iPad Pro or MacBook Air

[WalkDangIt]

I'm a freelance journalist. I cover many sporting events using my MacBook Air. The question: should I stick with MacBook Air or switch to the 12.8-inch iPad Pro with a Magic keyboard when it's time to buy something new? Durability is important.

 

[twerppoet]

You’ll probably be happiest with the MacBook Air.

The Air’s keyboard is better than the Magic Keyboard, or so I hear. Not a lot better, just better. I use the Smart Folio Keyboard with an older iPad Pro so I don’t have direct experience with the Magic Keyboard, but my MacBook Air’s keyboard is pretty good. It’s one of the new M1 models.

The iPad has a better camera, and it will work for both photos and vidoe in a pinch, but you probalby have an iPhone that will do a better job. Both iPadOS and MacOS have pretty good integration with the iPhone, though it is a bit easier to use with the iPad. For whatever reason Photos on the MacBook is slower to sync, and does not always behave as you would expect it when syncing with the iPhone. The biggest advantage i’ve found to the iPad’s camera is scanning documents. It is one less step over using the iPhone when you need to use them on the iPad.

Despite the MacBook Air’s camera being lower quality, it makes for a better video conference platform. The iPad’s camera is off center in landscape, making your outgoing video a bit awkward. You’re always looking off to the side from the other person’s view.

As for other cameras (I assume you have a decent digital camera if you’re doing sports), importing pictures is slightly easier on the MacBook; mostly a matter of having more hardware options and being able to easily save photos outside the Photos app.

The iPad has a crazy number of good to great text editors. Many with integration with various publishing platforms. The MacBook Air (as you are probably aware) also has excellent text editors. Fewer, but the quality scope is similar.

The Air’s weight is a bit more than a large iPad Pro plus Magic Keyboard, but not so much that I’d care which one is in my bag.

The battery life on both is good enough I don’t think it’s worth considering, Either will get a lot of work done away from the charger.

The built in cellular service on the iPad Pro (if you choose that model) is great. It’s more convenient than using the iPhone as a hotspot with the MacBook. Of course, you‘ll probalby have to pay your cellular provider for that convenience. With local Wi-Fi spots on the decline, having cellular access to the internet is important, however you do it.

This all sound a bit negative on the iPad’s side, but that only because I’m trying to look at from the point of view of a journalist who is going to be typing a lot, and possible importing a lot of photos from a cameras. I switch between the two a lot, but if I only had to keep one it would be the iPad Pro. It is slightly inferior as a text editing platform, but better a reading, browsing, drawing, and several other tasks. Overall, the iPad Pro‘s versatility outweighs it’s single task drawbacks. At least for me.

There are some kinds of software that you can get for the MacBook Air, but not on the iPad Pro, and vice-versa. There are work arounds for most of these limitations, but I own both because I’d rather use the best platform for a task. At least that’s what I tell myself when look at my bank account, and when I heft my heavy heavy backpack with both devices loaded.