Don’t Buy an iPad or MacBook Until You Watch This (Students)

iPad versus Mac. Today, I'm going to help you decide which one you should buy if you're a student. Because, look, I've been using both devices for over 3,000 days. I even used the iPad when it first

days. I even used the iPad when it first had a keyboard, and I've seen both devices evolved now, 2026, because the truth is things have changed with both devices.

Now, let's start talking about prices because here's where things get really interesting. For iPad, we've got the

interesting. For iPad, we've got the base model iPad, the iPad Mini, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro. I've got full in-depth videos helping you which iPad you should buy and which Mac you should buy in specific, but for the sake of

this video, we're going to make it very simple. For most students, iPad Pro and

simple. For most students, iPad Pro and iPad Mini isn't usually their first option, so we're going to get those out of the way. And that leaves us with the base model iPad and the iPad Air. The

base model iPad starts at $3.49 and the iPad Air starts at $599. While the base model iPad is enough for most students, usually the best option if you can afford it is the iPad Air, which has

some insane performance, a beautiful display, it's thin, and is obviously compatible with all of its accessories.

We're going to talk about the accessories later on the video, but an Apple Pencil will pretty much cost you over 130 bucks. You add the iPad's Magic Keyboard, and that's an extra $349,

which will basically end up costing you over $1,000. People truly get this

over $1,000. People truly get this wrong. People think that the iPad is the

wrong. People think that the iPad is the most affordable option out of both of them. And in most cases, that actually

them. And in most cases, that actually ends up being totally wrong. There's a

massive Mac lineup in 2026, but once again, for the sake of this video, we're going to remove all of the Macs except the MacBook Air, which isn't just the best Mac in the world. It's truly the best laptop in the world. The battery

life, the display, the design, and the M4 chip is truly something that Apple has truly perfected. It is the best laptop for students, period. And with

that comes its insane price tag. The

MacBook Air starts at $999, which is a cheaper version than the iPad with all of its accessories. So, now that we understand both devices in perspective, talking about its price tag, I feel like now we can officially start its

comparison. Let's start talking about

comparison. Let's start talking about the boring and fun concept that I always tell people.

The Mac is a more boring product and the iPad is a more fun product. Meaning, the

Mac is always a laptop and it will always continue being a laptop. Period.

It's got a more serious way of working, a more serious way on studying. It's got

Mac OS and extremely reliable software, which we'll dive in later. It's got an excellent trackpad, an excellent keyboard. It's pretty much got

keyboard. It's pretty much got everything that you would expect for studying, going on websites. As a

student, it's always always reliable.

And it's not that the iPad isn't reliable, but I'd say that the iPad is simply a much more fun way to study, a way, much more fun way to work. Because

the iPad is a tablet when you need it, a journal when you add an Apple Pencil, then you add a keyboard, and it turns it into a laptop. The iPad is a way much

more versatile product than the Mac, period. You've got a touchcreen, you've

period. You've got a touchcreen, you've got an Apple Pencil, you've got a keyboard that also has a trackpad that also has a mount. It's an excellent media consumption device to watch movies. Since you can hold the device,

movies. Since you can hold the device, Apple says that it's a magical sheet of glass. And I truly believe that. you can

glass. And I truly believe that. you can

truly feel like you're holding a piece of glass. Which brings me to our next

of glass. Which brings me to our next chapter portability.

Now, whether you buy a smaller or a bigger iPad or a smaller Mac and a bigger Mac, usually my experience with an iPad is that it's way much more portable. The iPad is a device that you

portable. The iPad is a device that you can quickly throw on a purse, a bag, a tote bag. It's a device that I believe

tote bag. It's a device that I believe you can be a little bit more rough with.

It's not that the Mac is way much more delicate, but I believe the Mac is a device that you sit down with. The Mac

creates this work focused environment that it's so great at. And the iPad, on the other hand, is a device that you quickly grab out. It's great for lectures, for taking down notes. If

you're in college, you can quickly pop it out in the hallway at the cafeteria in bed. Now, I'm obviously not saying

in bed. Now, I'm obviously not saying that you can't grab your Mac in the middle of the hallway, open it, type in the keyboard since it's got like this big, you know, functional device. With

the iPad, you can simply use it as an iPad without the keyboard, for example, and it turns into a device that you can quickly grab it. Now, this is the 13-in iPad Pro, the one that I've got right here. And this thing is pretty massive,

here. And this thing is pretty massive, but for example, the 11 in or even the iPad Mini that I was mentioning is such a portable device. Now, obviously, do keep this in mind. There's no right or wrong answer in any of these options,

but just think to yourself, are you a person that is always sitting down at someone that your life is way much more structured? Maybe get a map. If your day

structured? Maybe get a map. If your day is fragmented and you're going to one class to the other, to the library, you like studying outside in the sun, you travel a lot, maybe the iPad is the best

way to go in this case. Next chapter,

note takingaking.

