What Is The Difference Between the Air vs. iPad (I’m afraid I’m going to regret it) and The Air (Is it Better than the iPad Pro?)

In two questions, I believe I can answer the Air vs. iPad debate. Would you like a big screen? Do you use the crap out of your Apple Pencil? If so, buy the Air. The 13-inch model is the cheapest big screen in Apple’s lineup — a whopping $500 less than the comparable iPad Pro — and the 11-inch model is the least expensive way to get access to the Pencil Pro. Done and done.

We can’t say for certain, but theiPad Air and iPad Pro are likely to be safe bets. On paper, neither rock the boat so much that you should expect a vastly different user experience from that of their predecessors. The latest iPad Air, for example, now has a Wi-Fi 6E radio and a last-gen M2 chip — which enables hover support for the second-gen Apple Pencil — but is also now available in a bigger 13-inch size in addition to the 11-inch model.

The base iPad and Air both have the same cameras, Touch ID, battery life, and other features. The iPad is a bit larger than the Air, but we’re talking hundredths of inches and pounds. Neither has a headphone jack, which remains dumb and bad. The Air’s screen is better than the regular iPad, which is probably the most important spec upgrade. But the regular iPad is good enough — just don’t look at them side by side. Ignorance is bliss; it’ll be fine.

There is a resemblance to last year’s iPad Air in the new Air. The two models are identical other than the screen size. The new 13-inch model is obviously larger in every dimension and about a third of a pound heavier than the 11-inch Air, which is exactly the same size and weight as the last-gen Air.