One month with the M2 iPad Air. My thoughts.
My first foray into the world of Apple Silicon on iPad.
Sluggish, suffering from battery drain and unable to keep up with my workflow. That’s how my old Intel iPad from 2020 ended up. A purchase I made back during lockdown as a way to kick-off UI design work and creative fun, in place of going out and hanging with friends.
It lasted five years and could have still kept going, but it couldn’t keep up with the pace of my workflow and compared to the Apple silicone chips, was starting to underperform. So after some thought and deliberation (those who know me personally will know how long that can last for), I invested in an M2 iPad Air.
You might be wondering why I didn’t go for the iPad Pro and the reason is simple - the cost. The iPad Air is much more reasonably priced for my budget and can do pretty much most of the work I intend to do. The iPad Pro would have been overkill - besides, I have a MacBook Pro to cover that kind of workload.
So once month with the base model M2 iPad Air and I have to say I’m impressed, but the reality is, it’s just like my old iPad, albeit with Apple’s M2 chip. It’s undoubtedly the M2 chip that makes the whole thing run efficiently smooth and handles multiple apps and big tasks with ease. I’ve actually taken do doing some Freeform UI design on it, along with some semi-intense photo editing on Affinity Photo. It’s lasted a good few days without needing a charge and was my go-to device to take away for a couple of days in London for charity meetings.
One of the biggest draws for me though is the centralised front-facing camera, along the right edge (which, when in landscape mode, puts you front and centre of the camera). This has been a long time coming and has proved it’s value with many meetings. I often forget that Centre Stage is active and colleagues are surprised to see the camera follows me around… just as I’m surprised on occasion too!
The iPad really comes to its own with Apple’s Magic Keyboard. I purchased one at a discount by trading in another Apple device and obtaining further discount, so didn’t actually spend £299 on it (which I think is a ridiculous price for a keyboard). But I did get into some difficulty when looking online to buy the right keyboard. My advice would be to get this directly from Apple’s website, or the store itself - and not to rely on third party stores or sellers - because you may just end up with one that isn’t compatible, like I nearly did.
I’ll write about the Magic Keyboard in another post, as I’ve not had it as long as the iPad.
If you’ve currently got an older iPad and are looking to upgrade, it might be worth it and valuable. I can see this iPad lasting me another five years, maybe even longer. However, I would perhaps wait until Spring 2025 and see what Apple announce in terms of new iPad releases for this year.
Having said that though, it will be worth looking on Apple’s website when iOS 19 is announced later this year, to see if your devices are supported. If the newer OS is what you’re after, you may just have to upgrade anyway.
Ian
Creative Apple Guy