Summary
iPad Pro M4 vs MacBook Air M3. From the beginning, there has been very little difference between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air. They are the two 13-inch tablets that Apple offers, despite the fact that they are gadgets that are significantly different from one another. With the new M4 iPad Pro, they are more competitive with each other than they have ever been before.
In spite of the fact that there is a great deal that we do not yet know about the M4 iPad Pro, the following is a preliminary comparison of how the two devices evaluate against one another.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: Costs and charges
The 13-inch edition of the iPad Pro M4 has a starting price of $1,299 and comes with 8 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM) and 256 gigabytes of solid-state storage (SSD). The MacBook Air 13-inch M3, on the other hand, is priced at $1,099 and offers the same combination of memory and storage as the previous model, which is two hundred dollars less. To boost the graphics processing unit (GPU) up to ten cores, however, I will add the $100 to that initial arrangement. This will increase the total number of cores to ten. At this point, the difference between the two is merely one hundred dollars.
Nevertheless, let us not forget that in order to make the iPad Pro a genuine substitute for a laptop, you will be required to spend an additional $349 for the Magic Keyboard, which will bring the total price to $1,648 (and this does not include an Apple Pencil, if you are interested in purchasing one from Apple). It hurts. Consider purchasing a MacBook Air that has 16 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM) and one terabyte of storage space instead.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: Crafting
The M4 iPad Pro is an iPad that has been totally revamped, and it is without a doubt the most stunning iPad that has ever been released. A tablet is, of course, a tablet; it is a sheet of glass and not much more than that. However, the proportions of this gadget are what make it so captivating to look at. Despite having a thickness of just 0.2 inches, Apple claims that it is the smallest device the firm has ever manufactured.
Nevertheless, whenever you transform this into a genuine challenger to the MacBook Air, specifically by using the brand-new Magic Keyboard, those dimensions undergo a significant transformation. We do not know precisely how much thickness or weight this adds, but the first Magic Keyboard made the previous iPad 0.6 inches thick, which would be thicker even than the MacBook Air. This is something that we do not know exactly. If we were to compare these two computers side by side in terms of day-to-day work and travel, the MacBook Air could wind up being the more portable laptop overall. This is a crucial point to keep in mind.
It should come as no surprise that all of the familiar distinctions between iPads and MacBooks are relevant in this context. When compared to the iPad Pro, the MacBook hinge allows for a far larger variety of angles, yet the iPad Pro’s ability to function as a tablet is a significant advantage. In spite of this, I would note that if you are mainly utilizing this as a substitute for your laptop, that function could be used less often than you think it would be.
Space Black and Silver are the only two colors that are available for the iPad Pro. There are no other color choices available. The MacBook Air comes in four different colors: silver, space gray, starlight, and midnight, which is the most recent addition.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: Exhibit at
There has never been a more significant disparity in display quality between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air than there is because of the debut of the new iPad Pro. When everything was said and done, there was already a gap between the mini-LED screen of the previous generation of iPad Pro and the screen of the MacBook Air. Bringing OLED to the iPad Pro, on the other hand, brings it to an all-new level. Based on what Apple has said up to this point, the company claims that it solves the issue of the OLED’s lack of brightness by using two OLED screens that are layered on top of each other beneath the system. Because of this, the OLED screen that was created is even brighter and has a higher contrast than the mini-LED screen that is now found on the MacBook Pro. To put it simply, it is a very significant matter.
On the other side, the display of the MacBook Air is on the other end of the spectrum. The screen is an excellent choice for a laptop of this kind, so please don’t misunderstand me about that. It is able to achieve a remarkable level of brightness and has a color accuracy that is satisfactory. On the other hand, we are seeing an increasing number of OLED laptops on the Windows side that are priced at less than $1,000, such as the Asus Zenbook Q495. It is possible that the OLED screen on that laptop is not as brilliant as the one on Apple’s, but other than that, it is rather stunning. In addition to that, it has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is still another drawback of the screen on the MacBook Air. On the other hand, the screen of the MacBook Air is fixed at 60 Hz, in contrast to the iPad Pro, which has a screen that can go up to 120 Hz. The result is that motion and animation come off as a little bit clumsy in contrast.
