Is the M1 iPad Pro Really Worth It With the Release of the Cheaper iPad Air?
By Prem Acharya
With the introduction of the M1 chip into the cheaper iPad Air which has the same body, accessories, amount of ram, and now the same chip as its pro counterpart. It raises the question of if the 11' M1 iPad Pro is worth it anymore?
The comparison below will be split into sections explaining the differences and similarities of the iPad Air and Pro. In the end, there will be advice for what iPad is right for a customer— not including the base iPad or the iPad mini. Also, the comparison will be with the M1 iPad Pro 11' and not the 12.9', but the only difference between the two is the bigger and better screen on the 12.9'.
M1 Chip
What is the M1 chip? The M1 chip was Apple’s first CPU created for their own computers, in 2020. The M1 chip was then added to the iPad Pro in 2021 which has made it more powerful than some of Apple’s base laptops and Macs. For example, the base iPad Pro and iPad Air have a more powerful chip than the base MacBook(same chip, but one more GPU core on the iPads). With more variants of the M1 chip coming out for new Macs, the M1 is still a very powerful chip that has changed the industry.
Specs, Differences, Similarities, and more.
For starters, the M1 iPad Air and the M1 iPad Pro inch have an almost identical body with the only differences being a larger camera on the backside of the Pro and more colors for the Air. Though the camera on the iPad Air is only a single camera, it is the same main camera as the Pro. But, the Pro does also feature a second 10 megapixel ultra-wide camera and a lidar scanner used for 3D scanning. For many, the cameras on the iPads are barely used, and even if they are important, the main cameras are the same on both, so the only reason to buy the Pro in terms of cameras, is for the Lidar 3D scanner.
Moving on, the screens on the two iPads are very similar, but contain the biggest and most important difference between the two iPads. Both devices have practically the same screen sizes with the Pro having an 11 inch screen, and the Air having a 10.9 inch screen because of slightly bigger bezels. The size of the screen between the two make virtually no difference in the end, but, the feature that will be talked about now does make the biggest difference. The iPad Pro has a 120 hertz ProMotion display while the iPad Air has 60 hertz display. Basically, the Pro’s display is much smoother when scrolling, playing games, and more. Though, the Air’s display experience is still fine, ProMotion does make the iPad Pro feel smoother. But, the screen on the iPad Air has the same amount of ‘hertz’ as all of screens of every apple product except the iPhone 13 Pro’s, MacBook Pro’s, and the of course the iPad Pro’s. So, the smoothness of the scrolling, and movement on the display will feel the same as all other Apple devices for the Air.
Another big difference is that the Pro has Face ID while the Air has Touch ID on the top power button. This really comes down to what the user prefers as Face ID has benefits in areas such as more comfortable use, and the ability to use Animoji’s. But, the Touch ID on the Air may allow for easier use for little kids and more. This all comes down to personal preference as these benefits can go either way, except Animoji’s.
The next and last difference to talk about are the speaker systems. The iPad Air uses two speakers in the device, while the Pro use four speakers in the device. This does make the iPad Pro sound fuller, but the two speakers on the iPad Air still sound great as Apple is excellent in this field.
Some other differences is that the pro has faster download speeds through its port, more gigabytes on the more expensive models, more ram on the expensive models(which suprisingly doesn’t make much of a difference), and more.
Conclusion
But, in the end, the base Air is still a better value than the base Pro at $200 dollars less. So, this makes me recommend the Air to the general. The iPad Air is just such a good package at its price, as it provides the same performance as the Pro, as they have the same chip. The iPad Pro is still worth it for someone with money to waste or a specific need. But, unless you need to have the ProMotion, Lidar, or other specifics on the iPad Pro, the iPad Air is still the better value at its price.
If you have any questions please email me at acharyapremoo@icloud.com, I will always try to answer!
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