Now, note-taking is obviously extremely important for students. And whether

you're a type of student that simply taps record as a voice memo on your iPhone or on your Mac and then you transcribe everything because that's what people do in 2026 or whether you're a type of person that really likes to

type it in. The Mac is amazing at you've got this excellent keyboard and this really focused environment as I was saying. The Mac can pretty much only do

saying. The Mac can pretty much only do type notes. But honestly, I truly

type notes. But honestly, I truly believe that if you really want to take note takingaking seriously, the iPad's note takingaking is simply killer. I

mean there are so many features. for

example, tapping with your Apple Pencil on your iPad and automatically opening up the notes app. Then you can start scribbling away. We're going to talk

scribbling away. We're going to talk about accessories in just a second, but just the fact that the iPad has the ability to take handwritten notes. Just

the fact that the Apple Pencil has so many features that are amazing for students since the iPad has a touchcreen that also makes it very interactive when dragging and dropping images into your

notes. Sketching a quick sketch of the

notes. Sketching a quick sketch of the board. Also, having a camera is a big

board. Also, having a camera is a big deal. We're going to talk about in just

deal. We're going to talk about in just a second. So, you can snap photos of the

a second. So, you can snap photos of the board and add it straight to your notes.

There are so many different degrees that you need to take visual notes like medicine, like engineering, like design, even science. And the iPad being a toce

even science. And the iPad being a toce again, this beautiful sheet of glass that you can do whatever you want on it and drag and drop and draw and sketch.

And then don't forget that it can still be a laptop when you need it. So with

Apple's Magic Keyboard, you can simply snap it on and start typing away. And

then you've got this incredible versatile system to do note. So little

conclusion, if you're comparing both devices and note-taking is very very important to you in terms of visual notes, iPad is killer. If you're in a degree that you simply need to do standard note-taking, the Mac will be

perfectly fine at it. But it will probably be way much more boring note, which is totally okay as well. Next

chapter accessories.

Now, one of the best things about an iPad is that you don't need to buy all accessories at once, making the price tag go way down because definitely the most expensive part about the iPad is its accessories. Now, mainly for

its accessories. Now, mainly for students, I highly recommend the keyboard and a pencil. The Apple Pencil, as I was saying, allows you to do amazing handwritten notes. And it's not only on taking notes in class, for

example. It's also amazing at annotating

example. It's also amazing at annotating PDFs, marking up slides, marking up homework, highlighting key points, adding comments on group projects. You

don't need to grab your Mac and print and then sketch it and then take a photo and scan it. You can technically annotate with a Mac, but it's just way much more versatile with an Apple Pencil. If you're in a creative degree

Pencil. If you're in a creative degree like I was, definitely grabbing your Apple Pencil and sketching out your ideas was definitely a big win for me.

And then with the Apple Pencil, you've got these gestures like the squeeze gesture, which brings up this incredible tool pull. You've got Apple Pencil hover

tool pull. You've got Apple Pencil hover or the double tap switching. And then

comes the Magic Keyboard. By far the most expensive accessory out of all of them. The best thing about having a

them. The best thing about having a keyboard on an iPad is that it will truly transform your iPad into a laptop like experience, which will basically add extra features like a physical

keyboard on your iPad typing, a built-in trackpad to navigate through iPad OS.

You've got backlit keys, so if you're a student and you study overnight, you'll basically be able to see what you're typing on. You don't need to connect it

typing on. You don't need to connect it via Bluetooth or anything. You simply

snap it on and it just works. So, yes, I truly recommend both accessories if you're a student. And that's the best thing about the iPad. You don't need to buy all of the accessories all at once.

You can buy the iPad at first and then a couple months later you can save up money and then buy the Apple Pencil and then a couple months later you can pick up the Magic Keyboard.

Now, while the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil from Apple are amazing, as I said, these accessories are very expensive. But luckily, there's always

expensive. But luckily, there's always some incredible third-party accessories out there that are even certified by Apple themselves that are obviously way much more affordable, such as ESR, which is actually today's sponsor, like the

ESR Geo Digital Pencil, which is a budget friendly iPad pencil with extra features that the Apple Pencil doesn't even have. It still snaps on the side of

even have. It still snaps on the side of your iPad. It's got Apple Find My

your iPad. It's got Apple Find My Support, so if you leave your pencil at the coffee shop you were studying at, you'll still be able to track it down.

