I think it is a no brainer win for the iPad Air 4. I would have bought two of these in July for the kids if they were available. I got 2020 and 2019 iPad Pro 11 models instead. Might get an iPA4 for the wife though.
You should only get the 2020 iPad Pro 11 if your workflow is happier with 6 GB of RAM versus 4 GB, you can make use of the extra back cam and LiDAR, and if you need 0.5 and 1 TB of storage. There are customers who do indeed need as much RAM as possible, and there are those who can actually feel or see the benefits of ProMotion. So, there is a market, but it is a lot smaller now given that the iPad Air 4 is the better perf/price for the majority of customers.
Eventually, I think Apple will have to make the small iPad Pro up in screen size or drop it. I'm not sure a 11" miniLED will be able to sell it. So, I'd like to see the next iPad Pros have something like 12" and 14" miniLED displays. Maybe 11.5" and 13.5" might be more viable.
There are also things that need to be done as the displays get bigger. At some point, Apple will have to turn them into landscape first machines, so the front cam is on the long side, or have two front cams on opposite sides. There needs to be 2 TB3/USBC ports. The Smart Connector needs to support TB3, or USBC at minimum. There needs to RAM options, like 8, 16 and 32 GB options. And, the spigots have to be opened on the software side, like extended display support, better multitasking support.
The sweet spot for me would have been an Air with 128GB storage but as they don't do one of those, do I go for the 256GB Air (at £729) or the 128GB 11" Pro (at £769)?
Decisions, decisions!
I had the same dilemma, and chose the 11" Pro, because I'd get more value out of its extra features than the extra storage of the Air 4, for the same, or nearly the same cost (~$50 USD difference)
Had Apple offered the Air with 128GB, I would have chose that route, but for me, the additional 128GB would have gone unused. Instead, I'll enjoy the better display, better cameras, better speakers, Face ID (Touch ID never worked reliable for me), and 6GB of RAM.
The A12Z vs A14 is debatable. The former is an eight-core processor running at 2.5GHz; the latter is six-core, running at 3.0Ghz (GPU-wise -- 8-core vs 4-core). As one might expect, they have different strengths, with the latter excelling in single-core tasks due to its higher clock speed and newer architecture. But the A12Z has better depth, as its multi-core scores are competitive, if not better. The neural engine in the A14 is no doubt more advanced, but its advantages are hard to, or haven't been quantified objectively. One additional small feature that might make a difference if Apple ever makes iPad OS into a more fully-fledged OS is that one has 10Gbs, the other 5Gbs, flavor of USB, whatever the USB IF is calling them these days.
By almost every objective measure, the Pro is a better device, as it should be for the extra cost. I would call the processor a wash.
When deciding support windows for iOS, history has shown the Apple prioritizes hard architectural boundaries, rather than processor speed to determine which models continue to receive support. First, it was 64-bit, which was the line for iOS 11. Then, iOS 13 dropped support for anything without 2GB RAM.
The baseline for current devices is 3GB, which the mainstream models like the iPad 8 and iPhone SE 2 carry. The Air 4's 4GB offers some headroom, while the 6GB in the iPad Pro and new iPhone 12 Pro provides even more.
Besides those factors, what firmly tipped the scale for me was that, as of a week ago, I had the choice of either one at the same $749 price, via educational discount. But the latter also included a promotional set of AirPods at no cost. That made it a no brainer.
Even now, with the Air being discounted on pre-order, restoring that cost gap, I have no regrets. I keep my devices longer term, and the Pro was a better option. YMMV, based on what you desire.
A14x... mini-LED... 5G... Wifi 6e... a new screen coating sprinkled with Venuvian crystals... the new iPad Pros, whenever released, will undoubtedly NOT be lacking in new hardware buzz for marketing and sales. Meanwhile, doing something as basic and simple as multi-tasking between apps remains a frustratingly kludgy experience, to name just one of the many ways in which iPad OS continues to suck. Fact is, iPad Pro hardware is outstanding right now--it absolutely smokes other tablets and runs rings around most laptops. And sure, it'll get even better because that's how you keep selling new product models to the masses, but to what practical benefit? IPad OS is the bottleneck and the main thing holding back iPad from becoming the true laptop replacement that it could be for many people. And I do wonder if Apple keeps it that way to preserve laptop sales.
I'm not sure why people are still asking questions about this that the article answers very clearly:
The current iPad Pro is $200 more than the iPad Air 4. For that $200 difference you get:
*0.1" more screen (not really important in any relevant way)
*Slightly higher resolution (Liquid Retina vs Retina), and also ProMotion (higher refresh rate, smoother motion) and greater brightness (600 vs 500 for the Air) *Greater storage options (up to 1TB, whereas the max the Air does is 256GB)
*the 10MP ultra wide camera, and thus 60fps ultra wide video
*Face ID (faster than TouchID if you're not wearing a mask)
*Four speakers vs two speakers (yes, two speakers)
*The A12Z Bionic has more cores and uses them more efficiently, so I expect it will still perform better on real-world tasks particularly on multi-core apps, and also make better use of battery life.
Are those things important enough to you to justify $200? If not, buy the Air 4. If so, buy the iPad Pro.
When comparing the $200 difference between the two base models, I think the difference in base storage is quite significant. If 64GB is not enough for you, your only option with the Air4 is to spend $150 more which mostly wipes out the cost difference.
To me, the difference in storage is at least as significant as other differentiators that seem to get more attention (camera difference, LiDAR, nits...) YMMV
To me, the lower storage options are less important than they used to be, give both models' ability to use external storage. Certainly not as convenient as having storage on the device itself, but also more flexible if one has storage needs that change depending on one's task.
Comments
You should only get the 2020 iPad Pro 11 if your workflow is happier with 6 GB of RAM versus 4 GB, you can make use of the extra back cam and LiDAR, and if you need 0.5 and 1 TB of storage. There are customers who do indeed need as much RAM as possible, and there are those who can actually feel or see the benefits of ProMotion. So, there is a market, but it is a lot smaller now given that the iPad Air 4 is the better perf/price for the majority of customers.
Eventually, I think Apple will have to make the small iPad Pro up in screen size or drop it. I'm not sure a 11" miniLED will be able to sell it. So, I'd like to see the next iPad Pros have something like 12" and 14" miniLED displays. Maybe 11.5" and 13.5" might be more viable.
There are also things that need to be done as the displays get bigger. At some point, Apple will have to turn them into landscape first machines, so the front cam is on the long side, or have two front cams on opposite sides. There needs to be 2 TB3/USBC ports. The Smart Connector needs to support TB3, or USBC at minimum. There needs to RAM options, like 8, 16 and 32 GB options. And, the spigots have to be opened on the software side, like extended display support, better multitasking support.
*Greater storage options (up to 1TB, whereas the max the Air does is 256GB)