Apple iPad Air (2020) Overview: The iPad Professional for Everybody Else

Apple iPad Air (4th gen)

MSRP $599.00

“The iPad Air 4 is the iPad Professional for the lots. It is completely located to supply an distinctive pill expertise, with out pushing into the territory of high-end laptop computer pricing.”

Execs

• Wonderful {hardware} design
• Robust battery life and USB-C
• Fantastic show
• Professional-level efficiency
• Magic Keyboard help
• Quick fingerprint sensor

Cons

• Base 64GB of storage
• Costly upsell to 256GB

On the face of it, the brand new iPad Air (4th gen) seems like an ideal Goldilocks iPad. In comparison with the bottom iPad, it has dramatically higher specs, a very new design, a a lot better show, and double the bottom storage. On the similar time, it’s $200 cheaper than the 11-inch iPad Professional, however seems and feels almost similar, and in all sensible functions presents the identical core expertise, together with help for the Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard.

So for $599, is the brand new iPad Air the pill to get? Truly, it simply could also be one of the best worth you will get in an iPad right this moment.

{Hardware}, design, and show

Apple did an distinctive job with the design of the most recent iPad Execs, so I’m not upset within the slightest that the iPad Air is a carbon copy. The metallic physique is completely flat throughout the again — save for the digital camera bump — and runs into flat sides. It simply feels recent and trendy in comparison with the previous curvy fashion — significantly now that it matches with the iPhone 12’s design. It’s additionally out there in a greater diversity of colours, that are rather more playful than any prior iPad. Regardless that most individuals will go for a boring colour like my House Grey mannequin, you possibly can go brilliant if you wish to specific your persona a bit. (The iPad Professional is caught with grey and silver, for now.)

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It’s cheap to assume that the design could be robust in your hand, nevertheless it isn’t. The transitions from again to aspect are good and clean, and the corners have a large radius, so it’s fairly snug whether or not you’re simply propping it up with one hand or holding it in panorama mode with two. And with its extraordinarily gentle 1-pound weight, which is evenly distributed, it positively earns its “Air” moniker.

As a result of it’s lacking Face ID from the Professional, you’ll discover a Contact ID fingerprint sensor built-in into the ability button. It’s positioned effectively to make use of along with your proper index finger when holding it vertically, and your left index finger when horizontal. And the preliminary setup course of makes it clear that you want to train it each instructions. Following that fast tutorial, the sensor was quick and correct. Whereas it will not be as seamless as Face ID, it’s a wonderfully usable authentication methodology — and it not requires a big display bezel to be embedded within the dwelling button.

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The ten.9-inch show is solely great. There’s simply sufficient bezel round it to simply get a grip along with your thumb when wanted, nevertheless it’s not so huge that it feels clunky. It isn’t the identical show because the iPad Professional, however to most individuals’s eyes, it seems prefer it might be. It has the identical pixel density, super-low reflectivity, large colour gamut, and True Tone colour adjustment. It’s technically not as brilliant, however I by no means had bother seeing the display indoors or outside. The truth that it’s a laminated show and has extremely low reflectivity implies that even in direct solar, you possibly can nonetheless use it simply.

The {hardware} is ideal, and the show is solely great.

The one flaw, should you may name it that, I discovered is a little bit of white-pink colour shift when the display is seen a bit off-axis, which actually solely comes into play if somebody sitting subsequent to you can be wanting on the pill. You would additionally level to the truth that this show has only a 60Hz refresh fee, not the dynamic 120Hz “Professional Movement” of the iPad Professional. In case you’re used to an iPad Professional, you’ll discover; if you’re used to some other iPad, you’d by no means complain as a result of iPadOS is so clean, it actually helps make up the distinction.

One other Professional-level function of the Air is its audio system. You get an equal-sized pair of audio system break up on the edges (in panorama) for balanced sound that may get extremely loud. The position makes it almost unattainable to dam the entire sound, and the 50/50 break up makes it rather more immersive for video watching.