It's got a speaker to help you locate it. You've got a shortcut button on the

it. You've got a shortcut button on the top. It's even got a little display on

top. It's even got a little display on the top so you know how much battery is left. It features Apple Pencil like

left. It features Apple Pencil like features like palm rejection, tilt sensitivity, and a 1.5 mm fine tip for detailed writing, note-taking, and drawing. It's got fast charging, being

drawing. It's got fast charging, being fully charged in just 20 minutes, and it's compatible with all iPad models from 2018 and later. But most

importantly, it's way cheaper than the Apple Pencil itself. Then we've got the Shift keyboard case, which is fully detachable for seamless studying sessions and creativity. You've got

Bluetooth connectivity allowing you to simply separate the keyboard so you can type in from a little bit of a distance if you need to or you can snap it on right away. It is extremely stable and

right away. It is extremely stable and highly adjustable. It 65° mode is great

highly adjustable. It 65° mode is great for watching, typing, reading, and video calls. And its 20° mode is perfect for

calls. And its 20° mode is perfect for handwriting, drawing, and note-taking.

You've got an excellent, very large trackpad, which is also phenomenal for studying. It also works with all the

studying. It also works with all the gestures from iPad OS. It's lightweight,

has a little pencil holder, and its battery life will last you over 60 days.

And last, but definitely not least, is ESR's Ultra Fit Armoride Paper Field screen protector, which is a screen protector that feels like you're writing on a piece of paper. You can write and draw smoothly, and it comes with the

ultra fit tray, allowing you to simply install the screen protector, making the process very easy to install. The

process is dustfree, bubble free, and compared to your generic screen protectors, it's got X 5 better impact absorption. So, yes, Apple's incredible

absorption. So, yes, Apple's incredible accessories aren't the only option. If

you're looking for a way much more affordable yet still have all of the features that you would expect from a keyboard, a pencil, or a screen protector, you can obviously hit the link down below in the description to shop any of ESR's incredible iPad

products. Thank you ESR so much for

products. Thank you ESR so much for sponsoring this portion of this video.

Let's move on to documents and essay because here's where reliability once again comes in.

The Mac will simply tackle long essays efforts. You can have multiple tabs open

efforts. You can have multiple tabs open on Safari. You can have PDFs open. You

on Safari. You can have PDFs open. You

can have Microsoft Word and Pages and Citations. You can open all of those at

Citations. You can open all of those at the same time. You can multitask really easily. And honestly, the iPad in 2026

easily. And honestly, the iPad in 2026 is perfectly capable of doing all of those things, especially with Apple's latest update, iPad OS 26. You've got

incredible multitasking, incredible PDF viewing with Apple's preview app. But

whether the iPad keeps evolving, the Mac will simply be able to always do all of those things with less friction. Because

it's not that Apple is trying to replace the Mac. I personally believe that the

the Mac. I personally believe that the best experience by far from students is having both devices. But the truth is the reason that I always make this video year after year is because students whenever they go into high school or

into college, they can only afford one device. So they need to make a decision

device. So they need to make a decision on which one do I buy or which one do I buy first. But going back to topic on

buy first. But going back to topic on its reliability, there definitely are some features that the iPad is trying to adapt to the Mac, like the way it handles its file, the way that Safari

operates. Safari on the Mac is just

operates. Safari on the Mac is just perfectly reliable always for students.

As students, you might have a school's website that you have to log in. And

it's not that the iPad won't lock you in or that it won't work, but maybe sometimes in some occasions, it will simply be more reliable on the Mac. And

when deadlines hit, calm definitely matters as a student. But the reality of both devices in 2026 is definitely its software.

Something very important about the Mac is that the Mac is filed driven. The way

that you get started on the Mac is you open a file and then the app opens. And

the other hand, the iPad, you open an app first and then you open the file.

