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iPad ipad air 5 m1 vs ipad pro 2020

ipad air 5 vs ipad pro 2020

  • NEW Ipad air 5 64gb (600€)

  • IPAD PRO 2020 128gb (569€) from refurbished apple store

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Fede_Apple

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 11, 2023
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Hi,
I would to buy ipad pro 2020 or ipad air 5.
In my country ipad pro 2020 REFURBED 128gb on official apple store cost 569€ (the claim says refurbished iOS devices will come with new battery and outer shell), NEW apple air 5 cost 600€, 64gb.

I won't do an intense use, only for studying, read pdf, writing with apple pencil, watching movie and a bit gaming. I don't draw or editing video.

So 128 gb vs 64 gb, 120hz vs 60hz, m1 vs maybe an outdated processor? A12Z have an outdated archcitecure a bit lower performance than ipad 10 october 2022,

So what shall i buy? I think that 64gb is fine with icloud, furthermore already the new update on pro 2020 doesn't have all the features, and i am a bit worried for the next 5 years, but maybe writing with 120hz is better and for my basic task, also for the next 5 years, there won't be many differences in term of lags and new features
 
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Once you experience 120Hz it really is difficult to come back from it, maybe it's a mental thing but the performance on my work iPad (iPad Air 4 with A14 chip I believe) feels sluggish compared to my mum's very same iPad Pro 2020 (with A12Z), weird I know. That being said iPad Air with M1 will be supported far longer I would imagine so it is probably a better buy from a longevity standpoint given the minimal price difference. Apple refurbished iPad Pro 2020 11" with A12Z in my country is only £469 so the difference is quite a bit bigger between that and M1 Air.
 
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Since it’s the 2020 pro model, the ram is already at 6GB which really helps longevity. (2018 model I would only consider at a very low price at this stage)

iPad Air 5 is also about year old now, so not really that “new”.
I suspect we’ll see a new model in the autumn.

At this moment I would go for the pro 2020 model
 
iEimis97 said:
Once you experience 120Hz it really is difficult to come back from it, maybe it's a mental thing but the performance on my work iPad (iPad Air 4 with A14 chip I believe) feels sluggish compared to my mum's very same iPad Pro 2020 (with A12Z), weird I know. That being said iPad Air with M1 will be supported far longer I would imagine so it is probably a better buy from a longevity standpoint given the minimal price difference. Apple refurbished iPad Pro 2020 11" with A12Z in my country is only £469 so the difference is quite a bit bigger between that and M1 Air.
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But i think air 5 isn't at 600€ like in my country. IF i go now on amazon cost 650€, and also 650€ in primary physical stores. So i wrote 600 when is discounted lol
 
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I voted M1, based on your remarks that you use iCloud, have basic needs and are concerned about software feature support for five years. M1 is also better with an external monitor if that need ever arose. But it’s a really complicated comparison because I trust Apple refurbished Store and the 2020 is thinner and lighter, has FaceID, four speakers, and more storage. 2020 is simply a “sexier” body.
 
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CharlesShaw said:
I voted M1, based on your remarks that you use iCloud, have basic needs and are concerned about software feature support for five years. M1 is also better with an external monitor if that need ever arose. But it’s a really complicated comparison because I trust Apple refurbished Store and the 2020 is thinner and lighter, has FaceID, four speakers, and more storage. 2020 is simply a “sexier” body.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the answer i have an iphone but not icloud, however 0,99€ 50gb for a months isn't bad, now i see that air 4 released 6 months after ipad pro 2020, have A14, and pro 2020 A12? OK is an A12 boosted, but it's a bit disappointing
 
Fede_Apple said:
Thanks for the answer i have an iphone but not icloud, however 0,99€ 50gb for a months isn't bad, now i see that air 4 released 6 months after ipad pro 2020, have A14, and pro 2020 A12? OK is an A12 boosted, but it's a bit disappointing
Click to expand...
A12Z with 6GB will probabily be supported for at least as long as A14 with 4GB RAM. Apple has already shown that RAM can be an important factor when it comes to support. Also it's not unreasonable to expect that even A12X with 4GB RAM will be supported for longer than the A12 (which generally has 3GB RAM on iPads).
I made some predictions some time ago, expecting A12 to be supported till 2025, A12X till 2026, A12Z till 2028 and M1 till 2030 (we are in 2023 and even A9 is still supported).
 
Digitalguy said:
A12Z with 6GB will probabily be supported for at least as long as A14 with 4GB RAM. Apple has already shown that RAM can be an important factor when it comes to support. Also it's not unreasonable to expect that even A12X with 4GB RAM will be supported for longer than the A12 (which generally has 3GB RAM on iPads).
I made some predictions some time ago, expecting A12 to be supported till 2025, A12X till 2026, A12Z till 2028 and M1 till 2030 (we are in 2023 and even A9 is still supported).
Click to expand...
Thanks, but we should consider how is supported. With full features and no lags?
 
