Macbook Air or IPad for a High School student?

Hi, I am currently in 8th grade and heading into HS next fall. I am really anticipating the move, but am very worried about what tools I will need to navigate through HS, and because I am definitely a MAC and not a PC, I would love to get my hands on some kind of an apple product that will suit me best and run best. In the IPad's case I already have a wireless mouse and trackpad that I could hook up to it and type up documents with, but I am wondering if the IPad will be able to print documents. (I've heard it can only print to certain printers) Another thought I've considered is that I love gaming and surfing the web. These factors including the price difference between the IPad and the Air are urging me toward the IPad but I will also need to get a new printer if I am to do my documents on the IPad, so this will bring me to a conclusion of around $650 for the IPad and around $1,350 for the Air, a $700 difference. So, in my asking, can someone please kindly suggest to me which apple product will suit me best... a MacBook Air, or an IPad 3?

Answer
iPad

Follow this Question

25 Answers from the Community

  • Best Answer

    Hey Ben, to answer your question about the debate between the Ipad and the Macbook air it is quite simple. If you are primarily going to be doing school work on the device i would suggest the macbook air. The ipad is great for doing quick emails, playing games, and browsing the internet. But if you want to do a lot of typing, the small screen can be a disadvantage. Also there is no way to hook up a pointing device to the Ipad, so you cannot use a mouse or touchpad. The macbook air will have support for Microsoft office, a physical keyboard, and a pointing device so it will be much easier to accomplish work on it. Now what you can do if you really want to get the ipad as it is better for gaming and a lot cheaper, is grab an external keyboard and an apple tv allowing you to wirelessly hook up your ipad to your TV or HD monitor to type up your homework. This is great for gaming and work alike and it provides a bunch of extra features too. On the printer aspect you will need to purchase a wireless printer that support airprint or you can do it the old fashioned way and email it to yourself and print from a computer. Both are great ways to accomplish what you want. Best of luck.


    Frank

    Was this useful?

    100 of 132 people found this useful

  • i just got into High school last September(So you can trust me since we're in the same category.) Last year, I didn't know what to get because I loved both. But a year later, going to be a Sophomore, and Apple updated everything. Since I know all the things that are needed in High School, I would prefer the New iPad. This Fall, the new iPad gets Siri so you can ask it for definitions, synonyms, math equations, and its just as fast as the air, but the air is for serious work. When I think of Macbook, I think of a business guy that moves around a lot and travels. When I came to High School earlier this year, all you need to do is get good grades, study, and hand in homework. With an iPad you can get reminded to study, or reminded to do all your homework. and its easy to set everything up on an iPad. Using a mac should be perfect for you when you reach college when you need to a LOT more. The iPad can print wirelessly to any wireless printer. So you don't need to waste your money on a $5 app. And everything is just as fast. You can get $10 pages on iPad instead of $30 pages on a Mac. And the battery last longer than the mac. So everything is more sorted, and cleaner on the iPad than the Professional computer. and its lighter and thinner to carry around in your book bag. and a wireless printer is only $100 because that's how much mine was on Amazon. So for highschool, just get an iPad then when you get to college in four years, get a macbook for more serious working. I will be purchasing a new iPad when I get money from all my chores.

    Was this useful?

    80 of 100 people found this useful

  • Yeah, I am in the same position, I have a MacBook Pro and an iPad2 and I think that it would be better to take an iPad if you do not need a real keyboard. That's what I am going to do because it is lighter and you don't have to worry as much if it gets stolen vs a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

    Was this useful?

    79 of 111 people found this useful

  • I have a macbook air my sis has an ipad 2 I will be a sophmore in high school this upcomming year and the macbook air is awesome i suggest it over the ipad for sure i just think it is overall better for a student comming complete with all apps that you need and with the ipad you will end up downloading more apps get the mac

    Was this useful?

    72 of 98 people found this useful

  • same here man for documents i would go for macbook air, but for extreme portability, and a huge money difference.

    Was this useful?

    72 of 100 people found this useful

  • i consider you buying the macbook air because its light and portable also has lots of advantages you can write your essays on it and projects and also print it

    Was this useful?

    82 of 123 people found this useful

  • Hello Ben,

    I am a sophomore in High School, and at my town the school has supplied some students iPads for school usage, that we can take home. From my experience I can say that the iPad is not for you. As previously said, typing is a pain, even with a keyboard due to the small screen, and lack of good typing programs. Additionally, the mobile browser, even with iOS 6 cannot load many pages I need for school. To add to that, multitasking of certain things is impossible, slowing productivity. Last problem with the iPad is that it frequently crashes on the web, and in certain applications. I cannot speak for the Macbook Air seeing as I am a PC user, however I would recommend using a MacBook Pro over an Air seeing many ports are not found on the air, the processor is slower, a CD/DVD drive is not present and various other performance issues. If money is a concern to you I would recommend going with a PC since it will be more capable than either you iPad or MacBook Air, for less of a cost. Additionally, if you are an engineering/tech type of student you may end up needing to BootCamp you PC seeing as CADD, Architecture, Programming, and CNC software are either not available, or not as effective. However, if having a Mac is that important to you then go for it!

    Was this useful?

    79 of 120 people found this useful

  • You may be able to print on your iPad without buying an AirPrint printer. Downloading an app by Canon gave me the ability to print PDFs & photos.

    Was this useful?

    72 of 114 people found this useful

  • Your decision was probably made long ago, but it may help others reading this to know about the newer keyboard solutions. My vote, incidentally, is for an iPad over a laptop, especially for a gamer. I have both and 9 days out of 10, my Macbook Pro stays home when I and my iPad do not.

