iPad Air

The iPad Air is Apple's mid-range tablet, offering many key iPad features like two display sizes, Touch ID, M2 chip performance, and a range of color options at prices starting at $599.

Refreshed in May 2024, the iPad Air is brand new and at the beginning of its product cycle. This means that now is the best time to buy the iPad Air.

The iPad Air is Apple's mid-sized option in the iPad lineup, but for those who want a smaller tablet, there is the iPad mini, which still offers almost many of the iPad Air's features in more portable form factor. Users who are looking for a more affordable option should consider the tenth-generation iPad. Starting at $349, the iPad offers several iPad Air features, such as Touch ID and a Retina display, but at a lower price that balances functionality and affordability.

On the other hand, for iPad models more advanced display, improved performance, and high-end features, there is the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro takes the iPad Air's features to the next level, adding an OLED display, up to 16GB of memory, Face ID, ProMotion, an M4 chip, and more.

If you're planning to get an iPad Air or another iPad, make sure to check out our iPad deals guide, where we aggregate the best prices of the month.

Apple in May 2024 updated the iPad Air with two sixth-generation models, adding a second screen size. The iPad Air now comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, just like the iPad Pro. Priced starting at $599, the iPad Air is Apple's middle-of-the-road option, as it is more affordable than the $999+ iPad Pro but more expensive than the $349 10th-generation iPad.

The smaller iPad Air features a 11-inch edge-to-edge display with a 2360x1640 resolution, while the larger iPad Air has a 13-inch edge-to-edge display with a 2732x2048 resolution. The iPad Air is equipped with an LCD "Liquid Retina" display that is a step down from the OLED display in the iPad Pro. Compared to the iPad Pro, the iPad Air is thicker, heavier, and has thicker bezels.

The iPad Air has an aluminum chassis that has flat, rounded edges that wrap around the fully laminated display. True Tone support is included for adjusting the display to match the ambient lighting, as is P3 wide color, 500 nits brightness for the 11-inch model and 600 nits for the 13-inch model, and 1.8 percent reflectivity. It does not feature ProMotion support.

Apple's iPad Air was the first iPad to offer unique color options similar to iPhone colors, and the 2024 iPad Air comes in space gray, purple, blue, and starlight, with Apple eliminating the pink color that was available in 2022. The iPad Air features a Touch ID sensor integrated into the top button rather than Face ID like the iPad Pro. Other than being built into the top button instead of a Home button, the Touch ID functionality is the same as other devices that feature Touch ID.

Compared to the 2022 model, Apple has introduced no major design changes in 2024 with the exception of introducing a new size option. There is, however, a relocated front-facing camera that's on the landscape edge of the iPad, putting it in an upright position for video calls when the iPad Air is used in landscape mode with a keyboard. The prior iPad Air had the front-facing camera at the portrait edge so it had to be held in portrait orientation for video.

The 12-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera features Center Stage support, and there is a 12-megapixel f/1.8 rear camera. The iPad Air includes stereo speakers in landscape mode for wider stereo sound when watching video.

Apple added the same M2 chip that was used in prior-generation iPad Pro and Mac models to the iPad Air. The M2 chip features an 8-core CPU and an 10-core GPU, along with 8GB RAM and a 16-core Neural Engine. The M2 chip has a 15 percent faster CPU, 25 percent faster GPU and 50 percent more memory bandwidth (100GB/s) than the M1 chip.

Cellular iPad Air models are now compatible with 5G networks, but support is limited to the slower and more widespread Sub-6GHz 5G networks. Storage starts at 128GB, but can be upgraded to 1TB. Other features include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Instead of a Lightning port, the iPad Air has a USB-C port for up to 10Gbps data transfer along with support for connecting cameras for downloading images, hard drives, and 4K external monitors. The iPad Air ships with a 20W USB-C adapter for charging purposes.

Like the iPad Pro, the iPad Air supports the $129 Apple Pencil Pro and it works with the prior-generation $299 Magic Keyboard with trackpad that Apple offers, but not the new model designed for the iPad Pro. It is also compatible with the Smart Keyboard Folio and Smart Folio covers, with these accessories connecting with the Smart Connector.

The iPad Air launched on Wednesday, May 15. Pricing starts at $599 for the 11-inch model with 128 GB of storage, and pricing starts at $799 for the 13-inch model.

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The iPad Air launched on May 15 and it can be purchased from Apple's website. Pricing starts at $599.