Apple today unveiled the new iPad Air with the Apple-designed M1 chip, delivering a massive leap in performance. Available in a new array of colours, iPad Air also features the new Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage for a more natural video conferencing experience, a USB-C port with up to 2x faster transfer speeds, and blazing-fast 5G on cellular models — starting at the same price.
Advanced cameras and compatibility with the latest accessories enable users, including content creators, gamers, and students, to push the boundaries of creativity, productivity, and self expression.
“Whether it’s a college student taking elaborate notes, a content creator working on their latest project, or a gamer playing graphics-intensive titles, users love iPad Air for its amazing performance and versatility in such a portable design,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“With the breakthrough M1 chip, Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage, and ultra-fast 5G, iPad Air is now more powerful, more capable, and simply more fun than ever.”
M1 comes to iPad Air
The breakthrough M1 chip in iPad Air delivers a giant performance boost to even the most demanding apps and workflows, with incredible power efficiency and all-day battery life.
The 8-core CPU delivers up to 60 percent faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. Combined with the CPU and GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine powers advanced machine learning (ML) functions that enable next-level experiences.
From editing multiple streams of 4K video, to playing graphics-intensive games, redesigning a room in 3D, and more realistic augmented reality (AR), the performance of M1 enables users to do more than ever with iPad Air.
Ultra Wide 12MP Front Camera with Center Stage
The Ultra Wide 12MP front camera with Center Stage automatically pans to keep users in view as they move around. When others join in, the camera detects them too, and smoothly zooms out to include them in the conversation. So whether catching up with loved ones or learning remotely, Center Stage makes connecting more engaging than ever. With the addition of Center Stage to iPad Air, all iPad models now feature this magical experience.
The 12MP Wide camera on the back of iPad Air lets users capture sharp photos and 4K video, scan documents, and enjoy amazing AR experiences. An end-to-end solution for photo and video capture, editing, and sharing, iPad Air is an incredibly versatile and ultra-portable mobile studio.
5G and Advanced Connectivity
Customers can do even more on iPad Air with faster wireless connectivity on the go. With 5G, iPad Air can reach peak speeds of up to 3.5Gbps in ideal conditions. With eSIM and Wi-Fi 6 support, iPad Air offers greater flexibility when users need to get connected — from accessing files, to backing up data, communicating with colleagues, or enjoying a movie with family and friends using SharePlay.
The USB-C port is now up to 2x faster than the previous generation, with data transfers up to 10Gbps, so importing large photos and videos is even quicker. The port connects iPad Air to a vast ecosystem of USB-C accessories, including cameras, external storage, and displays with up to 6K resolution.
Liquid Retina Display and Touch ID
Loved for its thin and light design, the new iPad Air comes in a gorgeous array of colours: space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and a stunning new blue.
iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display for an immersive visual experience, with 3.8 million pixels and advanced technologies, including 500 nits of brightness, full lamination, a P3 wide colour gamut, True Tone, and an anti-reflective screen coating.
Combined with the Liquid Retina display, landscape stereo speakers in iPad Air deliver wide stereo sound for a great movie-viewing experience. Touch ID is built into the top button of iPad Air, delivering the same ease of use and secure authentication users know.
Accessories
Apple Pencil (2nd generation) turns iPad Air into a digital journal and sketchbook users can take anywhere. With wireless charging and pairing, Apple Pencil delivers pixel-perfect precision and imperceptible lag, making writing as easy and natural as using pen and paper.
The new iPad Air is compatible with Magic Keyboard, providing the best typing experience with its floating design and built-in trackpad; Smart Keyboard Folio, with its comfortable typing experience in a slim design; and Smart Folio covers, which come in beautiful coordinating colours — black, white, electric orange, dark cherry, English lavender, and marine blue — that complement the new iPad Air finishes.
The new iPad Air is available to order beginning Friday, March 11, from apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, with availability beginning Friday, March 18.
Wi-Fi models of iPad Air are available with a starting price of £599 and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at £749. The new iPad Air, in 64GB and 256GB configurations, comes in space Gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue finishes.
