Since its unveiling back in 2013, the iPad Air has undergone an unprecedented evolution in Apple’s catalogue. While the best in its class, it sat in no-man’s land for some time until the previous generation transformed it into the most balanced option in the range. Now is again positioned as the smartest choice, halfway between the entry-level line and the iPad Pro., in the perfect balance of hardware and sophisticated design. Your only problem? The iPad Air is still…an iPad.
Apple has improved it here and there, using the best from each house. One of the company’s most powerful chips currently only available on the Mac and iPad Pro, minor changes to the camera and a new 13-inch variant that is no doubt ideal for those who want to replace their laptop with an iPad without wanting to. (or necessary). The Pro’s strength And this is its main weakness, which is not exclusive to this iPad, but applies to the entire line.
While iPadOS has undergone a huge evolution over the years since it was introduced as a standalone version of iOS, it still doesn’t match the hardware it runs on. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about the entry-level iPad, which has many of the features of the real iPad Air, or the brand new iPad Pro with the M4 chip. For the average user, The general use of the iPad is indistinguishable from the various options offered by Apple. And the line between the cheapest iPad and the sixth-generation iPad Air is blurring even further.
iPad Air (2024)
This is one of the most versatile Apple products in terms of balance of power and price. The hardware is excellent, but the bottleneck is still the operating system, which, although it has improved in recent years, is still far behind what you might imagine from looking at its specs.
The 2024 iPad Air is the roundest yet
However, all these concessions are well known. The iPad, as a product, has been with us for more than ten years, and its software shortcomings, some of which have a fairly simple solution from a workflow point of view, do not detract from the value of the hardware. Because the sixth generation iPad Air, as a product in itself, This is Apple’s most rounded product to date.. Perhaps its price, especially considering the complete tablet + keyboard package, puts it a little outside the market, even within Apple itself, but this does not mean that the company has brought its hardware to a level where it is impossible to compete unless you are Apple itself.
On paper, the sixth generation iPad Air This is a logical evolution of the previous generation. It’s a better product in almost every aspect and is reminiscent of the iPad Pro, which has had some features cut which, while welcome, will mean a price increase that further blurs the line between the two ranges. We could see the Air as the previous generation Pro. This is a similar strategy to the iPhone and iPhone Pro.and this is certainly not news for Apple or other technology makers.
There are things that are missing from this new iPad Air, especially considering its price. Apple could use this update to at least introduce Face ID in the intermediate range that the Air represents. Other Pro technologies like OLED are welcome, but the truth is that the iPad Air’s screen is outstanding and far superior to most products competing in this price range.
We also don’t see a 120Hz screen or the inclusion of Thunderbolt in USB-C in this new generation, which remains the USB 3 standard (up to 10Gbps) with Display Port compatibility for external monitors. These disadvantages They in no way make the iPad Air an inferior product.but it’s interesting to comment on this now that there are finally more differences starting to exist that justify the price jump between the different iPad lines.
One aspect in which Apple has standardized the range between the Air and Pro is its size. The sixth generation iPad Air is now available in 11- and 13-inch versions. Both offer the same hardware: Apple’s M2 chip, which has been a longtime signature between the iPad and Mac lineups. Again, the cutting edge of the previous generation Pro is the starting point of the new iPad Air.
Despite mentioned size increase in 13-inch model, Apple keeps the weight down. In daily use, it doesn’t feel like a heavy device, even though it’s much larger in size than an iPad would lead you to believe. However, the combination of iPad and keyboard changes the situation, and the price that will have to be paid for turning this into some kind of convertible equipment This is a significant weight gain. (and price) that rivals the MacBook Air in feel (and again in price). Compared to the MacBook Air M3, which weighs 1.24kg, the sixth-generation iPad Air plus keyboard bundle is 100g heavier, to 1.31kg.
The sixth generation iPad Air is equipped, as we have already mentioned several times, with the Apple M2 chip. The power and reliability of Apple silicone has already been well tested in both home and professional settings. Now the average user focused on home tasks with an iPad, or even professionals moving away from the specific needs of the Pro, You won’t find any major differences in day-to-day use compared to the previous generation M1..
Improved power consumption with minutes of battery life per day and greater system simplicity. Today, despite specific applications in more creative environments, this iPad’s biggest bottleneck is not its hardware specs, but its software. iPadOS, simply put, still doesn’t match the hardware it runs on.
