All iPads M1 iPad Air or M2 iPad Pro

[kanichol]

In the new year I'm looking to get myself an iPad. I have $1,500 CAD from my personal spending account for this. Plan on using this for media consumption, gaming and note taking and Office 365 for work. I will be getting an Apple Pencil and want a keyboard case. I'm debating if I should get a 256 GB M1 iPad Air or the new M2 iPad Pro.
The Air is likely fast enough for what I need and I could choose either the Logitech Combo Touch or the Magic Keyboard and be within my 'budget' (using the Apple Ed store). However I prefer the idea of FaceID. The iPad Pro would be $160 over the personal spending account to include the Logitech Touch Combo.

Do you think that it would be worth it to get the iPad Pro for FaceID, Pro-motion and the 4 speakers? Or is the Air a better idea to allow a choice of either keyboard?

 

[rui no onna]

If used with keyboard, to me it’s worth getting an iPad with FaceID.

It’s a pain to reach for the TouchID button whenever you need to unlock or use iCloud keychain, etc.

 

[1BadManVan]

For gaming, the promotion display and quad speakers would be a nice benefit. Either device will be very nice but there's a few games out there that do take advantage of the high refresh display of the pros

 

[TorbenIbsen]

Face-id vs touch-id is just a habit. My thumb is often covering the camera used for face-id on my current iPad Pro 11". The camera is located on the middle of a short side of the iPad, just where I usually hold the iPad when activating it. So I would prefer touch-id. You should consider not paying for four speakers but get a pair of Airpods Pro, so you can get Spatial Audio. Pro Motion is also a bit of a gimmick. You won't notice it is not there if you do not have it.

The real thing you get with the Pro is the LIDAR function. It is of limited practical use but is quite fun. But the apps using this feature needs lots of work before it becomes really useful.

 

[1BadManVan]

Face-id vs touch-id is just a habit. My thumb is often covering the camera used for face-id on my current iPad Pro 11". The camera is located on the middle of a short side of the iPad, just where I usually hold the iPad when activating it. So I would prefer touch-id. You should consider not paying for four speakers but get a pair of Airpods Pro, so you can get Spatial Audio. Pro Motion is also a bit of a gimmick. You won't notice it is not there if you do not have it.

The real thing you get with the Pro is the LIDAR function. It is of limited practical use but is quite fun. But the apps using this feature needs lots of work before it becomes really useful.

Have to disagree there, I very much notice pro motion. I find it more noticeable on a touch screen display vs having it on a traditional laptop. I wouldn't say its a deal breaker, but its certainly nice to have. Some people notice it more then others, my wife can't tell a difference at all

 

[pcmike]

I had this debate with myself. The short story is… I decided to get what works for me now and maybe a year into the future. There will be a new iPad in a little over a year and it’s likely to be radically redesigned.

I went through and placed orders for Air 256GB Wi-Fi, 128GB IPP 11”, then 256GB, then IPP 11” 256GB cellular, ordered from Apple, then BestBuy with 24mo interest free financing and then just last night someone mentioned chase ultimate rewards offering 50% points bonus on apple products.

Suffice to say, I ultimately ended up ordering a 2022 iPad Air M1 256GB Cellular (max spec current gen Air) and paying the cash equivalent of $641 paid via chase ultimate rewards points. It didn’t cost me a dime and it will likely last me longer than the next refresh cycle.

My primary plan for use is while traveling.. movies on the plane and in hotel rooms, light browsing, etc. It means I never have to bring a MBA M1 and I also never have to be limited by my iPhone 14 Pro’s small screen (for movie watching, to be fair I find the 14 Pro screen to be too large as a phone, I’d prefer a 14 mini with the same cameras, but I digress) on the plane. It’s basically a media consumption device and technically probably overkill.