The first hands-on reviews of the new iPad Air have been published ahead of time. We rounded up the reviews and videos.
Key new features of the iPad Air include the same M1 chip found in the iPad Pro, 5G on cellular models, an upgraded 12-megapixel front camera with support for Center Stage, up to a 2x faster USB-C port for data transfer, and new color options. In the U.S., pricing starts at $599 for 64 gigabytes of storage.
The new iPad Air is a great value, with performance on par with the iPad Pro thanks to the M1 chip and other Pro-like features.
The iPad Air has virtually the same performance as the iPad Pro, thanks to the fact that the M1 chip is not downclocked.
The reviewers pointed out that iPadOS makes it difficult to take advantage of the performance capabilities.
Dan Seifert is a writer for The Verge.
If you're using the iPad for things like browsing the web, reading books, watching movies or TV shows, or even light productivity, you won't likely notice the extra performance headroom the M1 chip provides. It mostly shines when doing especially demanding tasks, like editing and exporting 4K video or managing large file transfers. The Air is capable of doing those jobs, but there are better tools available if that's what you intend to do that don't have the limitations of iPadOS and a relatively small screen.
The iPad Air does not support 5G networks like the iPad Pro does.
Scott Stein tested 5G on the new iPad Air.
This iPad doesn't support mmWave, just sub-6 5G. Effectively, at many times, it feels similar to LTE: Speeds at my home were around 290 megabits per second on Verizon, while in Washington Square Park in New York speeds were only around 60Mbps to 80Mbps.
Center Stage, a feature that helps keep you and anyone else with you in the frame as you move around during video calls, is supported by the new iPad Air. Center Stage can be used in third-party video calling apps.
Matthew Panzarino is a journalist.
The front camera has gotten a 12MP upgrade too – and is definitely improved from the previous Air. Facetime gets that nice Center Stage enhancement we saw come through on the iPad Pros last year too. As I said in my review of those this is a pretty huge quality of life improvement for those who video chat a lot as the auto-crop and tracking feature mitigates the odd left hand side placement of the camera when the iPad Air is in landscape mode. The angles feel more natural and less awkward overall. The color and contrast of the video call quality is improved as well.
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