So yesterday I bit the bullet and upgraded from my five year old iPad Pro 10.5 to a new iPad Air 5.
I was also considering the new iPad 10th generation, but ultimately I felt the value wasn’t there. I wanted a bigger display, but the 10’s specs aren’t worth (in my view) the big price jump from the iPad 9th generation. Since I was getting a decent staff discount that made the Air 5 more palatable. This isn’t to say I don’t think the 10th gen isn’t a good device, but I think it’s priced wrong for what it is and I don’t feel it would have been a significant improvement over my 10.5.
I briefly considered the M2 iPad Pro 11, and that might have been a fairer comparison to my 10.5 Pro, but I chaffed at spending $1099 CAN for a new iPad considering my needs when using a tablet. Even with my discount I felt it was more than I was comfortable spending. The Air cost me $679 CAN plus tax compared to the Pro would have cost me $934 plus tax.
Okay, I’ve been using this new Air 5 for only a day, but I have some early impressions.
- Firstly, it’s definitely not losing its charge like my old 10.5 Pro. Nice.
- It’s odd getting used to no home button and getting used to the gestures to go back to home screen or to turn apps off, but not a huge learning curve.
- 10.9 vs. 10.5 is certainly bigger, but it doesn’t seem really bigger.
- I can‘t put my finger on exactly what is different, but the image quality is definitely different. I had no complaints with my 10.5’s display, but I feel there is more sharpness and I think see more detail here. The colours also seem a little truer and maybe a wee bit more vivid. Hard to tell exactly.
- I don’t hear much real difference in the audio. The Air’s dual speakers sound fine compared to the 10.5’s four speakers. No complaints.
- The tablet is definitely snapper and more responsive, but it’s not a light years’ difference.
- iPadOS 15.7 seems somehow different on this Air 5 from my 10.5 Pro. The keyboard seems different and the menu in Settings seems different. Mail seems different, too. I should have indulged in a side-by-side comparison, but last night I wiped my 10.5 so I have to go by memory alone, and based on that somethings seem different.
- No audio jack. Since I don’t really use headphones much I’m not going to bother replacing my wired Apple Earpods—I’ll just get a USB-C to audio jack adaptor.
I have to say I think it’s a testament to the 10.5 Pro that this Air 5 doesn’t feel radically different or radically better than the five year old Pro. I can only assume an M1 or M2 iPad Pro 11 would impress as much better than a 10.5 Pro. Considering this I’m glad I didn’t go for the 10th gen iPad because I feel the differences would be even less noticeable.
Overall the Air 5 feels like a really nice device. It’s definitely better in some respects and seemingly not that much different in others over my old 10.5 Pro. Then again my 10.5 was in mint shape and good working order with a battery that was just beginning to not hold its charge the way it used to. It’s still perfectly functional and thats why I’ll be selling it privately. I’m sure the comparison would be much different if my old device had been giving me serious issues.
I was also considering the new iPad 10th generation, but ultimately I felt the value wasn’t there. I wanted a bigger display, but the 10’s specs aren’t worth (in my view) the big price jump from the iPad 9th generation. Since I was getting a decent staff discount that made the Air 5 more palatable. This isn’t to say I don’t think the 10th gen isn’t a good device, but I think it’s priced wrong for what it is and I don’t feel it would have been a significant improvement over my 10.5.
I briefly considered the M2 iPad Pro 11, and that might have been a fairer comparison to my 10.5 Pro, but I chaffed at spending $1099 CAN for a new iPad considering my needs when using a tablet. Even with my discount I felt it was more than I was comfortable spending. The Air cost me $679 CAN plus tax compared to the Pro would have cost me $934 plus tax.
Okay, I’ve been using this new Air 5 for only a day, but I have some early impressions.
- Firstly, it’s definitely not losing its charge like my old 10.5 Pro. Nice.
- It’s odd getting used to no home button and getting used to the gestures to go back to home screen or to turn apps off, but not a huge learning curve.
- 10.9 vs. 10.5 is certainly bigger, but it doesn’t seem really bigger.
- I can‘t put my finger on exactly what is different, but the image quality is definitely different. I had no complaints with my 10.5’s display, but I feel there is more sharpness and I think see more detail here. The colours also seem a little truer and maybe a wee bit more vivid. Hard to tell exactly.
- I don’t hear much real difference in the audio. The Air’s dual speakers sound fine compared to the 10.5’s four speakers. No complaints.
- The tablet is definitely snapper and more responsive, but it’s not a light years’ difference.
- iPadOS 15.7 seems somehow different on this Air 5 from my 10.5 Pro. The keyboard seems different and the menu in Settings seems different. Mail seems different, too. I should have indulged in a side-by-side comparison, but last night I wiped my 10.5 so I have to go by memory alone, and based on that somethings seem different.
- No audio jack. Since I don’t really use headphones much I’m not going to bother replacing my wired Apple Earpods—I’ll just get a USB-C to audio jack adaptor.
I have to say I think it’s a testament to the 10.5 Pro that this Air 5 doesn’t feel radically different or radically better than the five year old Pro. I can only assume an M1 or M2 iPad Pro 11 would impress as much better than a 10.5 Pro. Considering this I’m glad I didn’t go for the 10th gen iPad because I feel the differences would be even less noticeable.
Overall the Air 5 feels like a really nice device. It’s definitely better in some respects and seemingly not that much different in others over my old 10.5 Pro. Then again my 10.5 was in mint shape and good working order with a battery that was just beginning to not hold its charge the way it used to. It’s still perfectly functional and thats why I’ll be selling it privately. I’m sure the comparison would be much different if my old device had been giving me serious issues.
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