Apple has announced the redesigned iPad Air, which now comes supercharged by the M2 chip. That’s not all: aside from the 11-inch iPad Air, Apple has unveiled an all-new 13-inch model for the first time.

The latest iteration of the iPad Air features a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, ensuring users of even more powerful performance and a device more suited for AI. The tablet also boasts of faster Wi-Fi and 5G speeds on cellular models, all-day battery life, and support for Apple Pencil Pro and Smart Folio.

Price, availability

The new iPad Air is available in four colors: blue, purple, starlight, and space gray. Both models have configurations ranging from 128GB to 1TB internal storage, along with 8GB of RAM. The prices are as follows:

• 11-inch iPad Air: US$ 599 / PhP 42,990 / SG$ 899
• 13-inch iPad Air: US$ 799 /  PhP  54,990 / SG$ 1,199

Customers may now order the new iPad Air, while general availability starts on May 15, 2024. The Apple Pencil Pro also releases on the same day. This accessory supports more capabilities, like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback for a more intuitive usage.

Now in two sizes

With two sizes, the redesigned iPad Air offers users exactly what they need. The smaller 11-inch model is portable as it gets, while the 13-inch model provides a larger display for those who need more room where it is needed, like Freeform or when utilizing Split View.

Both models sport a Liquid Retina display with anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone technology, and support for P3 wide color. Content viewed on the latest iPad Air’s display looks rich and vibrant, with better brightness and deeper blacks. Text also comes out sharp, no matter the lighting condition.

More performance

The M2 chip features a faster 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. It offers a handful of improvements over M1, for those upgrading from previous-generation iPad Air models. For reference, the M2 chip clocks at at maximum of 3.49GHz, while the M1’s peak processing speed is just at 3.2GHz.

Combined with faster memory bandwidth, the new iPad Air is about 50% faster than its predecessor with M1. Moreover, compared to the iPad Air with A14 Bionic, the latest counterpart delivers up to three times faster performance.

The incredibly fast chip will allow users to work or create and render faster on the latest iPad Air, as well as play graphics-intensively games smoothly and easily.

Powerful device for AI

Moreover, the M2 has a 16-core Neural Engine that is 40% faster than the M1. Along with accelerators, the new iPad Air boosts on-device machine learning along with Apple silicon’s architecture for exceptional AI performance.

Users will feel this change when enjoying iPadOS features like Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, or Live Text. They also do more when using Auto Enhance in Photomator, or Onform’s motion-tracking.

And as the newest iPad Air also runs on iPadOS 17, users will have better personalization options for various apps and services.

Faster connectivity

Furthermore, the tablet now supports Wi-Fi 6E, faster 5G on cellular models, and Bluetooth 5.3. That’s twice the performance from the previous generation. The cellular models are also eSIM compatible, so users may opt for a non-physical version or have multiple mobile plans on a single device.

Landscape front camera

The redesign also sees the ultra-wide 12MP front camera now located along the landscape edge. The change is mainly due to the fact that more iPad users prefer the orientation. This sensor features Center Stage, which uses machine learning to keep everyone in the field of view.

At the back is a 12MP wide camera that delivers up to 4K video and support for 240fps slow-motion. Complementing the cameras are dual microphones that capture audio while minimizing background noise.

When it comes to content consumption, the new iPad Air also has landscape stereo speakers with Spatial Audio. The 13-inch model, in particular, delivers double the bass for better quality for music, videos, and other content.