Can the New Ipad Pro Finally Replace Your Computer?
A few weeks ago Apple released its newest update to the iPad Pro family. As the 2-in-1 market is becoming increasingly popular, Apple has been updating its iPad line-up for years. But how competitive can the iPad Pro be when compared to laptops? Let’s compare the new MacBook Air and the iPad Pro (both 13-inch models) to see if the iPad Pro can replace your laptop.
Let’s say you’re looking to replace your old laptop. It’s been your companion for years now and even though you’ve become attached to it, you know it’s time to let it go. Okay, so what are the options? Right now the cheapest MacBook is the MacBook Air at $999. In contrast, the iPad Pro starts off at $799 for the 11 inch model. For the sake of comparison, the 12,9 inch iPad Pro gets you that laptop-like experience and costs $999 as well. The MacBook Air has a keyboard and trackpad included at that price-point whereas you’ll be spending an extra $349 (or $299 for the 11 inch model) on the new magic keyboard that will upgrade your iPad with a full keyboard, trackpad, and an extra USB-C input. The pricey accessories for keyboards and trackpads are a common trope in the 2-in-1 market (Microsoft charges $159.99 for their Surface keyboard cover). Now, let’s say you want to get the full package and add the apple pencil for another $129. If we take all this into account, the iPad Pro isn’t facing too well at a total price of $1,477 for the full set-up (12.9 inch iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, and Apple Pencil) while the MacBook Air stays at the same $999, no accessories needed.
Alright, enough talk about price. Considering the fact that it is a 2-in-1 i.e. a laptop and a tablet in one device, maybe the iPad Pro is worth the extra money. So what makes the iPad Pro better than a MacBook Air?
The convenience of an iPad should not be underestimated! I love to use my iPad for streaming, reading, and gaming. Around the house, my iPad has become a great companion. When I’m the kitchen, the iPad perfectly lets me switch between a ‘How to Make Pie Crust’ video on YouTube and the open recipe on Safari with the multitasking gestures. If I’m on the go, I’ll always make sure to download the latest Netflix shows. Although I’m not a member of the new Apple Arcade gaming subscription, I still love gaming on the iPad. The choice of games is great and the touchscreen is in my opinion so much fun to play on. If you’re not convinced on gaming, just give the iPad to your kids to play on. I’m sure you won’t get it back for the next few weeks. As for reading, whether you’re using the Apple News app (or have their Apple News+ subscription), downloading newspaper apps themselves or getting your book on iBooks or Kindle, reading on the iPad is just great! All in all, I think it’s fair to say that the iPad beats any laptop (including the MacBook Air) for recreational use. But where does that leave professional users? Can the iPad compete with the MacBook Air for professional use?
YouTube tech reviewer Jonathan Morrison has a lot of videos on whether professional photo, music, and video editors can use the iPad Pro as their main driver. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend you check out his videos for more detail. But the main consensus is that the iPad Pro is in fact surprisingly Pro! Its latest A12Z chip is extremely powerful and definitely holds its ground compared to what you would get on a MacBook Air (which uses a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 for the $999 model). Now I think it’s important to note that while the iPad Pro can be used by these types of professional editors, it isn’t going to be replacing their main driver anytime soon. The iPad Pro is more likely to be an addition to their main computer. But the MacBook Air wouldn’t be an option for their main driver either. Such professionals are looking at minimum 6-core (or higher) powered computers like the 16 inch MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, or even Mac Pro, all far exceeding the price-point we’re looking at. But what about document editing, Emails and other efficiency-related tasks? Outlook and Gmail work great on the iPad. The two most used cloud document editing software, Google Docs and Office 360, both work on iPad Pro just as well as on a MacBook. Since iPad OS became a thing, Apple has continuously made any type of document editing easier. The files app works really easily for email attachments, something very important for any office job today. USB-C on the iPad and the MacBook Air shows Apple’s push toward the universal solution to all our cable management problems. With the new Magic Keyboard, you’ll get the same amount of USB-C inputs on your iPad Pro set-up than you would have on the MacBook Air. Lastly, I want to talk about taking notes. Yes, this is mainly relevant in universities and high-schools but I want to mention its use in meetings and conferences too. The app store has many apps solely dedicated to taking notes that are far beyond anything you will find on a MacBook. On YouTube, there are even videos of students discussing the best ways of taking notes in class. To up your note-taking game the apple pencil (at another additional $129) is key as you’re meshing the ease of pencil to paper writing with the convenience of the cloud. So for students, the iPad Pro is again seeming to be the better the option.
So what does all of this sum up to? Touchscreen! What makes the iPad Pro different from the MacBook Air is its touchscreen. And not just any touchscreen at that, a big beautiful “Liquid Retina” screen (2732-by-2048-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch). If it’s for recreational or professional use, having that kind of interactive screen is just more fun and it’s what gives the iPad Pro the edge over the MacBook Air. If you think about it, almost every screen today has become a touchscreen: phones, tablets, laptops, smart-watches, and even desktops. But there’s one notable exception: MacBooks. While the laptop market has shifted to having a touchscreen, Apple is sticking to their guns and is instead investing in their trackpads. So perhaps this is the main advantage of the iPad Pro over the MacBook Air. Right now, the iPad Pro is the only device made by Apple that can be used as a laptop that has a touchscreen. For years the iPad was only a device you would have in addition to your main computer. But after years of updates, the iPad Pro is finally at a point where it can replace the laptop for the average user. Now, the real question is whether you are willing to pay the extra money for the iPad Pro.