In conclusion, it is important to point out that the iPad Pro comes equipped with a touchscreen, whilst the MacBook Air does not arrive with one. That is something that you will need to discuss with Apple.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: The ports and the keyboard
This new iPad Pro comes with a brand new Magic Keyboard that was developed exclusively for it, as was discussed before. One of the most notable modifications is that it now has a haptic feedback trackpad that is much bigger, in addition to a function row of keys that spans the whole layout of the keyboard. These two remarkable modifications make the iPad Pro far more usable, and they also make it significantly more similar to a MacBook. In fact, Apple voiced this particular issue when they were on the virtual stage.
Although I have not yet had the opportunity to test this keyboard, there is every reason to believe that it will be a superior replacement for the keyboard that comes with a MacBook Air than the original Magic Keyboard. Obviously, the layout of the MacBook Air is a little bit more roomy, and I really like that it has full-sized function keys rather than the iPad Pro’s half-sized ones. However, they are minor points of contention. This is the first time in history that they are even somewhat similar to one another.
There is not much of a difference in the port choices either. As long as the iPad Pro is linked to the Magic Keyboard, each of these devices have just two Thunderbolt ports available to them. One of the advantages that the MacBook Air has over the iPad Pro is that it comes with a MagSafe 3 power connector integrated into its design. Through the provision of a specialized power connector, you are able to free up your other two ports. Another significant advantage of the MacBook Air is that it comes equipped with a headphone port, which is something that the iPad has been without for a considerable amount of time.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: High performance and long battery life
It came as a surprise to all of us that the M4 was made available on the iPad Pro before it was made available on a MacBook. What exactly is the significance of this brand-new chip? Apple has undoubtedly made some very significant comments, but we won’t know for sure until we get the opportunity to test the product on our own. As an example, it is said that the M4 is four times quicker than the M2, and it is ten times faster than the M1. inside the realm of software, it has been said that the M4 processor included in the iPad Pro is capable of handling four times more streams in ProRES Raw inside Premiere Pro and is fifty percent quicker in ProCreate.
There hasn’t been much in terms of comparison to the M3, so we’ll have to wait and see how those stats play out before we can make any assessments. In light of the fact that the M3 is a significant improvement in terms of graphics compared to the M2, I am particularly curious to learn whether or not the performance of the GPU has been improved in any way.
The other thing that is crucial is the performance of the AI. At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which will take place the following month, the company is going to reveal its artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, and the enhanced neural engine that is included in the M4 is a significant component of the equation. When compared to the M3, the M4 is a significant improvement since it is capable of 38 TOPS (trillion operations per second), which is more than twice the 18 TOPS that the M3 is capable of. The outcome of all of this is still up in the air, but it is abundantly evident that the M4’s artificial intelligence capabilities may be its most significant edge.
It is interesting to note that the M3 MacBook Air seems to have a longer battery life than its predecessor. The M3 MacBook Air has a substantial advantage over the iPad Pro since the iPad Pro has a battery that is much smaller.
iPad Pro M4 vs. MacBook Air M3: Software is still the most important factor
The iPad Pro is a gadget that is considered to be substantially more costly than the MacBook Air, yet it comes with a number of advantages. In addition to having a touchscreen, it also features a much improved screen, a speedier CPU on the inside, a better camera (in fact, it has two!), and Face ID. It is quite a lot. This unquestionably results in a gadget that is of considerably higher quality.
You receive a greater number of configuration choices, a bigger keyboard and trackpad, improved battery life, a headphone jack, and an overall more portable form factor when you purchase a MacBook Air. The most significant selling point, however, is the price differential. To put that into perspective, for the price of the iPad Pro M4, you could get a new iPad in addition to a MacBook Air M3.
However, in the end, the decision about which of these two gadgets you should choose will always come down to the software and how you plan to use them. This is a safe gamble, in my opinion, since the majority of consumers will choose the MacBook Air as their default option. On the other hand, the iPad Pro is capable of doing things that a Mac would never be able to accomplish, and that screen is certainly appealing.
The iPad Pro M4 will not be available for evaluation until after it has been released, so we won’t know for certain until then. In the present moment, the contrast between the iPad and the Mac range has never been more intriguing than it is right now.
