Price (RRP): $899 (Wi-Fi / 64GB), $1099 (Wi-Fi + Cellular / 64GB)
Manufacturer: Apple
While the iPhone 12 may have grabbed the spotlight recently, Apple’s latest iPad is now available. Apart from a refreshed look, the ‘new’ Air boasts improvements to its screen, cameras, connectivity and even a new chip that places it tantalisingly close to the range-topping iPad Pro. So has the new Air stolen the iPad Pro’s thunder, only for less money?
First, let’s have a quick refresher on which iPads are available. The range consists of 4 models. Apart from the Air, there’s the iPad Pro (2 sizes), iPad (8th generation) and iPad Mini (5th generation). Here’s a handy summary of all iPad models.
A fresh look
The revamped Air dons the nouveau square-edged design found on the iPad Pro and iPhone 12. It now comes in five rather nice finishes too: there’s Space Gray, Silver, Rose Gold, Green and Sky Blue. We had the Sky Blue model for our review, and it should be said that all of the finishes are stylishly muted rather than overpowering. The blue, for example, is more silver with a hint of blue, which can change depending on the light.
As the Air is just 6.1mm thin and 460 grams, it’s quite comfortable to hold or tote around. This is thanks to its 100 percent aluminium body, which is carved from a single billet to to add strength and rigidity. The body can even be completely recycled into new aluminium things when the time comes.
Liquid Retina
The Air gets an upsized 10.9 inch ‘Liquid Retina’ display, which means more screen to look at than the 10.5in version on its predecessor. However, by using thinner bezels and ditching the traditional ‘Home’ button, the dimensions are still about the same as the previous model.
The display technology is the IPS (LCD) type, as OLED hasn’t made it to any of the iPads as of yet. Still, the new screen is extremely crisp and pin-sharp thanks to a 2360-by-1640 resolution that packs in 264 pixels per inch.
The screen is also much better for showing colours, with Wide Colour (P3) and True Tone support. It can also pair with the Apple Pencil 2, which is much nicer to use.
Compared to the Liquid Retina displays found on our reference 12.9in iPad Pro, we found that the Air displayed a slightly warmer white but was about the same in brightness. Otherwise, the Air doesn’t get the iPad Pro’s luxuruious ProMotion feature, which is essentially a 120Hz screen that is noticeably smoother when scrolling web pages and drawing canvases. It can also play ultra-high frame rate videos and games – if you can find any.
The display gets both fingerprint-resistant and anti-reflective coatings. The AR coating is rated to have the lowest reflectivity in the business, according to Apple, although both won’t completely eliminate reflections or fingerprints.
A new touch
The new fingerprint-sensing ‘Home’ button has undergone a complete redesign, thanks to being removed from the iPad’s front. The button/sensor is now located on top outer edge, and is now a rectangle, not a circle. You’d think that its shape and position would cause problems, however, the Air’s TouchID is one of the best in the business. It unlocks incredibly quickly and doesn’t seem to care how you position your finger – lengthwise or widthwise.
Still, it’s odd that Apple didn’t switch to the FaceID (facial recognition) system found on the iPad Pro and iPhones instead of engineering a completely new sensor. We’d guess that the button must still be cheaper than the advanced cameras needed for Face ID, or otherwise, they wanted to leave this exclusively on the iPad Pros.
Air power
At its heart, the Air gets Apple’s latest chip taken right from the new iPhone 12. The A14 Bionic is Apple’s ‘most advanced chip ever’ and benefits from the latest 5-nanometre manufacturing process. This means that the chip can be made smaller, so it’s faster and takes less power to run. As a result, the 6-core CPU (computing) and 4-core GPU (graphics) are 40 and 30 percent respectively more powerful than the previous iPad Air.
In addition, the A14 Bionic uses a next-gen 16-core Neural Engine, which doubles the cores of the old design. It can handle 11 trillion operations per second or twice the machine learning (ML) performance. While this all sounds very fancy, it enables a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ capabilities for better app experiences. For example, machine learning can help identify your friends’s faces out of thousands of photos. It can recognise your Apple Pencil handwriting and seamlessly transform it into text. Or it can understand your voice and meaning when speaking to Siri.
