TechTabletsWe were wrong about the M1 iPad Air. What on Earth is Apple up to?The iPad Air is now as powerful as a MacBook Pro. Where does that leave the iPad Pro?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechTabletsWe were wrong about the M1 iPad Air. What on Earth is Apple up to?The iPad Air is now as powerful as a MacBook Pro. Where does that leave the iPad Pro?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The iPad Air is now as powerful as a MacBook Pro. Where does that leave the iPad Pro?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Apple)
(Image credit: Apple)
Sometimes your hot takes age like milk, and myiPadAirone from earlier todayis one of them: I really didn’t think the rumour of an M1 iPad Air was credible when the A15 Bionic is so good. My thinking was pretty straightforward: if there’s an M1iPad Air, why buy aniPad Prowhen you can get essentially the same thing for a lot less money?
I was wrong, of course, and that leaves me with a question. Why buy an iPad Pro when you can get essentially the same thing for a lot less money?
Also, what isAppleup to?
More power than anybody needs right now
I still think the M1 is overkill for the iPad Air, which is now as powerful as theM1 MacBook Pro. But the way it was presented during Apple’s keynote tonight wasn’t really as a stand-alone iPad; it was shown more like a MacBook Pro with a detachable screen. So we saw people doing cool-people things on their Magic Keyboards before whipping the iPad off its case to do more cool-people things on the sofa.
If you’re a student or a home worker, that’s an awfully compelling use case – provided, that is, you’re okay with the iPad’s multitasking. I’d still rather use a Mac for the serious stuff, but I’m fortunate to have that choice. Even taking into account the cost of the Magic Keyboard, the iPad Air is much cheaper than theMacBook Air, let alone the MacBook Pro. And if Apple gives iPadOS some significant updates come September, it could make the iPad Air a real alternative to a laptop Mac for even the most demanding users.
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