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HEAD TO HEAD - iPad Pro vs MacBook Air (2020)

2020-04-20 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali, Ali Abdaal (channel) · recording, 8:41 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech · mode: Review and recommendation · tags: Aimed at students

Ali would choose the 2020 MacBook Air over the 2020 iPad Pro because he values efficiency; pricing both with the usual upgrades, he calls the iPad Pro unjustifiable for most people and advises students on a budget to get the budget iPad or the iPad Air.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Upfront conclusion: the MacBook Air over the iPad Pro; an iPad only for basic computing needs

  • ★★★ If he could choose only one device, Ali would pick the 2020 MacBook Air over the 2020 iPad Pro, two devices that cost roughly the same. — 00:00:00 · MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★★ An iPad can sort of replace a laptop, Ali says, but at a significant cost of efficiency: everything a MacBook Air does can be done on an iPad Pro, it just takes a little longer. — 00:00:29 · iPad, MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Spending every waking hour at a computer juggling a hundred things, Ali finds it completely unfeasible that everything takes a little longer on an iPad: he needs to optimise for efficiency. — 00:00:29 · iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★★ For people with very basic computing needs, like his housemate Molly Hunt, who watches Netflix and only occasionally types a Word document or makes a PowerPoint, Ali says the laptop's efficiency saving does not matter: get an iPad. — 00:00:58 · Molly Hunt, Netflix, Microsoft PowerPoint, iPad, keyboard navigation, iPad Pro

00:02:09 — Why the iPad Pro versus MacBook Air comparison is unfair; the student with basic needs

  • ★★★ Someone whose needs are basic enough to use an iPad as a laptop could easily get by with the budget iPad or the iPad Air, both much cheaper than the iPad Pro, Ali says. — 00:02:09 · iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro
  • ★ Ali says the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air were both updated around February and March 2020 and both cost roughly $1,300 with the right upgrades. — 00:02:09 · iPad Pro, MacBook
  • ★★ Ali calls the iPad Pro versus MacBook Air comparison unfair: it sets literally the best tablet in the world, reasonably specced, against the most basic laptop Apple sells. — 00:02:39 · iPad Pro, MacBook, Apple

00:03:42 — Costing the MacBook Air, the budget iPad, the iPad Air and the iPad Pro

  • ★★ Ali says the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at about $1,000 (£1,000 in the UK) with 8 GB of RAM and a dual-core i3 processor, which he does not recommend; $100 more buys the quad-core i5. — 00:03:42 · MacBook
  • ★★★ For a MacBook Air to last several years, Ali recommends the i5 processor with 16 GB of RAM for $1,300, or $1,200 with the student discount. — 00:03:42 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali prices the budget iPad at $329 for 32 GB, too little storage, or $429 for 128 GB; with the $100 Apple Pencil and the $160 Smart Keyboard it costs $689, about half a MacBook Air. — 00:04:52 · iPad, Apple Pencil, MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali prices the iPad Air with 256 GB at $650; with the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard it costs $910, about 30% more than the budget iPad. — 00:05:15 · iPad Air, Apple Pencil, iPad Pro, iPad
  • ★★★ The iPad Air is certainly not 30% better than the budget iPad, Ali says, but it is probably the one he would recommend. (hedged) — 00:05:15 · iPad Air, iPad, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali prices the 11-inch iPad Pro with 256 GB at $900 (the 12.9-inch costs $200 more); with the $300 Magic Keyboard due in May 2020 and the Apple Pencil it costs $1,329, more than a reasonably upgraded MacBook Air. — 00:05:15 · iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil, MacBook

00:06:36 — Verdict: the iPad Pro is unjustifiable for most people; the budget iPad or iPad Air for students

  • ★★★ Given what an iPad can do compared with a laptop, Ali thinks the cost of an iPad Pro is unjustifiable for most people. — 00:06:36 · iPad Pro, iPad
  • ★★ The iPad Pro suits someone for whom money is no object and who wants the best tablet; Ali admits that is why he has an iPad Pro rather than an iPad Air, and says on any budget it would be indefensible. — 00:06:36 · iPad Pro, iPad Air
  • ★★★ For people who care less about productivity and efficiency than he does and are on a budget, as he imagines most students are, Ali advises the budget iPad or the iPad Air, according to what they can afford. — 00:07:05 · iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Most people should not really be choosing between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air, Ali says; someone on a budget who wants to join the Apple ecosystem should consider the budget iPad, which could probably replace their laptop. (hedged) — 00:07:34 · iPad, Apple, MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali calls $689 a very reasonable price for a budget iPad that will easily last through student days; another $230 buys the iPad Air, which should last a little longer. — 00:07:58 · iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro

In the description and comments

  • ★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked whether a Magic Keyboard video is coming soon, the channel replies that it comes on Wednesday. — creator comment · Magic Keyboard
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): To a viewer starting interior design who must learn CAD software and asks about an 11-inch iPad Pro, the channel says CAD sounds like it needs a proper computer, not an iPad. — creator comment · iPad Pro, iPad
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked whether the new Magic Keyboard would change the verdict for the MacBook Air over the iPad Pro, the channel answers no. — creator comment · Magic Keyboard, iPad Pro, MacBook
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked whether the new 2020 iPad Pro is worth the upgrade, the channel answers no and points to its review of the 2020 iPad Pro. — creator comment · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): To a viewer with a working 2015 MacBook Pro wondering whether to buy a new laptop or an iPad Pro for university, the channel says no new laptop is needed: MacBooks last ages. — creator comment · MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked whether rereading each paragraph several times on a spaced schedule works, the channel says rereading is a waste of time. — creator comment
  • ★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked for more day-in-the-life videos as a doctor, the channel says it is quite hard to film in the hospital. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: iPad · iPad Air · iPad Pro · MacBook

Also: People: Molly Hunt

Organizations: Apple · Netflix

Concepts: keyboard navigation

Products: Alfred · Apple Pencil · Magic Keyboard · Microsoft PowerPoint · Microsoft Word · Smart Keyboard

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