Apple has taken some steps in this direction, and Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is a good example of this (which, by the way, is fully compatible with the sixth generation iPad Air). But again, it’s up to the developers to squeeze the juice out of this hardware, and that’s exactly what consumers have been asking for since we saw the first iPad with the M chip, and even before that with the power of the AX itself. . company.
He accomplishes almost everything, he shines in games
What this iPad Air and its extra power is really good at, at least for the average consumer, is a very important aspect: games. Not just because the extra power of the M2 makes any game on the App Store works as efficiently as possible without any flaws, is that its 13-inch screen allows you to play in any situation very comfortably and with amazing quality. Games like Genshin Impact or Warzone Mobile are a joy to play on the iPad Air’s screen, and when paired with a controller, it’s the best console for mobile gaming.
Opening the App Store for emulators It will only offer more iPad features which, thanks to its power, allows you to play any game without breaking a sweat and extremely comfortably. The same goes for cloud gaming via the browser: the 13-inch iPad Air is one of the best allies for the casual bettor who wants to get more out of their tablet when betting on games.
Another change in this new generation has to do with the camera position. If in the previous generation Apple promoted Central stage, a feature that follows your face during a video call, now places it in a more optimal location for them. This happened on one of the sides of the iPad, similar to the position you have on MacBook. This position is more convenient if we are going to use the iPad as if it were a laptop, with a keyboard case or another third-party case, but it is not the best position. as such in all situations.
Its position puts it right where we hold the iPad when using it upright or without a case, and logically it attracts all the fingerprints in the world. Whether this is a problem or not will depend on the user and how they use the iPad. We prefer to comment on this change in the form of a note. Logically, the camera doesn’t interfere with normal use of the iPad and isn’t a major issue in other orientations, but at the end of the day, it’s an important change.
An interesting point about the 13-inch iPad Air that makes it very different from the smaller model, and it’s undoubtedly a huge success on Apple’s part. The point is that it comes a little closer to traditional laptops. Although the line between the two remains very blurred due to the differences inherent in both devices and their software, the 13-inch iPad Air makes it very convenient. And not only content consumption, but also mobile work. Accepting the limitations of iPadOS in this sense, this larger screen opens up a lot more options for the iPad Air that were until now only reserved for the Pro. Something as simple as opening a spreadsheet or working on a long document clearly reveals the immediate benefits. screen of this size, as well as how convenient it is to work with several applications simultaneously in the additional space.
Considering the brilliance of the hardware overall, the superior power and future-proofing provided by its M2 chip and larger screen, we’re dealing with a device so good at the sum of its parts that, with a little more love from Apple in the capabilities of your operating system, It could become the most recommended equipment in the company’s entire catalogue. Just a couple of touches in the operating system separate it from the perfection that you would expect when looking at its technical specifications. Perhaps WWDC 2024 will be the starting point of this future 🤞.
iPad Air (2024), is it worth it?
Is the sixth generation iPad Air worth the money? Well, in short, yes. It’s the only iPad with an M-series chip outside of the Pro line, and it’s the most advanced of the bunch in terms of quality and price. Yes, sure The 13-inch combination with case costs more than the Mac, and remains the most recommended offering for both consumption and content creation.. There are virtually no alternatives on the market in this range in terms of power and price.
A screen of this quality and size, in such a well-maintained and thoughtful design, is not available to most manufacturers. Moreover, turning on the Apple M2 is synonymous with power for any user and situation. This is a guarantee for the future, especially now that the word AI is starting to be heard more and more often at Apple.
However, we still can’t get enough of Face ID, especially considering the price of the device and that the base iPhone 15 offers it. The base model’s 128GB in full 2024 is still missings, and upgrading to the larger 256GB model means a price increase of €130. In this day and age of 4K content and large files, the latter should be the standard. Perhaps in the next generation.
Aside from the tricky balance between capacity and price, there are a few downsides to the 2024 iPad Air. As hardware it’s a well-rounded device in all its departments and outstanding in many of them. An experience that remains only weighed down by the limitations that iPadOS still has today. And that applies to this and every other iPad, even those called Pro. Until this section changes, we’re going in circles with each iPad model. Yes, bigger and more powerful, but a path that will lead us exactly to the same place where we started.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
