iPad Air 5 (2022) review

Up to date on 19 October 2022 to mirror a worth enhance within the UK.

The fifth-generation iPad Air is right here, and whereas it might look near-identical to its predecessor, there are key upgrades inside that make it extra of an iPad Professional competitor than ever earlier than, sporting key upgrades together with Apple’s desktop-focused M1 chipset, 5G connectivity and Apple’s Heart Stage digital camera tech.

With so many similarities between it and the iPad Professional 11, is the iPad Air the candy spot in Apple’s pill assortment? Whereas it’s not excellent, there’s loads to like about this yr’s iPad Air – so long as it doesn’t creak.

Design & construct

The look of the iPad Air is immediately recognisable, sporting the identical total design because the iPad mini, iPad Professional and up to date fashions of iPhone. In contrast to earlier fashions, it has angular corners, however it doesn’t really feel uncomfortable to carry within the hand.

Actually, total construct high quality feels premium, sporting an anodised aluminium physique that feels {smooth} to the contact. It’s pretty light-weight for a ten.9in pill too, weighing in at 469g (or 478g when you go for the 5G variant) and measuring in at a formidable 6.1mm thick.

It’s out there in 5 color choices, with 4 – Area Gray, Starlight, Pink, and Purple – matching the finishes of the newest iPad mini. The Blue color choice, however, is a very new color unique to the iPad Air – and the one we have been supplied for evaluation.

You’ll discover quantity rockers on the top-left in portrait orientation that change performance relying on how the pill. That signifies that fairly than the amount ‘up’ key being on the backside when held the wrong way up, it’ll be the amount down button as you may anticipate. It first appeared on the iPad mini, and whereas it’s not a game-changer, it’s a pleasant small contact that makes on a regular basis use a bit simpler.

In different areas, it’s enterprise as traditional, sporting a built-in Contact ID sensor throughout the Energy button, and there are stereo audio system mounted on reverse sides. That’s flanked by a USB-C port on the underside with improved knowledge switch speeds – however extra on that later.

One of many key variations between the iPad mini and iPad Air (except for the dimensions) is accent assist. Each assist the second-gen Apple Pencil, which magnetically attaches to the facet of the pill, however solely the iPad Air has the Good Connector on the rear and compatibility with the Magic Keyboard.

Although costly and weighty, Apple’s Magic Keyboard basically turns the iPad Air right into a 2-in-1 laptop computer – and with an upgraded chipset at its coronary heart and split-screen performance, it performs like one too. I’ve gone into element about why I really like the Magic Keyboard previously so I gained’t focus an excessive amount of on it right here, however when you’ve acquired the funds, it’s a worthy buy.

Flexgate

If there’s one criticism I’ve in regards to the iPad Air pattern I’ve been supplied with, it’s the rigidity of the backplate.

Although there’s no distinction in dimensions in comparison with different fashions of iPad Air, the pattern supplied for evaluation has a noticeable flex on the rear – a lot in order that I can really feel the parts contact the plate beneath with little or no strain utilized.

I discover it when dealing with the iPad day-to-day, and it’s one thing {that a} small handful of (however not all) iPad Air house owners have picked up on since launch. On the flip facet, I’ve used different samples of the fifth-gen iPad Air that don’t have this situation in any respect – it appears associated to a sure batch of Apple’s newest pill.

It’s not simply one thing I’ve observed both; a number of members of the Tech Advisor crew have dealt with my pattern and all comment you could certainly really feel a flex and the parts inside.

It isn’t noticeable when paired with
Apple’s Good Folio, however at £79/$79, it’s not an inexpensive case for shoppers to select up on high of a pill that begins at £569/$599.

I’ve reached out to Apple for readability on the problem, and I’ll replace the evaluation if I get a response.

Show

Whereas the iPad Air comes nearer to the iPad Professional 11 than ever earlier than, there stays one distinctive distinction: the show. I’m not speaking in regards to the mere 0.1in distinction between the ten.9in iPad Air and 11in iPad Professional both.

Actually, you’ll discover the identical 2360 x 1640 decision and 264ppi pixel density because the equal iPad Professional, however it’s lacking the particular sauce of Apple’s Professional vary – ProMotion adaptive refresh price expertise, offering buttery-smooth efficiency at as much as 120Hz.

The iPad Air, like the remainder of the usual iPad assortment, is proscribed to an ordinary 60Hz. The result’s that video games and apps aren’t fairly as {smooth} as they may very well be, however that’s pretty customary for all however probably the most premium tablets in the marketplace.

That’s to not say there’s a disappointing viewing expertise on provide from the pill although; I discovered the iPad Air show to be vibrant, detailed and vivid whether or not gaming, watching motion pictures on Netflix or just writing emails.