Fede_Apple said:
Thanks, but we should consider how is supported. With full features and no lags?
Click to expand...
No, Stage Manager is only partially supported on A12X/Z, so don't expect full features. I mean, even M1 lacks some features (probably for marketing reasons). Having said that A14 is in an even worse situation, since it didn't get Stage Manager at all, which gives an idea of how it compares to A12X/Z in Apple's view. So far however most of the features dropped are due to the lack of the bionic neural engine, which A12 and later all have.
As for lags, A12X/Z have as many cores as M1, but clocked lower, and the bottleneck is more RAM than CPU. At this point A12X with 4GB does not lag at all but reloads quite a bit. It's hard to notice any lags even on A12 with 3GB, but reloads there are pretty much constant. 6GB does not reload much and I am pretty confident it will not lag till the end of its supported life. I even believe A12X 4GB won't lag till the end but reloads might increase to the annoying level of current 3GB devices.
 
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Digitalguy said:
No, Stage Manager is only partially supported on A12X/Z, so don't expect full features. I mean, even M1 lacks some features (probably for marketing reasons). Having said that A14 is in an even worse situation, since it didn't get Stage Manager at all, which gives an idea of how it compares to A12X/Z in Apple's view. So far however most of the features dropped are due to the lack of the bionic neural engine, which A12 and later all have.
As for lags, A12X/Z have as many cores as M1, but clocked lower, and the bottleneck is more RAM than CPU. At this point A12X with 4GB does not lag at all but reloads quite a bit. It's hard to notice any lags even on A12 with 3GB, but reloads there are pretty much constant. 6GB does not reload much and I am pretty confident it will not lag till the end of its supported life. I even believe A12X 4GB won't lag till the end but reloads might increase to the annoying level of current 3GB devices.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks for the answer. So, should i buy air 5 or pro 2020? Considering my country price
 
Fede_Apple said:
Ok, thanks for the answer. So, should i buy air 5 or pro 2020? Considering my country price
Click to expand...
There is not right answer, because it's a matter of priorities. Personally I would go with the pro for 2 main reasons: quad speakers (which might not matter to you) and storage (64 is too tight for me). Other people care about promotion, I don't.
But arguments may be made for the air 5 too, like less reloads in the long run due to 2GB more RAM, monitor support and maybe some other feature down the line.
I wouldn't worry about lag and security support too much, both should be ok for the next 5 years (the air may get a couple of years more, but I wonder if the 64GB storage will make you want to upgrade ealier anyway...)
Storage is also a personal things, for me icloud may make sense on an iPhone for photos and videos, but on an iPad I don't take photos and videos. On iPad I want to have apps and games installed (no icloud for that), have room for youtube premium downloads (again local only) or for large files like local videos to edit or watch during trips. But again, that's my use, not yours.
 
Digitalguy said:
There is not right answer, because it's a matter of priorities. Personally I would go with the pro for 2 main reasons: quad speakers (which might not matter to you) and storage (64 is too tight for me). Other people care about promotion, I don't.
But arguments may be made for the air 5 too, like less reloads in the long run due to 2GB more RAM, monitor support and maybe some other feature down the line.
I wouldn't worry about lag and security support too much, both should be ok for the next 5 years (the air may get a couple of years more, but I wonder if the 64GB storage will make you want to upgrade ealier anyway...)
Storage is also a personal things, for me icloud may make sense on an iPhone for photos and videos, but on an iPad I don't take photos and videos. On iPad I want to have apps and games installed (no icloud for that), have room for youtube premium downloads (again local only) or for large files like local videos to edit or watch during trips. But again, that's my use, not yours.
Click to expand...
unlike you, my main reason to buy pro is 120hz, so promotion, to have the best experience in term of writing.
 
I would not get anything with a A9 if Apple decided to drop support for the A9 with iOS 17
 
I would get the iPad 10 gen it’s a great ipad and the middle of the road

the only problem I found with the iPad airs is that the screen may crack On its own wish in fact happen to me and a few others one day it was perfectly fine then a month later I woke up and found a crack on it so I sta away from the iPad Airs
 
It’s a tough choice. The pro has the higher refresh screen and quad speakers which were big pluses for me when I bought it. But if you want to keep it for years, the extra ram and the M1 in the air 5 will definitely age better
 
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snow755 said:
And I think you missed read my post I said support did not say say anything about options
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But why are you referring to the A9 on this post at all? Nobody is talked about an IPad with an A9 chip. I think you misread the post, he’s talking about the Air 5 with the M1 chip, not the regular 5th Gen iPad that has the A9
 
