Apply this thinking on the Mac lineup and you will find it not very logical. Why would this kind of thinking then be logical for the iPad lineup? "Pro" only means "best" in Apple language and Apple is the one that defines what "best" is. We can only vote with our wallets and the iPad Air, especially 12.9 inch, is a very good deal.
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iPad Pro The real issue with the iPad lineup this year… Air/Pro are the same functionally
- Thread starter Adelphos33
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I don't see how that's any different from the previous line up of M1 iPad Air and M2 iPad Pro. In fact this year the line-up has more feature diversity than before.
As for functionality, it is all about doing the same things much more comfortably, not necessarily about doing something you can't on the other device. I, for example, wouldn't take iPad Air on the road trip or a flight to watch movies but with iPad Pro watching all the dark scenes is much more pleasant experience. That is the very reason I opted for the 12.9" M1 iPad Pro rather than 11" one as it had miniLED backlighting instead of a regular LCD panel. Now, I purchased 11" M4 iPad Pro without hesitation. FaceID is also a huge deal for me as it makes it easier for my muscle memory due to having used iPhones for years. Also, any process requiring more power and RAM will be quicker which will be more time efficient. Having stereo speakers regardless of whether you hold the device in portrait or landscape is also a functional difference. Not to mention ProMotion as it makes both using the device in general and using the pen much more natural. Also having a keyboard that is basically the same as the MacBooks could also be regarded as a functional difference.
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I doubt that will be the case, given a very slow development of iPadOS since it renamed from iOS.
It's really OLED far more than anything else that distinguishes the Pro from the Air, and for me it very nearly makes the Pro worth the extra £500. But alas, I won't give into temptation today, so I think I'm gonna have to get the Air.
Well, you could say that MacBook Pros don't have "functional" advantages to MacBook Airs for most tasks - they can pretty much do most stuff (if not everything) the Pros can, only slower.
So it's not about functional advantages, it's about doing things better, faster and more conveniently.
But even with this in mind, I would say that iPad Pros actually have noticeable functional advantages (just maybe not those that you'd care about). For example, having an OLED screen is an advantage for HDR workflows. I would say that a lighter iPad can also be a functional advantage.
Everyone has their own preference. Touch ID on an iPad is a deal breaker for me! Enjoy your Air!
Personally, I think this is the wrong way to look at it. You could ask the same question about the MacBook Air vs the MacBook Pro. And you’d end up with the same answer as the iPads. Most software on macOS can run on both. I can’t think of a single software or app that could only run on the MacBook Pro. The difference isn’t really so much in the OS as it is in the hardware. I think it’s the same with the iPad Air vs iPad Pro. The difference is mostly in display quality, CPU performance, port speed, and other hardware differences like the new Magic Keyboard Case for the iPad Pro which is higher quality and more premium. For many people, the iPad Air makes a solid budget option, and I think that’s what Apple envisions with their lineup. For people on a budget, the iPad Air is the great middle-ground choice, for those who have more budget and want the better hardware of the iPad Pro, they will go with that option. The standard iPads I think are more akin to the now non-existent 12” MacBooks. They’re the absolute cheapest iPads, and I think are mostly there for students and businesses to use for lighter computing needs.
You pay a premium for the Pro to get the better hardware. (Screen, quad-speakers, Face ID, etc.)
New Magic Keyboard is a bonus as well.
New Magic Keyboard is a bonus as well.
Macbook Pros have plenty of functional benefits over a Macbook Air (which I own)
- The ability to support more monitors (i.e. two external monitors with lids open)
- More ports for various professional workflows
- The ability to spec up to Pro and Max chips, which allow for faster processing
Note I am ignoring stuff like sharper screen and better speakers, which I am not viewing as "functionality" for this thread.
An M3 Max Macbook Pro can do video and audio rendering, code compiling, etc much better than an M3 (or M4 most likely) Macbook Air can. In contrast - we will see how much better Vision Cut Pro is on the M4 iPad Pro vs the M2. I am guessing not much at all.
There are certainly advantages to the iPad Pro over other models, including the Air, but from a functionality standpoint, all iPad basically do the same things. This has always been the case.
Why is this an "issue"? Yes, it's maybe an issue for Apple, but a win for consumers. Why would you care about that unless you have lots of $AAPL stock. This guy gets it:
There’s a very noticeable sound quality level, at least to me. The bass is much better with the quad speaker setup.
And I’d like to add to that, so do all Macs. There aren’t really any apps or software only available to pro models or something like that. It’s just better performance for some pro apps, just like on the iPad Pro where apps benefit from the greater performance on the Pro models.
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You can’t edit in HDR on Air. I think that’s quite a big deal.
‘Much better sound. You need to listen to one and see.
Strange to read face ID is a big benefit. My wife's X360 HP had it in 2016, and its always worked brilliantly. Why is Apple so slow in some things?s?s?
It's the same as it has been for a while now. As far as using iPadOS goes, the Pro isn't much better than the Air. You buy the Pro for the hardware features it has over the Air (ProMotion, now OLED displays, TrueTone flash, etc.), not because it runs iPadOS better. I think it's not too dissimilar to the debate about Mx Pro vs Mx Max in the MacBook Pro; if you don't know whether or not you need Max, you probably don't. In a similar respect, if you can get by on the iPad Air with no issue, then the iPad Pro probably isn't worth the extra money.
The more you say, the less you make sense. What is Vision Cut Pro? How can you say the M3 Max is much better than an M3, but in the very next sentence refuse to acknowledge how an M4 is similarly better than an M2? How can you ignore the screen on a tablet? It is the single most expensive and important part of the device. If you don't care about screen quality, get a Mac Studio and plug it into a cheap 1600x900 monitor. There's your best value from a pure "functionality" standpoint, by your definition. Better yet, go find one of those old resistive touch, high-latency, 100 nit, low-resolution, 18-bit RGB screens. Tell me that screen doesn't have less functionality than a modern iPad screen.
Neither of these iPads work underwater or have a built in bottle opener.