code-m
macrumors 601
Watch the iPad Pro gain two FaceID cameras and two more regular cameras just for the fun of it.
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Report: iPad Air to Gain OLED Display Early Next Year
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throAU
macrumors G4
Have lived with the notch on macbook pros for 5 years now, i don’t notice it. it’s fine. the menu bar lives there and 99% of the time the notch is zero issue. the screen is 16x10 without the top menu bar space.
I was pretty anti notch before using it - it’s zero issue. Seriously.
Flip side: the massive freaking top bezel on my ipad pro m5 is certainly noticeable vs. the much thinner bezel+notch on the macbook pro.
For me on the macbook, the notch (genuinely) is more of a glass half full thing than a glass half empty thing. It’s extra screen space vs. the old models. Not less due to a cutout.
Back to faceID. As someone who is constantly authenticating to stuff for my job (network/system admin) - just looking at the display instead of reaching for the touchid button is just SO much nicer. I barely even need to stop typing, never mind moving my hands from the home row on the keyboard.
It makes the ipad surprisingly nice to use for my job purely due to the lack of authentication friction, despite the other ipad limitations.
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code-m
macrumors 601
DI for Mac laptops then for cohesion purposes.
Bezels are needed on a tablet for holding unless Apple has some magic sauce up their sleeves to display images up to the frame but there is no touch sensor under that portion vice using accidental touch software that can be iffy.
If that were to happen, the iPad Pro would have to come down in price as the delta between the iPad and Mini to the Pro is pretty wide. The Air is good for those who don't want basic features but also don't want to spend $1200.
throAU
macrumors G4
The jump from air to pro really isn’t that big in ipad land when you add peripherals (i.e., keyboard and pencil).
And if you aren’t adding peripherals (pencil, keyboard) to the air, why are you even bothering, just buy a base model ipad or a mini (depending on what size you want) - otherwise you’re wasting your money imho.
I’ve tried both options, was massively disappointed with the M1 air last time around and spend 3 years regretting not going pro. The M4/M4 pro screen just seals it… it is SO MUCH BETTER IT IS INSANE.
The Air is just this … waste of space in the current lineup. It simply is not good enough vs. the base ipad to be worth the additional $. Sure it has an M chip in in, but its previous generation… and what are you going to do with it, without the peripherals? Gaming? Pull the other one…
How about graphic design / drawing with just a pencil ($20+)? iPad (basic) has non-laminated screen which isn't great for drawing. Pro is $1000-$1200 to start. The Air is perfectly placed/priced for people who want to draw with a pencil (not a large investment) and I think there are a lot of people in that category.
throAU
macrumors G4
All i know is i have had 2 ipad pros and an ipad air, all with pencils.
The ipad air screen did weird screen distortion stuff on part of the display when you applied pressure with the pencil.
The pros do not.
That’s not ideal for drawing on the thing with.
The pros also have the 120hz display and faster pencil tracking and it is 100% noticeable. Even not as an artist. I just scribble notes.
I’ve noticed very little difference between the base ipad screen and the ipad air display?
Also my calculation with the peripherals was an actual apple pencil, not some third party thing. so they’re much more than $20 😀
The ipad air screen did weird screen distortion stuff on part of the display when you applied pressure with the pencil.
The pros do not.
That’s not ideal for drawing on the thing with.
The pros also have the 120hz display and faster pencil tracking and it is 100% noticeable. Even not as an artist. I just scribble notes.
I’ve noticed very little difference between the base ipad screen and the ipad air display?
Also my calculation with the peripherals was an actual apple pencil, not some third party thing. so they’re much more than $20 😀
I mean zero offense by this but get your eyes checked if so.
throAU
macrumors G4
Or at least try something like: watching a dark horror movie with the lights out.
AIR/LCD: SO MUCH GREY background
OLED: oh, actual blacks!
throAU
macrumors G4
Yeah but ... they've been proven not to last.
The blue "RTNGS" logo ... that's not supposed to be on that OLED panel. It's permanently burnt onto the panel.
This is where tandem oled on the pro models comes in.
two oled panels stacked = run both of them less hard (e.g., 2x 40% instead of 1x 80% for same brightness) = less burn.
remains to be seen how apple will handle the air.
i’m not entirely convinced they’ll do single oled and thus not entirely convinced the air even has a place in the lineup any more. because if you add tandem oled its basically a pro…
But hey, maybe i could be wrong.
makes no sense, you'd do the non laminated LCD in the iPad, Mini LED in the Air and OLED in the Pro.
tyrnnsrs
macrumors regular
I hope this upgrade includes more improvements overall like smaller bezels or a thinner design. I have an Air that was the last with the A chips. I've been wanting to upgrade my iPad to get more storage but there's really nothing that's changed in the Air since I bought mine aside from the M chip addition.
It's in such an odd position now because to differentiate it in ways that make sense for the Air name, they'd need to adopt more things that the Pro has, which they are likely not going to do to keep more differentiation. They should have kept it using the A Pro level chips so they could afford to adopt other features and have the M chip be more of the differentiator between the Air and Pro.
