Lounge
Macbook Air vs iPad Air: Choosing the right work machine
Summary
There is very little that separates the Macbook Air and iPad Air. Which is the better machine for your daily workflow and productivity goals?Apple has two Airs in its family, the iPad Air and the MacBook Air. But with the latest iPad Air packing a 13-inch display and an M2 chip, they’re closer in spirit than ever before, and not just by sharing the name.
On the face of it, they’re different products: one’s a tablet and the other a more conventional thin and light laptop. But if you add a Magic Keyboard ( ₹ 33,900) to the base 13-inch iPad Air ( ₹ 79,900), you get a versatile personal computing device that makes a strong touchscreen laptop replacement case for many, at roughly similar price points. The new M2 iPad Air-Keyboard combo versus a similarly specced M2 MacBook Air. Both great options, but which one’s for you? Let’s break it down.
The lowdown
The M2 iPad Air is no longer the thinnest and lightest iPad. The redesigned 2024 iPad Pro (M4) took the crown this year. Unlike the MacBook Air, neither is it the entry level iPad (that’s the ₹ 34,900 10th generation iPad).
The iPad Air (M2) is a tweener device, a Goldilocks middle ground if you will, bridging the gap between these tablets. Available in an 11-inch and a new 13-inch screen size, the new Air shares a lot with the M2 iPad Pro from 2022 – the same basic design, similar resolution LCD display (albeit, without the 120Hz miniLED panel), compatibility with the older Magic Keyboard, and the same Apple M2 chip.
The screen is finally large enough for laptop-esque use without having to pay extra for the 13-inch iPad Pro, and you could skip Apple’s Magic Keyboard and pair it with a kickstand case and a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse for a more compelling price point (but arguably less seamless experience).
Also read: Asus Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ PC review: A sleek AI laptop made for power users
Performance wise, the iPad Air’s M2 chip is a solid generational jump up from the M1 Air, particularly on graphics apps and with double the base storage, but unless you’re on bleeding edge apps, the M1 chip itself is overkill for most iPad apps. Not being on the M3/M4 generation does mean the Air lacks the faster ‘Neural Engine’ that will power some of the new AI updates coming later this month and in the years to come. Elsewhere, the front-facing camera has sensibly moved to landscape mode, but the Air still uses Touch ID for fingerprint authentication, not the Face ID face-based authentication on the Pros. Interestingly, the iPad Air is compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro ( ₹11,900) with its new ‘squeeze’ feature that brings up a tool palette depending on the app you’re in.
Frequent travellers
If you’re going to use the iPad Air by itself, it’s certainly a lot more portable, with a smaller footprint while still giving you a similar screen size. That 6.1mm vs 11.3mm advantage quickly disappears if you tack on the Magic Keyboard, doubling the weight and the thickness right into MacBook Air territory.
Even so, the iPad is a better travel companion with its full-laminated, higher resolution display that’s great for watching movies on a flight, quickly reviewing itineraries and maps, video calls back home, sending emails and yes, even taking the odd photo should you need to.
Both devices have Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, and can both latch off your phone’s data connection, but the iPad Air does have a cellular model to add in a 4G/5G data connection for uninterrupted data connectivity on the go.
In a pinch, you could even leave the keyboard behind on shorter trips, relying on the Apple Pencil for note taking and the new scribble mode that allows you to hand write into text boxes to automatically convert into text. As good as the keyboard is on the MacBook Air, you cannot leave it behind!
If you stray away too far from a power outlet, bear in mind that the battery life with the MacBook Air’s 52.6Wh far surpasses the 10-hour usage that the 13-inch iPad Air’s 36.59Wh battery yields, but a stranger’s lower-watt phone charger will likely get your iPad up and running much faster than your MacBook Air.
Unless you’re heading out on vacation to hammer out your next bestseller or do copious amounts of heavy photo management and editing, the iPad’s a more vacation friendly bet.
