iPad Air Which iPad for Work? Air or Pro?

Jfried1982

Jfried1982

macrumors member
I currently a beast of a Laptop, i7 32gb of ram, 15inch but am looking for something lighter. I use mostly Microsoft Teams, PowerBI and Office with light Citrix use. Which iPad would you suggest and which keyboard to go with it?
 
I recommend contacting your business' Helpdesk group and confirm those programs work with an iPad WITH the feature you need.

Microsoft Teams is on the App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-teams/id1113153706?l=en
Microsoft PowerBI Is on the App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-power-bi/id929738808?platform=ipad
Citrix Workspaces is on the App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/citrix-workspace/id363501921

Do they have the same features as the desktop version that you need? I don't know

Microsoft Office is on the iPad, however there are a lot of limitations between the desktop and the iPad version:

What you can do in the Microsoft 365 apps on mobile devices with a Microsoft 365 subscription - Microsoft Support

How the apps for Android and Office for iOS mobile apps work with Microsoft 365.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com

> currently a beast of a Laptop, i7 32gb of ram, 15inch but am looking for something lighter.

I have no idea what weight of your current machine is, or why you have so much memory. I'm assuming you have a MacBook Pro 2018 (since that's the last model they released with a 15" display). The weight is 4.2lbs.

There isn't any iPads with a 15" display. The largest is the iPad Pro, 12.9" display. The weight is about 1.5lbs, and the smart keyboard is 1.2lbs, or about 2.7lbs total.

My advice would be to purchase a new MacBook Air M2 machine. The weight is 2.7lbs, so lighter than your current setup. The software compatibility would be greater than what you can find on the iPad. The 13.6" display is a nice compromise between the 12.9" of the iPad Pro and the 15" display of your current machine.
 
We get issued Windows machines. Mine is a Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” but spec’d way up. Just would love something more portable as an option too. Everything I mentioned works fine on an iPad.
 
Jfried1982 said:
We get issued Windows machines. Mine is a Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” but spec’d way up. Just would love something more portable as an option too. Everything I mentioned works fine on an iPad.
Click to expand...
The concern is why is it so specd up. Are you doing things that require that much ram? Because an iPad won’t be able to fill that gap then
 
Jfried1982 said:
We get issued Windows machines. Mine is a Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” but spec’d way up. Just would love something more portable as an option too. Everything I mentioned works fine on an iPad.
Click to expand...
Here's my next concern. What about the display size? Do you need a 15", or can you use something smaller? I looked up the Surface Laptop 4 15". Here's the weight and dimensions:

Weight: 1.5kg
Dimensions: 33cm by 24cm by 1.7cm

The iPad Pro 12" with keyboard is:
Weight: 1.2kg
Dimensions: 29.2cm by 23.9cm by 2.2cm

The MacBook Air M2 is:
Weight: 1.24kg
Dimensions: 30cm by 21cm by 1.1cm

It will be helpful if we know:

1. What screen size you need?
2. How often you type/ use a keyboard (Remember, the onscreen keyboard isn't that good).
3. How often you travel?

You might be able to find a keyboard cover to make a regular iPad into a laptop form, but I never had much luck with finding a keyboard cover that actually works for extended touch typing sessions.

If you do any amount of typing, I recommend the MacBook Air M2. It seems like it checks all of your boxes, and seems like it is what you're looking for.
 
JustAnExpat said:
Here's my next concern. What about the display size? Do you need a 15", or can you use something smaller? I looked up the Surface Laptop 4 15". Here's the weight and dimensions:

Weight: 1.5kg
Dimensions: 33cm by 24cm by 1.7cm

The iPad Pro 12" with keyboard is:
Weight: 1.2kg
Dimensions: 29.2cm by 23.9cm by 2.2cm

The MacBook Air M2 is:
Weight: 1.24kg
Dimensions: 30cm by 21cm by 1.1cm

It will be helpful if we know:

1. What screen size you need?
2. How often you type/ use a keyboard (Remember, the onscreen keyboard isn't that good).
3. How often you travel?

You might be able to find a keyboard cover to make a regular iPad into a laptop form, but I never had much luck with finding a keyboard cover that actually works for extended touch typing sessions.

If you do any amount of typing, I recommend the MacBook Air M2. It seems like it checks all of your boxes, and seems like it is what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

I think the keyboard folio works great for typing long-ish sessions. I chose between that and the Magic Keyboard, I just thought the size and weight of the MK was too much, and I don’t need the touchpad.

I suggest that the OP go to a Apple Store and try all three things out.
 
doolar said:
I think the keyboard folio works great for typing long-ish sessions. I chose between that and the Magic Keyboard, I just thought the size and weight of the MK was too much, and I don’t need the touchpad.

I suggest that the OP go to a Apple Store and try all three things out.
Click to expand...
I agree about the iPP Magic Keyboard. Instead, I carry in my bag an old Bluetooth Mac Magic Keyboard (no 10 key, takes AA batteries). I don't use it often. And since it takes regular batteries, it is easy to get it working without having to worry about keeping it charged. Works great for long typing seasons.
 
Teams works fine on the iPad. Both video meetings as well as document sharing, general typed chat conversations.

Power BI for viewing is good too, but I doubt you can create on it.

Office is basically the same thing. Word and Powerpoint are definitely ok/good for creating and viewing but excel is limited For creating.
(To be fair, excel on Mac in general is limited but at least you have pivot tables there).

as for which iPad, if it’s pure professional use with these tasks, iPad Air will be good. iPad Pro will be nicer off course if you plan to use it mixed private/professional.
For me the Magic Keyboard is the way to go.
 
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