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If you can live with its drawbacks (60Hz, dual speakers, no flashlight, single wide camera, 64GB base storage) then yes. You need something more, Pro would be a better deal.

With current lineups, it's a hard decision for sure. You need to choose, and give up on something (newer chip or Pro features).
Sorry - it was meant as a funny. But it is true that it was still working fine! (And it was at the very beginning of this year, not last year.)

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iPad Air and Pro are obviously too similar. And that’s why I think Apple will soon update the latter ones with an A14Z, perhaps at the november keynote.
 
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LOL okay, I took it too seriously. That is insane, you still has the original iPad!! How much did you get for that? Gotta be a great collector's item.
No - not worth much. Hardly worth listing. :-(

I sold it more because I couldn't face chucking it than for any possible financial gain. With fees, postage, etc, it was next to nothing.
 
upgrading from 64GB to 256GB costs $150...can I I get the 64GB and then buy a usb-c thumbdrive and store files on it to use on the iPad? The 256GB thumbdrives are only $34 on Amazon.

Any advantage/disadvantage to this? does it drain battery? is it limited with use in iPadOS apps?
External storage is almost always slower than internal ones. But sure, you can upload photos and video to it, so you can delete them from the iPad and use its storage for something else.
 
No - not worth much. Hardly worth listing. :-(

I sold it more because I couldn't face chucking it than for any possible financial gain. With fees, postage, etc, it was next to nothing.

Well, it's one of Steve's legacy.. I'd keep it in the drawer, forever LOL..

I still have a few friends who still uses their iPad 2, it's been demoted for kids' apps and Youtube. But surely enough, average iPads has longer lifespan than iPhones. Many keep it for 5 years or more, and believe it or not, still actively used.
 
External storage is almost always slower than internal ones. But sure, you can upload photos and video to it, so you can delete them from the iPad and use its storage for something else.
My experience of using external thumb drives generally (not specifically iPad) is that they can work fine for some things if the speed is acceptable. But you really, really don't want to have one connected any more than essential. Attach - copy files - detach. Far, far too prone to damage as a lump sticking out of a fairly substantial device. That damage could be to the drive or the device - or both.

That is, if you are organised enough to make sure you have working space and only attach a stick for short periods.
 
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Well, it's one of Steve's legacy.. I'd keep it in the drawer, forever LOL..

I still have a few friends who still uses their iPad 2, it's been demoted for kids' apps and Youtube. But surely enough, average iPads has longer lifespan than iPhones. Many keep it for 5 years or more, and believe it or not, still actively used.
YouTube does not work on the original iPad - despite having a YouTube app built-in. That happened many years ago.

There are some video sites which are still accessible, but many are not.

It was primarily the end of IOS updates that killed it for me. Only got to IOS 5.1.1. Had a whole 256 MB of RAM!
 
My thoughts for new iPad buyers right now is either buy an air now or wait for the pros to refresh.
... or look for a 2018 Pro refurb which is about the same price as the Air but you get 120 Hz and FaceID instead of TouchID with the only trade-offs being a slightly weaker processor.

Shows how amazing of a product the 2018 Pro was when you can still recommend buying it over newer models 2 years later.
 
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... or look for an 2018 Pro refurb which is about the same price as the Air but you get 120 Hz and FaceID instead of TouchID with the only trade-offs being a slightly weaker processor.

Shows how amazing of an product the 2018 Pro was when you can still recommend buying it over newer models 2 years later.
Partner has one and has been extremely happy with it.

She finds the camera works for her purposes far better than her iPhone 8 and Canon camera. Focus is spookily good. Maybe not much of a surprise but the fact is we can see the difference at a glance - it doesn't take careful examination with a loupe.
 
I'm still on my iPad Air 2, which is still a great machine. Although it's not so snappy any more. I hate one and only one thing in iPad Air2 - when watching videos with subtitles, the dark scenes in the dark screen suddenly gets much brighter or darker when subtitles appear and disappear. This is typical to all LCDs, inluding all current iPad lineup. I was looking forward for this iPad Air upgrade hoping for Mini-LED.
 
If you don't mind about LiDR, get the Air. If you really want the best you can get and ain't in a hurry, wait till march or so that new Pro with A14X will come and it should be a pretty massive bump from the A12Z
The question is, will Apple use that opportunity to simplify this decision for us by bumping the Pro price as well?

It's actually simpler for me than many here: I have never used the rear camera on a tablet in my life, so don't care about that or Lidar, and when I play media from one I'll almost always use headphones so the speakers aren't a real factor either. I'm not a gamer, it's not my primary device so won't be used with a keyboard and power button access isn't an issue, and I can write perfectly well with a 2016 base iPad and Pencil 1 so 60 Hz isn't going to make the pencil unusable for me. And people in another thread are saying that multitasking isn't really different despite the RAM difference. So for my useage the benefits of the Pro are not substantial - for others it is different.
 
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As others have pointed out, the Pro at 128GB, a very usable size for many, is only $50 more than the 256GB Air. The things you get for that $50 are huge in my opinion. ProMotion display, FaceID (game changer on a tablet used as a desktop), quad speakers, 6GB of RAM, and LiDAR. Those are easily worth $50. Will you notice the speed difference opening apps with that single core performance difference? No way. The A12X and A12Z both have better multi-core and GPU performance, so gaming will be better on the Pros as well, especially with ProMotion. I just don’t see how the 256GB Air makes sense at all. I think that’s a deliberate pricing strategy by Apple to force users up to the Pro model. I know I certainly would opt for the Pro for $50 extra if I were in the market. Below is a screen shot of benchmarks done on the 2018 iPad Pro vs 2020 iPad Air. Depending on use case, the iPad Pro A12X is still a more powerful processor in 5 out of the 7 tests. makes me wonder just how fast the A14X will be. View attachment 975240
The multicore score on the Official Geekbench 5 website puts the Ipad Air 4 at 4169, with the Ipad Pro 2018 at 4610.
 
