iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Pro (2024): expectations

It's been a while since we saw new iPads — it's a real iPad drought out there! The last time Apple updated any of its tablets was in 2022. We did expect some models to get a refresh in late 2023, but that didn't happen. Then, it was March of 2024. Well... obviously that didn't happen.

The latest, super-solid™ rumor says new iPads are coming on the 7th of May — from an iPad 11th gen to new iPad Air models, to new iPad Pros. Now the question is — what are they going to upgrade?

And more importantly — can we get away with buying an iPad Air 6th Gen (2024) instead of the more expeinsive M3 iPad Pro? The Air is kind of an "iPad Pro killer", but it typically lacks some of the super-premium features of the Pro models. So, let's see what we know so far:

The modern iPad Air line is there to give you an iPad Pro 11 for less money. The corners that were cut — it has a 60 Hz screen instead of 120 Hz ProMotion, and it has 64 GB of storage at its base tier. We do expect (hope?) that the latter might change this year, but more on that in the hardware section.

OK, so the iPad Air typically has a 10.9-inch screen, instead of 11 inches like on the Pro. This results in slightly thicker bezels, which isn't that much of a concern. There is a good argument to be made that it at least gives you more thumb space to comfortably hold the tablet.

Word on the street is that we may actually see a bigger iPad Air model, too — similar in size to the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro. And on the Pro side, the big model will grow to be an iPad Pro 13" (2024).

The camera bump on the back is also very different — since the Air line typically only has one lens back there, instead of the dual camera + LiDAR that the Pro iPads rock.

But if you glance at a contemporary iPad Air vs iPad Pro from a distance — they look the same. And that's very welcome, because that means they fit the same accessories. You can use a Magic Keyboard with both. You can use an Apple Pencil gen 2 with both. So, if you first shop for an Air and get into the accessories, you can upgrade to a Pro and keep using them. Or just enjoy the core iPad Pro experience without the Pro price. Cool!

Rumors say that this massive iPad line refresh will bring the selfie camera to the side bezel, like on the iPad 10th gen. The point is that, when the tablet is in landscape, that right bezel becomes a top bezel, which is a much more natural place for a video calls camera.

The iPads have had USB C ports for a while now, so no change expected there. But, as before, we expect Thunderbolt file transfer speeds (40 Gbps) to still be exclusive to the iPad Pro line, and the iPad Air will have USB 3 (10 Gbps).

The displays of the Airs and Pros are very similar. They are laminated screens, meaning there's no gap of air between the glass and the actual display, which looks really awesome (can only be appreciated if you've been using a cheaper tablet). However, in 2024, we may see a bigger divide, with the iPad Air having an LCD panel, whereas the Pro line will move on to the OLED pastures.

Also, the Air will probably still be stuck to 60 Hz, while 120 Hz ProMotion is... well, a Pro feature.

So, besides the refresh rate and 0.1 inch size difference, we don't expect any other major deviations. Apple's color calibration is pretty good in all tiers of its products. We are also kind of hoping that the iPad Air (2024) will also get the Apple Pencil Hover feature — it's one of the newest features in the iPad Pro (2022) line — when you hover the Apple Pencil tip over the screen, you get a cursor-like experience, where menus and items may pop up and act like they are under a mouse pointer. This is again... just a hunch.

The upper-range iPads have been getting the Apple M processors for a couple of years now. The M1 from the MacBooks made it to the iPad Pros of 2021, then the M2 was put in the iPad Pro (2022), while the iPad Air (2022) got the M1. See the trend?

So, in 2024, we expect to see the new iPad Air get an M2 chip as the Pro line gets prepped to receive an M3.

That said, if we are right, the iPad Air (2024) will have the same M2 chip inside it as the iPad Pro (2022). So, their performance will be very, very comparable.

Where the Air line differs is its base storage tier. It is currently 64 GB, which is way too little, especially for tablets that are now marketed as tools for video or audio editing (Final Cut and Logic for iPad are now a reality!). Its next step is 256 GB and it bumps its price up to the base price of an iPad Pro.

