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Apple Unveils New iPad Air With M1 Chip, Optional 5G, and Faster USB-C, Starting at $599

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Apple announced a new iPad Air today at its "Peek Performance" event, featuring Apple's powerful M1 chip previously found in the iPad Pro, as well as optional 5G connectivity, a new front camera with Center Stage, and even faster USB-C connectivity.
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Available in a new array of colors, iPad Air features Apple's 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 5G on the cellular models.

In terms of the M1's pure performance, the 8-core CPU delivers up to 60% faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. That makes it faster than the fastest competitive tablet, and 2x as fast as the best-selling Windows laptop in its price range, according to Apple.

The USB-C port is now up to 2x faster than the previous generation, with data transfers up to 10Gbps, enabling it to support a range of USB-C accessories, including cameras, external storage, and displays with up to 6K resolution. Lastly, the new iPad Air supports the second-generation Apple Pencil.

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"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."
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The new iPad Air is priced from $599. It is available in 64GB and 256GB configurations, and comes in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue colors. The new iPad Air will be available to pre-order on Friday, March 11, and will be available from March 18.

Article Link: Apple Unveils New iPad Air With M1 Chip, Optional 5G, and Faster USB-C, Starting at $599
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/08/apple-unveils-new-ipad-air/
Last edited:
Apparently must wait until they take orders to find out if it has 8GB ram. ?‍♂️
 
Its a big Effu to all us iPad Pro customers.
But M1 is an old chip now.

What shocks me is that Apple chose to stab those iPad Mini consumers who just bought a much slower device for such a relatively high price.
 
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DFZD said:
Its a big Effu to all us iPad Pro customers.
But M1 is an old chip now.

What shocks me is that Apple chose to stab those iPad Mini consumers who just bought a much slower device for such a relatively high price.
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Not really! Base storage is still 64GB, no ProMotion, no Face ID, no Thunderbolt, and when compared to 12.9" iPad Pro, no mini-LED.
 
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ohh and still wifi 6, NOT Wifi 6E???? WTH? yes I understand not everyone has 6E but for the love of god do some future proofing. ALL the last Samsung devices including the tablets have wifi 6E chips. (Tab S8 and S22)
 
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metalsiren said:
ohh and still wifi 6, NOT Wifi 6E???? WTH? yes I understand not everyone has 6E but for the love of god do some future proofing. ALL the last Samsung devices including the tablets have wifi 6E chips. (Tab S8 and S22)
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Apple isnt interested in gimmicky future proofing that predicts the future, it is about building the very best products for today. The future comes later.
 
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DFZD said:
What shocks me is that Apple chose to stab those iPad Mini consumers who just bought a much slower device for such a relatively high price.
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Mini customers have always paid a higher price for the form factor. Lower sales volume needs a higher margin to keep the product in the stack.
 
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There have been rumors of Apple looking at a larger (~15") iPad Pro so I could see that and the 12.9" being the iPad Pro line going forward when they move to M2.

I will not be at all surprised if the iPad Pro 11 disappears from the lineup and the Air becomes it's functional replacement.
 
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metalsiren said:
wifi 6E is here, and major companies are starting to roll it out so its NOT a gimmicky feature. 6E is the start of a game changer.
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That is debateable. WiFi 6E, or 802.11ax over 6GHz has yet to receive regulatory approvement globally. WiFi SoC's that support WiFi 6E/802.11ax over 6GHz are mostly considered "draft" SoC's and are not finalised until all countries have agreed upon what 6GHz frequencies spectrums is going to be available in different regions.
 
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I would have totally traded in my 1 year old iPad Air for this if it started at 128GB. But I’d rather see if they do anything with the Pros at this point and consider that upgrade instead.
 
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Orange Bat said:
I would have totally traded in my 1 year old iPad Air for this if it started at 128GB. But I’d rather see if they do anything with the Pros at this point and consider that upgrade instead.
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There is no Pro upgrade coming this year. They will release it next year with M2.
 
Not the same screen, one is 10.9, other 11.

Well, lets see how much RAM it comes with, if its 8GB, then it will be interesting what becomes of iPP 11 as well as 12.9 with next upgrades.
120hz screen, face ID, TB are not that much important to many buyers, so iPad Pro 11 is sitting in very interesting spot right now.
Didnt mention miniLED because current gen. iPP 11 doesnt have one.
 
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