iPad Pro vs MacBook Air: How Similar are they?

At the beginning of this year, I talked about the touch Screen MacBook. Touch Screen Macbook is not a new laptop lineup by Apple but it’s the idea of bringing the iPad closer to the MacBook. iPadOS introduced desktop-like workflow to iPad. Now Switching to Arm Macs will ensure App availability across all Apple devices. Now at this point comes a question which should be your next laptop?

iPad Pro and MacBook Air both have their merits and demerits. Many might argue MacBook is the full desktop experience but the iPad is not. But let’s just remove all the gossip from our heads and get to the battle between the two.

Design

Design is one of the key aspects of every Apple product. iPad Pro is a premium tablet and its design standards aren’t low in any form. Its slimmer than the macBook Pro, Lighter and more portable. But Macbook Air is the slimmest and lightest Mac It comes with integrated Keyboard. Once you attach Magic Keyboard to iPad Pro it becomes 3 Pounds which heavier than 2.8 Pounds of Macbook Air.

Talking about the ports iPad Pro clearly loses this One. MacBook Air features two thunderbolts and a headphone jack which trumps the solo Type C on iPad Pro. Both of these are designed for portability and will catch the eyes of the crowd. Both designs equate to their pros and cons. Therefore, this is a tie.

Display

The display is essential to every large-screen computing device. It is the display where we can see what’s happening so, it should be great. iPad Pro’s display is far brighter and more color-rich than the MacBook Air display. iPad Pro’s display can produce 122.9% of sRGB gamut and 559 nits brightness which is much brighter than 400nits Macbook air. iPad Pro also features a 120HZ Pro Motion display which feels way faster and smoother than 60Hz.

Magic Keyboard and Pencil

Magic Keyboard is essential the same on both the iPad Pro and Macbook Air. Both the keyboards are comfortable and aid faster typing. But the Magic Keyboard on iPad Pro will cost 349$ bringing the iPad Pro cost closer to MacBook Pro. But in a way, it is worth it. It can be detached from your tab giving you more versatility.

Apple Pencil is not supported by iPad Pro but it is not that big of a deal. Macs can be connected to several other WACOM tablets or pens. Thus its a Draw

Performance

Apple M1 Chip is quite powerful. It is so powerful that it offers Nvidia level Graphics and performance like intel high-end chips. That is why Apple is offering the same chip in all of its new Mac lineup. The best way to compare the performance of these devices is via Geekbench 5 which can run on both devices. iPad Pro gives a score of 4,635 which is in itself a pretty solid score but much lower compared to Macbook air 5,925 scores.

MacBook Air is a clear winner in terms of performance. MacBook air graphics engine is even more powerful and posted a score of 54.332 on the GFXBench Metal Aztec Ruins Graphics test. The MacBook Air Clearly Wins.

Battery Life

10hr 16min is the iPad Pro score in Toms Guide’s Test vs the 14hr 41 min score of Macbook Air in the same test. MacBook air wins with a huge difference. And Don’t forget Mac will charge way faster.

Software and Apps

macOS is the perfect Laptop operating system there’s no doubt about that. It supports all the major apps that are necessary for laptop use cases. But with the ARM update and Big Sur now Macs can use Apps from both iPad, iPhones as well. There are complications with big sur of course like Adobe Premier Pro has performance issues. Several Streaming apps can’t run on full screen but that will be perfected by the end of 2021.

iPad Pro on the other hand features iPad OS and can run all the apps available for iPad and iPhone but no mac app or desktop use case will run on it unless it is built for it. But as Apple is moving towards universal apps iPad Pro will eventually get access to all the apps that are on macs.

Camera

iPad Pro dual camera setup features 12MP main sensor and 7MP ultra-wide sensor which are actually great. On the Contrary Macbook air features an Age-old 0.7MP facet time HD camera.

Verdict

Apple has always been good at making all of its product appealing. But each product targets a different audience. So, let’s break it down to simpler words. If you are an Artist than iPad Pro is for you. But if you are Video editor, Youtuber, Student, or any other professional iPad Pro is not an ideal choice for you. When I look for a laptop in the market the first that I Look for is performance.

Performance of Mac is unmatched, Battery Life of Macbook Air is unmatched. You are gonna pay 999$ as opposed to 1028$ or 1348$ for iPad Pro. But the future of iPad Pro is promising. The Z series chips might equate to M chips in near future. And that will be a deal-breaker. Thanks for reading. I will appreciate your questions in the comment. For live tech help DM @techenutia on any Social media provide at the top.