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iPad Simple Question

Donsell

Donsell

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 19, 2021
67
51
I've never owned a Ipad. I'd never used a Mac before I wanted to check out the M1 and bought one two months ago. And I have to admit it's a great machine.

So now I'm lusting after an M1 Ipad. But I"m a software developer, not a creator. I'll never do video or photo editing. But I'm a voracious reader and note taker.

I know I'll never be able to do real development on the M1 Ipad. Won't I be just as happy with an Air 4?

Money isn't a motivator for me, I could get either. But I could get the Air 4 this afternoon.
 
Donsell said:
I've never owned a Ipad. I'd never used a Mac before I wanted to check out the M1 and bought one two months ago. And I have to admit it's a great machine.

So now I'm lusting after an M1 Ipad. But I"m a software developer, not a creator. I'll never do video or photo editing. But I'm a voracious reader and note taker.

I know I'll never be able to do real development on the M1 Ipad. Won't I be just as happy with an Air 4?

Money isn't a motivator for me, I could get either. But I could get the Air 4 this afternoon.
Click to expand...
Have you considered a 2020 11” iPad Pro? With their discounted prices, you could probably get close to the Air 4 prices.

In answer to your question, I don’t really see what the M1 will bring to basic tasks such as note taking and reading. I may be wrong, but I think you’ll be as well served with an Air 4 or 2020 iPP 11”.
 
It depends on your use cases. If you want to use the iPad just for consumption , then definitely the Air is a good choice. If you have the money though, go for the iPad Pro 11". It is big enough, very fast and has a great display. The Air 4 has a very nice display, but not as good as the display on the Pro model.
 
If money is no object I’d just focus on getting the screen type/size you like the most.
 
I'd get the 2021 iPad Pro 11" - probably with 256 GB storage to have a little bit of
wriggle-room once you find out how immensely useful the iPads are.

But first of all, I'd wait for WWDC before any substantial iPad investment. After that we should be even better able to buy optimally.
 
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mr_jomo said:
I'd get the 2021 iPad Pro 11" - probably with 256 GB storage to have a little bit of
wriggle-room once you find out how immensely useful the iPads are.

But first of all, I'd wait for WWDC before any substantial iPad investment. After that we should be even better able to buy optimally.
Click to expand...
You're probably right. I can be patient.
 
My use case is similar to yours. I’m a software UX/UI designer, so the Mac is my primary machine. I use my iPad mainly for reading/studying (using PDF Expert), note taking, and viewing prototypes. Serif has done a good job porting their Affinity suite to the iPad, and I think other pro-level apps will follow (possibly Xcode).

For my work, the iPad will continue to supplement the Mac, but the apps are getting better to where it makes sense to consider at least the Pro 11 over the Air — especially if you are comparing 2020 Pro 11 vs Air — but even the 2021 Pro 11 isn’t that much more than the Air. I opted for the 2021 Pro 11.

If you engage in video conferencing, the front camera on the 2021 Pro 11 looks like a big upgrade as well.
 
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I personally hated the Air 4 for content consumption because of one thing: the speakers. They were too quiet even at max volume and I had to remedy that by buying AirPods Pro.
 
iPad Bro said:
I personally hated the Air 4 for content consumption because of one thing: the speakers. They were too quiet even at max volume and I had to remedy that by buying AirPods Pro.
Click to expand...
Feels like that works as intended, meaning it encouraged you to buy more Apple stuff… :D
 
I'd personally get a 2018/2020/2021 12.9" so I could use it with sidecar. You'd double your screen estate for your macbook and use it as tablet whenever you wanted. I used my macbook pro and my 12.9" for almost 5 years and the setup can't be beat
 
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