Which iPad should you buy? iPad vs. iPad mini vs. iPad Air vs. iPad Pro
Which iPad should y'all purchase? iPad vs. iPad mini vs. iPad Air vs. iPad Pro
Ownership an iPad is easy enough these days, as Apple's tablets haven't been every bit hard to discover as a skilful PS5 restock. but ownership the right iPad for your needs is harder than information technology used to be considering now there are and so many models to choose from.
Used to be if you wanted an iPad, you bought the iPad. But at present if you lot want a new iPad — either for yourself or to gift to someone on your list — you have at least four models to cull from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
This commodity aims to help you make a more informed choice past comparing and contrasting each of the four major iPad models in 2021: the base iPad, the iPad Air, the iPad Pro, and the iPad mini. While each is skilful plenty to merit a spot on our listing of the best iPads you can buy, the best ane for your needs volition depend significantly on who's going to be using it and how. Read on for a blow-by-blow breakup of how the different iPads compare, and what they're best at.
iPad vs. iPad mini vs. iPad Air vs. iPad Pro specs
| iPad 9 (2021) | iPad Air iv (2020) | iPad mini 6 (2021) | 11" iPad Pro (2021) | 12.9" iPad Pro (2021) | |
| Starting price | $329 ($299 for schools) | $599 | $499 | $799 | $1,099 |
| Screen | ten.two inches (2160 ten 1620) | 10.ix inches (2360 x 1640) | 8.3 inches (2266 x 1488) | xi inches (2388 10 1668 pixels) | 12.9 inches (2732 ten 2048 pixels) mini-LED |
| Battery life (based on testing) | 11:59 | 10:29 | ten:56 | 13:42 | 10:48 |
| Processor | A13 Bionic | A14 Bionic | A15 Bionic | M1 (16-core) | M1 (16-cadre) |
| Storage | 64GB or 256GB | 64GB or 256GB | 64GB or 256GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Cameras | 8MP (rear) 12MP (front) | 12MP wide (rear) 7MP TrueDepth (front) | 12MP (rear) 12MP (front) | 12MP TrueDepth (front) 12MP broad, 10MP ultra-wide (rear) | 12MP TrueDepth (front) 12MP wide, 10MP ultra-wide (rear) |
| Security | Bear upon ID | Touch ID | Impact ID | Face ID | Face ID |
| Apple Keyboard back up | Smart Keyboard | Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Page | None | Magic Keyboard | Magic Keyboard |
| Pencil support | Apple Pencil (1st generation) | Apple Pencil (2nd generation) | Apple Pencil (2nd generation) | Apple Pencil (gen one & 2) | Apple tree Pencil (gen one & ii) |
| Dimensions | ix.viii x 6.8 x 0.29 inches | 9.vii x 7 ten 0.24 inches | seven.7 x v.3 x 0.25 inches | ix.74 x vii.02 x 0.23 inches | 11.04 x viii.46 10 0.25 inches |
| Weight | ane.07 pounds | 1 pound | 0.65 pounds | one.04 pounds | 1.51 pounds |
| Ports | Lightning, headphones | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C with Thunderbolt, USB-4 | USB-C with Thunderbolt, USB-4 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/air conditioning, LTE optional | Wi-Fi 6 802.11a/b/k/n/ac/ax, optional 4G | Wi-Fi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 5G optional | Wi-Fi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 5G optional | Wi-Fi vi 802.11a/b/k/n/air-conditioning/ax, 5G optional |
You should buy the regular iPad (2021) if...
...you want all the benefits of an iPad for the everyman possible price.
The original iPad launched back in 2010 and proved to be and then good, information technology effectively created a whole new market for tablets. Apple has been steadily expanding its roster of tablets ever since, just it still sells the vanilla iPad, and in September 2021 a new model was released that improves on its predecessors in modest but meaning ways.
In our Apple iPad (2021) review nosotros historic this 10.2-inch tablet for its vivid, vibrant screen, speedy performance and excellent 12-hour battery life. While the thick bezels feels a little dated, especially when compared to the thin and light iPad Air or the lavishly large 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the basic iPad remains a well-congenital and piece of cake-to-utilize tablet.
Unfortunately, the dated pattern limits what accessories you can use with the base iPad, as it doesn't support Apple'southward Magic Keyboard or the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil. While you can withal buy one of Apple tree'southward Smart Keyboards or a 1st Gen Apple Pencil to apply with this iPad, it's a picayune disappointing that Apple's best accessories aren't compatible with the base iPad.