The iPad is app driven. The Mac is filed driven. And it's not that the iPad's

driven. And it's not that the iPad's file management is bad on the iPad. It's

that some people don't get used to the Mac and some people don't get used to the iPad. Shaniel, my girlfriend, for

the iPad. Shaniel, my girlfriend, for example, she can't live without her iPad. As a student, her iPad is her

iPad. As a student, her iPad is her life. And sure, she uses her Mac here

life. And sure, she uses her Mac here and there for certain things. Whenever

she has to do these very important online exams, maybe she'll do them on the Mac. And it's not that she doesn't

the Mac. And it's not that she doesn't trust the iPad, but she just loves the iPad so much more because of the accessories, because of the pencil, because of her note-taking. She's also

gotten used to the file management on the iPad. So, at the end of the day,

the iPad. So, at the end of the day, there's not one or wrong answer. They

are simply different. Let's move over to cameras now because cameras is a very, very underrated feature on both devices. So,

on the Mac, you've got a front-facing camera that is amazing to do Zoom calls, to hop on online meetings and FaceTimes with your friends, so you can work on your school projects. And while that is

great, it cannot do something that the iPad can, which is this. You've got a back camera and a front-facing camera on the iPad. And that is a very, very

the iPad. And that is a very, very underrated feature on the iPad that most people tend to forget about. Having a

back camera as a student is a very, very big deal because you can scan documents with your iPad. You can also take photos of the board. You can take photos of homework and then annotate them with a

pencil. You can turn papers into PDFs in

pencil. You can turn papers into PDFs in a matter of seconds. And while you can still do that with a Mac technically, you can still do that, you know, with your iPhone and then AirDrop it to your Mac. You can do all of those things,

Mac. You can do all of those things, having everything already built in in this all-in-one package is amazing. And

it's just a huge feature that I often use while I was a student. I was using my camera almost daily because I was digitalizing all of those paper

assignments onto my iPad daily.

Battery life is also a big deal for students. Now, both the MacBook Air and

students. Now, both the MacBook Air and the iPad Air and any of them will be extremely reliable. Both of them

extremely reliable. Both of them obviously have USBC, so the same charger that your iPhone is using. Both devices

will get you through the entire day without a problem. no matter which iPad or no matter which Mac you want to buy, which one you should buy. Now, once

again, I feel like both devices complement each other beautifully. There

are so many features that work great on both devices together. But you're

probably like, "Okay, Nikkias, this is great, but I'm not spending over $4,000 on both devices." Okay, I understand.

You can only buy one. Which one should you buy? You should buy a Mac if you

you buy? You should buy a Mac if you write essays constantly. If you're

someone that takes multitasking very seriously, if you do heavy multitasking, if you want zero zero friction on deadlines, if you want an extremely

perfectly capable, reliable device, the Mac is it. It will be a way much more boring experience as in the iPad. You

won't get the features, the accessories, and all the fun, the cameras, and all of that. But it's honestly the responsible

that. But it's honestly the responsible option that I'd recommend to students.

Most students out of all the Macs and all the iPads, I'd mostly recommend them the 13-in base model MacBook Air. This

is the personal Mac that I use on a daily basis. I'm in love with the

daily basis. I'm in love with the battery life of this Mac, the design of this Mac. Everything about it is just

this Mac. Everything about it is just absolutely amazing. You should buy an

absolutely amazing. You should buy an iPad if you're a fun person. I'm

kidding, but I'm also not kidding. You

enjoy all the features that I mentioned.

You enjoy the features that I was telling you about the pencil. If you

take handwritten notes, seriously, if you're about to study a creative degree, if you're about to study medicine, anything that relies on very visual note

takingaking, the iPad is simply a mustave. Period. If you scan a lot of

mustave. Period. If you scan a lot of paperwork, if you read and annotate PDFs on a daily basis with your Apple Pencil, that will be amazing. If you value flexibility, the Mac, once again, it's

just a Mac. You can't detach the display. On the iPad, you can just have

display. On the iPad, you can just have a tablet. You can grab your Apple

a tablet. You can grab your Apple Pencil. You can put a keyboard. You can

Pencil. You can put a keyboard. You can

scan documents with the camera. You can

do all of that. And you value its flexibility. It's watching movies in

flexibility. It's watching movies in bed. It's studying and taking the iPad

bed. It's studying and taking the iPad out in the hallway. The iPad is an incredible study companion, while the Mac is a safer main academic machine.

Together, they're perfect. And there you have it. If you have any questions,

have it. If you have any questions, please drop them down below in the comments. You can basically be like

comments. You can basically be like Nikki is. I'm about to studying this.

Nikki is. I'm about to studying this.

Which one do you recommend? I might be able to help you out. Also, drop down below in the comments what you're a student at. Are you in middle school?

student at. Are you in middle school?

Are you in high school? Um, are you going into college? Are you 50 years old or 80 years old and you're about to study to become an astronaut? I don't

care. I'm very interested. Let me know in the comments. If I helped you, made a decision, you can hit subscribe. And if

you want to buy a Mac, I can help you decide which Mac you should buy over here. Or if you want to buy an iPad,

here. Or if you want to buy an iPad, here's my iPad buyer guide. And I'll

catch you on the next one. Peace.