The vanilla iPad, the latest Apple tablet still using Lightning, switched to USB-C this week. The whiteboard has also taken other steps towards usability, such as putting the front camera on the long side – no one will be videoconferencing in portrait mode.
Apple also unveiled the new iPad Pros with the M2 chipset, bringing them on par with the MacBook Air 2022, one of the most powerful passively cooled machines money can buy. Also starting this week, Blackmagic Design announced that the DaVinci Resolve video editor will arrive on iPad in the fourth quarter. Coupled with the powerful M2 chip, the new Pro could be the perfect device for editing video in the field.
Or am I? Let’s take a look. An Apple iPad Pro 11 (2022) with 128GB starts at $ 800. You might want more storage, so here are the prices: 256GB for $ 900, 512GB for $ 1,100, 1TB for $ 1,500, and 2TB for $ 1,900. Yes, the USB-C port is fast, but editing videos from a card reader is probably impractical. You may also want to spend an extra $ 200 on 5G connectivity (or less, tethering is pretty straightforward). And you almost certainly want a keyboard (touchscreen controls don’t replace keyboard shortcuts when doing serious work). That’ll be another $ 300.
Apple iPad Pro (2022) with Apple M2 chipset
If you edit short videos that fit 128GB of storage, you’re looking at a $ 1,100 bill. $ 1,450 if you choose the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) for its larger screen and battery (the larger keyboard costs $ 50 more). Meanwhile, a MacBook Air M2 (13.6-inch display, 256GB SSD) will set you back $ 1,200, albeit with an 8-core GPU. To match the 10-core iPad Pros, you’ll need to pick the $ 1,500 512GB model.
We don’t have to tell you that macOS is much better at multitasking and file juggling than iPadOS. Additionally, the MacBook Air has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports (plus a separate MagSafe 3 port for charging) and a 3.5mm jack so you can listen to recorded audio without Bluetooth compression.
Even aside from video editing, Excel on the iPad is notorious for bugs. Is there a real professional business where the iPad Pro is better than a MacBook, even an Air? Maybe you work using the Apple Pencil, but we struggle to think of anything else.
So, will you buy an iPad Pro (2022), be it the 11 “or 12.9” model? Or do you prefer to use a Mac? Vote below or if it doesn’t work, vote here.
Let’s go back to the Apple iPad (2022), the tenth edition. It uses an older Apple A14 chipset (also used in the iPhone 12 generation in 2020), a step up from the A13 used in the 2021 model. A concise way to describe this tablet is an iPad Air (2022) without the M1 chip.
Well, it isn’t rather accurate – we have already mentioned the best position of the front camera. But there’s also a downside, the iPad’s newfound love for USB-C doesn’t sit well with its support for just the original Apple Pencil. You know, the one that needs a Lightning port to charge. Apple includes a USB-C adapter, but we’re a little fed up with dongles.
Apple iPad (2022), the 10th generation
Either way, it’s not a bad deal for $ 450, although prices outside of North America are a little less appealing – € 580 / ₹ 45,000. Also, the old iPad (2021) costs $ 330 / € 430 / ₹ 34,000 as a cheaper alternative (well, the 2021 model costs $ 330 at launch, so it actually happens that the new one is more expensive). You lose the USB-C port, some performance, and some screen space, but the two tablets are quite similar. Finally, you can get a keyboard with this too, even if it costs almost as much as the tablet itself, $ 250 / € 300 / ₹ 25,000.
Will you buy an iPad (2022)? Tell us about it below or vote on this page.
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