Most importantly, this type of complex processing happens imperceptibly on the iPad itself. In the past, machine learning would need to be ‘off device’ where the data would be transmitted to a more powerful computer in the cloud for processing and then wait for the results to be sent back.
The Air vs the Pro
As the iPad Pro uses the older A12Z Bionic chip versus the new A14 Bionic in the Air, we thought it would worthwhile comparing the two. Surprisingly, the iPad Air beat the iPad Pro in all but one multi-core test on our GeekBench5 Pro benchmarks.
| GeekBench 5 Pro Test | CPU – Single Core | CPU – Multi-Core | Compute |
| iPad Pro 12.9in (4th Generation) | 1,120 | 4,645 | 11,680 |
| iPad Air (4th Generation) | 1,578 | 4,210 | 12,488 |
| iPad Air (3rd Generation) | 1,112 | 2,831 | 5,255 |
The bottom line is that the new iPad Air gets a massive power bump, meaning it can handle very complex and processor-intensive tasks. This could be editing 4K videos, creating multi-layered and highly detailed designs and drawings, composing multi-track music or playing immersive, high-resolution games. The new A14 Bionic chip even pushes past the most powerful iPad to date, according to our benchmarks.
Camera angles
For snapping photos and shooting video, the Air gets improved front and rear cameras. The rear 12 megapixel camera is now the same F1.8 standard lens unit from the iPad Pro. It’s designed for snaps, panoramas, time-lapses and filming Slo-mo videos up to 240 frames per second (fps) and 4K videos up to 60 fps. Other notable enhancements include digital image stabilisation and Smart High Dynamic Range (HDR) support.
The front-facing 7 megapixel ‘FaceTime HD’ camera now has an F2.2 aperture and can capture 1080P videos at 60 fps. It also comes with Retina Flash for brightening your selfies using the screen along with Auto image stabilisation and Smart HDR.
We compared the Air’s photo and video results with the iPad Pro’s cameras. Generally, the footage was quite similar in terms of colour, sharpness and noise reduction. The Air’s F1.8 camera produced noticeably less distortion (noise) in darker scenes than the iPad Pro’s wide lens. However, as expected, it matched the Pro’s identical F1.8 lens system.
The Pro’s cameras have a few extras including Portrait Mode photos and a LiDAR sensor, which is able to create a 3D map of the surrounding space. This also enables superior auto-focus speeds, especially in dark environments, and unmatched augmented reality scene-mapping.
In stereo
The iPad’s shape and size make it a great device for watching videos. Films looked bright and sharp on the Liquid Retina display, and it also supports the Dolby Vision video standard. In addition, there’s a new ‘Wide Stereo’ speaker system with the speakers placed on the right and left edges. When testing, we were able to discern a reasonable amount of separation between each side. The audio was not excessively ‘tinny’ either and there was reasonable bass for a small device. Volume was surprising loud too and didn’t distort at high volumes.
Making connections
The Air, thankfully, gets a fast USB-C connector and supports the latest Bluetooth 5.0 wireless standard. As you’ll probably be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi most of the time, the Air gets the new Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) version that can reach speeds of 1.2Gbps. Interestingly, we discovered that transfers on our office Wi-Fi were fastest on the Air when compared to the iPad Pro and even our iPhone 12 Pro.
Gigabit class LTE is present for making calls and browsing the internet via Australian networks. While it’s not 5G, you should still be able to get over 100Mbps speeds when connected in metropolitan areas with a strong signal.
Lastly, for those who travel, it’s good to see both a standard SIM and eSIM included on the Wi-Fi + Cellular (LTE) models.
Accessorise
If you want to use the Air more like a laptop, it works with the Magic Keyboard. This protects both the front and back of the tablet when closed and provides an illuminated keyboard and trackpad. The trackpad is especially useful because it adds a cursor-based interface to iPadOS, as well as swipe gestures and touch.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps are receiving updates to take full advantage of trackpad support in iPadOS so you can easily highlight a passage of text in Word, select a range of cells in Excel, and move and resize graphics in PowerPoint, etc. Here’s more on how how the new Office updates make working on iPad even easier.
The Magic Keyboard adds a second USB-C charging connector beneath the cantilevered stand, and shares power with the Air with the plug-less smart connectors. What’s it cost? An eye-watering $499.