Creative hopefuls
This one’s tougher to call. If you’re heavy on illustrating and apps like Procreate are your go-to, the touchscreen and Apple Pencil Pro are an easy choice. For lack of a better term, the iPad Air has a more creative vibe going for it, and flow charting, mind mapping or drawing on an open canvas just feels more natural.
Content capture is better on the iPad Air as well, with the MacBook Air’s 1080p FaceTime camera handily beaten by the 12-megapixel pro camera system on the iPad Air, with the latter capable of recording 4K video at up to 60 frames per second.
Yet, while editing apps like Adobe Creative Cloud/Lightroom, Pixelmator, LumaFusion have been growing on iPadOS, the years of pro-grade software integration with macOS just means you get far richer, more robust versions of the same programs.
You have to see Apple’s own apps, like GarageBand and Final Cut Pro, for both macOS and iPadOS, to realize that while the iPad Air is a formidable creative editing tool built natively for touch, counterpart apps on iPadOS are pared-down with less controls and capabilities. There’s some way to go before the iPad can top a MacBook Air in terms of editing prowess.
For students
If you’re looking for a device to read PDFs and make annotations, take lengthy handwritten notes and have them instantly searchable, watch presentations, and use for extended periods from class to class, the iPad Air comes highly recommended, along with apps like GoodNotes or Notability.
Also read: HP Envy Move review: Personal computing on the go
Conversely, if you’re studying computer science or engineering and coding’s on the cards, macOS is the way to go, thanks to the sheer availability of emulators, development environments and virtual machines.
It might be worth keeping in mind that many college-specific programs aren’t optimized or available for iPadOS, so your mileage may vary.
Productivity nerds
You want true multi-tasking and complex file handling capabilities, get a MacBook Air. You want a better keyboard and all your familiar desktop-grade apps, get a MacBook Air. Yet, depending on how many years of computing baggage you carry, the iPad Air (and iPadOS in general) may feel liberating and somewhat less distracting since it doesn’t work like the computers you already know – needless fiddling, carefully overlaying windows just right, having a bunch of open applications visible all at once.
With features like Stage Manager, which lets you use multiple windows on one screen and all the gestures that have been added to iPadOS, even long-time computer-first folks such as this writer love the ability to kick back and do some distraction-free research on the iPad.
Verdict
For all the other audiences one couldn’t address, here’s the bottom line – the iPad Air has a better, more immersive display, puts your content more up in front of you, and rear camera aside, supports two things Macs don’t: touch and Pencil Pro support.
The MacBook Air’s keyboard, full-fledged macOS, more exhaustive connectivity and peripheral compatibility options, storage and memory options (all of which must be chosen at purchase) and better battery life, swing the discussion back in the MacBook Air’s favor.
SOME OTHER CONTENDERS
ONEPLUS PAD 2 ( ₹42,999)
If you have a OnePlus phone, the OnePlus Pad 2 is a no-brainer. Apart from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 boost, you can share your phone’s data connection, stream files back and forth, and continue unfinished tasks, on a larger screen.
ASUS VIVOBOOK S15 COPILOT+ ( ₹1,24,990)
The unassuming S15 is one of the first Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite to launch in India. Apart from the CoPilot+ AI-driven features, its 14-hour battery life is also noteworthy.
SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S9 ( ₹72,999)
Samsung’s 120Hz AMOLED displays, which only graced pricier tablets, are now on the entry-level Galaxy Tab S9. Packing last year’s flagship 8 Gen 2 chip and the S Pen stylus, the Tab S9 is one for the outdoors, with its Armor Aluminum frame and dust-and-water resistance.
DELL XPS 13 COPILOT+ ( ₹1,74,999)
All the benefits of the Snapdragon X Elite chip, in an ultra-compact design. Notable mentions: exceptional keyboard and futuristic, ‘invisible’ trackpad.
Tushar Kanwar, a tech columnist and commentator, posts @2shar.
