The latest iPad Air makes the major innovations of the iPhone 12 and iPad Pro more affordable. But don’t expect a budget tablet.
Over the past decade, the iPad’s appearance has rarely changed significantly. The tablet always had the same thick bezels at the top and bottom of the screen, with a home button at the bottom.
This changed for the first time with the iPad Pro in 2018. The thick edges were exchanged for a thinner alternative. The button below the screen disappeared. With the arrival of a new iPad Air, that redesign is now also available for the less expensive tablets.
The new iPad Air is extremely similar to the more expensive Pro model. The bezels and housing are almost the same, with a screen that is only 0.1 inch smaller. There is a metal band on the sides, as with the recent iPhones 12.
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Magnets for the stylus
Magnets are incorporated on one side of the tablet, where Apple’s separately sold stylus can be connected. The pen is then also charged automatically. The connector on the back of the tablet can connect to Apple’s keyboard covers.
The new Air runs on Apple’s A14 chip, which is also in the recently announced iPhones 12. In everyday use, these all apps and games that you open run smoothly. According to Apple, the built-in battery lasts for 10 hours, we could easily browse and game for days on a battery charge.
Despite the disappearance of the home button, the new tablet still has a fingerprint scanner. This time it is incorporated in the button on top of the tablet. The new Air does not have facial recognition as on the iPads Pro and recent iPhones.
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Awkward place for a finger scanner
The position of the finger scanner is a bit awkward. The iPad is made to hold at four different angles of rotation, so that the button can also be in four places. Sometimes you therefore have to twist a finger crazy, so that it does not reach the scanner properly.
The iPad Air does not have a screen with a refresh rate of 120 hertz, as can be found in the iPad Pro. In addition, this tablet has only one 12 megapixel camera on the back, while the recent Pro models are equipped with two lenses. And because the sensors for facial recognition are missing, there is also no depth camera on the front.
iPad Air is geen budgettablet
They are features that only the most avid of users would miss. And the lack of this comes at a lower price: the iPad Air is sold from 669 euros, while a comparable iPad Pro costs at least 899 euros.
Remember, that’s just the price for the iPad itself. The accompanying stylus costs 135 euros, the latest iPad keyboard with built-in trackpad costs 339 euros. A fully dressed iPad Air will add up to 1,143 euros – although not all those accessories are required.
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It makes the new iPad Air absolutely no price fighter – Apple itself also sells cheaper tablets from 389 euros. But the company is making the basics behind the much more expensive iPad Pro a bit more affordable – a trend that will presumably continue over time to all models that the tech giant sells.
Conclusion
The iPad Air takes the most important parts of the more expensive Pro and puts them in a slightly more affordable package. Advanced extras are missing from this tablet, but will only be missed by a small group of people. This new iPad Air is pro enough for many.
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