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iPad Which IPad Is Best For Business; Air4th Gen Or IPadPro 12.9”

Soba1

Soba1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
230
57
I have the first or 2nd Gen IPad Pro 12.9”
I wanted to upgrade because I do game with it and Madden Mobile 21
was lagging on it.
I got the Air4th Gen but I do miss the Keyboard,
But money not being an object would u choose for business.
Business use spreadsheets, email word. As well as some photo editing.
yes the larger screen

I’m torn some I am coming to the Apple experts
thanks
 
Well if you enjoy the larger screen of your current pro then maybe stick with that size? But they are supposed to bring new models out in March, so you may want to just hold off for now if you can. The current pros are already on a 2 year old soc. All the 2020 got was one more extra gpu core unlocked

I imagine the 2021 will get a good performance boost
 
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Soba1 said:
I have the first or 2nd Gen IPad Pro 12.9”
I wanted to upgrade because I do game with it and Madden Mobile 21
was lagging on it.
I got the Air4th Gen but I do miss the Keyboard,
But money not being an object would u choose for business.
Business use spreadsheets, email word. As well as some photo editing.
yes the larger screen

I’m torn some I am coming to the Apple experts
thanks
Click to expand...

Unclear on what you're saying here – are you saying you already have the Air 4th Gen, but you "miss the keyboard"? Apple's Magic Keyboard for the 11" Pro will fit the Air, so you could get one of those for now, see how you go, and if you feel the need for the bigger screen and more power when the new Pros are released in a few months, pick one up then?
 
SirAnthonyHopkins said:
Unclear on what you're saying here – are you saying you already have the Air 4th Gen, but you "miss the keyboard"? Apple's Magic Keyboard for the 11" Pro will fit the Air, so you could get one of those for now, see how you go, and if you feel the need for the bigger screen and more power when the new Pros are released in a few months, pick one up then?
Click to expand...
I have the 2nd gen Ipad12.9”
I just purchased an ipad air4th gen.
While I do like the compact size and
performance of the Air4th gen.
I do miss that screen real estate.
So I was asking before I make my final
decision which is better for business.
With help of the responses Im going to return the Air4th gen and wait for
the new 12.9” pro
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
Definitely not denying that, but it also points to the next gen getting a bigger upgrade compared to the 2018-2020 models. And if it’s as close as rumours at it is to release, it may be worth the wait
Click to expand...

Agreed. Alas, iPad and general tech shortages has meant few discounts on iPads. The Apple certified refurbished store has been empty for months.

If I'm going to have to pay full MSRP, I'd rather wait until A14X/Z (with hopefully 8GB+ RAM) for better longevity.
 
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Can I vote both?😬 I just picked up my Air 4 on Monday to go along with my 2020 12.9 Pro. Love the Air 4. I strictly use the Air 4 as a tablet with the Smart Cover and Apple Pencil. It’s my go anywhere, move around the house device. Perfect for carrying with me on commutes or friends/familys house, or to the barbershop, etc. My 12.9 now mainly stays in my home office on my desk. I use it for Movies, TV, and Videos during the day, and on longer trips where I may want to be more productive with the Magic Keyboard.

Now that my new toy excitement rambling is over, I’ll answer your question 😂. If you can only have one, and it’s for business, I’d go with the 12.9. Multitasking is better on it which I use a lot for anything productive.
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
Definitely not denying that, but it also points to the next gen getting a bigger upgrade compared to the 2018-2020 models. And if it’s as close as rumours at it is to release, it may be worth the wait
Click to expand...
I returned the Air4 I will be waiting for the upgrade
 
The Pro line is naturally better as it has better specs overall. I’ve just bought an Air 4 though and it’s a really good iPad which I’m happy with. I probably wouldn’t see the benefit of the Pro personally but if you’re using it for productivity, then it’s worth having the extra hardware. My iPad is pretty much an internet surfer so I’m lucky.
 
Maukey said:
Can I vote both?😬 I just picked up my Air 4 on Monday to go along with my 2020 12.9 Pro. Love the Air 4. I strictly use the Air 4 as a tablet with the Smart Cover and Apple Pencil. It’s my go anywhere, move around the house device. Perfect for carrying with me on commutes or friends/familys house, or to the barbershop, etc. My 12.9 now mainly stays in my home office on my desk. I use it for Movies, TV, and Videos during the day, and on longer trips where I may want to be more productive with the Magic Keyboard.

