Home Tablet comparison Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020) - Which is better?

Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) vs Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

88 out 100
Apple iPad Air 13
VS
75 out 100
Apple iPad Pro 12.9
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 13 with chipsetApple M3 (iPad), vs Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020), Manufactured in March, 2019with chipsetApple A12Z Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
  • Larger display: 13in
  • Lighter design: 616g vs 641g
  • Higher battery capacity: 10340mAh vs 9720mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
  • Higher pixel density: 265ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB		 - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 6/512 GB
- 6/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Tablets:
iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
vs
iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 13 in 12.9 in
Resolution 2048x2732 pixels 2048x2732 pixels
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Pixel density 264 ppi 265 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (24-120 Hz)
Max brightness 600 nits 600 nits
HDR support No No
Screen-to-body ratio 86.8 % 85.5 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
573 nits
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
597 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %99.7 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a58820 Hz
Response time36 ms35 ms
Contrast1214:11330:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)], [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 280.6 mm (11.05 in) 280.6 mm (11.05 in)
Width 214.9 mm (8.46 in) 214.9 mm (8.46 in)
Thickness 6.1 mm (0.24 in) 5.9 mm (0.23 in)
Weight 616 g (21.73 oz) 641 g (22.61 oz)
Area 603 cm² (93.47 in²) 603 cm² (93.47 in²)
Water resistance No No
Back panel Metal Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Gold
- Gray
- Blue
- Purple		 - Silver
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
86.8 %
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
85.5 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple M3 (iPad) Apple A12Z Bionic
Max Frequency 4050 MHz 2250 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/4.05 (Everest)
- 4/2.75 (Sawtooth)		 n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 3 nm n/a
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine n/a
Graphics Apple GPU n/a
GPU Cores 10 n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
3044
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
1359
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
11749
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
4855
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)30441359
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)117494855
Geekbench Compute (GPU)45545n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)], [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
2416667
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
1064706
CPU638921391023
GPU1000610387489
Memory371902139802
UX405234146392
NanoReview Score24166671064706
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
12855
Max Surface Temp.n/a42.3 °C
Stabilityn/a77 %
Graphics Testn/a76 fps
Graphics Scoren/a12855
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 6400 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB128 GB
Storage Typen/aNVMe
Memory Cardn/aNo

Software

OS iPadOS 18.3 iPadOS 13.4 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3)
OS Size 23 GB 8 GB

Battery

Volume 10340 mAh 9720 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 70 min) Yes (30% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 2:30 h 2:55 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
33:55
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
31:48
Web Browsing11:41 h11:51 h
Video Playback16:48 h15:53 h
Games08:19 h07:16 h
Standby Mode197 h178 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Flash No Quad LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording n/a No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 125 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 10 MP
Depth
Features Bokeh effect - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Sensor sizen/a1/3.0"
Pixel size1.22 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a11 mm
Stabilizationn/aDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 7 MP
Matrix 4032x3024 pixels 3472x2063 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Sensor CMOS n/a
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeeSIMNano
SIM ModeActiven/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo 4.0
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025)
77.7 dB
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
81 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr March, 2019 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr March, 2019 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 999
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included Yes 20 W Yes 18 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPad Air 13" (2th Gen, 2025) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which tablet would you pick?
1 (50%)
1 (50%)
Total Votes: 2

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