Laptop vs tablet: which should you buy?

Laptop vs tablet; photos of a MacBook Air and an iPad Pro
(Image credit: Future)

Laptop vs tablet: which is better? Well, for starters, it depends what your budget is. For example, if you don't have more than $100 / £100 to spend, that simply won't be enough to buy a laptop, unless you're lucky enough to find a refurbished one at that price. 

Of course, you could opt for a one of the best Chromebooks as some of these can come in under $100 / £100, such as the small HP Chromebook 11. A larger, more powerful refurbished Chromebook, such as the HP Chromebook 14 can be bought for under $200 / £100. If you want to find out all you need to know more, read our how to buy refurbished tech guide.

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iPad Pro (12.9 inch) vs MacBook Air comparison
Header Cell - Column 0 TabletLaptop
DeviceiPad Pro (12.9 inch)MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
Display12.9 inches (2732 x 2048 pixels)13.6-inches (2,560 x 1,664 pixels)
ProcessorApple M1Apple M2
Operating system iPadOS 12.5macOS
RAM8-16GB16GB
Storage128GB-2TB1TB SSD
Weight682g1.24kg
Dimensions280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4mm304.1 x 215 x 11.3mm
Connections1 x USB-C2x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3 charging port
CameraRear: 12MP wide, 10MP ultra-wide; Front: 12MP1080p FaceTime HD webcam
Battery lifeUp to 10 hoursOver 16 hours

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Tom May

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects. 

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