Now that my new toy excitement rambling is over, I’ll answer your question 😂. If you can only have one, and it’s for business, I’d go with the 12.9. Multitasking is better on it which I use a lot for anything productive.
Click to expand...

what’s the benefit of the iPad Pro here over a MacBook? Feels like overkill to have two such similar devices on the go.

i was thinking about an iPad Pro for similar reasons but once I’ve added a keyboard it’s massively more expensive than a MacBook Air for a device capable of much less. Makes far more sense for me to have an iPad as a consumption tablet device and then a MacBook for more productive stuff. Just wondering how that shakes down for you.
 
SirAnthonyHopkins said:
what’s the benefit of the iPad Pro here over a MacBook? Feels like overkill to have two such similar devices on the go.

i was thinking about an iPad Pro for similar reasons but once I’ve added a keyboard it’s massively more expensive than a MacBook Air for a device capable of much less. Makes far more sense for me to have an iPad as a consumption tablet device and then a MacBook for more productive stuff. Just wondering how that shakes down for you.
Click to expand...
I don't take both on the go. I take the 12.9 on longer trips. Business Trips, Vacations, or Visiting Family out of town where I'm going to spend days. I prefer it in these scenarios because I'm likely to do more on it where I may need the physical keyboard and bigger screen. The Air 4 is for commutes and quick trips. Like my wife and I go to her brothers house a lot on weekends. He lives 5 mins from us. The Air 4 goes with me there.

Sure, the 12.9 can be seen as overkill where a proper MacBook is better. However, I still prefer the Apps on iPad for Consumption which I do plenty of when traveling. I also have AirPod Pros and AirPods Max and LOVE the spatial audio feature. So for me, at this time I prefer to travel with a 12.9 over a MacBook. In saying all of this, my next upgrade will be my 2017 MacBook Pro to what I'm hoping will be a 14" MacBook Pro with M1 sometime this year. If the Macs continue to improve iOS app support, and add the Spatial Audio feature found in iOS devices, I could definitely see myself eventually selling my 12.9 and riding with the Air 4 and MacBook Pro only. If that doesn't happen, I will be perfectly fine with the 12.9, Air 4, and 14" MacBook Pro combination. I use MacBooks for emulation, music production, and as a Plex media server.
 
When running a business you’ll likely be multi-tasking and will thus need a larger screen - 12.9 hands down.
 
I use mine for business and am glad I went for the 12.9, if it had not been for that use I would have gone smaller (as I thought the 12.9 was too big) but so glad now I didn't. Quad speakers and 5 mic's mean video meetings are great on it.

The bigger screen means I can multi task well. When using the MK I am glad it is the larger size. Don't think I will go smaller again now.
 
Soba1 said:
I have the first or 2nd Gen IPad Pro 12.9”
I wanted to upgrade because I do game with it and Madden Mobile 21
was lagging on it.
I got the Air4th Gen but I do miss the Keyboard,
But money not being an object would u choose for business.
Business use spreadsheets, email word. As well as some photo editing.
yes the larger screen

I’m torn some I am coming to the Apple experts
thanks
Click to expand...
iPad Pro since you like the bigger screen and money isn't a problem.
 
Last edited:
Everyone's different . . for me with money no object? A workstation class machine for work, an iPad Pro for mobile content consumption, a PC gaming rig and latest generation console for at home gaming, and Apple allowing 3rd party game streaming apps onto the Apple store for mobile gaming . . LOL . . currently its the last couple of items there that are currently elusive. But I digress . .

For your case, as others have noted it would seem a 12.9 iPP would be a good fit given the keyboard size and whatnot.
 
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Maukey said:
Can I vote both?😬 I just picked up my Air 4 on Monday to go along with my 2020 12.9 Pro. Love the Air 4. I strictly use the Air 4 as a tablet with the Smart Cover and Apple Pencil. It’s my go anywhere, move around the house device. Perfect for carrying with me on commutes or friends/familys house, or to the barbershop, etc. My 12.9 now mainly stays in my home office on my desk. I use it for Movies, TV, and Videos during the day, and on longer trips where I may want to be more productive with the Magic Keyboard.

Now that my new toy excitement rambling is over, I’ll answer your question 😂. If you can only have one, and it’s for business, I’d go with the 12.9. Multitasking is better on it which I use a lot for anything productive.
Click to expand...

I would just grab it and put it in my back pack. I bought a Mac Book pro 16” last summer because I thought I
would be doing intense graphics for work. I will use the Ipad pro for games photo editing web browsing, emails spreadsheets etc. I need to wean my wife off of her old pc and get her going on the mac. As I don’t want a good machine to go to waste. I do plan on getting into creating some music as well.
 
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