Before You Buy: 2018 iPad Pro Vs. New MacBook Air Quick-Compare Review: Cyber Monday, Black Friday

Spend less money on an iPad Pro and skip the new MacBook?

That’s the question I’m wrestling with as I test the viability of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2018) with the Smart Folio Keyboard versus the new Retina MacBook Air.

Price: not the deciding factor*

OK, while the premise stated at top is true. It turns out to be barely true — a difference of $51.

• 2018 MacBook Air with 256GB of storage: $1,399
• 2018 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 256GB of storage and Smart Folio Keyboard $1,348

That said, deals on the MacBook Air and iPad Pro could change that equation. So far, the new MacBook Air seems to be getting heftier discounts than the new iPad Pro (that latter is getting few discounts if any).

See these Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals on the 2018 iPad Pro and 2018 MacBook Air at B&H photo.

Portability: iPad Pro Wins

So, price isn’t the most important thing. That means you have to consider other things.

Like weight.

Retina MacBook Air: this is the new pinnacle of Apple’s thin-and-light laptop technology. Though at 2.75 pounds it’s heavier than the 12-inch MacBook (2 pounds), it is Apple’s thinnest and lightest 13.3-inch MacBook — a happy medium for most consumers.

iPad Pro: the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Smart Folio keyboard is lighter but not by as much as you might think: the combined weight is just shy of about 2.3 pounds. (The 12.9-inch iPad Pro alone weighs 1.39 pounds.)

Getting stuff done: MacBook Air wins

On the traditional work/productivity front, the iPad should offer utility that comes close to the MacBook. But that’s not always the case. Simple, everyday tasks you do on a MacBook can be jarring on the iPad Pro e.g., cut-and-paste, editing images, and jumping between floating windows (which is not doable).

Yes, you can adapt to the iPad Pro and iOS but it comes down to:

• Using workarounds, e.g., using the keyboard for common tasks instead of a trackpad/mouse
• Being tolerant of things you can’t work around, e.g., WordPress iOS bugs that don’t get addressed
• Resorting to iOS hacks to do seemingly very simple things you do on a laptop, e.g., listening to YouTtube** while you work in another app
• Leaning heavily on cloud storage for file management
• Understanding that the iPad’s USB Type C port is not the plug-and-play you’ll get on a MacBook or Windows laptop, i.e, a lot of external devices are not recognized
• External USB-C monitors are only mirrored. (It mirrored my Dell 25-inch U2515H QHD 2,560-by-1,440 display but not my LG UltraFine 5K.)

The list is long. (That said, if you successfully cross over to the iPad Pro then critiques like mine amount to gratuitous whining.)

Getting other stuff done: iPad Pro wins 

I’m guessing the iPad Pro is meant, in many cases, for users not like me. For instance:

• Consumers who mostly do media consumption (e.g., web browsing, movies, books) and social media
• Artists / professionals who deal with images
• Hollywood types who create story narratives
• Video production/editing
• Audio production/editing and audio buffs like professional DJs
• Hospitals and medical professionals
• Industrial applications

The point: traditional workflow doesn’t apply. In fact, the iPad Pro may not be a MacBook replacement but, instead, be purchased because it does things that the MacBook can’t. That’s why reviewers often say that it “feels like the future.”

Performance / display / battery life: iPad Pro wins

And there are a lot of hardware upsides to the iPad Pro (hat tip to Lisa Gade at MobileTechReview.)

Performance: On Geekbench 4 benchmarks, the iPad Pro is faster than the MacBook Air. Roughly 25 percent faster in single core and more than 133 percent faster on multi-core.

Display: The iPad Pro display also has a wide P3 color gamut, higher resolution, and True Tone = a more advanced screen overall than the MacBook Air.

Battery life: The iPad Pro beats the MBA on battery life by a few hours — 8 to 12 hours on the iPad Pro versus 6 to 10 on the MBA, depending on what you’re doing. (Note that I’m still testing battery life so this may get updated.)

Face ID: It’s an advantage the iPad Pro has over the MacBook Air but is not a deciding factor for me. In my experience, there are pros/cons for both Face ID and Touch ID — the latter comes on the new MBA.

4G/LTE: this is an option on the iPad but not on the MBA.

Finally, I like the Apple Smart Folio Keyboard (no third-party keyboard necessary for me). Apple’s keyboard is easy on the fingers with plenty of travel and I could adjust quickly, which isn’t the case for many laptop keyboards that I use.

Summary:

When I go to Starbucks or am sitting in Airports I don’t see a lot of people doing work on their iPads. Rather, I see MacBooks, Windows laptops, and Microsoft Surface trackpad-equipped hybrids. Those people can’t all be wrong. (And, no, I didn’t write this review entirely on the iPad Pro.)

Will that change? Maybe. But the new MacBook Air comes with an ecosystem that has a proven track record in traditional productivity/getting-work-done. So, I’m leaning toward the 2018 MBA. For now. (I reserve the right to change my mind.)

—-

* If I opted for the 11-inch iPad Pro (256GB) with Smart Folio Keyboard the total would be $1,128.

**iPad, iPhone don’t allow you to listen to YouTube audio in the background but there are hacks to get around that.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

See this Unbox Therapy on YouTube as one example of somebody trying to switch to the iPad Pro.