It's in such an odd position now because to differentiate it in ways that make sense for the Air name, they'd need to adopt more things that the Pro has, which they are likely not going to do to keep more differentiation. They should have kept it using the A Pro level chips so they could afford to adopt other features and have the M chip be more of the differentiator between the Air and Pro.
Apple will keep thr air nobbled to justify the price of the pro. Despite the competition offering way more features for less money.
I needed an ipad just for viewing stuff on commutes. Wanted OLED and 120hz but no way was I willing to pay for the ipad Pro , even refurbished older models for this use case.
Ended up with a premium Samsung tablet for peanuts compared to the ipad Pro (even cheaper than the Air) and a gorgeous OLED hi-res h-refresh 11" display with HDR. Works a charm for this use case. Even came with a pencil.
I needed an ipad just for viewing stuff on commutes. Wanted OLED and 120hz but no way was I willing to pay for the ipad Pro , even refurbished older models for this use case.
Ended up with a premium Samsung tablet for peanuts compared to the ipad Pro (even cheaper than the Air) and a gorgeous OLED hi-res h-refresh 11" display with HDR. Works a charm for this use case. Even came with a pencil.
OLED is great, but I’d opt for Face ID instead if I had to choose. Touch ID with the old home button was good. With the power button, it is less good.
In a world where you want a tablet and not a laptop (and I guess a minority of people are buying a keyboard). The same could be said about the iPhone: who is buying an iPhone when you could buy a MacBook Neo for the same price? Or an Apple Watch Ultra?
I think there’s a problem with the iPad Air: it’s no longer focused on being thin and light, but on being the middle ground alternative. The same happens with the MacBook Air, although it’s not as evident because there’s no thinner Mac.
Anyway, that’s just a wording thing. Regarding the number of models, there are only 4 iPads while there are 5 Macs, even if the former greatly outsells the later. Sales are obviously not the only parameter to take into account, but given the iPad volume, I think it makes sense.
The only thing attracting me to the Pro line has been the screen, so if the Airs get an as good or about as good OLED screen I might switch to that on my next upgrade. Idk if Face ID is worth the delta cost and for me the performance between the two for the apps I use is super negligible and definitely not worth the delta cost.
CarlJ
Contributor
The problem with that comparison is that the keyboards Apple offers for the iPads are completely nuts. Sure, they're nice, but the price point is simply not sane for most people. If you want a keyboard, get a Neo or Air. If you want a touchscreen instead, get an iPad.
The only real use case I see for Apple's current crop of keyboards is, if you're locked into the iPad because of some particular software (say you're an artist who uses the Pencil to draw artwork), and also really need/want a keyboard. Even then it only makes sense if you're making serious money off the setup (so, professional artist), or just have piles of money to burn.
Apple doesn't make iPad keyboards for "normal" people any more (you used to be able to get one for closer to $100, which made it an accessory to consider, rather than costing half the price of the iPad).
For myself, I have a MBP for "serious" work and developing and such, and an iPad Air (without keyboard) for, essentially, hanging out on the couch / casual use (easier to hold, resistant to spills, access to different software, touch interface, etc.). It'd be "nice" to have the keyboard that goes with it, but there's no way I'm paying $300 for it. If I want to use a keyboard for something, I'll just open up my MBP and have access to a full-sized no-compromises keyboard.
CarlJ
Contributor
I'd be sad if the iPad Air went away. It gives a convenient middle option. The mini does not give a good/better/best option, as it's a substantially different form factor.
The jump from an 11" WiFi-only 256GB iPad to an equivalent iPad Pro is from $450 to $1000. That's a pretty wide gulf.
Drop the Air and you make people either forcibly upgrade to the $1000 Pro, or miss out on a more capable screen (P3 vs sRGB), much better/faster processor (M4 vs A16), better GPU, twice as much RAM (12 GB vs 6 GB), and a faster USB-C port (USB 3.1 Gen 2 vs. USB 2.0), etc.
I don't want to pay for a Pro, and I don't want to be saddled with the limitations of the base model. Don't get rid of the mid-range model (unless you're planning to migrate all the Air's improvements down to the base model, or drastically lower the price of the Pro).
throAU
macrumors G4
I don't think an ipad since the M1 has struggled to do anything thanks to the software limitations of ipadOS and the apps running on it.
An M5 ipad may as well be called 'overkill.
I used to have an ipad Pro 2018 model and that was fine for everything until recently. (It got smashed up , hence the need to replace).
The latest Snapdragon Elite chips are no slouch either , sometimes besting comparable apple chips in multicore but not single core. Doubt a typical user would even notice.
throAU
macrumors G4
AS someone who currently owns both M1 and M5 iPads (and used to own the 10.5 Pro, amongst others).
You don't know what you're talking about.
"Being able to run" and "being 3x more responsive whilst getting better battery life because the CPU is not running as hard doing the same things" are not the same thing.
There is a night and day difference in performance between M1 iPads and M5, and it is instantly noticeable as soon as you open an app.
The single core performance improvement specifically is HUGE and this is why even A15 based iPhone 13s and iPad Minis feel snappier at light usage than the M1 iPad Air. Again, noticeable instantly.