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iPad Air 5 Reviews: Great Value With M1 Chip at $599 Starting Price
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Just a passing thought re: the iPad Air going to the M1... the yields on M1 chip production must be really good, despite it having more RAM and processing units than the A15. Apple has added a ton of volume to M1 production by putting the iPad Pro and now the iPad Air on top of the Mac volume (it would have been a blip on the A15 production numbers).
The new fifth-generation iPad Air will begin arriving to customers on Friday and, ahead of time, the first hands-on reviews of the device have surfaced. We've rounded up some of the reviews and unboxing videos below.
Key new features of the iPad Air include the same M1 chip found in the iPad Pro, 5G connectivity on cellular models, an upgraded 12-megapixel front camera with support for Center Stage, up to a 2x faster USB-C port for data transfer, and new color options. Pricing continues to start at $599 in the U.S. for 64GB of storage.
Overall, the new iPad Air remains a great value, with performance now on par with the iPad Pro thanks to the M1 chip and other Pro-like features.
M1 Chip
Geekbench 5 benchmark results that surfaced earlier this week confirmed that the M1 chip is not downclocked in the new iPad Air, resulting in the device having virtually identical performance as the iPad Pro.
Nevertheless, several reviewers pointed out that iPadOS makes it challenging to take advantage of the performance capabilities.
The Verge's Dan Seifert:5G
The iPad Air now supports 5G networks on Wi-Fi + Cellular models, but not faster mmWave 5G like the iPad Pro does.
CNET's Scott Stein tested 5G on the new iPad Air:Center Stage Camera
With an upgraded 12-megapixel front camera, the new iPad Air is the last iPad to gain support for Center Stage, a feature that helps keep you and anyone else with you in the frame as you move around during video calls. Center Stage is available for FaceTime calls and in supported third-party video calling apps, such as Zoom.
TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino:More Reviews
Videos
- WIRED's Brenda Stolyar
- MacStories' Federico Viticci
- Six Colors' Jason Snell
- iMore's Luke Filipowicz
- The Guardian's Samuel Gibbs
- Pocket-lint's Stuart Miles
Article Link: iPad Air 5 Reviews: Great Value With M1 Chip at $599 Starting Price
Yeah, I used to be able to do that easily, but we switched our plan to an unlimited plan and so that's a bit wonky. Basically, I'm just keeping an eye on it until we want to upgrade my little guy's kindle fire to an iPad for trips and such. Whenever Apple starts making their own modems from the IP they bought off of Intel, I'm curious if they'll be able to drop the price a bit on the cellular or even just make it standard. Probably not, but here's hoping!
Oh, I've been annoyed by it for years. Apple kept the 16 GB iPhone WWWAAAYY longer than they should have. I think they also set the base configuration of the 2019 Mac Pro around 256 (now 512) and that starts at 6k (but it's also targeted at a different audience, so there's also that I guess). If your kids are using 1/2 to 2/3 of 256, 64 GB doesn't sound sufficient for the base level of a device that starts at $600. Like I said, I know it's Apple and I know they've got their margins to keep. I just think they should have a little more onboard storage breathing room for their base-level configurations. In part, because at times it makes for a less "it just works" experience for a lot of consumers who aren't going to pay the monthly iCloud fee and then have to manage their device more by frequently deleting stuff.
Most people on these forums and the tech reviewers just don’t get it in my opinion.
If you use your iPad for serious gaming or art or creation/business then the air is not your demographic anyway. It is like all the people complaining that the m2 air throttles or doesn’t do what a MacBook pro does.
I don’t do artwork and don’t take notes on my iPad. My son does and has a Pro. For me I want a fast and responsive tablet I can use for years. Play a few games and stream a lot of content and browse the web. That is it. If Inwant to do productive work a laptop form factor just makes so much more sense for me. So spending $749 or more on a tablet is just a waste of money and at that point I would just get a base model MacBook m2 air. Yes it costs more but it is so much more useful. I hate two in one setups. I tried with Surface devices, tried with chrome os, and I figured out they didn’t work well as a tablet or laptop so what was the point?
