First launched in November 2015 , the iPad Pro serial is Apple ’s most premium - level pad , boast feature article that ca n’t be found on any other Apple gimmick .
In equivalence , the MacBook Air launched further back in 2008 and has remained the go - to choice for most users seeking an Apple computer . But does one triumph over the other ? Is one well value for money or perhaps pack with more feature article ?
Rather than focus on specific models , we ’ve put together this equivalence guide to highlight the central differences between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air ranges as a whole . Read on to see which machine is better suited for you and your specific need .
Pricing and availability
The most up to date iPad Pro that ’s available from the Apple website is the new iPad Pro M4 which was herald recently . start from £ 999/$999 , this is the most expensive iPad offering to date .
If you were to tot up a Magic Keyboard to your iPad Pro , to make your own makeshift laptop computer , then this would limit you back another £ 349 for the keyboard made for iPad Pro .
Both the MacBook Air M2 andMacBook Air M3models are both still promptly available , commence from £ 999/$999 for a 13 - inch M2 model and £ 1099/$1099 for a 13 - column inch M3 mannikin .
Design
The clearest difference between the iPad Pro and MacBook Air is that the former is a pad of paper and the latter is a laptop . The iPad Pro is preponderantly a touchscreen tablet but is compatible with Apple ’s Magic Keyboard , so you could create your own makeshift laptop computer if you require the best of both worlds .
Both the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air have always had a front - facing camera , making it idealistic for video career and taking the episodic selfie . While the MacBook Air ’s television camera can be found in the landscape painting place , until of late the iPad Pro ’s camera was portraiture , however this has now changed with the new iPad Pro M4 .
If store space is important to you then it ’s deserving noting that both the iPad Pro and MacBook Air have good example that blow a monolithic 2 TB capacity , although this is a new upgrade to the iPad Pro . Prior to this , the iPad Pro only bid a 1 TB max of storage .
Screen
Digital designers and creatives should specially consider the unexampled iPad Pro thanks to itsUltra Retina XDR display , which has been hailed by Apple as the “ world ’s most advanced show . ” This is a first for the iPad Pro , as all late iterations of the pad of paper , plus all MacBook Air devices , have just had Apple’sLiquid Retinadisplay .
As a pad , the iPad Pro has rest a touchscreen machine first and does n’t want a trackpad or Bluetooth computer mouse to navigate . However , the iPad Pro is compatible with Apple Pencil , which found back in 2015and make using the iPad Pro feel smoother , whether you ’re drawing , handwriting notes or editing telecasting . The MacBook Air has never featured a touchscreen showing and always included a trackpad build into the gimmick .
Performance
Upon its launch back in 2018 the iPad Pro 1st Generation run on the A12X Bionic Chip , which was built specifically for the iPad Pro . From here the iPad Pro continued to upgrade its chipsets and now even run on the M - series , Apple ’s desktop - level bit . In fact , the iPad Pro has actually outdo the fundament MacBook Pro with its chipset , running on the newM4instead of the M3 which is found in the current MacBook Air .
It ’s clean to assume that the new iPad Pro M4 would be slightly faster than the MacBook M3 , although there in all likelihood wo n’t be a huge perceptible remainder .
The two machine run on different operating systems , iPadOS and macOS . While the iPad Pro is still an impressively fast equipment , it still has more in common with iOS . In addition , while Macs are able to run iPadOS apps , iPads are n’t able-bodied to run macOS apps .
The MacBook Air has hunt down on the M series since 2020 when Apple shifted away from Intel and focalise on their ownApple Silicon .
Battery life
Neither the iPad Pro and MacBook Air have made any changes to their battery life in late years .
While the barrage fire life of the MacBook Air has improved since the 2020 move to the M - Series , leap from 12 - hours to up to 18 - hours , the iPad Pro has maintained its 10 - hour battery spirit throughout its life .