Whether or not it was simply taking the straightforward method out or a stroke of genius, making the iPad Air suitable with present iPad Professional keyboard equipment is a big profit. Meaning the present $179 keyboard folio (which is nicer than the one for the bottom iPad, by the way in which) and the absurdly costly however utterly wonderful $299 Magic Keyboard work with the Air. Chances are high if the Air had a definite design, it’d be caught with only a folio and never get its personal model of the Magic Keyboard.

The iPad Air virtually requires a keyboard — and that’ll set you again at the very least $170.

I opted to get an everyday folio with my Air as a result of I believe that spending $300 on a keyboard for a $600 iPad is absurd. However I can simply see the argument that by saving $200 from not getting the iPad Professional, you possibly can justify that steep price ticket. And should you’re going to make use of the iPad Air for any semblance of labor or computer-like duties, you completely want a keyboard. The keyboard folio positively will get the job finished, and I’m capable of sort on it in a short time, however I want certainly one of its two stand angles was flatter. It additionally suffers from the identical downside as all keyboarded iPads (sans the Magic Keyboard) in that it may be a bit wobbly when really utilizing it in your lap. That’s simply a part of attempting to make an iPad right into a laptop-level productiveness machine.

One other barely awkward a part of that horizontal-first use is the front-facing digital camera, which is on the lefthand aspect once you’re docked on the keyboard. The 7-megapixel sensor is nice and totally will get the job finished for video calls with 1080p decision, however having it off to the left — making it appear to be you’re not paying consideration — all the time feels bizarre in comparison with a laptop computer.

Software program, options, and battery life

Everyone knows the small print of iPadOS 14 at this level. Coming from some other iPad, you’ll really feel proper at dwelling on the Air. However with this huge display and additional energy at your disposal, you’ll wish to refresh your information of the myriad multitasking gestures out there in iPadOS. With out realizing learn how to open break up view and lide Over for multi-window administration, or the gestures to rapidly hop between apps and pull up the dock with out going dwelling, you actually miss out on the ability of this machine. Whereas iPadOS continues to wrestle with approachability, there’s no actual affordance to study all of its capabilities. However when you do, you’ll be stunned by how a lot you will get finished.

Andrew Martonik/Digital Tendencies Andrew Martonik/Digital Tendencies

And also you actually can get loads finished on the Air, due to its A14 Bionic chip that’s shared with the iPhone 12. It’s technically sooner for single-core efficiency than the iPad Professional’s A12Z, although it’s additionally technically a tad behind for multi-core efficiency. Regardless, you wouldn’t know the distinction — the iPad Air flies by any job. You actually solely hit a limitation should you’re utilizing an intense graphical app and biking by Slide Over apps — however that’s only a delicate delay. It’s seemingly as a result of Air having solely 4GB of RAM (reminiscence), to the iPad Professional’s 6GB.

Apple talks a giant recreation with the multi-camera array, and LiDAR sensor, on the iPad Professional, however for most individuals the straightforward single 12MP digital camera on the Air will probably be greater than sufficient for the occasional snap. Regardless of hopes that the high-end cameras and depth sensing would flip the iPad Professional into some kind of revolutionary AR gadget for gaming and doing inside design work, it merely hasn’t. A overwhelming majority of individuals will probably be completely happy that the Air has a smaller digital camera bulge, and the worth is decrease.

The one spec really holding the iPad Air again is its storage, which is a meager 64GB within the base mannequin. And there’s just one improve possibility: 256GB, for $150 additional. Having an upsell for extra storage that’s 25% of the bottom worth is absolutely tough, particularly once you have a look at the straightforward storage improve on one thing just like the iPhone 12, which prices simply $50 to go from 64GB to 128GB.

That being stated, I’m utilizing solely 22GB of my 64GB mannequin after two weeks, however maybe I’m not the heaviest iPad consumer as a result of it’s a secondary gadget to my MacBook Professional. However should you’re aiming to make use of an iPad Air like most would a Professional, loading up large “professional” apps and plenty of media content material, that storage may vanish rapidly. Alternatively, I suppose you possibly can actually lean into iCloud — that $150 upsell cost may cowl a 200GB storage plan for over 4 years.

There’s greater than sufficient energy right here, and battery life continues to be an iPad sturdy swimsuit.

