Apple iPad Air 5: With M1 chip and 5G in five colors presented

At the Apple event on March 8, the new fifth-generation Apple iPad Air was also presented as an exciting tablet. Like the Pro model, the new Air also relies on Apple’s M1 chip, which should provide impressive performance. On top of that, there’s 5G support, up to 256 GB of storage, and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle front-facing camera.

Apple iPad Air 5: All the info and features

The new fifth-generation Apple iPad Air succeeds the Air 4, which was already released in 2020, and comes up with numerous technical improvements. The core is a 10.9-inch Multi-Touch display (27.69 cm diagonal) with IPS technology and LED backlighting.

The True Tone display has a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels and thus offers a pixel density of 264 PPI. It is fully laminated, offers a grease-repellent anti-reflective coating (1.8 percent reflectance) and comes to a maximum brightness of 500 nits, as well as a high DCI-P3 color space coverage.

In addition to touch controls, the new iPad Air can optionally be operated with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil, which – just like on the Pro – can be magnetically docked on the outside and charged. In addition, the Air can be connected to Apple’s Magic Keyboard keyboard case to grow into a high-performance notebook replacement.

Size and communication

It measures 247.6 mm x 178.5 mm x 6.1 mm (height x width x depth) and weighs 461 grams (Wi-Fi model) or 462 g including the 5G module. There is a choice of 64 GB or 256 GB of storage.

A Touch ID sensor for fingerprint unlocking is integrated into the upper button. There is also a USB-C port on the bottom that can be used for charging or connecting additional accessories. The Apple iPad Air 5 works wirelessly via Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, offers a pair of stereo speakers, as well as two integrated microphones for calls, video and audio recording.

iPad Air 5 with Apple M1 and new cameras

The most important technical innovation of the Apple iPad Air 5 is the installed chip. While the predecessor still used the Apple A14, the new tablet now relies on the M1 ARM chip (8 cores), which is also used in the Pro model. This is supposed to result in a performance increase of around 60 percent, while the graphics chip can call up twice the performance.

Apple again does not provide any information about the battery capacity, but it is supposed to be a “battery for the whole day”. The camera setup of the lightweight tablet is also new. On the back, the new iPad Air relies on a 12 MP wide-angle camera with f/1.8 aperture, 5x digital zoom, panorama function and Smart HDR 3.

On the front, however, Apple is now installing a new ultra-wide-angle camera, which also comes with 12 megapixels (aperture: f/2.4). This promises a much better image quality and offers support for Center Stage, where the built-in chip always keeps the user in the center of the image.

Prices and availability

The new fifth-generation Apple iPad Air is now available for pre-order on Apple’s website and will begin shipping on March 18. The tablet will be offered in a total of five colors: space gray, purple, blue, rose and polar star, as well as with two storage sizes (64 GB or 256 GB). The minimum price is 679.00 Euros (with 64 GB storage and the Wi-Fi-only model). The maximum price for the new iPad Air with 256 GB storage and Wi-Fi and 5G is 1,019.00 Euros.