How to choose M4 iPad Pro and M3 MacBook Air?

[Tinydeal Technology]The boundary between iPad Pro and MacBook Air has always been blurred. Although they are different categories, they are also stars on Apple 13-inch product lines. Especially with the arrival of the M4 iPad Pro, whoever chooses is still tangled.

price

M4 iPad Pro 11-inch starting price is 8999 yuan, starting from 13-inch 11,499 yuan. On the other side, the M3 MacBook Air 13-inch starting price is also 8999 yuan.

Don’t forget, I really want the iPad Pro to be used as a notebook. You have to spend at least 2399 yuan to buy a wonderful keyboard, and the total price will become 11,398 yuan (this is not the Apple Pencil). In this way, the same budget can actually buy a higher configuration MacBook Air. This matter is quite tangled.

design

M4 iPad Pro is redesigned, it really makes people shine. Apple claims that it has set the thinnest record in its own products. The thickness of the 11-inch iPad Pro is 5.3mm, and the thickness of 13 -inch is only 5.1mm.

However, once you match the new keyboard, the M4 iPad Pro is not much thinner than the MacBook Air. As a reference, the earlier control keyboard made the iPad look thicker than the MacBook Air. Therefore, MacBook Air may be better than daily carrying.

When it comes to the difference between iPad and MacBook, each has its advantages. The MacBook’s hinge lets you adjust it to more angles, and you can’t underestimate the convenience of the iPad Pro as a tablet. But if you mainly want to find a notebook alternative, the tablet mode may not be as commonly used as expected.

In terms of color, the iPad Pro is simple and direct, with deep ash and silver. MacBook Air offers more choices, silver, deep space, starlight, and new midnight.

Screen display

The new generation of iPad Pro offers a better display than the MacBook Air. The previous generation of iPad Pro has taken one step ahead with the MINI-LED screen. Today, iPad Pro uses OLED technology to push the display effect to a new height. Apple cleverly solves the problem of brightness through the double-layer OLED panel design, which makes the iPad Pro screen not only brighter than the MICBOOK Pro’s Mini-LED but also better contrast.

Of course, for a notebook, the screen of the MacBook Air is already quite good, the color is accurate, and the brightness is remarkable. Many Windows OLED notebooks, such as the ASUS Zenbook Q425, are available on the market. Although its OLED screen may not be as bright as Apple’s, it is still outstanding in visual effects and supports the 120Hz refresh rate. Refresh rate. In contrast, the MacBook Air looks slightly inferior in rolling and animation fluency, while the screen refresh rate of the iPad Pro is as high as 120Hz. In addition, iPad Pro supports touch operation, and MacBook Air does not have a touch screen function.

Keyboard and interface

The biggest change of the new magic keyboard is to equip an increased version of the touchpad of touch panels and add a line of full-size keyboard layouts containing 14 function keys. These two improvements make the iPad Pro more practical and also make it closer to the experience of the MacBook.

Both the M4 iPad Pro and M3 MacBook Air feature two Thunderbolt ports, provided you connect the iPad Pro to a compatible keyboard. The MacBook Air has a small advantage, though, with the addition of the MagSafe 3 charging interface. This design allows you to use the other two ports while charging through the dedicated charging port. In addition, the MacBook Air retains the headset jack, which is a convenience that the iPad has not provided for many years.

Performance and battery life

The M4 chip first appeared on MacBook on the iPad Pro, which surprised many people. How strong is this new chip’s performance? Apple said that M4 is 4 times faster than M2 and 10 times faster than M1. At the application level, the M4 chip on the iPad Pro increases speeds by 50% in Procreate, and it doubles the efficiency of PRORES RAW video stream processing in Premiere Pro. But compared with M3, the advantage of M4 does not seem to be so prominent, so it depends on the actual data to speak.

On the other hand, AI capabilities cannot be ignored. Apple will announce the results of artificial intelligence at the Global Developer Conference (WWDC) next month. The nerve engine of the M4 is the key. M4 can achieve 38 trillion operations/seconds (TOPS). Compared with the 18 TOPS of M3, it has almost doubled, and its progress has been huge. Although we must observe the specific performance in the future, it is clear that the M4 plays a significant role in artificial intelligence.

Interestingly, the battery life of the M3 MacBook Air may still have an advantage. After all, the battery capacity of the iPad Pro is much smaller.

in conclusion

In the final analysis, the key is your software demand and usage scenario. iPad Pro is higher than MacBook Air, but it is worth it. It has better screens, faster processors, dual-camera systems, FACE ID, and touch screens. The MacBook Air provides a variety of configuration options, larger keyboards, and touchpads, long-lasting battery life, headphone jacks, and more portable designs, coupled with obvious price advantages.

Most people may tend to choose MacBook Air safely. However, the MAC is difficult to copy by the unique experience and screen effects brought by the iPad Pro. At present, the boundary between iPad and Mac series is becoming more and more blurred. If it is practical, most people may be more willing to choose MacBook Air.

For a more detailed comparison, check out our laptop and tablet comparison article.