The iPad Air is a tough pill. At instances, it has been essentially the most compelling of Apple’s lineup, the Goldilocks-perfect mixture of options and worth. Different instances, it begins to really feel like an awkwardly positioned choice, each too costly and never adequate. With the brand new mannequin, which Apple simply introduced by way of a press launch, Apple is as soon as once more attempting to strike the right stability.
The brand new Air is primarily a spec bump over final yr’s machine. It has an upgraded M3 chip and, in fact, helps Apple Intelligence. It’s not Apple’s most trendy chip — that might be the M4 — however Apple says it’s twice as quick because the M1-powered Air and the A14 Bionic-powered Air. (These are older units, and Apple’s comparisons notably don’t embrace final yr’s mannequin.) It is available in 4 colours, 11- and 13-inch fashions, and begins at $599 for the smaller mannequin and $799 for the bigger. There’s additionally a brand new Magic Keyboard attachment ($269 for the smaller mannequin and $319 for the bigger), which incorporates the additional row of perform keys and bigger trackpad you possibly can beforehand solely get on the Professional.
Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner teased the announcement on X on Monday, posting a graphic that mentioned “there’s one thing within the Air.” It’s a quick revision for the Air, provided that the last-generation mannequin began transport lower than a yr in the past. Bloomberg reported a couple of days in the past that Apple is raring to capitalize on latest pill momentum — final yr’s iPad Professional and iPad Air had been each glorious and well-received units, and Apple’s tablets normally are more and more among the many first units to get its new know-how.
Apple continues to have precisely zero significant competitors within the pill market, and the iPad continues to enhance. However Apple’s nonetheless caught with the identical query it has reckoned with for the higher a part of twenty years: what’s the iPad truly for? The brand new Air appears to be like like one other in an extended line of stable technical upgrades, nevertheless it’s not all the time clear how a lot these upgrades change and even enhance the pill expertise. It’s additionally just a little odd to see Apple replace the Air and nonetheless not give it the newest chip. However in the event you’re upgrading from a a lot older iPad, as most potential iPad patrons are, it’s nonetheless a fairly large spec bump.
