iPad Air and Professional: 13-inch, with Pencil Professional assist. May the iPad Professional M4 get outshined?

The brand new iPad Professional and iPad Air fashions at the moment are right here, unveiled throughout an action-packed Apple occasion on Might 7. There are a number of notable enhancements this 12 months, together with a slimmer iPad Professional design and a giant 13-inch iPad Air. We additionally get a fancier Apple Pencil Professional.

Now, with the iPad Air line providing a giant display possibility, and with each the iPad Professional and iPad Air supporting Apple’s new and feature-rich Apple Pencil Professional, I am sure to marvel if Apple may very well be butchering its personal iPad Professional mannequin with the 13-inch iPad Air. Let’s examine if that may very well be the case.

iPad followers desire a massive display, and earlier than, simply the iPad Professional supplied it

In the course of the occasion, Apple talked about its customers wanting a massive display and choosing the larger iPad Professional. For that reason, Cupertino now has the iPad Air as a 13-inch variant as effectively. However is that this truly a mistake? It appears I am not the one one contemplating the potential for a giant however more cost effective iPad Air stealing some clients away from a giant and really costly iPad Professional. Analysts at TrendForce are additionally pondering on this route and predicting fewer gross sales for the Professional than anticipated earlier than.

The 13-inch iPad Professional begins at $1,299 whereas the 13-inch iPad Air is way more reasonably priced beginning at $799.

Earlier than the large Air existed, if you happen to needed a big-screened iPad, you’d must go for the costly Professional. Now, you do not have to do this anymore.

However then once more, you may suppose that the iPad Professional’s design improve will make it extra enticing as a result of it is a lot extra skinny now… or so would Apple’s keynote make you consider. Yep, it’s thinner, however truly, in comparison with the Air, it isn’t that thinner.

Dimensions:

• 13-inch iPad Air: 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches
• 13-inch iPad Professional: 11.09 x 8.48 x 0.20 inches

It is also not that a lot lighter:

• 13-inch iPad Air weight: 1.36 kilos
• 13-inch iPad Professional weight: 1.28 kilos

The iPad Professional is certainly thinner at 0.20 inch (5.1 cm) vs the Air’s 0.24 (6.1mm). Thinner by 1 mm is not precisely groundbreakingly thinner.

However then once more, the iPad Professional’s bought…

The M4 chip: uncooked energy that might blow the Air out of the water

Yep, no bubbles within the water anymore… but, jokes apart, we now have the next-generation M4 chip powering the iPad Professional fashions, whereas the Air fashions are powered by the older M2 chip.
In the course of the occasion, Apple made certain you do not assume the Air is for you if you happen to want the ability.

Additionally, judging by leaked Geekbench outcomes (courtesy of @VadimYuryev on X, co-host and author at standard YouTube channel @MaxTechOfficial), Apple was not mendacity when it emphasised the Professional’s velocity.

• M4 chip: Single-core: 3,767 Multi-core: 14,677  
• M3 chip: Single-core: 3,087 Multi-core: 11,702
• M2 chip*: Singe-core: 2,540 Multi-core: 9,634

*Earlier gen 12.9-inch iPad Professional’s outcomes

Judging by these numbers, the M4 within the iPad Professional may even be sooner than the M3 Professional-powered MacBook Professional 14-inch. You’ll be able to see in these graphs by YouTuber @MattTalkTech that the M3 Professional beats the iPad Professional in multi-core, however in single-core, it loses.

It is clear that heavy customers or those that need the fastest-working iPad proper now is not going to be tempted by the M2 iPad Air. Nevertheless, one may argue that solely the heaviest or pro-ultra-extreme-performance-seeking folks will go to the iPad Professional, simply because regardless of it being slower than the M4, the M2 continues to be a really quick chipset.

Apple appears to be able to blow its personal MacBooks out of the water with the iPad Professional as effectively, however we’ll have to attend and see what number of professionals select to make use of an iPad as a substitute of a Mac or a MacBook. I am not one in every of them (preferring to go for an iMac simply because I do not journey when working), however hey, I do not do heavy 3D rendering anyway…

Equipment: iPad Air M2 vs iPad Professional M4

Apple Pencil Professional supported on each iPad Air and Professional

The efficiency features of the Professional will certainly appeal to clients away from the iPad Air. However most likely not everybody who needs a giant display on an iPad actually needs these speeds. And in actual life, I am certain the iPad Air goes to really feel zippy anyway.

Then comes the second challenge which can result in the Air stealing some clients from the Professional. The Apple Pencil Professional. For me, studying concerning the Apple Pencil Professional’s options was essentially the most thrilling a part of the occasion on Might 7. Options like citing a palette to decide on your brush from utilizing Squeeze, Barell Roll for the precision of formed pen or brush, Haptic suggestions… all of these are thrilling, particularly for creatives.

And the brand new Air helps the Apple Pencil Professional. That is, actually, a really attention-grabbing choice from Apple that might certainly sway me (and most probably different artistically inclined folks) towards the Air as a substitute of the Professional. What stands out essentially the most to distinguish the 13-inch Professional now stays sheer energy… and likewise, the…

Magic Keyboard: the opposite factor the Professional has that the Air would not

I am speaking concerning the extra MacBook-like new Magic Keyboard, that’s not supported for the Air. You now get a devoted row with operate keys and a much bigger trackpad. The general design stays the identical although.

Perform keys on the brand new Magic Keyboard at the moment are just like a Mac. You get a button for rising and reducing brightness, altering the quantity, controlling media playback, locking the show, initiating a search, turning on Do Not Disturb, beginning dictation, and extra.

Additionally, the trackpad ought to now be extra snug.

However is that this sufficient to get you to purchase an iPad Professional as a substitute of an Air? For some folks, most probably sure. However I really feel like Apple ought to have added extra fanciness to the keyboard as a substitute of a row of buttons for options I barely use (I’ve solely used the brightness ones and the occasional Do Not Disturb – possibly I ought to be doing extra with them…) Possibly that is a me factor. However we’ll see.

Conclusion: I nonetheless suppose at the least a substantial quantity of individuals will likely be drawn away from the Professional

Though we’ll most probably have the heavy customers and the efficiency maniacs for the Professional, I think about many people who find themselves extra on the common person aspect will go for the Air. Simply because now if you happen to want a bigger display, you may have it for much less cash. And the Apple Pencil Professional.

In fact, we’ll see if I am proper once we truly get a have a look at the iPad Professional and Air gross sales figures, and it is too early now to make a particular conclusion. And as all the time, I stay open to altering my thoughts once we study extra. However for now, I am left right here feeling that Apple may have truly undercut itself.