Apple revamped the fifth-generation iPad Air with a couple of features, the main one being the M1 chip. This addition makes it the second Apple tablet to sport the company’s powerful chip after the iPad Pro 2021. Much of the redesign remains intact with the Air having a 10.9-inch liquid retina display, which doesn’t look much different from the 11-inch iPad Pro. The display has a peak 500 nits brightness with HDR support, but no mention of ProMotion. Its front-facing camera has also been updated to use a 12-megapixel sensor – up from 7 megapixels last time – and it now supports Apple’s Center Stage feature that’s designed to automatically keep you in the frame while on calls. The rear camera has a resolution of 12 megapixels, the same as last time. Like its predecessor, the iPad Air supports the $129 Apple Pencil, as well as the $299 Magic Keyboard. For biometric security, the iPad Air uses Touch ID. The iPad Air will be available starting at $599 for the Wi-Fi-only model and $749 for the Wi-Fi and cellular version. It comes with either 64GB or 256GB storage.
Tech Specs
• Finish: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, Blue
• Operating System: iPadOS 15
• Capacity: 64GB, 256GB
• 8GB RAM
• Display: 10.9-inch (diagonal) LED‑backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology, 2360-by-1640-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
• Processor: Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU, 8-core graphics, Apple Neural Engine
• Camera: 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture, Digital zoom up to 5x, Five-element lens, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Panorama (up to 63MP), Smart HDR 3
• FaceTime HD Camera: 12MP Ultra Wide front camera, 122° field of view
ƒ/2.4 aperture, Smart HDR 3, 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps, FaceTime video with Center Stage
• Sensors: Touch ID, Three‐axis gyro, Accelerometer, Barometer, Ambient light sensor
• Charging and Expansion: USB-C port with support for: Charging, DisplayPort, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
Price
64GB: Wi-Fi: $599, Wi-Fi + Cellular: $749
256GB: Wi-Fi: $749, Wi-Fi + Cellular: $899
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