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iPad Air Get the Air unless you're waiting for the 2021 Pro

B

blurryvision

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2020
99
162
After much contemplation, I returned the Pro and have been using the Air for a week and it's incredible. I use my Macbook Pro solely for music production now and everything else I shifted to on the iPad.

I got the 256GB and I value it much more over the 128GB Pro and I still get it for $70 cheaper (Canadian).
120Hz display, Face ID, 6GB RAM, quad speakers and LIDAR really isn't that beneficial and the Air keeps the most important features and gives you alternatives that are on equal footing with the Pro. AppleCare is also half the price so the overall package is a much better deal.

I genuinely think longevity is a tie between the Pro vs Air (4-5 years for both devices), and there are little benefits going for something that is more expensive at the moment.

I also noticed that the Air feels snappier than the Pro in most cases and I find that a lot of people are underestimating the 42% increase in single-core performance. I felt the speed difference immediately.

Personally, the Air 4 really did kill the 2020 Pro.
 
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blurryvision said:
After much contemplation, I returned the Pro and have been using the Air for a week and it's incredible. I use my Macbook Pro solely for music production now and everything else I shifted to on the iPad.

I got the 256GB and I value it much more over the 128GB Pro and I still get it for $70 cheaper (Canadian).
120Hz display, Face ID, 6GB RAM, quad speakers and LIDAR really isn't that beneficial and the Air keeps the most important features and gives you alternatives that are on equal footing with the Pro. AppleCare is also half the price so the overall package is a much better deal.

I genuinely think longevity is a tie between the Pro vs Air (4-5 years for both devices), and there are little benefits going for something that is more expensive at the moment.

I also noticed that the Air feels snappier than the Pro in most cases and I find that a lot of people are underestimating the 42% increase in single-core performance. I felt the speed difference immediately.

Personally, the Air 4 really did kill the 2020 Pro.
Click to expand...
What i have been telling from the start. There is no difference between by 2018 and 2020 pro. I should've waited for the 21 pro. The new air 4 of the missus is noticeably faster. The firestorm and icestorm cores are the real deal.
 
If you only care about the speed, yes Air is better but every other feature is better on the Pro. 120hz and 600 nit screen, Face ID, 4 speakers, smaller bezels, no screen light bleeding. 2018 Pro is even cheaper than Air and there's barely any difference between 2018 and 2020 Pro models.
 
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AutomaticApple said:
Have you noticed any light bleed yet?
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I’m surprised it is so common, a lot of apple products lately have been poorly made. Kinda worried about the AirPods Pro situation since I only got apple care+ on one of them.
 
AutomaticApple said:
Have you noticed any light bleed yet?
Click to expand...
I have and its in the same spot as everyone else. It’s not noticable in day to day usage though and I’m planning on getting it replaced once it’s fixed in production. It wasn’t worth it for me to return the device for this one small fault.
 
MPclk2006 said:
I went with the pro and don’t regret it.
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Yes, I share the sentiment. Moreover, I suspect, when the time comes to trade in the Pro, it will be more remunerative than the Air. That aside, to me at least configuration matters. For example, 64GB and 4GB RAM is what I had on my last IPP (10.5, 2017, bought and used since week of release). With a marginal battery degradation, and a diminishing level of trade in value, I had to consider my options.

Promotion, 128GB storage and 6GB RAM, with the revised aesthetics, a new battery, and 1year warranty, led me to the 11” IPP 2020. Could I have waited for the Air? Yes, of course (it began shipping just a day or two after I bought the IPP). But with the Air, I would be looking at 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (which, if I wanted to change, would lead me to the 256GB variant thus putting me approx within $50 of the base IPP), marginally thicker bezels (yes, to me the aesthetics matter as I stare at the screen for many hours a day), and, ultimately, a lower trade in value.

So, the IPP, with the Apple Pencil 2, and the ASF, for approx $860 (converted from my local currency) seemed to me a better deal.

That said, everyone has their own value assessment and, at the end of the day, that’s all that really counts.
 
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I’m trying to convince myself to get the air because I definitely don’t need pro features but with Amazon’s discount it’s the same price(128gb vs 256gb). Unless there’s some Black Friday deal on the air I’ll be getting the pro.
 