The iPad Pro (2022) starts at 128 GB with upgrades to 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB, which is insanity, but... it's there. We expect the iPad Pro (2024) tiers to be the same or Apple might pull an iPhone Pro on us and remove the 128 GB tier (thus, increasing the entry price to the Pro models).

As mentioned above, there will be differences in USB transfer speeds, too. Thunderbolt ports seems to be exclusive to the Pro line, and we fully expect the iPad Air (2024) models will "only" have USB 3.

Typically, you want two cameras on a tablet — the selfie camera for video calls, and then some kind of rear-facing camera to scan documents or for some sort of emergency "Hey, look at that" picture-taking.

The iPad Air line typically has a 12 MP selfie camera with the ultra-wide lens that enables Center Stage (the camera follows your face automatically), and a 12 MP main camera in the back, which is pretty usable.

The iPad Pros push that further with an extra 10 MP ultra-wide camera in the back, and then a LiDAR sensor for AR applications. Cool tech, but we are unsure how many regular users actually find use for it.

We don't expect major changes here, so the iPad Air (2024) should be comparable. However... we do think that the selfie camera's position may move! Supposedly, it will become a "landscape selfie camera", meaning it will be on the top frame of the tablet when in landscape — like in a laptop. This is a more natural position — right now, if you use any iPad (save for the iPad 10th gen) for video calls, you probably have it placed in a landscape orientation, and your footage looks like someone is shooting you from the side, awkwardly and secretly. Reportedly this is changing soon for all iPads.

The iPad Air line has two speakers, located on the top and bottom of the tablet — otherwise known as "landscape stereo", as they end up as left and right speakers when watching movies or YouTube videos. The iPad Pros have quad speakers. We expect this setup to keep being the same for the future generations.

In our experience, the Air's dual speakers are only slightly worse than the Pro. They sound a bit boxier, with a slight mid hump, and compress a bit more at higher volumes, where the quad speakers of the iPad Pros find it easier to push air and sound a bit more spatious. The difference is there but is not huge, so the speaker setup will not be a make or break here.

iPads, any model iPad, generally give us around 10 hours of screen-on time. We've used the large 12.9-inch iPad Pros, the 11-inchers, the Airs, and the base iPads, and it's usually the same story. They are dependable for a full day, unless you want to play those shiny console-level games or render 4K video on them, of course. For binging YouTube, for web-based work, or even music-based apps, they can easily get through a day. For heavy workloads — you can get about 5 hours out of them still.

We doubt we will see much improvement in this aspect any time soon, and we do hope Apple doesn't somehow make the battery life worse on the next iPad Air. For what it's worth — we doubt they will.

The iPad Air usually trucks a step behind the iPad Pro. If we are to assume that we will see an M3 chip in the Pros of 2024, then the Air will surely get an M2 chip. What else?

So, the iPad Air 6 (2024) is coming in as an iPad Pro (2022) replacement, more or less. You will still miss the 120 Hz display and, if you ask us, once it launches — it will be better to hunt down an iPad Pro 11 (2022) at clearance prices rather than going for a new iPad Air.

So, the iPad Air 6 will come, sooner or later, and it will — again — be a viable alternative to the iPad Pro of its own generation. As long as you don't mind the 60 Hz screen, you will be able to enjoy full support of the Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, Stage Manager, and a powerful processor, which honestly has no business being in a tablet (but we are happy it is).

But still, landing a deal on the iPad Pro (2022) will just be the better choice. Quad speakers, 120 Hz screen, and a 128 GB base storage — that's just a win. Now, if the iPad Air (2024) gets a storage upgrade, that'd up its value. We'll see how the market and the offered products shift once it launches.

As for the iPad Pro (2024) — obviously, it will be the biggest and best Apple tablet you can buy. We haven't heard reports about any groundbreaking new features, which would make us want it over an iPad Pro (2022). But we'll see!