The important thing advantage of utilizing an iPad over a equally priced laptop computer is battery. The iPad Air can simply deal with the heaviest day of labor, with 6-plus hours of “screen-on” time, and no battery mitigation measures, and nonetheless have loads of battery remaining. Easy duties like simply streaming video or searching barely contact the battery, and iPadOS continues to be improbable at utilizing barely any energy when not actively in use. Contemplating only a few individuals are utilizing the Air as their solely computing gadget, there’s little question that it may be a part of your gadget utilization on daily basis and go a number of days on a cost.

And my goodness — I’m method too enthusiastic about this, however I don’t care — the iPad Air now prices over USB-C! Sure, now I can cost my Air with the identical actual cable and charger I take advantage of with my MacBook and Android telephones. Sure, I’ve an iPhone and so there are Lightning cables round, however my residence is suffering from USB-C cables of all lengths and kinds, and it simply makes it dead-simple to cost my iPad. It additionally has the knock-on impact of letting me cost telephones from the iPad, which is definitely very nice to have in a pinch.

To your hefty $599 price ticket, you additionally get a 20-watt USB-C charging brick within the field, in addition to a pleasant (albeit quick) USB-C cable. However I doubt I’ll ever contact them.

Our take

The bottom iPad is a pill you purchase as an equipment — one thing you want, however you’re not enthusiastic about. The brand new iPad Air is a pill you purchase as an aspirational instrument — you want to have it, and also you’ll try to profit from its capabilities when it arrives. And it has to chops to deal with a complete lot of what you’ll throw at it.

The {hardware} is great, as is the show, and nothing in regards to the design or feeling in your arms makes you assume for a second that you simply saved $200 over an iPad Professional. Apple completely trimmed the components of the iPad Professional that most individuals gained’t care about, and stored every thing else that makes it nice, together with Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard help. Pair it with a keyboard, and study the quirks of iPadOS, and you may even flip this into a fairly succesful laptop computer substitute — as long as you understand its limitations, that are within the software program excess of the ultracapable specs.

The one knock towards the Air is in its pricing should you don’t wish to get a keyboard and push the boundaries of the A14 Bionic. If that is going to simply be a pill for media consumption and informal searching, $599 is a steep worth and the additional capabilities of this {hardware} will probably be misplaced on you. However simply realizing you can do rather more might be sufficient to make you spend the cash and get this, one of the best all-around iPad mannequin.

Are there higher options?

There are solely two options to the iPad Air, and just one is an affordable comparability. You’ll be able to spend $429 on an iPad (eighth gen) with 128GB of storage, however frankly it isn’t a correct competitor. The bottom iPad is a nice pill for lots of makes use of, nevertheless it isn’t in the identical league by way of efficiency or show high quality, and doesn’t in any respect exude the sense of being high-end in the way in which the iPad Air and Professional do. It additionally isn’t suitable with the Apple Pencil 2 or the Magic Keyboard.

So the actual choice right here is between the iPad Air and 11-inch iPad Professional, which begins at $799. For that cash, you get 128GB of storage, in addition to Face ID, a 120Hz ProMotion show, and extra cameras. However in any other case, within the core options and fundamentals of what most individuals will use the iPad for, the expertise actually isn’t appreciably completely different. Identical to shopping for an iPhone 12 Professional or a MacBook Professional, you’re spending fairly a bit additional to eke out that final bit of additional energy, efficiency, and options over the bottom mannequin.

How lengthy will it final?

One of many huge advantages of shopping for an iPad of any stage is superb long-term software program help. You’ll be able to count on the iPad Air to get one other 5 variations of iPadOS, should you’re so inclined to hold onto it for that lengthy. And higher but, with the iPad Air’s extremely highly effective A14 chipset, it’ll be capable to run these future iPadOS variations with none subject.

Must you purchase it?

Sure. In case you’ve been eyeing an iPad Professional however didn’t wish to spend that a lot cash, the iPad Air is a superb place to land. You’ll get a lot of the expertise of an 11-inch iPad Professional, however save a substantial sum of money. Nevertheless, should you can’t get the iPad Professional from the again of the thoughts, you possibly can all the time anticipate the Black Friday iPad offers which might be across the nook.

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