In 2025, Apple has once again upgraded its two popular tablets—the iPad Pro and iPad Air. Whether you are a student or a professional, the choice is clear: should you go for the more affordable iPad Air, or opt for the feature-packed iPad Pro? To help you make an informed decision, I will provide a comprehensive comparison of these two devices, exploring their performance, design, features, and prices, to help you determine which one suits your needs best.
1. Design and Appearance of iPad Pro vs. iPad Air
iPad Pro Design: The 2025 iPad Pro continues its tradition of high-end design with a thinner body and ultra-narrow bezels. The new iPad Pro comes in two sizes—11-inch and 12.9-inch—and features Liquid Retina and Mini LED display technologies. The Mini LED display on the 12.9-inch model offers higher brightness, better contrast, and richer color accuracy, which is a major plus for creative professionals such as photographers, video editors, and designers.
Additionally, the iPad Pro maintains its all-aluminum body, which is robust and has a premium feel with enhanced scratch resistance and durability. Overall, the iPad Pro exudes a professional, sleek, and modern aesthetic, making it ideal for users who demand both style and performance.
iPad Air Design: The iPad Air’s design is slightly simpler than the iPad Pro, but it still incorporates a similar full-screen design. Its bezels are slightly thicker, but the overall build remains premium, and it offers a variety of colors for a personalized touch. The 2025 iPad Air also has an 11-inch screen but features a Liquid Retina display. While its color accuracy doesn’t match the iPad Pro’s Mini LED screen, it still delivers an excellent visual experience, making it a smooth choice for everyday use and entertainment.
In terms of appearance, the iPad Air, while more understated than the iPad Pro, still maintains a modern and attractive look, and its lower price point makes it suitable for users with a more limited budget.
2. Performance Comparison: M4 Chip vs. M4 Pro Chip
iPad Pro: The 2025 iPad Pro is powered by Apple’s latest M4 chip, which is the newest iteration of Apple’s custom silicon. With advanced manufacturing technology, the M4 chip offers a 50% performance improvement over the previous M3 chip. The M4 boasts a 12-core CPU and a 16-core GPU, which provides outstanding multi-tasking, graphics processing, and artificial intelligence capabilities. If you need a high-performance device for tasks like video editing, 3D modeling, or professional design work, the iPad Pro’s M4 chip will serve you exceptionally well.
In addition, the M4 chip’s advancements in AI computing are particularly impressive, with the 16-core Neural Engine enhancing tasks such as machine learning, voice recognition, and image processing. If you are a professional designer, engineer, or content creator, the iPad Pro is the optimal choice for your demanding workload.
iPad Air: In contrast, the iPad Air is also equipped with the M4 chip, but its performance is slightly behind the iPad Pro’s M4. The iPad Air features an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, which makes it highly capable of handling everyday tasks like document editing, web browsing, and streaming. For students and general office use, the iPad Air’s performance is more than sufficient. However, when it comes to more demanding creative tasks, the iPad Air may not be able to match the iPad Pro’s power.
That said, for most students and light creative workers, the iPad Air offers excellent performance, and its price is more budget-friendly.
3. Display Quality and Technology
iPad Pro Display: The iPad Pro uses a Liquid Retina XDR display (on the 12.9-inch version), which combines Mini LED backlighting with advanced color calibration for vibrant, accurate colors and deep blacks, providing incredibly detailed images and videos. This display technology is particularly beneficial for professionals working in graphic design, video editing, and tasks requiring precise color reproduction.
The 11-inch iPad Pro, while lacking the Mini LED screen, still offers the high refresh rate ProMotion display technology, supporting a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, which greatly enhances scrolling fluidity and responsiveness.
iPad Air Display: The iPad Air features a Liquid Retina display, which, although not as bright and color-accurate as the iPad Pro’s Mini LED screen, still delivers excellent visuals. The 10.9-inch display offers wide color gamut support, providing clear and vibrant images, making it ideal for general use, entertainment, and light creative work.
However, the iPad Air does not support ProMotion technology, which means it may fall short when high refresh rates are crucial. For those who enjoy video games or need an ultra-smooth experience, the iPad Pro will offer a better display performance.
4. Features and Accessory Support
iPad Pro Accessory Support: The iPad Pro supports the second-generation Apple Pencil and the new Magic Keyboard, which features a backlit keyboard and trackpad, providing an experience similar to that of a traditional laptop. For creative professionals, the low latency and precision of the Apple Pencil 2 make it ideal for drawing, designing, and writing. The Magic Keyboard can transform the iPad Pro into an efficient workstation, perfect for professional writing and office tasks.
iPad Air Accessory Support: The iPad Air also supports the second-generation Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. However, due to its slightly lower performance capabilities, the iPad Air may not be as suitable for high-end design work. For most students and general office work, the accessory support on the iPad Air is more than adequate, but if you are a professional designer or artist, you might find the iPad Air’s capabilities a bit limiting.
5. Price and Target Audience
iPad Pro Price: The 2025 iPad Pro starts at £1,199 (for the 11-inch Wi-Fi version), with the 12.9-inch version starting at £1,499. For professionals who need robust performance, high-quality displays, and premium accessory support, the iPad Pro is an ideal choice. Especially for creative workers, professional designers, and video editors who need top-tier functionality, the iPad Pro offers unparalleled performance.
iPad Air Price: The iPad Air starts at £649 (Wi-Fi version), making it a highly cost-effective device compared to the iPad Pro. For students and light creative professionals, the iPad Air offers enough power and excellent display quality at a more affordable price. If you are on a budget or only need a tablet for everyday tasks like studying and entertainment, the iPad Air is an excellent choice.
6. Which One is Better for Students and Professionals?
iPad Pro is better for:
- Professionals who require intensive creative work, such as designers, video editors, and photographers.
- Users who need high performance, superior display quality, and extensive accessory support.
- Professionals who need to handle large projects, complex computations, or use premium accessories.
iPad Air is better for:
- Students or families on a budget who still want solid performance.
- Users who primarily need a tablet for daily study, entertainment, or light office work.
- People who don’t require extreme performance and display capabilities but still want a high-quality tablet experience.
IPad Pro offers unbeatable performance and features, making it ideal for high-end users and creative professionals. On the other hand, the iPad Air excels in price and value, making it the perfect choice for students and light creative professionals. Depending on your needs and budget, choosing the right tablet will lead to a more efficient learning or working experience.