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(Pocket-lint) - When Apple created brought the updated iPad Air to the marketplace successful 2020, successful galore ways it was seen arsenic the iPad Pro 'Lite'. It adopted the plan of the Pro, added a splash of colour and adjacent utilized a truly almighty processor inside.
But conscionable however 'Pro' is it. In this usher we'll amusement you the differences and similarities betwixt the iPad Air 2020 and the iPad Pro from the aforesaid year. If you'd similar to spot however it compares to the M1-powered iPad Pro scope from 2021, you tin read that here.
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Design
- iPad Air: 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm
- iPad Pro 11-inch: 247.6 x 178.5 x 5.9 mm
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch: 280.6 x 214.9 x 5.9 mm
- iPad Air: Stereo speakers and TouchID successful the powerfulness button
- iPad Pro: Quad talker system, FaceID successful the bezel
- All models: 2nd gen Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard support
- iPad Air: silver, abstraction grey, roseate gold, greenish and entity blue
- iPad Pro: metallic and abstraction grey
It's wide the iPad Air borrowed heavy from the look of the iPad Pro. It has the aforesaid constrictive bezel and level edges and level back. It looks similar an iPad Pro 'lite', it conscionable doesn't stock the Pro name. Even the dimensions are similar, with the Air featuring identical width and tallness to the 11-inch Pro. It's lone somewhat thicker. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is overmuch larger.
One happening that's instantly evident astir the Air scope is its array of colour options. It has roseate golden (pink), greenish and entity bluish alongside the metallic and abstraction grey options. The Pro bid lone features metallic and abstraction grey. Because it's serious, for superior people.
iPad Pro uses FaceID for authentication, wherever the Air uses a TouchID fingerprint sensor successful the powerfulness fastener astatine the top, which mightiness really beryllium much convenient for some. Especially if you're wearing a mask. The Pro does diagnostic amended audio though, with a quad-speaker strategy alternatively of the iPad Air's stereo two-speaker system. Still, each models volition dependable large successful wide use.
All models enactment Apple's astir caller Pencil and tin clip it magnetically to the broadside portion wireless charging the accessory. What's more, the iPad Air adjacent supports the latest, expensive Magic Keyboard screen with the floating arm.
Display
- iPad Air: 10.9-inch IPS display
- iPad Pro: 11-inch and 12.9 inch IPS display
- iPad Air: 2360 x 1640 resolution
- iPad Pro 11-inch: 2388 x 1668 resolution
- iPad Peo 12.9-inch: 2732 x 2048 resolution
- iPad Air: 500 nits brightness
- iPad Pro: 600 nits brightness
- All models enactment True Tone
- iPad Pro features 120Hz refresh
Both the iPad Air and iPad Pro usage Apple's alleged 'Liquid Retina' show branding, and the specs aren't just disconnected being the aforesaid either. But determination are evidently immoderate differences.
Look astatine the nonstop resolutions and you'll announcement they're each antithetic and nary of them is what we'd see 'standard' resolutions. What it means, however, is that each of them stock the nonstop aforesaid pixel density of 264 pixels-per-inch. Those other pixels connected the 11 and 12.9-inch screens versus the Air's 10.9-inch conscionable guarantee there's the aforesaid level of item to the user's eye.
With 600 nits of highest brightness, the Pro bid displays are brighter than the iPad Air's 500 nits, positive the iPad Pro bid features an adaptive framework complaint exertion that goes arsenic precocious arsenic 120Hz/120 frames-per-second. That means smoother graphics and a much responsive consciousness for those times you're utilizing the Pencil.
All tablets person the anti-reflective surface and boast the aforesaid wide colour gamut support.
Hardware and performance
- iPad Air: A14 processor - caller 5nm process
- iPad Pro: A12z Bionic processor and embedded M12 coprocessor
- Both: USB Type-C support
- Battery: Up to 10 hours from each models
- iPad Air: ships with 20W powerfulness adapter
- iPad Pro: ships with 18W powerfulness adapter
- iPad Air: 64GB and 256GB retention options
- iPad Pro: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB retention options
With the iPad Air, Apple introduced a marque caller processor called the A14 Bionic. It's based connected a caller 5nm process, meaning there's a batch of tiny transistors each implicit it and it features some a 6-core CPU and a 4-core GPU.
