#Guides

Apple sells its tablets in four families: iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro. Model details change from year to year, so check Apple's current tech specs before buying. The logic of choosing between the lines stays fairly stable.

Start with size. The iPad mini is the most portable. It fits in a coat pocket or small bag and is popular for reading, travel and note-taking. The standard iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro sit in the 10- to 13-inch range and suit video, drawing and more serious work. A larger screen helps with split-screen multitasking.

Face ID debuted with the iPhone X in 2017 and replaced Touch ID on most iPhones. It relies on a set of sensors collectively called the TrueDepth camera system, housed in the notch or Dynamic Island area.

When you glance at your phone, a flood illuminator sends out infrared light so the system can detect a face even in darkness. A dot projector then casts a pattern of more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the face, and an infrared camera captures how that pattern is distorted. The distortion encodes the three-dimensional shape of your features.

Apple's laptop line is easier to navigate if you ignore chip names at first and ask what you do all day. Exact models and prices change, so confirm current details on Apple's website.

Air or Pro? MacBook Air models are thin and light and are well suited to browsing, office work, school, coding and light photo editing. Pro models add more powerful chip options, better displays and cooling for sustained workloads, which matters for video editing, 3D, large code builds and music production.

Memory comes first. Because memory is part of the chip package on Apple silicon, you cannot add it later. If you keep many apps and browser tabs open, or work with big files, choosing more memory is usually the most valuable upgrade.