It’s an odd feeling. In my hands, I’m holding a thin slab of glass and aluminium that’s just as powerful as my laptop computer, the one that I use to do all my daily work.
This is because the two devices – Apple’s new 10.9-inch iPad Air, and my 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020, share the same chip, Apple’s powerful M1. You’ve probably seen it praised before, but it’s a marvel of a chip; it can handle demanding tasks without expending a lot of energy or getting hot. And even though Apple has already followed it up with the M1 Pro, Max, and Ultra, the original M1 is still plenty powerful; so much, in fact, that I feel absolutely no need to buy a new laptop anytime soon.
Apple already put that chip into its iPad Pro devices, which are meant to cross the line from casual use into professional-grade machines. We know how well those work. So the story of this new iPad Air, which is now the most affordable tablet – most affordable device of any kind, that is – to come with the M1 chip, boils down to this: Has Apple watered it down too much, or made compromises that make the iPad Pro a better purchase?
The answer is no.
The new iPad Air has all the key features of the 11-inch iPad Pro. The features that are missing aren’t completely trivial, but the vast majority of users, I bet, won’t find them necessary.
Design
Starting with the design, the iPad Air basically is the iPad Pro. The difference in display size is negligible, 10.9 vs. 11 inches. The Pro is a hair thinner and just a little heavier, but I bet you wouldn’t notice that, either. Both devices are made of aluminium and have a fully laminated LED display with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. Flip them around, and you’ll see the main visual difference between the two devices: The iPad Pro has a dual rear camera, while the iPad Air only has a single camera on the back.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
None of this is new; the last generation of iPad Air, which launched in 2020, had the exact same design. But the Air actually has one advantage over the Pro: More color options. The new iPad Air is available in five colors: space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue, which, notably, is a bit darker than the sky blue seen on the previous generation (the iPad Pro is only available in silver and space gray). The unit Apple sent me for testing was blue, and it was a refreshing change from my other Apple gadgets which are all different shades of gray.
If you’ve never used an iPad of any sort, and are thinking of purchasing this one, you should give some thought as to how you plan to use it. I still think my iPad mini is preferable in terms of portability and practicality. The iPad Air is harder to hold with one hand, and can get heavy after longer sessions even if you’re holding it with two hands (I’ve found that ditching the Smart Cover that Apple sent me helps; at this screen size, it adds considerable weight). On the other hand, the larger display is really, really nice, especially when you’re watching a video or playing a game.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Authentication is also worth mentioning, as Apple’s iPads differ quite greatly on this matter. The iPad Pro models have Face ID, just like the new iPhones; the entry-level iPad has the Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the Home button, and the iPad mini, as well as the iPad Air, have the Touch ID built into the power button on top. I have absolutely no issues with this solution. It works without errors, it’s fast, and even more practical in certain regards than the Face ID, which will often misfire on me yawning (you would be surprised at how often this happens) and requires you to swipe up from the bottom of the display, while the Touch ID on the iPad Air just asks you to hold your finger on the power button for a fraction of a second.
Tons of power
The new iPad Air has an M1 chip and 8GB of RAM inside. For my typical usage, this makes it ridiculously overpowered. I literally could not think of a task that would make this iPad feel slow or even heat up. I played hours of PUBG Mobile, and a bit of Grand Mountain Adventure, on the highest settings. I fooled around in GarageBand. I had a Meet video meeting next to a Google Maps windows and I opened a third, floating window with Slack on top; everything was super fast, all the time.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
In Geekbench 5’s CPU test, the iPad Air scored 1,715 in the single core score and 7,320 in the multi-core score, which is essentially the same I got with my M1 MacBook Pro (it scored 1,729 and 7,336, respectively). In short, the M1 chip is almost too powerful for the iPad Air, as I cannot really think of a task that would seriously tax it.
Battery life was excellent, far better than on my iPad mini (it’s the same, 28.6Wh cell that goes into the 11-inch iPad Pro) and good for 4-5 hours of PUBG Mobile (don’t ask me how I know, I just know, alright).
The cameras on the iPad are pretty great. The one on the rear is on par with what you’d get on an old iPhone, and it’s more than enough given that you should rarely, if ever, take photos with your iPad. On the front, the camera has gone up from 7 to 12 megapixels and it now supports Center Stage, a feature that makes sure your face is always roughly in the middle of the frame. I don’t care much for Center Stage on the MacBook, but on the iPad it’s useful, since it’s more likely that you will move or flip it around during a call. As for the quality, it, again, is better than what you get on a MacBook Pro, so no complaints there.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
If you get the cellular version of the iPad Air, you get 5G support. I personally wouldn’t spend the additional $150 to go cellular (I’m perfectly fine with tethering to my iPhone), but if 5G is something you need, the option is there.
Similarly, if you’re planning to use the Air for work, you’ll want to look at accessories, including Apple’s Pencil and Magic Keyboard, all of which are supported. But I’ve never bought into the idea of turning the iPad into a tablet/laptop hybrid. The combo is too pricy and less convenient than a simple MacBook Air, for example.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
As an accessory to a laptop itself, the Air is far better than my iPad mini, simply because of the larger display. I’m talking about Universal Control, a new feature that lets you control multiple Apple devices with one keyboard and trackpad. I used the Air as an additional display next to my MacBook Pro, and it was a significant productivity boost as I was able to delegate a spec sheet or a slack window to the Air while I was writing something on the Mac.
Wait, why is it an “Air,” then?
The power that the iPad Air packs makes you wonder whether there’s any point in even considering the pricier iPad Pro. I’ll make it simple for you: Unless you need lots of storage (more on that later), you don’t need the Pro.
Whether you might want the Pro over the Air is another matter. The Pro has better sound, with four speakers instead of two. It has a smoother, 120Hz display, and the difference is more noticeable on the iPad’s large display than on a smartphone. It has an additional, ultra-wide camera on the back. It can be configured with 16GB of RAM. It has Face ID instead of Touch ID on the Air. None of these differences, on their own, are very significant, but add them all together, and it’s clear that Pro isn’t a waste of money.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
By far my biggest, and the only significant complaint about the iPad Air is the paltry 64GB of starting storage for the $599 model. This may be enough for you if you’re not into games, but you should probably consider upgrading to 256GB of storage, which will cost you an additional $150. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts with 128GB of storage for $799, and this is where things get complicated for the prospective buyer. Again, think long and hard about how you plan to use your iPad; if storage is important, perhaps the Pro is the better option, especially given the fact that it can go up to 2TB should you need such extravagant quantities of space.
It’s an Apple thing; the company won’t ever let you get too much of a good thing without paying for it. Had the starting storage for the iPad Air been 128GB, I’d tell you to run and buy it. As is, it’s still an amazing product, but you should be aware that the starting storage might not be enough.
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