Nonetheless, there is one upside to the x.two-inch iPad's dated design: this is the only iPad that still sports a physical headphone jack, which means you can plug in your favorite pair of headphones when you want to tune out the exterior earth.
With the everyman starting price ($329) of any iPad Apple tree sells, the basic iPad is swell when you want to give someone (including yourself) the gift of a new iPad just can't afford (or don't want) the slimmer designs and expanded features of other iPads on this list. The biggest problem is finding the new iPad in stock, as it's been sold out pretty much everywhere.
Yous should buy an iPad mini if...
...you want a small iPad that's like shooting fish in a barrel to hold with one mitt yet powerful.
The iPad mini is effectively a pint-sized iPad, and information technology's great for folks who don't enjoy having to hold or carry the heftier tablets on this list. Apple tree released the sixth iteration of the iPad mini in 2021, and in our Apple tree iPad mini 6 review we lauded it for managing to evangelize everything we expect from a great iPad — speedy performance, a gorgeous brandish, practiced battery life and great cameras — in a pocket-size, lightweight package.
Admittedly, at this size the line between small-scale tablet and large phone becomes quite sparse. The iPad mini vi sports a vibrant 8.3-inch (2266 x 1488 pixels) display, which is only a chip bigger than the 6.vii-inch (2778 x 1284 pixels) display on the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
You tin can even become an iPad mini 6 with 5G connectivity, effectively turning it in to an unwieldy smartphone. Just while smartphones are slap-up for getting things done while you're out and nigh, the iPad mini half dozen is better suited for recreational apply at home. Measuring simply 7.7 10 v.3 x 0.25 inches and weighing in at only over half a pound, the iPad mini 6 is easy for most people to hold with i hand and thus a smashing tablet for reading (specially comics), watching videos and playing games.
Plus, the iPad mini 6 supports Apple'due south Heart Stage feature, as does every iPad on this listing except the iPad Air 4. If you lot're not familiar with Center Stage, it'southward a small-scale feature which uses machine learning to make the iPad's forepart-facing camera automatically follow (within a limited range) whoever'southward speaking during a FaceTime telephone call. Center Stage will besides automatically detect new speakers who enter the frame and reframe the video call to include them.
Sadly, the iPad mini 6 doesn't work with either Apple tree's Smart Keyboard or Magic Keyboard accessories, though you can connect a 3rd-party Bluetooth keyboard to information technology if you want to do some serious typing on this tiny tablet. However, it does support the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, making it a great buy for digital artists. Plus, with a starting toll of $499 the iPad mini 6 is cheaper than virtually every tablet on this list; only the base of operations iPad can be had for less.
You should buy an iPad Air if...
...you lot want an iPad Pro feel for less that supports the latest accessories.
Apple tree hasn't released a new Air since the iPad Air 4 in 2020, but that model remains an excellent tablet for anyone who wants a mid-range iPad that delivers some iPad Pro-level perks in a thin and light design. In our iPad Air 4 review we chosen this tablet a potential laptop replacement, in part because when you pair information technology with a Magic Keyboard it's possible to do about of the piece of work you could do on a MacBook on this like shooting fish in a barrel-to-conduct tablet.
But of form, it'southward also keen equally but a apprehensive tablet. The iPad Air 4 has the vibrant, sharp brandish we've come to await from iPads, and its A14 Bionic flake is nevertheless plenty fast enough to handle whatever apps you throw at information technology. Plus, information technology supports the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, making this the ideal tablet to get if yous want a digital art creation station that'due south larger than the iPad mini six, but more affordable than the iPad Pro.
The only real downside to this tablet is that information technology'southward old plenty to commencement abaft behind the other iPads on this list in terms of camera quality and bombardment life. The iPad Air 4's 12MP broad (rear) 7MP TrueDepth (front end) cameras are bully for snapping quick photos and taking video calls, don't get me wrong; but the iPad mini half dozen and iPad Pro both accept dual 12MP cameras. And while the iPad Air 4 lasted longer than the advertised x hours in our bombardment life test (ten:29, to be specific), every other iPad on this list lasted longer in our testing.