As for the iPad Pro, Apple equipped the tablet with an A12z Bionic chip, and that features an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, that means the GPU has treble the cores of the iPad Air, which makes consciousness since the show its driving has a faster refresh rate, and truthful it needs to present faster graphics. Apple doesn't typically people timepiece speeds and truthful it's not casual to comparison the specifications successful that regard.
When it comes to storage, iPad Pro has the precocious manus present and offers doubly arsenic galore options. The lowest capableness is 128GB, but you tin besides spell arsenic precocious arsenic 512GB and 1TB with the iPad Pro. iPad Air has 2 options: 64GB and 256GB.
Both iPad Air and iPad Pro diagnostic USB Type-C ports that tin beryllium hooked up to outer drives, dongles and outer monitors up to 4K resolution.
As with virtually each iPad since the dawn of the tablet successful 2010, Apple is promising 10 hours of usage from a afloat complaint from the iPad Air and iPad Pro series. Both the iPad Air and 11-inch iPad Pro diagnostic a 28.6-watt-hour battery, portion the 12.9-inch Pro features a larger 36.71-watt-hour.
However, the 20W powerfulness adapter that comes with the Air is much almighty than the 18W adapter that comes with the Pro models and means the Air volition complaint a tiny spot faster with the adapter that ships successful the box.
As for wireless performance, the 2 bid of iPads person cellular versions arsenic good arsenic conscionable Wi-Fi models, and that means you tin usage a 4G web for information portion you're connected the determination if you take the cellular model.
Cameras
- iPad Air: azygous 12MP rear, 7MP FaceTime HD front
- iPad Pro: triple camera rear, 7MP TrueDepth front
- 12MP main camera
- 10MP ultra-wide
- 2x Telephoto zoom
When it comes to camera versatility, there's lone truly 1 victor here, and that's the iPad Pro. It has a triple camera strategy connected the backmost made up of a main 12-megapixel camera and a 10-megapixel ultra-wide and 2x telephoto zoom lens. Plus it has that LiDAR strategy for extent cognition and AR shenanigans.
iPad Air has the aforesaid 12-megapixel main camera, but that's the lone camera it has. Like the Pro, however, it tin sprout successful 4K solution and - arguably - with cameras not being of immense value connected tablets, you mightiness conscionable determine each those other lenses and sensors don't marque immoderate quality to the mode you usage the tablet.
Price
- iPad Air: starts astatine $599/£579
- iPad Pro 11-inch: starts astatine $799/£769
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch: starts astatine $999/£969
It's erstwhile you comparison prices that it's apt you'll marque your last acquisition decision. Looking astatine each the similarities and differences, the little £579/$599 terms of the Air could conscionable beryllium that deciding factor. Of course, pricing increases arsenic you summation the retention and determine if you privation a cellular version.
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As for the iPad Pro, the smaller exemplary is $799/£769 for the cheapest, lowest retention exemplary without cellular. But if you opt for the larger 12.9-inch model, the terms soon pushes adjacent the $1000/£1000 mark, and that's erstwhile it becomes much a determination of whether oregon not this is conscionable a tablet arsenic an amusement instrumentality oregon 1 that you usage arsenic a laptop replacement.
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Conclusion
In each the ways that matter, the iPad Air volition connection astir radical everything they would anticipation to get from a 'Pro' tablet. It offers truthful galore of the features we've seen adopted by the iPad Pro range, and the processor wrong is powerful. That means for those whose lone concerns are whether it does the aforesaid things arsenic the iPad Pro, it volition beryllium much than adequate.
Of course, the iPad Pro does person a fewer benefits. Like the information it comes successful the larger 12.9-inch size for those who privation a bigger screen. It besides has a brighter surface with a faster refresh rate. That means for those who emotion the ultra-smooth animations and astir wholly lag-free Pencil responses, it'll inactive beryllium the Pro that draws the eye. There's besides FaceID and much cameras.
We fishy for astir radical the iPad Air is the amended prime here, mostly due to the fact that you're virtually getting an iPad Pro, but for little money.
Writing by Cam Bunton. Originally published connected 16 September 2020.
English (US) ·