The iPad Pro M4 is the thinnest tablet ever made, with Apple's first OLED screen on a tablet. The iPad Air M2 is more affordable with nearly identical performance for 80% of uses. Which one should you get pre-owned?
The iPad Pro M4: What makes it unique
Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED display
The first iPad with an OLED screen. The result:
- Absolute blacks (impossible with LCD or mini-LED)
- HDR brightness: 1,600 nits
- Infinite contrast
- Lighter thanks to the absence of a backlight
If you watch movies, retouch photos or draw digitally: this screen changes everything.
M4: The chip of the future
The M4 is 1.5x faster than the M2 (Air). For 3D rendering, compiling, intensive creative apps: you can feel it.
The thinnest design in the world
5.1mm thick. That's thinner than the iPhone 16. It's a feat of engineering.
The iPad Air M2: The value-for-money argument
An M2 chip that's still powerful
The M2 in the iPad Air handles it all perfectly: Final Cut, LumaFusion, Procreate, Affinity, all of Microsoft Office. For 95% of uses, you won't see the difference with the M4.
11" or 13" Liquid Retina display
No OLED, but a very good LCD screen. 500 nits brightness, P3 color, ProMotion 120Hz. Very good for work and multimedia.
Price: The massive argument
| Model | Pre-owned Grade A price |
|---|---|
| iPad Air M2 11" | ~6,000 – 7,500 DH |
| iPad Air M2 13" | ~8,000 – 9,500 DH |
| iPad Pro M4 11" | ~10,000 – 12,000 DH |
| iPad Pro M4 13" | ~14,000 – 17,000 DH |
The decision rule
Get the iPad Pro M4 if:
- You're an illustrator or digital artist (the OLED screen changes everything for that)
- You watch HDR content every day
- You use your iPad as a replacement laptop with a keyboard
Get the iPad Air M2 if:
- You do standard productivity tasks
- You watch videos, read, take video calls
- You have a budget of 6,000 – 9,000 DH