Also, you should know that the iPad Air 4 is currently the just iPad on this list which doesn't support Apple's Eye Phase characteristic. Information technology's a nifty feature to have, especially if yous like to set up the iPad in a kitchen or family room for large group calls, but information technology'southward hardly a must-accept for well-nigh folks.
The iPad Air 4's starting price of $599 makes it one of the more expensive iPads on this list, and a solid midway point between the affordable base iPad and the exorbitant iPad Pros. Nevertheless, if yous know this is the iPad you desire and yous tin can afford to expect a while, consider property off until we know more virtually the long-rumored iPad Air 5, which could launch sometime in 2022.
You lot should buy an iPad Pro if...
...you absolutely, positively must have the best iPad available.
If price is no object, yous should probably get an iPad Pro. Apple released a new model in 2021 that comes in ii sizes, an 11-inch and a 12.9-inch, and both evangelize amazing operation thanks to Apple's own M1 chip. These are the but iPads all the same powered by the M1, a laptop-course slice of bespoke silicon which delivered remarkable boosts in speed and bombardment efficiency in every Mac that got 1 — including the MacBook Air with M1, the MacBook Pro with M1 and the Mac mini with M1.
In our iPad Pro 2021 (xi-inch) review we chosen information technology one of the fastest and longest-lasting tablets ever, and with good reason: in improver to the M1 bit delivering beastly performance, its efficiency helped the 11-inch Pro final over 13 hours in our battery life test, the longest of any iPad on this listing. The eleven-inch (2388 ten 1668 pixels) display delivers brilliant, color-accurate picture quality, and at only 0.23 inches thin the 11-inch iPad Pro is really the thinnest tablet on this list, chirapsia the iPad Air 4 by a scant .01 inches.
But if you can afford it, the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro has an even meliorate screen that hands makes it the best-looking tablet you tin can purchase. In our iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) review nosotros called this tablet the best iPad yet if yous're willing to splurge, in big part thank you to its middle-catching Liquid Retina XDR display. The 12.nine-inch (2732 x 2048 pixels) screen is a mini-LED display, unlike the normal LED displays found on every other iPad, and that means it's capable of displaying much finer differences in light and dark.
What that means, in do, is that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro tin achieve much better film quality than any other iPad on this listing. However, you accept to exist watching HDR (high dynamic range) content to actually see the difference, and that kind of content is still hard to come up by on iPads. Netflix offers HDR content (if you pay for the Premium plan) on its iPad app, for example, but the Hulu app currently does not. Of form, even if you're watching non-HDR content the larger iPad Pro's gorgeous display volition still help it look keen.
Other than the size and screen differences, the 2 iPad Pro models are basically identical. They both offer the best cameras of whatsoever iPad (12MP front and back), with front end cameras that support both Middle Stage and facial login via Face ID. Both 2021 iPad Pros also sport speakers that deliver fantabulous sound quality, and they can get surprisingly loud for such slim tablets. They too both support the latest Apple accessories, including the excellent 2d Gen Apple tree Pencil and the Magic Keyboard.
However, y'all'll pay a hefty premium for these privileges: the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, while the 12.nine-inch model with its beautiful mini-LED brandish starts at $1,099. That makes these the most expensive tablets on this list, and when you lot kit them out with actress memory and accessories they can begin to approach the price of a mid-range laptop. Just if you lot're willing to splurge on an iPad and you lot absolutely must have the all-time possible choice, the 12.nine-inch iPad Pro is what you should buy.
Which iPad is right for you lot?
If there's 1 affair I hope you take away from this article, it's that quite frankly all of Apple'south iPads are pretty great buys right now. Even the cheapest basic iPad offers great battery life, good performance, a nice screen, and good cameras, making it a great gift for someone who primarily wants a tablet for browsing the spider web, playing games, and taking video calls.
If y'all're willing to pay more, every other iPad offers a unique value that sets it autonomously. The iPad Air 4 is finer a lighter, more capable iPad that'due south a decent laptop replacement, while the iPad mini six is platonic for folks who want a more portable tablet that's great for reading. And if y'all're willing to spend, the iPad Pros deliver outstanding performance with great bombardment life and gorgeous screens, especially if you splurge and get the 12.9-inch model with its eye-catching mini-LED display.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/which-ipad-should-you-buy-ipad-vs-ipad-mini-vs-ipad-air-vs-ipad-pro
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