iPad Air or Pro - M1.M2

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Soldato
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Has anyone used the M1-powered Air and M2-powered Pro back to back?

I already have a 64Gb device (Mini 5th), which is nearly full, so more space would be needed, the main driver however is screen size..

The M1 Air with 256Gb storage is £849
The new M2 Pro 11 with 128Gb is £899

128Gb would give me enough space so 256Gb is kinda mute, but I was wondering where I might see an advantage of going M2 over M1, I've currently got a 5th Gen Mini so both are doing to be faster but am I likely to see early adopter issues going M2, I'm not really using them for much other than casual gaming and media consumption when travelling, so battery life is important, is the different screen tech in the Pro likely to give me better battery at lower brightness.

There is also the new base model 10th Gen iPad which gives me the larger screen, USB-C and storage options needed and would save me a chunk of cash but its only A14 vs my existing A12.

Speakers, I either use muted or I have my BT Headset on, so 2 or 4 speakers wouldn't make a huge difference.


I've not seen any deals on the last Gen Pro 11" anywhere yet so there's possible a deal to be had there somewhere...
 
Specifically about M1 vs M2, you'll likely get an extra year of iPadOS updates down the line with the M2 so if you plan to use it for 4-5 years this is something to consider.

ProMotion and the better HDR screen on the iPad Pros is worth it imo.
 
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You've all pretty much said exactly the same thoughts that are going through my head..

M2 bit more longevity on it as far as updates go.
Pro has better screen in general, are the 10th Gen iPads any worse than the Air given its the base model, or are Apple reusing the same lower spec panels in multiple models?

Last gen Pro 11 seems to be ticking a lot of the boxes right now, maybe get a Pro 11" with 256gb for less than the new one with 128Gb, that would do nicely given when you look at the spec side by side, other than the M1/M2 differences there's nothing of note worthy of an upgrade..
 
Pro motion is something you won't miss unless you've seen it...

I've never seen it in person, bought the base iPad Air, half the price of the Pro, been very happy with it. It does everything i need to do in an iPad. Not really sure how ProMotion would help in a YouTube video or looking on forums and Discord.

What do you use it for?

I know i will hate it once I upgrade from my iPhone XR to a 14/15 but cross that bridge when i come to it.
 
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Well there is that, I haven't seen it and as they say, you don't miss what you never had..

I play a few games on it, watch stuff (YT, Netflix, Prime Video etc) when away from home (on planes mostly) and then surfing the web..
 
I’d genuinely go for a m1 12.9. It’s such a good iPad I don’t use it anywhere near its potential. It’s an absolute beast though.

Refurb one would be the way to go and save some cash over getting an extra years support.
 
If Apple could make the iPad M1 more like a proper full fat Mac Mini M1, I would suggest it.

LTT did a review of the iPad M1 and they tried to do proper photo and video editing on it and they couldn't. That makes it a waste.

If Apple have improved the ability to complete work functions on the iPad, I would say go for it.

I would also argue that a Mac Mini M1 is one of the best products Apple have ever made since it performs well, sips power and has great resale value. The cons are that it doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse or screen but those could be things you would incur anyway with an iPad.
 
JollyJamma said:
If Apple could make the iPad M1 more like a proper full fat Mac Mini M1, I would suggest it.

LTT did a review of the iPad M1 and they tried to do proper photo and video editing on it and they couldn't. That makes it a waste.

If Apple have improved the ability to complete work functions on the iPad, I would say go for it.

I would also argue that a Mac Mini M1 is one of the best products Apple have ever made since it performs well, sips power and has great resale value. The cons are that it doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse or screen but those could be things you would incur anyway with an iPad.
Click to expand...

Get a MacBook Air.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Pro motion is something you won't miss unless you've seen it...

I've never seen it in person, bought the base iPad Air, half the price of the Pro, been very happy with it. It does everything i need to do in an iPad. Not really sure how ProMotion would help in a YouTube video or looking on forums and Discord.

What do you use it for?

I know i will hate it once I upgrade from my iPhone XR to a 14/15 but cross that bridge when i come to it.
Click to expand...
ProMotion literally affects every single thing you do, scrolling, animations. Using a 60Hz device afterwards is a choppy mess in comparison.

It just makes the whole device feel smoother to use.
 
Broken Hope said:
ProMotion literally affects every single thing you do, scrolling, animations. Using a 60Hz device afterwards is a choppy mess in comparison.

It just makes the whole device feel smoother to use.
Click to expand...

I disagree...at least until I used it for a long time.

I lied earlier, I did see the Pro Motion iPad when it first came out, in the Apple Store, I actually seen the new iPhone 14 Pro in person...I can't really tell a large difference or much at all...i did the whole scroll both phones with 1 hand in each test. I said I have never seen it earlier is because i haven't used it like day to day so I don't want to make judgment until then, but a quick comparisons that i've looked at....i don't find it any different, at least not "Choppy mess". That to me is HUGE exaggeration, like massive to the point of a salesman trying to sell something to me.

I also don't find anything i use a choppy mess, not my TV, not my Steamdeck, not my iPad, not my PS5, not my OLED TV, not my Macmini.....nothing...

As I said "I know i will hate it once I upgrade from my iPhone XR to a 14/15 but cross that bridge when i come to it."

So I don't know what else I could say except that ... I disagree and that I will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
 
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Under accessibility and then motion you can limit the frame rate to 60Hz and the difference is literally night and day.

I welcome anyone with a ProMotion capable device to test, even simple stuff like tapping on folders, swiping to return to they Home Screen etc, there’s a huge difference between ProMotion on and off.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I disagree...at least until I used it for a long time.

I lied earlier, I did see the Pro Motion iPad when it first came out, in the Apple Store, I actually seen the new iPhone 14 Pro in person...I can't really tell a large difference or much at all...i did the whole scroll both phones with 1 hand in each test. I said I have never seen it earlier is because i haven't used it like day to day so I don't want to make judgment until then, but a quick comparisons that i've looked at....i don't find it any different, at least not "Choppy mess". That to me is HUGE exaggeration, like massive to the point of a salesman trying to sell something to me.

I also don't find anything i use a choppy mess, not my TV, not my Steamdeck, not my iPad, not my PS5, not my OLED TV, not my Macmini.....nothing...

As I said "I know i will hate it once I upgrade from my iPhone XR to a 14/15 but cross that bridge when i come to it."

So I don't know what else I could say except that ... I disagree and that I will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
Click to expand...

For me, I don't find Pro Motion necessary on an OLED, but I do find it very nice on the IPS displays of the iPad.

The motion blur on them is awful, and they just don't feel as responsive.


It's what you're used to, though, and you do get used to the 60 Hz displays over time. In this situation though, where the OP is asking which to go for, I would definitely go for an M1 iPad Pro over an iPad Air.
 
I really do not like the pro-motion screen over my older 10.5(2017?) model. I find scrolling through text much worse than the older pro. As I have said before, if you are watching YouTube and couch surfing the web, the pro's are pretty much a waste of money. I upgraded from a 2018 model as my sons iPad was no longer supported and the battery was dead. Otherwise I could have carried on with the old pro. My son has 50x the games on it I do and has no issues at all.

These M1/2 models are just overkill for the sake of shipping something new. Far too limiting in use. There was a good video a few months ago on Mac rumours where they talked about using an iPad as a productivity tool and it was pretty pointless.

I like Face ID and the 4 speakers to watch YouTube while I'm cooking but other than that I no longer see the point of these devices as high end, high priced browsers.
 
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