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“An iPad Pro to an iPad Air M2? Surely that means a downgrade!” Put down your pitchforks readers and I’ll explain why a recent Prime Day deal has got me thinking.
I’ve owned an iPad Pro since 2018, back when the first major redesign was released. This featured a near-bezel-less display, Face ID, and a 120Hz ProMotion display. In 2021, I upgraded to the newer model just so I could have the M1 chip and brighter display. I’ve been happy with it since, but my needs for the tablet have changed.
Initially, I’d use the iPad Pro for most of my tasks at work, both during the day and during the evenings for other projects like books. However, as the years passed, I found myself relying more on my MacBook Pro than my iPad Pro. The restrictions of iPadOS, such as the inability to record a whole podcast and the confusing mess of Stage Manager, Apple’s latest attempt at fixing multitasking on the tablet, drove me further away.
In 2024, a few changes to the App Store have led me to use the iPad Pro more frequently — only instead of a productivity device, It's now become a retro gaming machine. I currently use Delta and RetroArch, two retro gaming emulators that can run old consoles and handhelds such as the Nintendo Game Boy and Sony PlayStation. As these apps support the iPad Magic Keyboard, controlling these games is a breeze, saving me the bother of having to touch the iPad’s display. Over the weekend (July 14), another app called UTM appeared on the App Store, allowing me to install Windows XP on my iPad, enabling me to play a pinball game, and I love it.
It’s these apps, combined with spotting a great deal on an iPad Air M2 on the eve of Amazon Prime Day, that have made me consider a downgrading dilemma: Why have an iPad Pro when an Air can run all of these apps with no drop in performance?
Levelling up to M2?
Yes, moving to an iPad Air M2 to use these apps, as well as using the tablet to read a bunch of comics through Marvel Unlimited, is a tempting prospect. I could also look into an Apple Pencil Pro, which works with this latest Air model but not with my iPad Pro M1. It's worth noting that Delta can emulate the Nintendo DS handheld, which came with a stylus that could let you interact with certain games like Brain Age and WarioWare. I’ve realized that I can use Apple’s latest drawing pen with the emulator, similar to the DS stylus. This way, I can play these games with the Apple Pencil Pro to make the retro experience even more authentic.
I’ve spotted the drawing pen available for $10 off on Amazon, so I might buy that with the iPad Air M2.
Whatever the case, my need for having an iPad is markedly different from what it was three years ago. On some days, I used the iPad Pro M1 for my old job, writing up press releases and transcribing interviews. On other occasions, I’d use it to browse the web and talk to friends through Discord or Twitch streams. In 2024, I now use the tablet for Delta and UTM, which isn’t a good enough reason to keep an iPad Pro anymore.
Instead, I want to use the smaller iPad Air M2 for emulation, for reading comics, and for occasional web browsing. At $559, it’s a great price to help justify what I’ll be using an iPad for going forward, and I’ll have no regrets about downgrading soon.