    People were mentioning the bulk of the iPad if you had to carry a keyboard, mouse, etc.
    That is no problem these days. Be sure to check out Zagg keyboards. They offer both a slightly bulky one that serves as a cover too called the Folio and then a much sleeker, lighted keyboard that doubles as a stand. I strongly prefer the sleek Keys; they work great and add only the smallest fraction of an inch. Plus they protect the screen entirely when the iPad is closed. Well worth the $$$.

    Note-taking is easily done with a stylus (if your finger isn't agile). Amazon has them between 5 and 10 bux and these work quite well. No need to buy the fancies at $25-40. Think geometry or bio where your notes often need sketches or drawings in and among the typing. That's easily done with any of the Notes apps.

    Everything you need will add up to under 200, and that includes a cool sleeve to protect the iPad as you slide it in and out of your backpack 10 times a day.

    Was this useful?

    58 of 90 people found this useful

  • The one thing to remember is that the iPad does not do mouse. It's a touchpad device, so your finger (or stylus) is the mouse.
    The iPad is able to print documents, but only to Airprint compatible printers. The other way around that is if you have a mac with printopia installed which can share a network-shared computer as an airprint compatible. (I use this at home, runs $20 for the software)

    My personal thought is you'd be better off with a laptop with your expectations. If your not going to be using a high amount of processor, the Air would be perfect for you. I personally have a 11" version ($999), and it works wonderful with it's long battery life and SSD drive for little to no sound.
    The iPad is great for information consuming, but not for your needs unless pushed and compromise being made.

    Was this useful?

    63 of 106 people found this useful

  • i would go with the macbook air 13 inch because it is almost as portable as an i pad and can do more stuff than the ipad. if you are looking for a longlasting device that can go on the web and help you for school the macbook will get you through high school and colage and so on

    Was this useful?

    27 of 35 people found this useful

  • One thing you need to remember when choosing between an iPad or Mac is that the difference in cost may not be as great as you think. To use the iPad effectively for school, you will need to accessorize a lot, costing a fairly substantial amount of money: things like cover, keyboard, adapters, case or bag, etc. The Mac already has some of these features "built in" and has greater capacity for storage along with greater speed. But, it, too will have some accessories you will need.

    Make sure you check on how much all the "extras" you need will cost. Then use that information, along with an honest assessment of what you will mostly be using the computer for, to guide your decision. I suspect that, overall, the Mac would be the better option for school or work, but, again, it depends on your personal needs. Keep in mind that it's often hard to pass up what we want for what we need, but you will be glad later on that you got what you needed.

    Was this useful?

    39 of 59 people found this useful

  • I think you should get a iPad for high school because there cheaper and you can get then with wifi+4G which means you will be connected to the Internet any just about any time and you can iMessage FaceTime and you can get a cover to protect it so when you drop it it's not broken and get a smart cover as well because you can stand it up and you can protect the frout as well and it will turn your iPad on automatically and turn it off automatically and I hope you have fun with your iPad or MacBook air if you want to get a MacBook air have fun bye!

    Was this useful?

    64 of 112 people found this useful

  • You could probably use an iPad for highschool but if you buy a MacBook it could last you through college.

    Was this useful?

    26 of 37 people found this useful

  • I, being a high school student, can assure the iPad is perfect for a high school student. I'm currently a Sophomore in HS, and after getting my iPad for the past Christmas, this year is much easier then last. If your home, or school doesn't have the printer that iPad connects to, email the document to yourself, and simply print it. iPad is very mobile, and easy to store in your backpack, not that the MacBook Air isn't, there just isn't a need for the Air. Either way, you will be obtaining an amazing product

    Was this useful?

    14 of 16 people found this useful

  • Ben: I would suggest that you get the Macbook AIr over iPad. I am a teacher and many of my students have the Macbook Air or Pro. You will be writing papers and reports or giving presentations. The Macbook Air will give you the flexibility to do more for just a bit more cash. Good luck in High School!

    Was this useful?

    15 of 19 people found this useful

  • Personally, I would choose an iPad for high school. Why? For what you probably will be doing, documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, you will need to get iWork for an Apple device. For iOS devices, the total cost of iWork is $30.96 (including the Keynote Remote) and on Mac devices, it costs $79.99. Also, unless you were doing extreme amounts of work, the iPad's memory should be fine. However, it seems you are concerned with only being able to print from an iPad on AirPrint printers. Actually, this isn't really true. You can Email the file to yourself, then open the Email on another computer, then print it or transfer documents to another computer through connecting with the charger to your computer. In addition, the price of an iPad is much lower. However, it is your choice but I recommend the iPad.

    Was this useful?

    30 of 49 people found this useful

  • It would be more convenient to use a macbook air because its more portable than the ipad if you will bring the keyboard and mouse. another thing is, the iPad is better for gaming and the Macbook air is better for school work. they are both lightweight but in this case getting a Macbook air would be better than getting an iPad.

    Was this useful?

    34 of 62 people found this useful

  • In high school it's okay if u used IPad 3 because in high school no need to used Macbook.
    but when u study at university, Macbook is very important for u to make your work easy at school. so u should buy Macbook and u have to try to study about it also :)

    Was this useful?

    10 of 15 people found this useful

  • I would say macbook air, because you may have many papers to write.

    Was this useful?

    3 of 5 people found this useful

Similar Questions

See more Similar Questions