For something a little slimmer and cheaper, you can choose the Smart Keyboard Folio ($269) with full-sized keyboard or Smart Folio ($119) without.
GadgetGuy’s take:
So how does the new iPad Air stack up? The Air’s new screen is great to look at and a comfortable size, there’s an attractive new design and 5 stylish colours, uprated cameras, Apple Pencil 2 support, faster Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit LTE, new speakers and more. But the star of the show has to be the new A14 Bionic chip, which all but beats out the iPad Pro’s ageing A12Z Bionic chip.
While you won’t get the Pro’s 120Hz ProMotion screen, FaceID camera, rear-wide angle lens or LiDAR scanner, the starting for the Air (64GB Wi-Fi model) is $899, and is a whopping $430 less than the iPad Pro 11-inch’s $1,329.
When compared to arguably the best non-Apple tablet on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, the Air holds its own too. The 11in Tab S7 model starts from $1,147 but does get a 120Hz LCD screen and a larger 128GB of memory.
All up, if you’re waiting to update your tablet, or maybe add a new device to your collection, the new Air is an excellent choice and priced to compete with the best out there.
iPad Air Pricing ($AU)
| Model | Memory | Price ($AU) |
| iPad Air Wi-Fi | 64GB | $899 |
| iPad Air Wi-Fi | 256GB | $1,129 |
| iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular | 64GB | $1,099 |
| iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular | 256GB | $1,399 |
iPad Air tech specifications
| In the Box | iPad Air USB-C Charge Cable (1 meter) 20W USB-C Power Adapter Documentation |
| Finish | Space Gray, Silver, Rose Gold |
| Capacity | 64GB, 256GB |
| Size and Weight | Height: 9.74 inches (247.6 mm) Width: 7 inches (178.5 mm) Depth: 0.24 inch (6.1 mm) Weight, Wi-Fi: 1.0 pound (458 g) Weight, Wi-Fi + Cellular: 1.01 pounds (460 g) |
| Display | Liquid Retina display 10.9-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology 2360-by-1640 resolution at 264 ppi Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Fully laminated display Antireflective coating Wide color display (P3) True Tone display Supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation) |
| Chip | A14 Bionic chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture 16-core Neural Engine ML accelerators |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers in landscape mode |
| Camera | 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture Five-element lens Backside illumination sensor Hybrid IR filter Live Photos Autofocus with Focus Pixels Tap to focus with Focus Pixels Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Panorama (up to 63MP) Exposure control Noise reduction Smart HDR for photos Auto image stabilization Burst mode Timer mode Photo geotagging Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG |
| Video Recording | 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps Time-lapse video with stabilization Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p) Continuous autofocus video Noise reduction Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video Playback zoom Video geotagging Video formats captured: HEVC and H.264 |
| FaceTime HD Camera | 7MP photos ƒ/2.2 aperture 1080p HD video recording at 60 fps Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Smart HDR Retina Flash Backside illumination sensor Auto image stabilization Burst mode Exposure control Timer mode |
| Microphones | Dual microphones for calls, video recording, and audio recording |
| Secure Authentication | Touch ID in Top Button |
| Apple Pay | Pay with your iPad using Touch ID within apps and on the web Send and receive money in Messages |
| Voice Assistant (Siri) | Use your voice to send messages, set reminders, and more Get proactive suggestions Use hands-free Listen and identify songs |
| Cellular and Wireless | All models 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6; simultaneous dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO Bluetooth 5.0 technology Wi-Fi + Cellular models UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Gigabit-class LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66, 71) Data only Wi-Fi calling eSIM nano-SIM (supports Apple SIM |
| Connector | USB-C Smart Connector (back) |
| Power and Battery |
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network Charging via power adapter or USB-C to computer system |
| Sensors | Touch ID Three-axis gyro Accelerometer Ambient light sensor Barometer |
| Environmental | iPad is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact: • 100% recyclable aluminum enclosure • 100% recycled tin in the solder of the main logic board • 100% recycled rare earth elements in the speaker magnets • ENERGY STAR® certified • Arsenic-free display glass • Mercury-free • BFR, PVC, and beryllium-free • 100% of virgin wood fiber comes from responsibly managed forests |
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