 

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Spend less money on an iPad Pro and skip the new MacBook?

That’s the question I’m wrestling with as I test the viability of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2018) with the Smart Folio Keyboard versus the new Retina MacBook Air.

Price: not the deciding factor*

OK, while the premise stated at top is true. It turns out to be barely true — a difference of $51.

• 2018 MacBook Air with 256GB of storage: $1,399
• 2018 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 256GB of storage and Smart Folio Keyboard $1,348

That said, deals on the MacBook Air and iPad Pro could change that equation. So far, the new MacBook Air seems to be getting heftier discounts than the new iPad Pro (that latter is getting few discounts if any).

See these Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals on the 2018 iPad Pro and 2018 MacBook Air at B&H photo.

Portability: iPad Pro Wins

So, price isn’t the most important thing. That means you have to consider other things.

Like weight.

Retina MacBook Air: this is the new pinnacle of Apple’s thin-and-light laptop technology. Though at 2.75 pounds it’s heavier than the 12-inch MacBook (2 pounds), it is Apple’s thinnest and lightest 13.3-inch MacBook — a happy medium for most consumers.

iPad Pro: the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Smart Folio keyboard is lighter but not by as much as you might think: the combined weight is just shy of about 2.3 pounds. (The 12.9-inch iPad Pro alone weighs 1.39 pounds.)

Getting stuff done: MacBook Air wins

On the traditional work/productivity front, the iPad should offer utility that comes close to the MacBook. But that’s not always the case. Simple, everyday tasks you do on a MacBook can be jarring on the iPad Pro e.g., cut-and-paste, editing images, and jumping between floating windows (which is not doable).

Yes, you can adapt to the iPad Pro and iOS but it comes down to:

• Using workarounds, e.g., using the keyboard for common tasks instead of a trackpad/mouse
• Being tolerant of things you can’t work around, e.g., WordPress iOS bugs that don’t get addressed
• Resorting to iOS hacks to do seemingly very simple things you do on a laptop, e.g., listening to YouTtube** while you work in another app
• Leaning heavily on cloud storage for file management
• Understanding that the iPad’s USB Type C port is not the plug-and-play you’ll get on a MacBook or Windows laptop, i.e, a lot of external devices are not recognized
• External USB-C monitors are only mirrored. (It mirrored my Dell 25-inch U2515H QHD 2,560-by-1,440 display but not my LG UltraFine 5K.)

The list is long. (That said, if you successfully cross over to the iPad Pro then critiques like mine amount to gratuitous whining.)

Getting other stuff done: iPad Pro wins 

I’m guessing the iPad Pro is meant, in many cases, for users not like me. For instance:

• Consumers who mostly do media consumption (e.g., web browsing, movies, books) and social media
• Artists / professionals who deal with images
• Hollywood types who create story narratives
• Video production/editing
• Audio production/editing and audio buffs like professional DJs
• Hospitals and medical professionals
• Industrial applications

The point: traditional workflow doesn’t apply. In fact, the iPad Pro may not be a MacBook replacement but, instead, be purchased because it does things that the MacBook can’t. That’s why reviewers often say that it “feels like the future.”

Performance / display / battery life: iPad Pro wins

And there are a lot of hardware upsides to the iPad Pro (hat tip to Lisa Gade at MobileTechReview.)

Performance: On Geekbench 4 benchmarks, the iPad Pro is faster than the MacBook Air. Roughly 25 percent faster in single core and more than 133 percent faster on multi-core.

Display: The iPad Pro display also has a wide P3 color gamut, higher resolution, and True Tone = a more advanced screen overall than the MacBook Air.

Battery life: The iPad Pro beats the MBA on battery life by a few hours — 8 to 12 hours on the iPad Pro versus 6 to 10 on the MBA, depending on what you’re doing. (Note that I’m still testing battery life so this may get updated.)

Face ID: It’s an advantage the iPad Pro has over the MacBook Air but is not a deciding factor for me. In my experience, there are pros/cons for both Face ID and Touch ID — the latter comes on the new MBA.

4G/LTE: this is an option on the iPad but not on the MBA.

Finally, I like the Apple Smart Folio Keyboard (no third-party keyboard necessary for me). Apple’s keyboard is easy on the fingers with plenty of travel and I could adjust quickly, which isn’t the case for many laptop keyboards that I use.

Summary:

When I go to Starbucks or am sitting in Airports I don’t see a lot of people doing work on their iPads. Rather, I see MacBooks, Windows laptops, and Microsoft Surface trackpad-equipped hybrids. Those people can’t all be wrong. (And, no, I didn’t write this review entirely on the iPad Pro.)

Will that change? Maybe. But the new MacBook Air comes with an ecosystem that has a proven track record in traditional productivity/getting-work-done. So, I’m leaning toward the 2018 MBA. For now. (I reserve the right to change my mind.)

—-

* If I opted for the 11-inch iPad Pro (256GB) with Smart Folio Keyboard the total would be $1,128.

**iPad, iPhone don’t allow you to listen to YouTube audio in the background but there are hacks to get around that.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

See this Unbox Therapy on YouTube as one example of somebody trying to switch to the iPad Pro.