Okay, so I currently have an iPad Air 4 which I love very much. I basically use it for note-taking, browsing the web, occasional zoom for classes, and streaming netflix, hulu, etc. I plan to use it when I start teaching next year as well. So my wife wants an iPad and I was wondering if I should just buy another iPad Air 4 which is currently $399 at Costco or get the new iPad Air 5 for $549. She will mostly use it for browsing the web, streaming videos and maybe an occasional zoom or facetime call. Will I notice much of a difference between the two for our use case? I don't want to regret not getting the Air 5 but I think the Air 4 would be just as good for us as well. Thank you for your help.
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iPad Air Which iPad Air is right for me?
- Thread starter jackclown813
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Air 4 (A14/4GB) will work OK for your tasks. The Air 5 (M1/8GB) should have longer useful life though thanks to the extra RAM.
Yes, the iPad 9th gen has just 3GB and still works OK as well. Quite prone to reloads, though, and we’re already seeing new features not being supported on non-M1 iPads.
The first iPad with 4GB RAM was released in 2015 and it’s been almost 7 years since then. Personally, I’d opt for the Air 5 for the relatively minor $150 difference.
Yes, the iPad 9th gen has just 3GB and still works OK as well. Quite prone to reloads, though, and we’re already seeing new features not being supported on non-M1 iPads.
The first iPad with 4GB RAM was released in 2015 and it’s been almost 7 years since then. Personally, I’d opt for the Air 5 for the relatively minor $150 difference.
Personally I’d pick the current model for the overall better performance. It may not matter much for your use case though, both are solid offerings.
“I don't want to regret not getting the Air 5…”
Well, you seem to have your answer right here.
Well, you seem to have your answer right here.
Not wanting to be the contrarian, but I'd lean to the Air 4 and save the $150 toward the next generation sooner. Especially as usage will be fairly light. But either way is a good choice, IMO.
I doubt next gen would be much better than the Air 5. Honestly, I think we'll probably be stuck with 8GB RAM standard for quite a while.
Faster, next generation processor with possibly greater longevity into future iPadOS, is my thinking. Not counting any new features and functionalities.
The iPad Air is usually slightly behind the iPad Pro on the tech curve. We already know what M2 brings to the table. Hence, I’m not expecting significantly better longevity with next gen.
Granted, there’s the possibility of OLED so if you want that, then it might be worth saving now and upgrading sooner.
Agreed with rui no onna, longevity between M1 8GB RAM and M2 8GB RAM won't be much different, while between A14 4GB and M1 8GB it will be quite a few years difference...
Or you spend the money on yourself for a sweet sweet Air 5 - polish up that Air 4 - put it back the box - and “wow an Air 4 for her, lovely present”.
Air 5. Pretty decent cpu speed bump, double the ram, faster storage as well. Much more future proof of you guys aren’t ones to replace them Every year or 2
Hard choice. $399 for the air 4 is a great deal. The air 4 and air 5 are pretty much identical except if she will do zoom calls. The ultra wide front camera is much better on air 5. The double ram and M1 in a year or so will perform much better but right now there is little difference between the two. Both are excellent.
I would get the 5th gen because I like performance. You could bump up the storage on the air 4 and still save money over the 5th gen 64gb model then that might be the best choice.
If she uses zoom or FaceTime then I would recommend the air 5.
I would get the 5th gen because I like performance. You could bump up the storage on the air 4 and still save money over the 5th gen 64gb model then that might be the best choice.
If she uses zoom or FaceTime then I would recommend the air 5.