For a lot of people I think they are like me. They like speed and graphic power when they do play and occasional game and browse the web but don’t need 256gb or 1 tb storage. My iPhone only has around 43gb on it and I use it way more and have more apps. So I am not worried about storage. I also have an iCloud account so I can offload anything I need and have several usb c memory sticks I can use to offload.
Do I wish the iPad Air 5 had 128gb storage, four speakers and promotion? Of course. But then what would make anyone buy an iPad pro even with M2? Most people would just buy an air. Plus if you factor in discounts you can get this device for around $550. What other tablet has as much going for it at that price?
With trade in and discounts a Samsung Galaxy tab S8 has everything I mentioned plus an spen for around the same cost maybe a little more but then you have android, bloatware, a much slower SOC, poorly optimized apps, and shorter term software support.
I think the new air is amazing but it was a hard choice between the air 5 and the S8 because they almost cost the same for me and the hardware on the S8 is better. Better screen, better speakers, but then android on a tablet. Not that it is as terrible as people make it out to be but it just isn’t as good an experience at the end of the day. Both tablets have either 4x3 or 16x10 so neither are perfect for streaming as you get bars on both but again Samsung has a slight advantage. Also the camera in portrait is a crime on the iPad.
So at the end of the day I think Apple did the best they could with the air. I don’t see promotion ever coming to the air or mini unless they just add it as a feature on all their entry or mid range devices so complaining about it is a fools errand. What I can’t understand is why Apple put the stereo speakers on the bottom in landscape? Why not have them near the buttons so when streaming or gaming your hands don’t cover up the only two speakers? Other than that And the smaller storage I don’t see anything wrong with the air 5.
If you use your iPad for serious gaming or art or creation/business then the air is not your demographic anyway. It is like all the people complaining that the m2 air throttles or doesn’t do what a MacBook pro does.
I don’t do artwork and don’t take notes on my iPad. My son does and has a Pro. For me I want a fast and responsive tablet I can use for years. Play a few games and stream a lot of content and browse the web. That is it. If Inwant to do productive work a laptop form factor just makes so much more sense for me. So spending $749 or more on a tablet is just a waste of money and at that point I would just get a base model MacBook m2 air. Yes it costs more but it is so much more useful. I hate two in one setups. I tried with Surface devices, tried with chrome os, and I figured out they didn’t work well as a tablet or laptop so what was the point?
For a lot of people I think they are like me. They like speed and graphic power when they do play and occasional game and browse the web but don’t need 256gb or 1 tb storage. My iPhone only has around 43gb on it and I use it way more and have more apps. So I am not worried about storage. I also have an iCloud account so I can offload anything I need and have several usb c memory sticks I can use to offload.
Do I wish the iPad Air 5 had 128gb storage, four speakers and promotion? Of course. But then what would make anyone buy an iPad pro even with M2? Most people would just buy an air. Plus if you factor in discounts you can get this device for around $550. What other tablet has as much going for it at that price?
With trade in and discounts a Samsung Galaxy tab S8 has everything I mentioned plus an spen for around the same cost maybe a little more but then you have android, bloatware, a much slower SOC, poorly optimized apps, and shorter term software support.
I think the new air is amazing but it was a hard choice between the air 5 and the S8 because they almost cost the same for me and the hardware on the S8 is better. Better screen, better speakers, but then android on a tablet. Not that it is as terrible as people make it out to be but it just isn’t as good an experience at the end of the day. Both tablets have either 4x3 or 16x10 so neither are perfect for streaming as you get bars on both but again Samsung has a slight advantage. Also the camera in portrait is a crime on the iPad.
So at the end of the day I think Apple did the best they could with the air. I don’t see promotion ever coming to the air or mini unless they just add it as a feature on all their entry or mid range devices so complaining about it is a fools errand. What I can’t understand is why Apple put the stereo speakers on the bottom in landscape? Why not have them near the buttons so when streaming or gaming your hands don’t cover up the only two speakers? Other than that And the smaller storage I don’t see anything wrong with the air 5.