The new fifth-generation iPad Air will begin arriving to customers on Friday, and the first hands-on review of the device has surfaced ahead of schedule. We’ve rounded up some reviews and unboxing videos below
Key new features of the iPad Air include the same M1 chip found in the iPad Pro, 5G connectivity on cellular models, an upgraded 12-megapixel front camera with support for Center Stage, up to 2x faster USB-C ports for data transfer, and new color options. Pricing is set to start at $599 for 64GB storage in the US
Overall, the new iPad Air remains a great value, thanks to the M1 chip and other Pro-like features now with performance on par with the iPad Pro.
M1 chip
Geekbench 5 benchmark results released earlier this week confirmed that the M1 chip in the new iPad Air has not been downclocked, resulting in the device having virtually the same performance as the iPad Pro.
Nevertheless, several reviewers noted that iPadOS makes it challenging to take advantage of the functionality.
The VergeDan Seifert’s:
If you use the iPad for things like web browsing, reading books, watching movies or TV shows, or even light productivity, you won’t notice the extra performance headroom the M1 chip provides. It mostly shines when doing particularly demanding tasks like editing and exporting 4K video or handling large file transfers. The Air is capable of doing those things, but there are better tools available if you want to do it without the limitations of iPadOS and the relatively small screen.
5G
iPad Air now supports 5G networks on Wi-Fi + Cellular models, but not faster mmWave 5G like the iPad Pro.
CNETScott Stein tests 5G on the new iPad Air:
This iPad does not support mmWave, only sub-6 5G. Functionally, most of the time, it feels the same as LTE: My speed at home was around 290 megabits per second on Verizon, while the speed in New York’s Washington Square Park was only 60Mbps to 80Mbps.
Center stage camera
With an upgraded 12-megapixel front camera, the new iPad Air is the last iPad to gain support for Center Stage, a feature that helps keep you and someone else in the frame while you’re on the move during a video call. Center Stage is available for FaceTime calls and supported third-party video calling apps like Zoom.
TechCrunchMatthew Panzarino of:
The front camera has also received a 12MP upgrade – and is definitely an improvement over the previous Air. FaceTime gets the nice center stage enhancements we saw coming to the iPad Pro last year as well. As I said in my review this is a pretty huge quality of life improvement for those who video chat because the auto-crop and tracking feature mitigates the odd placement of the camera on the left when the iPad Air is in landscape mode. . Angles feel more natural and less awkward overall. Color and contrast of video call quality has also improved.
More reviews
- wiredIts Brenda Stolier
- McStories‘ Federico Viticci
- six colors‘ Jason Snell
- iMoreIts Luke Filipowicz
- The GuardianSamuel Gibbs
- Pocket-lintIts Stuart Miles