There’s additionally assist for HDR10 content material with spectacular dynamic vary, and it’s pretty vibrant with a max brightness of 471cd/m2 in testing.  

Actually, the one actual disappointment is that it’s an IPS LCD show and never the superior Mini-LED, OLED or AMOLED, which means that blacks aren’t fairly as deep and inky as these on premium tablets just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely or the iPad Professional 12.9 – although that’s arguably higher suited to ‘professional’ customers than on a regular basis shoppers anyway.

Options & efficiency

Apple has designed the fifth-gen iPad Air for college kids, creatives and players, all of which want the easiest efficiency at their fingertips. With that in thoughts, Apple determined to transition the iPad Air line from the A-series chipsets used within the iPhone to the M-series chipsets utilized in Apple’s iPad Professional and desktop Mac line-up.

Extra particularly, the iPad Air options the identical Apple M1 chipset as not solely the 2021 iPad Professional vary, however Mac desktops together with the MacBook Air, Mac Mini and 24in iMac, with 8GB of RAM and 64/256GB of storage to play with.

Apple claims that this represents a 60% increase to the CPU and ‘as much as’ 2x efficiency within the graphics division, and that’s largely backed up by our benchmark outcomes.

In comparison with the iPad Air 4, the brand new iPad presents vital efficiency good points throughout the board, with the actual limitation on graphics being the 60Hz refresh price of the usual Liquid Retina show. For those who need high-framerate iOS gaming, the iPad Professional 11 could also be a greater – albeit a lot pricier – choice.

It’s additionally far more highly effective than many of the Android competitors within the CPU division, providing over double the processing energy of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely utilising Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, although the excessive refresh price show does enable the competing chipset to flex its muscle tissue within the graphics division.

Some may argue that such a robust chipset is overkill in a pill, however it’ll enable the iPad Air to proceed acting at its finest for years to come back as builders start to reap the benefits of the desktop-level efficiency on provide.

You’ll be able to see how the iPad Air 5 compares to the competitors in our full benchmark breakdown under. Spoiler: it’s highly effective!

As you may anticipate, that interprets to a blisteringly quick pill expertise no matter what you’re as much as.

Video games run exceptionally easily, albeit at a capped 60fps, and it’s nice for picture modifying too, with additional energy translating to real-time impact previews and little or no, if any, load occasions when making use of filters and different results.

It’s additionally a boon for content material creators, with a brand new iMovie replace rolling out that’ll additional assist create advanced movies with out a lot effort, and you may anticipate sooner render occasions this time round too.

It may well even deal with working a number of apps without delay utilizing the multi-tasking performance, full with drag-and-drop performance. That’s nice for college kids – particularly when mixed with Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which basically turns the pill right into a 2-in-1 laptop computer.

Efficiency apart, there have been enhancements to the pill’s USB-C port, providing USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 knowledge switch speeds of as much as 10Gbits per second, up from 5Gbits per second on its predecessor.

There’s additionally upgraded 5G connectivity, up from 4G LTE, when you go for the mobile mannequin – although the value of the mobile mannequin has elevated to mirror this enchancment, so tethering will be the higher choice when you don’t intend on utilizing the pill away from Wi-Fi that always.

You’ll additionally discover Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 assist, and safety as soon as once more focuses on the Contact ID-enabled Energy button with no Face ID in sight. That’s one of many few perks left unique to the iPad Professional vary. 

Digicam

Whereas cameras on tablets usually aren’t as fascinating as their smartphone brethren, Apple has upgraded the front-facing digital camera on the iPad Air 5 to match the remainder of the iPad vary.

Which means the newest iPad Air sports activities a 12Mp ultra-wide front-facing digital camera, making it a wonderful selection for group selfies, however that wasn’t the primary motive behind the improve. As a substitute, it was to facilitate Apple’s Heart Stage expertise, which makes video calling – a well-liked characteristic on tablets – a lot simpler.

The concept behind the tech is to analyse the front-facing digital camera and mechanically zoom into your face, permitting you to position the iPad on a floor and transfer round a room whereas chatting with out the necessity to continually transfer the pill.

It’s not new tech, out there on key rivals just like the
Fb Portal Go and
Amazon’s Echo Present 10, however it’s useful to have nonetheless.

It performs properly not solely with FaceTime however third-party apps like Zoom and Microsoft Groups too, although you possibly can’t appear to activate it throughout the Digicam app itself. The flexibility to report movies utilizing the tech would’ve been a pleasant contact.

High quality-wise, the 12Mp digital camera is surprisingly detailed in very best lighting situations, with first rate publicity and nice color accuracy permitting for excellent high quality selfies, although the f/2.4 aperture means it’s not fairly as performant in low-light situations.