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kristalsoldier said:
Yes, I share the sentiment. Moreover, I suspect, when the time comes to trade in the Pro, it will be more remunerative than the Air. That aside, to me at least configuration matters. For example, 64GB and 4GB RAM is what I had on my last IPP (10.5, 2017, bought and used since week of release). With a marginal battery degradation, and a diminishing level of trade in value, I had to consider my options.

Promotion, 128GB storage and 6GB RAM, with the revised aesthetics, a new battery, and 1year warranty, led me to the 11” IPP 2020. Could I have waited for the Air? Yes, of course (it began shipping just a day or two after I bought the IPP). But with the Air, I would be looking at 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (which, if I wanted to change, would lead me to the 256GB variant thus putting me approx within $50 of the base IPP), marginally thicker bezels (yes, to me the aesthetics matter as I stare at the screen for many hours a day), and, ultimately, a lower trade in value.

So, the IPP, with the Apple Pencil 2, and the ASF, for approx $860 (converted from my local currency) seemed to me a better deal.

That said, everyone has their own value assessment and, at the end of the day, that’s all that really counts.
Click to expand...
I think the Air will provide a higher trade-in value in March since it wont be refreshed. The Pro's will drop in price since it'll be considered as the previous generation.
 
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I got the 256gb Pro in a promo at the same price as the 256gb Air, and I don’t regret it.

blurryvision said:
I think the Air will provide a higher trade-in value in March since it wont be refreshed. The Pro's will drop in price since it'll be considered as the previous generation.
Click to expand...

Next gen Pro models will definitely be more expensive, so it’ll likely retain its high resale value.
 
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blurryvision said:
I think the Air will provide a higher trade-in value in March since it wont be refreshed. The Pro's will drop in price since it'll be considered as the previous generation.
Click to expand...
I am not so sure. You see Apple has to retain the essential difference - even if largely conceptual at this point - between its Pro and non Pro line up. One way they do this is by stripping the non Pro of things like Promotion etc, but equally they can (and, I speculate, they will), arguably, reinforce the distinction with their trade in values. Of course, all this on my part is, at best, conjectural.
 
hmmm, i have the 2020 pro, had an air before couldn't really sand it much because doing simple things like playing youtube and multitasking it just struggled, compared to the pro IMO
 
kp98077 said:
hmmm, i have the 2020 pro, had an air before couldn't really sand it much because doing simple things like playing youtube and multitasking it just struggled, compared to the pro IMO
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I had the opposite experience. The Pro had trouble sometimes loading simple streaming apps, while the Air breezes through.
 
nrvna76 said:
I’m trying to convince myself to get the air because I definitely don’t need pro features but with Amazon’s discount it’s the same price(128gb vs 256gb). Unless there’s some Black Friday deal on the air I’ll be getting the pro.
Click to expand...
I was in the same boat as you: waiting on potential Black Friday deals for the 256GB Air. But now with this light bleed situation being so ubiquitous on the Air 4, I’m feeling more enticed to hold on to my money and see what all is introduced during the November event.
 
I do not agree with the op.
I have the Air 2020 and I‘m returning it.

I came from a 2017 10.5“ iPad Pro and I miss so many things. 120hz screens is a killer feature for me, also colors were better, screen was less reflective and brighter. The speakers on Air are not as good as either...

I already ordered a refurbished iPP 2018 for less money than the new Air 2020.
 
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makzr said:
I do not agree with the op.
I have the Air 2020 and I‘m returning it.

I came from a 2017 10.5“ iPad Pro and I miss so many things. 120hz screens is a killer feature for me, also colors were better, screen was less reflective and brighter. The speakers on Air are not as good as either...

I already ordered a refurbished iPP 2018 for less money than the new Air 2020.
Click to expand...
The air had a better anti reflective coating according to Maxtech on YouTube.
 
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I have the 2018 11” Pro for downstairs and the new Air for in bed reading and both are great. I’m definitely not a power user but really don’t notice any difference apart from scrolling smoothness side by side and the speakers are a bit better on the Pro.
 
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