At its Let Loose case on May 7 , Apple announce an all - new version of the iPad Air . As gestate , the update admit a larger - screen model and an upgrade from the M1 to the M2 processor .
The new Air amount in four similar colors : blue , purple , Starlight , and Space Gray . But there ’s a band more to this ascent than appearances .
Upgraded screen
The eye - catch change for the 2024 multiplication is the newlarger blind option . Ahead of the event , learned person prognosticate that the iPad Air would match the Pro and offer a mid - size ( 11 - column inch ) and large ( 12.9 - inch ) display spec . But Apple went a little further than expected and bumped the Air to a full 13 inch , check the M4 iPad Pro .
Tech - wise , this is essentially the same projection screen as we make last metre ( there’sno mini - LEDas was predicted at one point , just LED , and no ProMotion ) , only bigger . Whereas the 11 - inch manikin has screen door specs of 2360×1640 at 264ppi , the same as the fifth - gen iPad Air from 2022 , the 13 - in model is dislodge to 2360×1640 , also at 264ppi . The larger screen also receive a higher luminousness rating , at 600 nits max compared to 500 on both the new 11 - in model and the 2024 Air .
Finally , both of the new Air example have displays that support the Hover feature ( introduce in 2022on the iPad Pro only ) with the new Apple Pencil Pro . Note that they’renotcompatible with the Apple Pencil 1st gen or 2nd gen , but they do work with the Apple Pencil USB - C. Yes , it ’s confusing .
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Camera setup
The little - used rear - facing camera on the iPad Air is largely the same as before , other than a predictable blow from Smart HDR 3 to Smart HDR 4 for those awkward lighting stipulation you ’re unlikely to be tackle with an iPad . It ’s still a 12MP wide lens with a f/1.8 aperture and 5x digital zoom .
The material fun happens at the front . After shifting the camera from the short to the recollective edge on the10 - gen iPadback in 2022 , Apple has finally decided to do the same thing on its more expensive tablet , include the Air . Thelandscape camerawill make video calls far more natural and intuitive . Weknewthis was come , but it ’s still upright to see .
Tech specs
At the heart of the young Air sits anM2 processor , with an 8 - core CPU and 10 - core GPU , in an obvious tone up from the M1 in 2022 ’s Air . With the iPad Pro pass over this year from the M2 all the means up to the M4 , this seems a little less telling , but it ’s still a speedy and worthwhile flake . And as Apple repeatedly said in the keynote , the Air is supposed to be a cheap Pro for multitude who do n’t ask as much power and high-pitched - end feature .
Apple boasts that the M2 delivers 15 percent faster CPU performance than the M1 , 25 fast GPU performance , and a 40 per centum faster Neural Engine . ( Of naturally , we ’ll necessitate to make our own mental testing when we get a review sample but those numbers match old examination . ) If you ’re upgrade from two coevals ago , the quaternary - gen Air with its A14 Bionic chip , Apple order you ’ll see a carrying out encouragement that ’s a whopping 3x faster across the control board .
store capacities have been bump , too . The 5th - gen iPad Air fare with 64 GB or 256 GB , but the new models volunteer far more choice , include a top tier of 1 TB . You give for the exclusive right at those upper end , of course , but the entry - level 11 - inch gives you twice as much depot for the same price .
Other than this , the Air has been upgraded from Bluetooth 5.0 in the 5th - gen manakin to Bluetooth 5.3 , and from Wi - Fi 6 to Wi - Fi 6E. And the 13 - in model only drive what Apple describes as “ 2x bass part ” in its stereo speaker setup . Do n’t worry , we ’ll test this too .
Release date and availability
The 2024 iPad was announced at Apple ’s countenance Loose outcome on May 7 , and can beordered right away . It will ship to customers , and come out in store , onWednesday , May 15 .
Prices
The 11 - inch iPad Air initiate at $ 599 . The 13 - inch modeling starts at $ 799 . Here ’s the full pricing for the small model :
And here ’s the damage leaning for the new big - silver screen mannikin :
Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M2, 2024)
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M2, 2024)
