Best IPad to buy IF I already HAVE a high end MacBook Pro

[23109VC]

I have a purchase question. . I am not a tech person and am hoping people here can guide me as to what kind of Ipad I should buy for my wife.

My wife is an IT Project manager. She is VERY into tech. She uses a PC laptop for work, and she has a VERY expensive high end MacBook Pro for her personal use. It’s a year or two old ast most, 16”, it has the max amount of ram she coudl buy - it was $3500-4000 when she bough it. She does video editing / photo editing - it is a beast. I know she loves it. she also has a late model IPhone 11 Pro. She does NOT have an IPad but has expressed an interest lately in getting one - she wants to read books and have something small/light she can use instead of a laptop.


I had intended to buy my wife an Ipad as a gift and surprise her. I was debating between an 11” IPad Pro or the IPad Air. Both are similar in size and both seem to do mostly the same stuff, expect the air is cheaper. Given that my wife has a really nice big MacBook Pro - I was wondering if it woudl be overkill to have the iPad Pro 11” and maybe an air would complement it better.

if someone was using an ipad as their only devices, then I’d get the best one I could, but this will be to complement her MacBook Pro for lighter smaller tasis, reading, etc.

She will probably do most of her larger tasks on her MacBook. She will likely use the air to watch movies, read books, and browse the web. For times when she doens’t want or need to carry around her lapto, she can take the ipad. But i don’t see her editing video on it…it will be more for fun.

I think an air would do all that well. The only limitation I can think of is that hte speakers are not as good on the air and maybe watching momvies ‘ content woudl be better on teh pro.

I don’t want to heap out - teh price differentce between an 11” pro 128 or 256 is not a ton more than the air, but enough that for the same money as the Pro, I coudl get the air, get her a pencil and a nice case.

Is there a reason why someone like her would actually WANT the pro vs the air? Or is the air a better compromise as if she needs to do sone thing more involved, she woudl just use her MacBook anyway?

or am i seeing it all wrong, and I shoudl just get the pro as it’s better and will be more “future proof”.

i was also wondering if 128 is enoug or I really should get a 256?



thanks

 

[twerppoet]

If the main driver is to get her different capabilities/strengths I'd go with the newest iPad Air with the Apple Pencil over the iPad Pro without. The Pencil will add capabilities she would find difficult to match on the MacBook Pro. Everything else is close enough, so long as it's not her main device for heavy work.

If the MacBook Pro is an older Intel model the iPad Pro might surprise her with it's capabilities, but if she does a lot of work on the MacBook it is better to consider upgrading it at some point down the line than trying to replace her current favorite apps and workflow. The iPad Pro also needs a keyboard to be a real replacement for a MacBook. A good keyboard. So, more money.

As far as the speaker quality is concerned, you could splerge a bit on some AirPods. They will work with both the MacBook and iPad, and sound way better than the speakers of either. Also, keeps the noise down if you're both not in the experience sharing mood. I love my AirPod Pros, thought that may be more 'extra' than you want to spend.

If you want real portability the iPad Mini is good for note taking, light web browsing, and reading. Not as good for movies/videos of coures, but much easier to take on the road. It also works with the Apple Pencil. I use mine mostly for reading and taking hand written notes where a desk isn't available.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

This guy does a good comparison and concluded the Pro the way to go:
1. Much faster port (Thunderbolt vs USB 3), really helpful for transferring big video files
2. Much better speakers
3. 120 hz Pro motion feels much smoother

 

[LannyC]

My wife loves her iPad Mini 4--it's small enough to tuck into her purse, so she takes it everywhere. She uses it mainly for browsing, YouTube, and email, saving more complex and creative tasks for her iMac. She also takes lots of photos and video with it. It's a wifi-only 128, and that's been plenty. For media consumption, the processing speed of her older iPad is perfectly adequate.

 

[23109VC]

I hadn’t even thought of a mini… i will hae to look at them and se if it’s too small.

she had iniitially wanted to get a kindle to read books…and I had suggested an ipad as it works well with all her other apple devices and can do so much more than a kindle. as for other devices, thanks for the suggestions about AirPods for the speakers..she has airpod pros already!

An iPad mini might actually be the most “kindle like” device, and woudl work for easier more minor tasks. I want something that is more usable than her phone for tasks where a larger screen is needed, but maybe not something so powerful that it overlaps with the capabilities of her macbook. Her MacBook is a 2020 model. I dont’ know full specs, but i think it was literally one of the most expensive ones you can get.. it had either 32 or 64 GB of ram.. it was a ton. She uses it in bed to watch movies.the screen is large..so i dont’ necessarily see her using hte ipad for movies that much. She is at her desk a lot - with her dedicated computers - where she has dual 34” monitors…so anything hardcore gets done there.

i see the ipad as a toy. For reading books, browsing the web..and doing things when she wants a smaller lighter device, but doesnt’ want to be squinting at her phone. We are just old enough that our eyes are not what they once where so a small phone screen is fine for texting and making calls…but we’d avoid using a phone for long usage like movies, etc.

i will look at the mini. My only fear iwth a mini is maybe it’s TOO small? maybe it woudl be fine for reading books and other light usages….

any other ideas? Thanks!!