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I still don't understand how the process shrink is adding to performance.
Shrinking impacts on:
Switching speed
Number of elements in a processor of given size
Performance per watt

So, for a given energy input we can have more elements, switching at higher speed with faster input/output of data.

Everything has to consider the balance of these factors and heat dissipation. Choices have to be made how far to choose performance over power usage, etc.
 
I ordered the 256GB Air (in Rose Gold because come on, pink..) I mostly use it to read around the house and in bed, maybe browse at work or take notes in a now-seldom meeting. I have no desire for some giant heavy iPad to be lugging around. I guess it could sorta be a laptop replacement.. but at $1000 just buy an actual laptop. I don't understand the target market of the iPad Pro, at all.
 
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I still haven't seen anyone doing iPad Air 4 bend testing, i guess it bends like old fashioned iPad Pro :)) everyone bought Air 4 and no one wants to bend it for the purpose of test video..
 
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As others have pointed out, the Pro at 128GB, a very usable size for many, is only $50 more than the 256GB Air. The things you get for that $50 are huge in my opinion. ProMotion display, FaceID (game changer on a tablet used as a desktop), quad speakers, 6GB of RAM, and LiDAR. Those are easily worth $50. Will you notice the speed difference opening apps with that single core performance difference? No way. The A12X and A12Z both have better multi-core and GPU performance, so gaming will be better on the Pros as well, especially with ProMotion. I just don’t see how the 256GB Air makes sense at all. I think that’s a deliberate pricing strategy by Apple to force users up to the Pro model. I know I certainly would opt for the Pro for $50 extra if I were in the market. Below is a screen shot of benchmarks done on the 2018 iPad Pro vs 2020 iPad Air. Depending on use case, the iPad Pro A12X is still a more powerful processor in 5 out of the 7 tests. makes me wonder just how fast the A14X will be. View attachment 975240
lol, where is the single score geekbench comparison. Did they omit it because the 42% deficit will look bad for the Pro. Ipad air scores 4300+ in multicore and beats A12z in Geekbench compute GPU. The Gpu of A14 and the Gpu of A12z trades blows depending on the benchmark. i wouldnt call one much beefier than other.

look at this video, the Ipad air 4 is faster than the pro in everday apps. The ram management also looks to be the same. A14 is using a newer memory subsystem with improved memory compression.

 
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I went with the 64GB air (hasn’t arrived yet from Verizon) as I use iPad mostly for internet, games and media consumption. I never listen to music or podcasts without my AirPods and up to last year I was using a 32GB iPad 6th Gen. and storage space was more than adequate on that for me. Currently using a 2017 (2nd Gen) 12.9 Pro that was given to me, but it’s a little big and the touchscreen response is terrible. The new Air may not be perfect for everybody, but it was the right choice for me.
 
It's interesting to me that so many reviewers have commented about how FaceID is a lot better when you're using a Magic Keyboard (or other keyboard). I suspect the majority of tech reviewers/pundits/bloggers/etc. use their iPad Pros with the Magic Keyboard, and the switch to TouchID is a noticeable downgrade for that use case. Meanwhile, I suspect the majority of actual iPad users are using them unattached to a keyboard, so are always pressing the power button anyway.
I can’t speak for the reviewers, but I use the magic keyboard pencil setup and being able to resume work by tapping the magic keyboard is a big upside for me (which is most noticeable when I’m using my older iPad). The only time the magic keyboard is an inconvenience is with portrait mode apps; having to untether from the keyboard is such a waste of energy.
 
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Since I need the bigger 12.9” for my purposes, I’m waiting for the 2021 update. I figure if I’m going to pay for the pro, I want it to be significantly better than the air.
My thoughts for new iPad buyers right now is either buy an air now or wait for the pros to refresh.

Apple truly made it a challenge deciding between the two this year. I wanted a laptop replacement that would last me at least 4 years.

The iPad Pro 12.9 was considered, but given the rumours of a 2021 update with A14x and mini-LED display, it didn't make sense to go Pro this year. I looked at the 11 Pro, but it was just too close to the Air was in performance for the money.

And while the A12z holds it's own in multi-core, the A14 is 2 generations newer with the latest improvements.

So I ended up with the Air. Cheaper in cost yet still powerful and modern.
No, it's not the ultimate laptop replacement I was looking for, but if my needs grow requiring something faster/larger, I can trade up to that 'significantly better' iPad Pro 12.9 next year.
 
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After reading through this thread, I’m very surprised that few have mentioned impact of tech on actual apps. Outside of drawing apps and games, what’s the noticeable difference in performance? Even if the new iPad Air cpu is 40% faster than Pro, who can tell (outside of benchmarking)? I think the long game is in how long will the hardware be supported by iPadOS. If your current setup can sustain you through through the next couple OS upgrades and you don’t have a real world need for the extra tech (lidar), then best bet is to bank the money until you are forced to upgrade hardware (contact app developer for app version compatible with OS). It’s not like the previous gen is destined for the bin: older iPad is now second screen for MacBook, media center/remote for Apple TV, dedicated device such as midi instrument or Video Chat device, better alternative to Amazon Echo, etc.
 
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