Apple updates iPad Air with M1 iPad Pro chip, 5G

iPad Air gets 5G support, faster processor speeds and an improved front camera in an update that was announced during the company’s Peek performance on Tuesday.

Until today, the 10.9-inch tablet was the oldest in Apple’s lineup, released in October 2020. The iPad mini and base iPad were updated last fall, while the iPad Pro received the M1 chip and other improvements last spring. Now, Apple’s entire iPad lineup has been updated in just the last year.

This iPad Air update raises the previous model’s A14 Bionic chip to the aforementioned M1. This is the same chip used in the iPad Pro, Late 2020 MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 2020 Mac Mini.

The fifth generation iPad Air also supports 5G connectivity in its cellular models. As with other Apple 5G products, you’ll need good coverage from your local carrier to see improved data speeds or lower latency.

Another improvement has touched the front camera. There’s now a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera that brings support for Apple’s “Center Stage “feature for FaceTime and other video calling apps, which pans and zooms as you move into the camera’s field of view to keep you in the frame. This feature was previously available in other recent iPad releases. The previous iPad Air came with a 7-megapixel front camera.

The rest of the design of the new model is similar to that of the fourth generation, which already had a fairly major hardware upgrade that brought the device closer to the iPad Pro by removing the home button, reducing the display bezels and smoothing the edges. The same overall aesthetic applies here, which should remain basically a good thing. All of the same accessories will work with the new model, though Apple says the USB-C port is now twice as fast and supports data transfers up to 10Gbps. There is also a 10.9-inch display with a resolution of 2360×1640 and a maximum brightness of 500 nits.

However, the iPad Pro will continue to stand out with its higher 120Hz refresh rate, which results in smoother motion as well as a brighter panel overall. It will also offer more storage by default: while the Pro starts at 128GB and goes up to 2TB, the new Air will still only be available in 64GB and 256GB configurations.

The new iPad Air starts at $599, just like the previous model. By comparison, that’s $100 more than the iPad mini and $270 more than the base entry-level iPad, but $200 less than the 11-inch iPad Pro. The Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the Air, meanwhile, will still start at $749.

The device will be available for order from March 11, with shipments starting March 18. Available colors include Grey, Pink, Blue, Purple and Starlight Gold Silver.