iPad Air M1 (2022) Review - Better Choice than The iPad Pro?

The iPad Air sounds like the best iPad you could buy right now. It has a similar design, and the same exact performance as Apple's more expensive iPad Pro at $200 less and in most areas it sacrifices things that most users would be happy to give up for the cheaper price point like a thunderbolt port, better speakers, Face ID, and even losing it's 120hz promotion panel would be fine for most people using this device. However, there's one major flaw with Apple's pricing strategy that may make this iPad Air the worst choice for you when you consider the iPad Pro.

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[chrisatye]

You have just explained exactly why I got the 11” Pro last year, instead of the Air. 128gb of storage, better sounds, screen and camera, and Thunderbolt 4. The extra money was worth it. if the Air had been 128gb I would have bought that.
I made the right choice. I love my Pro.

[ysac]

It does seem strange that the 128gb option has become a storage option exclusively for the Ipad Pros. For all other Ipads - regular, mini and Air - you can only choose between 64gb and 256gb, which for many people is a choice between too little and too much. I would really like to see 128gb as a storage option in ALL ipad categories.

[nicholasriley]

64 gigs in 2022 is a hilariously out of touch decision. The entire 64gig category should have been discontinued right from the start of the M1 era.

[bambinone]

I was so excited about the new Air that I went out and bought a Pro 11”. 😂 Basically following the logic you outlined. The base model was $700 at Costco and Micro Center a week or two ago.

[jdthompson]

64Gb is too small. 256Gb is too big. 128Gb is the sweet spot. I was going to buy the iPad Air two years ago but waited thinking they would do a 128Gb model. So I bought the ipad air 5 with 64Gb. I can play movies etc off an attached pen drive or SSD if I run out of space. It may look odd but I am not paying for 256Gb or the ipad pro. They have done this to try and push you to spend more.

[gd.ritter]

I ordered myself the iPad Air 5 with 256GB this week for $699 from Apple plus a Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard. Rear camera/Lidar is not a selling point to me because an iPhone Pro is more convenient for those. FaceID is convenient but not so much so that it's worth extra money. My (windows) laptop uses fingerprint to log in and it's not bad at all to tap once at the start of a use session. Pro-motion display sounds like a trained eye will appreciate it, but I'm beyond satisfied with 60hz and would rather save some battery than drive the display harder. Thunderbolt is a non-feature as I'm using the iPad for on device work and content consumption, I have no files to transfer off device. I would like to have quad speakers, but I know I'll be using my headphones most of the time I'm consuming shows/music. And lastly being able to get a preferable color in the Air over the Pro also matters, even if it's not a performance factor. If the Pro were 256GB also for the base model, it'd be a bit more tempting for me. But with most of the features I'm not getting missing to not mattering to me at all, I'd rather have the capacity to know it will last me a long while rather than have a couple shiny bits I almost never use.

[CRD]

I keep flip flopping, planned on the air, then I think of storage and pro motion. It’s killing me. I keep changing my mind every time I go to make an order

[Shundave]

I bought an iPad Air yesterday - my first iPad. I set it up based on my 512Gb iPhone 12 Pro Max. I deleted some apps from the iPad that I know I will never use (I won’t be hailing an Uber from my iPad for instance). When the iPad was all setup I was using 71Gb of storage. Good thing I bought the 256Gb version or I would have been screwed. Unfortunately, Spectrum Mobile, my cell carrier who I bought it from, only offers the 256Gb version in Space Grey. So no pretty blue for me. I really wanted to match my blue iPhone and Apple Watch. But I bought the new Marine Blue Smart Folio, so no one will be the wiser. So far, I am loving being an iPad Air owner.

[steverolfeca]

Long-time iPad user here. For what I do, 128GB is the sweet spot. I nearly bought the 256GB Air, then did the obvious, and ponied up the $50 for the base 11” Pro. So happy I did! The display, the cameras, etc. make it a brilliant tablet.

[zamyoutube]

I bought the 256 air and it’s great. Just ignore the base price because 64gb doesn’t exist in my head-it’s not an option. Future proof processor, got a keyboard and some accessories to round it out. Also using my Google suite so it works for my android stuff too

[matiestrella]

I have a s21 and an ipad air. My phone has a 120hz display so i can really asure you that you will absolutely not gona notice that the ipad screen has a lower refresh rate, as the apple scrrens for some reason are one of the smothest 60hz screen i have seen. Apart of that, many apps arent even optimized for running at 120hz so they will run at 60 on the pro model.

[chidorirasenganz]

I think 256gb is definitely the sweet spot. especially if we could only have 256gb or 128gb.

The 256gb model can often be found at 650$ (100$ off) at many retailers

[chadmccoury]

I was able to get a blue 256GB Air 5 with cellular for $799 from Costco with reduced AppleCare+ for $59, so it was $860. An iPad Pro 11” 128GB (Wi-Fi only) with AppleCare+ from Costco was $800. So, for a net $60 more, I got a larger storage and cellular. I actually tried both for a bit and didn’t find any real differences in Pro vs Air — ProMotion was not distinguishable to me, I use AirPods so speakers not a big deal and I like TouchID because I kept blocking FaceID in landscape mode on iPad Pro and with TouchID you just touch power button and iPad unlocks and opens with no swiping. An iPad Pro 11” with 256 with cellular is $1049 (w/o AC+) so I saved over $300 with Air with same specs. I already have 14” MacBook Pro for heavy tasks and iPhone 13 Pro for camera, etc. And, the blue color on the Air 5 is so beautiful. I’ll easily keep it for 5 years so definitely a good deal for me in my use case.

[crosswhite]

I always thought lidar was not needed on phones or tablets until I watched Office Hours with Alex Lindsey. Seeing how film makers were using lidar to create 3D images of film sets made me realise the possibilities that lidar offers.

[FutileGrief]

I just don't think it's fair to compare a 256 GB Air to a 128 GB Pro. Like, the Air may be only 50 bucks cheaper but it has TWICE the storage. The fair thing to do is to compare a 256 Pro to a 256 Air and the difference is 150 USD, which is a ton of money.

[FutileGrief]

Honestly I'd rather spend the extra 150 on double the storage of an ipad pro of just 128GB. Besides the storage, I don't see why would anyone justify buying an ipad pro 11' unless the 120Hz refresh rate is worth 150 usd to you. I'd give that up for twice the storage.

[VincentJGoh]

I went for 256GB on the Air. I just don't want to be messing around with space. If Apple's storage management software didn't suck, maybe I would've gone with the pro at 128GB, but I plan to keep this for 4-5 years, and I just can't imagine 128GB will be enough over that period.

[veronicadias]

i always hear about upgrading and wich one should I pick if Im coming from an older device, but it would be nice to know wich one is the best if I never had any of them, I want a device portable enough that I can carry around in my backpack and powerful enough to substitute my laptop if I need, but wont be my primary computer. It will be my first iPad ever

[serinadelmar]

Is it not obvious why they do 64GB? so you buy the 256GB it’s just Apple and capitalism and highly predictable marketing.

[jeffhale]

Thanks for your video. I came to the conclusion to purchase the 11” iPad Pro. Blessings on your day!