iPad Air Would you upgrade to an M3 iPad Air from a 2018 13" iPad Pro?

[fhall1]

My 2018 13" Pro is getting long in the tooth and the battery is holding less and less of a charge. Also, not sure how much longer it'll be supported by new iOS updates. I use it mainly for content consumption, web browsing, email, light document work, etc. No heavy duty video editing or gaming. Would upgrading to the M3 Air get me any worthwhile benefits? Or should I just look at getting the battery replaced on my Pro?

 

[CPmav]

That would be a good option, although any of the iPads with an M series chip would be a good choice. Even an M1 or M2 iPad Pro would still be a great option, especially if you can find a good deal on one.

 

[*~Kim~*]

It gets a RAM upgrade vs your Pro, so I wouldn’t rule it out. How much do you value the later chip over the Pro features on an M1 or M2 Pro? An Apple Certified Refurb gets a brand new battery.

 

[rui no onna]

I personally wouldn't but that's mainly because my fingerprints seem to be fading making TouchID harder and harder to use.

Otherwise, I think the iPad Air with M-series chipsets are pretty good value. I've never really cared overmuch about ProMotion.

 

[AllergyDoc]

This is what I am doing now. I received the 13” Air yesterday and will send my IPP 2 in tomorrow for exchange. The IPP2 has been stuttering in some apps when switching from landscape to portrait and vice versa. And like you said, the battery. I have it on the latest iOS it can accept, 17.something. I got over 6 years use out of it. I have an M1 11” Air, the screen size doesn’t work for some editing I do.

 

[Student of Life]

Why in the world would you ever do that when you can get the M2 pro and all its features for the same price as the M3 Air?

12.9 M3 iPad Air is 799
12.9 M2 iPad Pro is 799
https://www.costco.com/ipad-pro-129...or-apple-intelligence.product.4000026606.html

The pro give you FaceID, Promotion, HDR, better speakers, better microphone. It's compatible with the original Magic Keyboard which can be had for a sizable discount, the same with the Apple Pencil. Basically the Pro is better in basically every facet especially the ones that matter to a tablet.

 

[rui no onna]

Why in the world would you ever do that when you can get the M2 pro and all its features for the same price as the M3 Air?

12.9 M3 iPad Air is 799
12.9 M2 iPad Pro is 799
https://www.costco.com/ipad-pro-129...or-apple-intelligence.product.4000026606.html

The pro give you FaceID, Promotion, HDR, better speakers, better microphone. It's compatible with the original Magic Keyboard which can be had for a sizable discount, the same with the Apple Pencil. Basically the Pro is better in basically every facet especially the ones that matter to a tablet.

If you're only buying base model and you live in the US, sure.

I think a heavily discounted M2 iPad Pro is a better deal as well. However, getting the configuration one wants as either brand new or Apple certified refurbish may be difficult. Apart from Best Buy's clearance deals on the M2 Pros when the M4s were first released, I've yet to see any good deals on cellular M2 Pro 11" recently.

 

[fhall1]

So far my feeling is to wait until iPadOS has some "magical" update that requires a newer model...and maybe replace the battery in my old Pro while I wait. Thanks for the opinions!

 

[Student of Life]

If you're only buying base model and you live in the US, sure.

I think a heavily discounted M2 iPad Pro is a better deal as well. However, getting the configuration one wants as either brand new or Apple certified refurbish may be difficult. Apart from Best Buy's clearance deals on the M2 Pros when the M4s were first released, I've yet to see any good deals on cellular M2 Pro 11" recently.

Your right, at this point it might be better to wait for the M5 iPad Pro to come out and get the M4 pro on sale.

 

[QCassidy352]

Discounted M1 or M2 pros are easily the best deal in iPads right now. those last-gen pros have a lot of advantages that have not trickled down to the Air (let alone the base iPad), and the only real downside is a M1 or M2 chip vs M3, but honestly, it's pretty hard to tax a M1 or M2 with iPadOS.

 

[NeonNights]

Why in the world would you ever do that when you can get the M2 pro and all its features for the same price as the M3 Air?

12.9 M3 iPad Air is 799
12.9 M2 iPad Pro is 799
https://www.costco.com/ipad-pro-129...or-apple-intelligence.product.4000026606.html

The pro give you FaceID, Promotion, HDR, better speakers, better microphone. It's compatible with the original Magic Keyboard which can be had for a sizable discount, the same with the Apple Pencil. Basically the Pro is better in basically every facet especially the ones that matter to a tablet.

This is exactly what I did a few days ago. Ordered the 128GB 12.9 M2 iPad Pro from Costco for my Dad. It will be his first iPad.

*Now I see Amazon has a sale on the 256GB iPad Air 13 for just $50 more (or the base iPad Air 13 M3 for $747), but I think we'll still stay with the Pro.