Class in session: can your really ditch your laptop for an iPad?

Best answer: If you're planning on using your device primarily for word processing, note-taking, web research, drawing, and similar tasks, the answer is yes. Otherwise, you should stick with a laptop.

• Entry-level goodness: iPad Air (2019) (from $499 at Apple)
• Another level: iPad Pro (2020) (from $799 at Apple)

Making a choice

iPads are getting ever-closer to replacing laptops -- at least in certain situations. The best starting point in deciding between the two is to ask whether you're going to be using your device for highly intensive tasks such as video or photo-design. If your schoolwork requires that you use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Apple Final Cut Pro, to name just a few examples, stick with a laptop.

By contrast, if you only need your device for writing term papers, researching topics, sketch work, or playing the occasional game, an iPad is a great choice. For this, we recommend either the iPad Air (2019) or iPad Pro (2020).

The latest iPad Air

Introduced in 2019, the third-generation iPad Air is an excellent choice for most users. It's got a 10.5-inch, wide gamut, Retina display, with TrueTone ambient color temperature matching, which is slightly bigger than the original iPad. It also comes with Apple's A12 Bionic chipset, the same one in iPhone XS, 3GB of memory, a Lightning connector, Touch ID biometric fingerprint sensor, two stereo speakers, a 7 megapixel, 1080p front-facing camera and an 8 megapixel, wide color f/2.4, also 1080p rear camera.

You can get an iPad Air with a silver, space gray, or coppery gold finish, with 64 or 264GB of storage, with just Wi-Fi or with Wi-Fi and cellular.

It's also compatible with the 1st generation Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon, and Apple Smart Keyboard for drawing and typing. They do increase the up-front cost but also the functionality.

iPad Pro lineup

The latest iPad Pro arrived earlier this year and is available in two sizes, 11-inches, and 12.9-inches. Both feature Face ID versus Touch ID and have the best internals you can buy in an Apple tablet. The iPad Pro features a so-called ProMotion display that saves power and allows for smooth scrolling. You can also use the second-generation Apple Pencil with either model. All models of the 2020 iPad, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, now have 6GB of RAM.

The 2020 iPad Pro also includes True Depth camera that supports augmented reality like Animoji, plus you get four speakers for stereo sound in every orientation. Of course, you could always compare them and see which works best for you.

Great choice for most

iPad Air (2019)

from $499 at Apple

Popular model reborn

The third-generation iPad Air surprised everyone when it was revealed in early 2019. It's the first new iPad Air announced since 2014.

So much to experience

iPad Pro (2020)

from $799 at Apple

Best of the best

The iPad Pro lineup continues to get better with each passing year. The current models include a blazing fast A12Z Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture. Inside, there's nothing but cutting-edge goodness!