The new MacBook Air has some big improvements when it comes to its design, display and performance, and it is now at the same level with the other products that Apples has to offer, which include the lately refreshed iPad Pro. So which one should you choose if you decide to buy one of the tech giant’s devices? Let’s take a look at the differences between them.
Display
The new iPad Pros come in two variants: a 12-inch display and a 11-inch model. When it comes to their displays, the devices use a new technology, called Liquid Retina, which lets Apple extend the rounded displays of the tablets to their edges. The company said that the new colors of the new panels are brighter than before, as well as more color accurate. MacBook Air will also have a Retina display. It looks like the 13.3-inch panel has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, which means that images will look considerably sharper than they did before. Apparently, the panel is 48% more colorful and the bezels of the device are 50% narrower than on the previous version.
Design
After three years of no changes in its design, the MacBook Air has finally received some remodeling. The weight of the new laptop is less than it was before and the device is smaller and sleeker. Touch ID can be found in the top right corner of the keyboard and the speakers are supposed to be 25% louder. The laptop is available in gold, space gray and silver as its size is 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches, therefore it’s significantly smaller than the last one. As far as the new iPad Pros are concerned, their Touch ID button was taken away to make the display stretch to the edges of the devices, while the Liquid Retina technology was employed. The replacement of the fingerprint sensor at the top is Face ID.
Battery life
According to Apple, the battery life of the iPad Pros was rated at 10 hours of uninterrupted web surfing, and that of MacBook Air at 12 hours of continuous web browsing and 13 hours of continuous movie playback.
Ports
The new MacBook Air doesn’t have any USB 3.0 ports, instead it has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and it also comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack. When it comes to the iPad Pros, the headphone jack was replaced by the USB-C.
Pricing and storage options
The two iPad Pros can be purchased for a higher price than their predecessors. The 12.9-inch version model will start at $999, while the 11-inch version can be bought for $799. There are four storage options: 64GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. The addition from 64GB to 256GB will cost $150 and from 256GB to 512GB we will need to pay $200 extra. If we need to add 1TB of storage, then the 11-inch iPad Pro will have a price of $1,549 and the 12.9-inch $1,749. As for the MacBook Air, the price will start from $1,199. Adding a storage capacity of 128GB will cost an extra $200.
Agnes is a technical writer, being in touch with reports to come up with the latest tech leaks.