1BadManVan said:
But why are you referring to the A9 on this post at all? Nobody is talked about an IPad with an A9 chip. I think you misread the post, he’s talking about the Air 5 with the M1 chip, not the regular 5th Gen iPad that has the A9
Click to expand...
This is the post am talking about and yes I should have quoted it 1st

Digitalguy​

macrumors 68040​


Fede_Apple said:
Thanks for the answer i have an iphone but not icloud, however 0,99€ 50gb for a months isn't bad, now i see that air 4 released 6 months after ipad pro 2020, have A14, and pro 2020 A12? OK is an A12 boosted, but it's a bit disappointing
Click to expand...
A12Z with 6GB will probabily be supported for at least as long as A14 with 4GB RAM. Apple has already shown that RAM can be an important factor when it comes to support. Also it's not unreasonable to expect that even A12X with 4GB RAM will be supported for longer than the A12 (which generally has 3GB RAM on iPads).
I made some predictions some time ago, expecting A12 to be supported till 2025, A12X till 2026, A12Z till 2028 and M1 till 2030 (we are in 2023 and even A9 is still supported).



that is when I said I would not get anythings with a A9 if Apple dropped support


any ways am not going to turn this in to a argument So am dropping this topic and moving on
 
Little misinformation in this thread - and as an owner of the 2018 (A12X/Not A12Z in 2020 model, a slight clock bump) - mine is fully loaded of the '18, w/1TB (which also gave me the 6GB RAM). I also have both an M1/512GB/8GB RAM and an M2/2TB/16GB RAM as we use them daily at my business.

The 2018 - other than the DaVinci Studio limitations, (1080p v 4k) I've YET to see ANY type of slowdown. Glitch. Frame drop... or anything of the sort.

I play Diablo, Flight Sims (RFS, Aerofly 23, X-Plane and Infinite Flight, perennial subscriber to each), other RPGs, COD, and other frame rate/fluency dependent games, my favorite of all being Real Racing 3.

That said, the 2018/2020 are a couple of the best deals on the preowned or even the refurbished dept with Apple. They're genuine bargains and 4GB of RAM is NOT a limitation today. Will it be tomorrow? Yeah - when 8GB is standard and the developers make more money developing for the masses (think iPhone 7/8/X right now or iPad original or second round of Pros before the 12.9" - when the iPad Pro was a 9.7" then the 10.2";)

I love my loaded M2 but its for a completely different project the muscle and the memory and the storage and the cellular capabilities are necessary - even though its an option anytime, I always reach for the 2018/2021 models at home. They're as capable and much more tailored to my use, my apps, prefs et al...

But when it comes to watching the movies on the iPad there's no displays available that compete with the latest 12.9" Pro models - HDR etc

ENJOY!!! It's ONLY a Great Choice!
J
 
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Personally, I don’t consider the 120 Hz display a deciding factor. I have both here and while I absolutely see the difference, I have not had a “can’t go back to 60” moment.

It might be nicer for drawing and writing with the pencil but again, personally I haven’t seen enough of an improvement to make it a major factor in my decision.

I have a 2018 12” iPad Pro and the M1 Air. The Air does feel a little snappier but not by much, surprisingly.
If I had to choose between the two I’d still pick the Air because it’ll probably be supported longer and feel snappier longer.

Display-wise, what does make a difference is the size. 12” is indeed very nice to have, especially if you’re drawing and/or writing with the pencil.
 
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snow755 said:
This is the post am talking about and yes I should have quoted it 1st

Digitalguy​

macrumors 68040​



A12Z with 6GB will probabily be supported for at least as long as A14 with 4GB RAM. Apple has already shown that RAM can be an important factor when it comes to support. Also it's not unreasonable to expect that even A12X with 4GB RAM will be supported for longer than the A12 (which generally has 3GB RAM on iPads).
I made some predictions some time ago, expecting A12 to be supported till 2025, A12X till 2026, A12Z till 2028 and M1 till 2030 (we are in 2023 and even A9 is still supported).



that is when I said I would not get anythings with a A9 if Apple dropped support


any ways am not going to turn this in to a argument So am dropping this topic and moving on
Click to expand...
If you thought I was saying that anyone should consider an A9 iPad you definitely misunderstood what I wrote... That was only to say that A9 being supported until 2023 (very likely to lose support with iPadOS 17) makes it very plausible that A12 can be supported at least till 2025 and A12X (with more RAM) till 2026, and A12Z which came 18 months later with even more RAM for at least 1-2 years longer. It's a way to say that these are not optimistic predictions, if anythign they are rather conservative.
 
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