The iPad Air

Price: $500 Size: 11.6-inch Weight: 1.42 pounds Screen size: 11-inch, 2,304-by-1,536 resolution Resolution: 264 pixels per inch (pixel density) Retina display with Touch ID Ships with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi (2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS iPad Air vs. iPad Pro The iPad Pro is going to be a difficult purchase if you want the best iPad. It has a faster processor, double the RAM, and twice the storage (16 GB and 64 GB). The iPad Air has twice the battery life (9 hours compared to 8 hours on the iPad Pro), a sharper screen (144 pixels per inch), and a more compact design. The iPad Air feels and looks more like a traditional computer, with a thin screen and a design that’s similar to the iPad mini 2, and so much less expensive.

Apple iPad Air Design

The iPad Air is a triumph of form over function. There’s a slim bezel all around the display, which has been shrunken down from 10.5 to 9.7 inches. On the top is a narrow strip of silver trim. It’s held in place with a thin stainless steel band that curves at the back, blending into the metal frame. The whole device is essentially a sheet of glass that stands up with a magnet. You can’t bend the iPad Air like an iPhone. Instead, you can just tap it on any surface and it’ll cling to it, whether it’s a metal desk, table, or a bookshelf. In fact, Apple includes a suction cup. I had the iPad Air positioned vertically against a bookshelf and the front was perfectly flush with the wood. But if I pushed on the top, it wouldn’t budge.

Apple iPad Air

Apple iPad Air Display

When Apple started upgrading the display in all its devices, it promised the iPhone X would deliver an iPhone-like experience in a tablet form factor. And it has. The iPad Air’s 11-inch Retina display is the best I’ve ever used on a tablet, and with a resolution of 2,388 x 1,668, it’s not much larger than the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s Retina display. It also includes an anti-reflective coating that makes it viewable outdoors. It also has a high pixel density of 287 pixels per inch, which is great for viewing fine text but not great for viewing bright and vibrant images. And the iPad Air’s screen is now the most reflective of any iPad I’ve used, making me feel as though I was looking into a sunbeam.

Apple iPad Air Hardware

Externally, the iPad Air looks remarkably similar to the original iPad Air. The overall design of the device is identical to the iPad Air 2, and both tablets have a matte metal frame with a matte back that’s covered in a thin, softly rounded, grippy silicone finish. The thinness of the tablet is a big step forward from previous models. The iPad Air is only 0.53 inches thick (5.94 mm) and it weighs just one pound (645 g). Compared to the iPad Pro (0.25 inch thick, 7.5 pounds, 13.04 ounces), it’s incredibly lightweight and feels nearly as slim and light as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 (0.38 inch thick, 6.9 pounds, 14.78 ounces). The new iPad has one difference from the iPad Air 2—its silver bezel has been replaced with black.

Apple iPad Air

Apple iPad Air Software

Design and build Included in the box: Apple Pencil ($99), Apple Smart Keyboard ($159), Apple Pencil Case ($69), Lightning to USB-C cable Compatible with: Air, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 2 With the release of Apple’s iPad Pro, the iPad Air was downgraded to a slightly better processor and a lower-resolution display. It’s still a very good tablet, though, and will suit anyone who wants a tablet to carry in their bag for reading, watching video, or doing work. The fourth-generation iPad Air gives you the power of an iPad Pro for less money, making it the best Apple tablet to buy in 2020. Design Apple has kept the same shape and design of the iPad Air for four years, and I think it looks fantastic.

Apple iPad Air Camera

Both iPads feature 8MP rear-facing cameras with flash and a 2.1MP front-facing camera. The iPad Air’s rear-facing camera, however, is notably better than the Air 2’s; it has optical image stabilization and better photo quality at night. Specs The iPad Air has a 12.9-inch display with a 2,732-by-2,048 resolution, making it the sharpest Apple tablet yet. It is also rated for 10 hours of battery life, which is twice as long as the Air 2. The iPad Air’s A8 processor is eight-generation chip. This chip is also the brains of the device; it runs the operating system and keeps it running all day long. It also provides the advanced graphical processing needed to run games well on the iPad Air.

Conclusion

The release of a new iPad in the fall is traditionally a big event for Apple, and the new iPad Air is no exception. After a lot of rumors and leaks, Apple pulled off a good surprise by unveiling two updated tablets that combine the power of a Retina Display with the thin and light design of the iPad Air 2. The new iPad Air delivers a boost to its internal components while improving the iPad Air 2’s speed, camera, and multitasking. On the hardware side, the new iPad Air is powered by the A8X, a seven-nanometer CPU with 40 percent faster performance, a 30 percent larger 3-micrometer 512-gigabit wifi baseband, and two improvements to the camera. Inside the iPad Air is a quad-core Apple A8 chip, which is also used in the iPhone 6, 6S, and SE.