Everything We Know About the 2022 iPad Air Coming in March

[fearless22]

As usual, it's something for the future.

Owners of iPad 5th and 6th gen are now seeing the effects of 2GB RAM when multitasking. It seems likely iPadOS will continue to grow with more multitasking and additional external display support.

You're right

As a 6th gen owner (A10 + 2 gigs of RAM) since 2018 everything that came in with the factory OS - 11 - works as day one
However since 14 lots of mtasking features as the iPhone- like swiping in Slide Over or now in 15 the side by side apps arranging in recent apps menu makes the 2 gigs terribly suffer at least to me

 

[fearless22]

Where's the quad speakers in this news the ipad air 5 requires? It does not require any physical changes as the chassis already has four speaker grills. For me this is a minimum requirement for 2022.

Hope they bring this and more mics too! We deserve more of these features if the Air still aims to be a higher end device than the Mini is rather than just putting in line with it

 

[turbineseaplane]

You're right

As a 6th gen owner (A10 + 2 gigs of RAM) since 2018 everything that came in with the factory OS - 11 - works as day one
However since 14 lots of mtasking features as the iPhone- like swiping in Slide Over or now in 15 the side by side apps arranging in recent apps menu makes the 2 gigs terribly suffer at least to me

I would love to be able to pick any iOS version (starting with whatever came with the device) and stay where I'd prefer.

So much stuff they "add" to iOS is of no interest to me (and often detracts from the experience or performance)

 

[fearless22]

No 3.5mm jack!? Really?!

Well this isn't surprising since every type-C iPad has ditched it

 

[Mizouse]

Apple may upgrade the budget iPads and iPhone to under 120Hz and call it ProMotion and 120+Hz up to 240Hz as ProMotion Plus. Just a thought.

144+Hz = ProMotion Pro
240hz = ProMotion Pro Max

Jokes aside, I would love an iPad Air or lower end iPad with ProMotion. I don’t need the power of the Pro iPads but love the 120hz screen.

My 10.5” Pro still works ok for now, but I would love to get a newer iPad with USB-C.

 

[turbineseaplane]

144+Hz = ProMotion Pro
240hz = ProMotion Pro Max

360hz = ProMotion Pro Max Plus

 

[fearless22]

I would love to be able to pick any iOS version (starting with whatever came with the device) and stay where I'd prefer.

So much stuff they "add" to iOS is of no interest to me (and often detracts from the experience or performance)

Absolutely agree! My thought is they should stop "signing" versions and permit install any we prefer as we can in macOS - I know it's mainly done to stop jailbreakers but to be honest they always work out a solution and there are lots of illicit ways to roll back updates so maybe it's time for Apple to officially allow it - most Mini 4 and Air 2 owners 'd be now grateful

also A9, A10 owners would be so with the next major update

 

[MrGimper]

But the main question is….. landscape or portrait jelly?

 

[turbineseaplane]

But the main question is….. landscape or portrait jelly?

So true..

Or

 

[nintendoswitch]

A PRODUCT RED iPad Air would be an instant buy for me.

And some of it would be donated to eliminate Covid too!

 

[QCassidy352]

Very underwhelming. Also, touchID in the power button sucks. My wife has the current air, and that implementation is way worse than either faceID or touchID in the home button.

 

[fearless22]

Very underwhelming. Also, touchID in the power button sucks. My wife has the current air, and that implementation is way worse than either faceID or touchID in the home button.

It's not actually bad considering that meant the design improvement, but as you say Face ID would be a much better choice

 

[trip1ex]

They aren't going to have an event just to announce the Air and SE.

 

[Realityck]

They aren't going to have an event just to announce the Air and SE.

One would tend to think that. Why even bother given what we are discussing. It could be just a few commercials.

 

[gaximus]

Apple may upgrade the budget iPads and iPhone to under 120Hz and call it ProMotion and 120+Hz up to 240Hz as ProMotion Plus. Just a thought.

The word “Plus” is reserved for the size of an Apple product. It’ll be called the ProMotion Pro.

But in reality, it’ll never be more than 120Hz, most people won’t be able to tell the difference at that frequency. It’s like the “Retina” once they get to the point we’re most eyes can’t see a difference, then there is no point. It’s why iPhones don’t have 4k resolutions.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

They aren't going to have an event just to announce the Air and SE.

I'm sure majority of the focus will be on the services too. That's going to be a big highlight.

 

[44267547]

I’m hoping for the A15 chip with the 5 gpu cores & 6gb of ram

If this happens, I’ll preorder within a minute of the ordering window opening. 6GB seems to be the most questionable upgrade.

 

[reyesmac]

Its a pretty lame update but I wonder about the price. Apple has gotten a lot of data on how well a $499 ipad air sells like. I bought one myself as soon as it went on sale that low last year. If the numbers are good they might lower the price just to grow market share and get people to give up their older devices. Then they can raise the price again later when they add what should be regular but more substantial updates to the line later. Who am I kidding? Apple seems to be finding ways to raise prices this year not lower them.

 

[Tec_Amigo]

Apple is working on an updated version of the iPad Air, and the new tablet is set to launch this spring at an event that's expected to be held on March 8.

We're not expecting too many changes to the iPad Air, but there are a few updates, with everything we know outlined in this guide.

Design

The iPad Air is expected to look identical to the current model, with no outward-facing design changes planned. It's possible that Apple will introduce new color options to set the updated models apart from the existing iPad Air, which comes in silver, space gray, rose gold, green, and sky blue.

