Pro and 12.9” iPad Pro M1.

Can you say more about the battery life difference? I'm curious to know.

 

[xraydoc]

Can you say more about the battery life difference? I'm curious to know.

My M1 12.9" iPad Pro is not great insofar as battery life. It's ok, but the 11" model is better (my wife has one).

The MBP is much better on battery life as the battery is significantly larger in proportion to the screen size. And for what every reason, I tend to keep the iPad's brightness higher than the MBP's, which doesn't help the iPad's battery life.

But at least the iPad's battery charges very quickly, so topping off is easy.

 

[msackey]

@xraydoc Good to know! I’ve heard such rave reviews about the Barry of the M chip laptops, but haven’t heard similar of the latest iPads so I was wondering

 

[darngooddesign]

I compared the the blooming of my iPP and MBP and they appear to be about the same. My MBP might be slightly more noticeable but that's because the screen is a larger.

 

[Zest28]

The 16” has a superior screen, especially with related to blooming. I don’t know about the 14” MBP though.

 

[darngooddesign]

The 16” has a superior screen, especially with related to blooming. I don’t know about the 14” MBP though.

I compared my 16” MBP and 13” M1 iPad Pro and they looked similar to me. On the opening of SW, the ”A long long time ago“ text on black and the star field the logo appears on had the same amount of blooming. This was with the same 4K remaster of the original crawl on YouTube at night with the lights off.

 

[Zest28]

I compared my 16” MBP and 13” iPad Pro and they looked similar to me. On the opening of SW, the ”A long long time ago“ text on black and the star field the logo appears on had the same amount of blooming. This was with the same 4K remaster of the original crawl on YouTube.

Not on my 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro. It blooms way less than my 12.9 iPad Pro.

 

[jace88]

Just a heads up for those who are looking at M2 12.9” iPad Pro… the battery life isn’t great in my experience. Maybe I expect too much but it lasts me about a day with normal office use as my primary device for OneNote, outlook, slack, zoom, teams and office apps.

 

[sparksd]

Just a heads up for those who are looking at M2 12.9” iPad Pro… the battery life isn’t great in my experience. Maybe I expect too much but it lasts me about a day with normal office use as my primary device for OneNote, outlook, slack, zoom, teams and office apps.

About what I'd expect, not really any different than my M1 12.9. Big tablet displays = big battery eaters.

 

[Zest28]

Just a heads up for those who are looking at M2 12.9” iPad Pro… the battery life isn’t great in my experience. Maybe I expect too much but it lasts me about a day with normal office use as my primary device for OneNote, outlook, slack, zoom, teams and office apps.

1 day is more than enough really. And doesn’t the M2 12.9 iPad Pro have fast charging for a quick charge up also?

My M1 12.9 iPad Pro charge waaaaaaay faster than my 2017 iPad Pro, so I assume it’s fast charging.

 

[jace88]

My comparison point is my previous first gen 11” iPad Pro which would see me get through two days of similar workload and use (granted with the folio keyboard not the magic of it makes a difference).

 

[The Game 161]

My M1 12.9" iPad Pro is not great insofar as battery life. It's ok, but the 11" model is better (my wife has one).

The MBP is much better on battery life as the battery is significantly larger in proportion to the screen size. And for what every reason, I tend to keep the iPad's brightness higher than the MBP's, which doesn't help the iPad's battery life.

But at least the iPad's battery charges very quickly, so topping off is easy.

Noticed Magic Keyboard also drains more as well.

 

[teh_hunterer]

1 day is more than enough really. And doesn’t the M2 12.9 iPad Pro have fast charging for a quick charge up also?

My M1 12.9 iPad Pro charge waaaaaaay faster than my 2017 iPad Pro, so I assume it’s fast charging.

I'm not sure what the technical terms are, but the current iPads still charge quite slowly. Certainly not as bad as the old lightning iPads, but far slower than MacBooks.

For example, charging my 14" MBP from a 65w adapter (while using it, on a bit above medium brightness) took an hour and 20 minutes.

The M1 iPad Pro 11", on the same adapter, same usage, same brightness, took 2 hours.

I noticed it was slower on the Magic Keyboard as well. Charging for an hour got me up to 50% over the magic keyboard, whereas plugged in directly got me up to 70% in the same amount of time.

I've felt for some time that the iPads are due for a boost in charging speeds. The 14" MBP can even fast charge with a more powerful adapter, though I unfortunately didn't have a 100ish watt adapter to test with.