Up next in 10
iPad Air M3 vs iPad Pro M4 Review
0 views
Jul 9, 2025
In this video, Tony breaks down the iPad Air M3 vs. iPad Pro M4 biggest differences to consider before you buy. On one hand, you have what’s widely considered the best iPad overall to buy in 2025. On the other, you have a powerhouse tablet that Tony himself uses on the daily. But when it comes to which one is best for you, well, you’ll need to watch to find out!
View Video Transcript
0:00
Sup guys, instead of doing a dedicated review of the iPad Air M3 I unboxed here on the channel a
0:04
few weeks ago, I'm going to break down the biggest differences between the iPad Air M3 and the iPad
0:09
Pro M4. I'll take you through how much they cost, with the different configuration options
0:14
the differences in design, how their performance compares, and what to expect in terms of battery
0:18
life with some important benchmarks. Let's get into it. I'm guessing that you kind of already
0:24
know what your budget is for a new iPad, so I'll make the price breakdown quick. The 11-inch iPad
0:29
Air M3 starts at $599, while the 13-inch version costs $799. Most can be upgraded with cellular
0:34
connectivity and up to 1 terabyte of storage, meaning prices can rise up to $1,249 for the
0:39
smaller version and $1,449 for the larger model. I don't know that the iPad Air's target customer
0:44
needs to be configuring the device that much. I think most people will stay under $1,000 for sure
0:50
With the iPad Pro M4, the 11-inch model starts at $1,000, technically $999, with the 13-inch
0:55
model beginning at $12.99. We get the same added cost not only with the cellular data but up to
1:01
two terabytes of total storage and a nano texture glass option for models of one terabyte or over
1:06
You can pay up to $22.99 for the 11 inch version or $25.99 for the larger model which is far into
1:11
MacBook territory and maybe you're considering this as a MacBook or laptop alternative but in
1:16
this case better specs matter. I want to pause for a second to say thanks to everyone who's come
1:21
back to the channel and also hey to all those here at Tom Guide for the first time my name Tony and you find me here talking about tablets laptops and all things gaming So if you like those kinds of things consider subscribing to the channel
1:34
and turning on those notifications so you never miss a future video
1:38
Now as an avid iPad user, I can clearly distinguish which one is which, but I think most people, you won't find major differences
1:44
especially considering they come in the same two size options. That said, and this might come as a surprise
1:51
the iPad Pro is actually thinner and lighter than the iPad Air
1:54
It's 0.21 inches thick for the 11 inch version and 0.2 inches thick for the 13 inch model
2:00
compared to 0.24 inches for both iPad Airs. The iPad Pro weighs 0.98 or 1.28 pounds compared to the iPad Airs 1.1 and 1.36 pounds
2:11
I know that's not a huge difference, but my point is, don't just get the Air thinking it's the most portable version of the two
2:17
You'd be wrong. It's worth mentioning that the iPad Pro has an OLED display, while the iPad Air has an
2:22
LCD liquid retina panel. The upshot of the OLED display is better picture quality, plus it gets 120Hz ProMotion displays
2:30
for smoother animations, while the new Airs are still stuck at 60Hz
2:34
There's another important detail that will become apparent as you use it
2:38
While the iPad Pro now uses Face ID for unlocking, the iPad Air only uses Touch ID via a fingerprint
2:43
reader built into the power button. The new iPad Air main upgrade is the Apple M3 chip which features an 8 CPU a 9 GPU and a 16 Neural Engine It scored 3 and 11 in single and dual Geekbench testing respectively
3:01
When it comes to gaming, M3 features like hardware-accelerated mesh shading, ray tracing, and dynamic caching also help big titles like Resident Evil 4 look phenomenal
3:10
But the iPad Pro performance is next to none. This 13-inch unit packs an M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU
3:17
It hit up to 14,523, the same multi-core Geekbench test. The biggest benefit as a user is that I can run tons of apps at once, switch between programs
3:26
and pages, and the iPad Pro never stutters. Everything looks and runs super smooth, part of that goes back to the display I mentioned earlier
3:34
But still, this is hard to beat. That's not to say the M3 in the air is outdated, it's still really powerful by tablet standards
3:40
Though if you are the type of person who cares about having the most future proof tech, clearly
3:45
the M4 is the latest option. In our testing, which involves continuous web-serving over Wi-Fi with the device's display set to 150 nits of brightness, the iPad Air M3 lasted for 9 hours and 41 minutes
3:57
On the other hand, the iPad Pro lasted for an astonishing 13 hours and 13 minutes
4:01
That not only beats the Air M3, but also the 10 hours Apple promise
4:05
This is an incredible result that makes the iPad Pro M4 the new premium tablet to beat in terms of battery life
4:11
Though the iPad Air M3 doesn't have the same endurance as the Pro, nearly 10 hours of battery
4:15
life isn anything to scoff at unless you really pushing this tablet with a ton of apps it should last you for a full work day What weird about iPad is a lot of times people get them for their hobbies or to elevate parts of day life like school and work You could just get them for reading and streaming though
4:32
note that the iPad mini or recently refreshed standard iPad are plenty good enough for both of
4:37
those things and don't cost nearly as much. iPad Air and iPad Pro are for when you're going to take
4:42
things up a notch. For artists or when drawing, the iPad Pro can handle a greater quantity of
4:48
large files and assets you need on hand. And a better display means you'll have greater color
4:52
accuracy, things that could matter a lot in the context of your work. Similarly, if you're looking
4:57
for an iPad that can replace a MacBook, be your workstation on the go, the iPad Pro is more suited
5:02
for the task. Now, if you're a student and you need something for note taking, I say the iPad Air
5:07
is more than sufficient. You can still download your textbooks, no problem. It's a good compliment
5:12
maybe to the laptop you have back at home or at your dorm room. You can even use features like
5:16
sidecar and make your iPad Air another display for your MacBook. So hopefully you have a better
5:21
sense of which iPad you want to buy, but if you have any other questions, leave them in the
5:26
comment section and I'll be sure to get back to you. I've also left a link below to both iPad
5:30
models in case you're interested in picking them up, but otherwise that's it for me. Later
#Computers & Electronics