Like the iPad Pro, the iPad Air features an all-display design, but it does not include Face ID. Apple instead uses a Touch ID Power button for authentication purposes. The tablet will continue to feature Touch ID, and it will have a 10.9-inch display and a USB-C port.

While there are no physical changes expected, the iPad Air will adopt features that were first introduced in the iPad mini 6, its sister tablet.

5G Connectivity

Like the latest iPad mini, the updated iPad Air will adopt a 5G chip that will allow it to connect to 5G networks. The chip in the iPad mini is limited to sub-6GHz 5G networks rather than the fastest mmWave 5G networks, so it's possible we could see this same limitation in the iPad Air, but not guaranteed.

Sub-6GHz 5G is the more widely available version of 5G that can be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the United States and other countries, while mmWave 5G is more limited in availability and in range.

AT&T and Verizon have recently expanded their 5G networks with C-band spectrum that improves the availability of mmWave networks in the U.S., so it's possible Apple will take this into account when updating the iPad Air.

Updated Processor

We're expecting the iPad Air to get the same 6-core A15 chip that's in the iPad mini 6 and the iPhone 13 lineup. Apple downclocked the A15 chip in the iPad mini, so it runs at 2.9GHz instead of 3.2GHz as it does in the iPhone, but it's not clear if the same clock speed will be used for the iPad Air.

With the downclocked A15, the iPad mini is around two to eight percent slower than the iPhone 13 when it comes to CPU performance, but either way, it will be an improvement over the A14 chip in the current model.

Center Stage and FaceTime Camera

Rumors suggest the iPad Air will adopt an updated 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera that will work with Center Stage, a feature first introduced in the iPad Pro and the iPad mini 6.

Center Stage is a FaceTime feature designed to keep you in focus and perfectly framed when you're on a FaceTime video call. The wide-angle front-facing camera shows more of the room that you're in, while the processor inside the iPad works to keep you front and center even as you move around.

If more than one person is participating in the call, the camera will zoom out to attempt to keep everyone in view and make sure they're part of the conversation. Though designed with FaceTime in mind, Center Stage also works with other third-party video apps like Zoom.

As for the rear camera, it is expected to continue to feature a single-lens setup, though Apple could add a quad-LED True Tone flash, which would be a new addition as the current iPad Air does not include a flash option.

Other Features

We are not expecting any other notable changes in the iPad Air. Because the body design is staying the same, it's unlikely that we'll see any significant updates to the battery life.

USB-C support will continue to be included, and it will be compatible with Apple accessories that include the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil 2.

Pricing

iPad Air pricing is not expected to change, and it will likely be priced the same as the current iPad Air. Existing models start at $599 for 64GB of storage, with 256GB available for $749. We haven't heard rumors about storage changes, and the iPad mini 6 also starts at 64GB storage.

Release Date

Rumors suggest the refreshed iPad Air is going to be released alongside an updated version of the iPhone SE at an event that's set to be held in March. Right now, Apple is targeting Tuesday, March 8 for the event.

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Article Link: Everything We Know About the 2022 iPad Air Coming in March

So I defiantly snoozed on the iPad Air 4, so this will probably be my next iPad! I am also getting the mini just because it’s a great mini addition!!

 

[imnotthewalrus]

I really hope it's 6GB. 4GB of RAM is just not enough on an iPad.

??? Please explain.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

??? Please explain.

I just don’t want to go through safari keep on refreshing, reloading, and some apps crashing over and over. Ever since I got 6GB on my iPhone it never crashed. I just want the same for the iPad.

 

[44267547]

Its a pretty lame update but I wonder about the price. Apple has gotten a lot of data on how well a $499 ipad air sells like. I bought one myself as soon as it went on sale that low last year. If the numbers are good they might lower the price just to grow market share and get people to give up their older devices. Then they can raise the price again later when they add what should be regular but more substantial updates to the line later. Who am I kidding? Apple seems to be finding ways to raise prices this year not lower them.

Pricing is subjective though, isn’t it?

I think the consideration is, who is Apple targeting with this iPad? Because if it’s an older Gen iPad somebody’s upgrading from, this would be far more appealing to a larger demographic, given that iPad is generally not upgraded as often as iPhones are.

Keep in mind, if somebody wants more features, then that’s what the ‘Pro’ is for. I don’t think this iPad is out of the realm for pricing for consumers who have been using an iPad that might be four or five years old.

 

[mrr]

WiFi 6 ?

 

[sdfox7]

Its a pretty lame update but I wonder about the price. Apple has gotten a lot of data on how well a $499 ipad air sells like. I bought one myself as soon as it went on sale that low last year. If the numbers are good they might lower the price just to grow market share and get people to give up their older devices. Then they can raise the price again later when they add what should be regular but more substantial updates to the line later. Who am I kidding? Apple seems to be finding ways to raise prices this year not lower them.

To me it's pretty surprising they're (still) selling a 64GB for $600. My iPad Air 2 (2014-2017) came with 128GB. The price of the 64GB iPad Air hasn't changed since then, but for only $100 more it made sense then to buy the 128GB with twice the storage for $700. Even though I use iCloud for almost everything it seems silly they're charging $600 for 64GB.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I'm sure majority of the focus will be on the services too. That's going to be a big highlight.

Agreed.
im hoping for better “One” bundles and More critically:
better default free iCloud storage it’s long overdue,
better pricing and/or higher storage options for existing pricing tiers of 100/250/500GB/1TB options,

from 3 devices 50GB fills up really quickly in a few short months of backups. I’m sure many have to disable many apps backing up In iCloud to keep storage use to a minimum.