On the rear of the iPad Air you’ll discover the identical 12Mp f/1.8 snapper as its predecessor, with no actual change in {hardware} or software program capabilities to notice. Just like the front-facing digital camera, it’ll suffice for on a regular basis snaps, however it’s not going to exchange an iPhone 13 Professional Max anytime quickly.  

Battery life & charging

Battery life stays constant regardless of the uptick in efficiency, with Apple’s claimed 10-hour battery life ringing true in on a regular basis efficiency. Whereas that doesn’t sound that lengthy, extra informal customers can stretch that utilization throughout a number of days – I definitely didn’t really feel the necessity to high up the iPad Air day by day like my iPhone.

There’s additionally quick charging assist on provide that’ll assist scale back the period of time you spend ready for the iPad to regain cost. It’ll settle for a most of 20W of energy, however not like the iPhone, you’ll get a 20W charger within the field – no must fork out for extra chargers right here.

Utilizing Apple’s 20W charger, you possibly can anticipate 25% cost in half-hour. It’s not fairly as quick as some smartphones, however contemplating Samsung’s top-end Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely managed 29% in half-hour – the quickest in our exams so far – it’s pretty quick for a pill.

Software program

The iPad Air ships with iPadOS 15.4 out of the field, Apple’s newest model of its tablet-optimised working system. Whereas there have been strides on the Android facet of issues of late with the point out of
Android 12L for big-screen tablets, Apple’s iPadOS continues to be comfortably probably the most succesful and most polished pill OS out there in 2022.

The primary energy of iPadOS is the large library of apps and video games out there from Apple’s App Retailer, and in contrast to Android rivals that may use scaled-up cell apps, all iPad apps are optimised for the massive display screen. Which means you’ll get a greater expertise in apps, benefiting from the display screen house out there with UI tweaks and different options.

There’s additionally a greater vary of apps out there for creatives and video editors with pro-level apps like Procreate and LumaFusion Professional out there to obtain.

There are additionally multitasking options that allow you to run a number of apps on-screen on the identical time, full with drag-and-drop performance, and new options in iPadOS 15 will let you shortly take notes from wherever on the iPad, permits the flexibility to repeat and paste textual content from images inside your Photographs app and far more.

Merely put, it’s a flexible little bit of software program with nice app availability and a excessive degree of polish – there’s a motive why iPads have been so common for years, in any case.

Worth

The fifth-gen iPad Air with 64GB of storage begins on the identical $599 as its predecessor within the US, and whereas it was initially £10 cheaper within the UK at a diminished £569, the value was hiked in October 2022 to £669, a staggering £100 enhance. It’s not alone – Apple elevated the pricing of all the iPad vary by as a lot as 25% – however it does imply the iPad Air is rather less tempting for UK shoppers, particularly with the brand new, cheaper Tenth-gen iPad now out there.

For context, right here’s how a lot all the vary prices, together with the brand new UK costs:

• iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi): $599/£669
• iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi): $749/£849
• iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): $749/£849
• iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): $899/£1,029

For context, the newest iPad Professional 11 begins at $799/£899, representing nice worth for cash when you don’t want Face ID or ProMotion show tech – within the US, anyway.

For those who’re eager about selecting one up, the iPad Air is in the stores from
Apple alongside common retailers like
Amazon and
John Lewis within the UK and
Finest Purchase within the US.

Verdict

The iPad Air stays the candy spot in Apple’s assortment; it sports activities an industrial design that appears nice and feels good within the hand, presents iPad Professional-level productiveness with the inclusion of a desktop-level M1 chipset and full compatibility with the premium Magic Keyboard – one thing that may’t be stated of another non-Professional iPad.

The Apple Pencil 2 assist stays stable too, making for a succesful pill for college kids, players and even creatives that really feel they gained’t make use of the ProMotion show on provide from the (near-identical however dearer) iPad Professional 11.  

There are additionally the added advantages of 5G connectivity and Apple’s Heart Stage digital camera tech, bringing the iPad Air according to the remainder of Apple’s pill assortment.

iPadOS 15 is one other sturdy level, providing not solely a big library of apps absolutely optimised for the ten.9in show however sensible options like split-screen multitasking, dictation and even the flexibility to repeat and paste textual content from inside photos, making for a succesful pill that’ll do virtually something you want with out criticism.

There are points round construct high quality with my pattern, however I’m assured this can be a manufacturing situation restricted to a small batch of iPads – I’ve not observed it on another fifth-gen iPad pattern I’ve dealt with – and when you do discover your backplate flexes, you’ll hopefully have the ability to get a substitute on the Apple Retailer.

It’s a little much less tempting for UK customers following a £100 worth enhance in October 2022, particularly with the cheaper and much-improved Tenth-gen iPad on the horizon, however there’s nonetheless loads right here to take pleasure in when you can abdomen the upper worth.