iPad Air iPad Air M4 is impressive

[bluesteel]

I personally own a 13” iPad Pro M5, and I just bought my mom a new 13” iPad Air M4. I was helping her set it up this evening and played around with it for a few hours afterwards. I’m thoroughly impressed. Before my M5 iPad Pro, I had the M1 version. This is my first time using an iPad Air. I’m suprised how similar the user experience is to my iPad Pro M5. I could barely tell the difference between the two. As I was using my mom’s Air, I began to realize that I could’ve saved $400 and I probably would’ve been perfectly happy with the Air. I didn’t miss the OLED display on my Pro. The only thing I didn’t like about the Air is the Touch ID, it drove me nuts, lol…Face ID is so much more convenient. I did also notice the lower refresh rate when scrolling, which I’ll admit bothered my eyes..i have pro motion on iPhone, iPad, and Mac so my eyes are adjusted to that smoother scrolling.

So yeah, I was just caught off guard at how good the iPad Air M4 is. It’s just as snappy and fast as my iPad Pro. I would highly recommend anyone looking at the Pro to give the Air a test drive. I think a lot of people considering the Pro would be very surprised at how good it is for so much less money. We always say the iPad Pro is overkill. I thought the same thing when using the Air.

 

[Rob838383]

Agree. I tried MacBook air, iPad 11” air, iPad 11” pro and settled on iPad air 13”, as I prefer the form factor and use for both consumption and creation. Touch ID on a skinny on/off button is a terrible experience, the rest is great.

 

[Zazoh]

I know what Apple wants us to think of the Pro designation but on the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, to me, it really means “the pro model has one or two features that nobody really needs, and will be available on lower models in the future, but if you’ve got extra money and can’t wait, why not?”

In other words the Air suits a very high majority of use cases.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Yea I would likely agree. Im going from an 11" IPP M4 to a MBA next week. Currently using the Neo, I would have NEVER thought I would be fine going down in display specs, but from day to day my eyes cannot tell a difference. Both look fine on YouTube and web browsing

 

[Miltz]

I think when you factor in that the iPad Pro comes with double the storage, a better display, is thinner, is lighter, is faster, more future proof, Face ID and allows for the much better magic keyboard experience. The price difference is definitely worth it for the pro.

 

[I7guy]

Here’s my story. My then current iPad was a 7th gen getting long in the tooth. Earlier this year bought an iPad Air m3 on sale as an upgrade. There was something nagging at me about it. So I returned it and bought an IPP M5. For me it was worlds apart in user experience. Thinness, screen, Face ID, screen, screen. Then Apple released the iPad Air m4 and I knew I made the right decision.

 

[Basic75]

I’m suprised how similar the user experience is to my iPad Pro M5.

I'm surprised that you were surprised. What huge difference were you expecting?

 

[snipr125]

I think when you factor in that the iPad Pro comes with double the storage, a better display, is thinner, is lighter, is faster, more future proof, Face ID and allows for the much better magic keyboard experience. The price difference is definitely worth it for the pro.

It is worth it for sure if you want the ultimate iPad experience (especially its screen), but for the majority of people the ipad air M4 is excellent especially now it has 12 GB ram. Only thing really missing is promotion and face id, but probably not a deal breaker for a lot of people.

 

[Micahrea]

For most people, it is probably more than enough compared to the Pro.

 

[Homme]

It’s impressive in the way that all models get 12GB of RAM compared
To the 256/512 m4 pro ones which have 8GB.

Apple had to release this iPad at the right time especially because the Mini 7 came out with a better SoC ( architecturally) than the M2 Air hence why the M3 Air ( especially this since it was released several months after the M2 model) and the M4 Air were released more quickly because the Mini and Air Models must have one thing that makes it better than the other

 

[Greenmeenie]

I’m an artist and am just about to finally upgrade my 2018 11” iPad Pro. It has served me well the last 8 years. It still works actually, but I want to be able to use the Apple Pencil Pro as well as get more layers in Procreate.

To be honest, I was very tempted by the M4 iPad Air after comparing side by side with the M5 iPad Pro. It really holds it’s own next to the Pro model. Especially for drawing. I found the 60hz vs 120hz wasn’t an issue when it comes to drawing. It wasn’t even the OLED vs the LCD screen. The main thing that tipped me in favor of the M5 iPad Pro was the 1,000 nits of brightness. Sure, it’d be nice to save an extra $400, but considering that my 2018 iPad Pro has lasted me 8 years, i don’t mind. It’s a good investment. Works out to pennies a day over that time period.

But i also would highly recommend the m4 iPad Air to any artist on a super tight budget. And if i was a student I probably would have gotten the Air without a doubt. Great device.