The Best iPad For Swift Playgrounds | Do You Need the iPad Pro?

So you want to learn to code and you've decided that you want to learn Swift. You've also decided that you want to start this adventure by using Apple's paired down coding app called Swift Playgrounds because you recently heard that you can now use this app to release your ideas directly to the App Store.

Great - you're in the right place!

In this video I share my experience with using Swift Playgrounds on an aging iPad 5th generation, a relatively modern iPad Pro from a few years ago, and a brand new iPad Air with the brand new Apple M1 Chip inside.

But, spoiler alert, the answer to this question really is. Any iPad of the last few years will do just fine with Swift Playgrounds. If all you want to do is light coding and basic small apps - get a base level iPad from within the last couple generations. Don't go too far back though - the A9 processor in my old iPad can run Swift Playgrounds, but it's not the greatest experience.

That said - there is some considerations for the iPad Air or iPad Pro options. The most obvious of which is that you plan to do more with your iPad. Whether that's designing your assets, learning other skills besides coding, gaming on the side or anything else you can do with a more powerful iPad. These are real things to consider because that base level iPad will show it's sluggishness as you push more onto it.

However, the more you push towards the top level iPad, the closer you get in price to the Mac so now you have to ask yourself - should I just get a Mac and use Xcode instead? Xcode is where you want to be if you really want to make apps for the App Store and it's going to be an all around more powerful experience. So yeah - there are options, but it's going to come down to your specific use case and more importantly your budget.

#iPad #swift #gamedev

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