The iPad Air Got an Overdue Upgrade. Here's What Apple Changed

The iPad Air Got an Overdue Upgrade. Here's What Apple Changed

The iPad Pro, iPad and iPad Mini all received an update last year, but Apple forgot the iPad Air. That is, until Tuesday, when the company announced a new iPad Air during its "Peek Performance" event. It looks like it was worth the wait -- and, maybe, the best iPad for its price.

The Air has the M1 processor of the existing iPad Pro model and recent Macs, but an otherwise similar design to the 2020 model, with an eight-core GPU. It also adds an ultrawide, 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, similar to existing iPad models. 5G is onboard, too, for faster mobile data. But the iPad Air still has the same display as before: no Mini-LED or OLED. It comes in a new blue color, and starts at $599 (£569, AU$929), the same as previously, with 64 and 256GB configurations, also the same as before. The new iPad Air is available March 18, the same date as the new iPhone SE. Preorders open Friday.

Read more: iPad Air 2022 vs. iPad Pro 2021: Apple's 11-Inch Tablets Compared

A new iPad Air was expected at this event; it's the iPad model that was clearly most in need of an upgrade. Reports indicated that the Air would gain the M1 chip, 5G, boosted entry-level storage (128GB instead of 64GB), and a wider-angle front-facing camera with the same digital-zooming Center Stage tech that's already on the other iPad models from 2021. All of these updates happened, with the exception of the starting storage boost.

The Air line has been around for years, and iPad Air models have tended to be midrange models that incorporate some of the iPad Pro's features at a lower price. The 2020 iPad Air looked and felt like a more affordable version of the iPad Pro, adding the Pro line's thinner-bezeled, curved-edge display, USB-C support, and compatibility with smart keyboard cases and the Pencil 2. But it started to feel a step behind Apple's other iPads last year: the 2021 iPad Mini looked like the iPad Air in a smaller size, but with its CenterStage camera and 5G, it had some features the larger Air lacked.

For more, take a look at everything else Apple announced Tuesday, including the iPhone SE 3 (here's how it compares to the 2020 model and why it's for people "who just want an iPhone"), new iPhone 13 colors and Apple's M1 Ultra processor, as well as the Mac Studio and Mac Studio Display. The products arrived alongside a release date for iOS 15.4, Apple's latest iPhone operating system update. You can check out everything Apple debuted at its "Peek Performance" event here.

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Apple announces new $499 iPad Air and $399 iPad Mini, both with Pencil support and faster A12 processor

Apple announces new $499 iPad Air and $399 iPad Mini, both with Pencil support and faster A12 processor

One week before it's expected to lift the curtain on a long-rumored video streaming service at an event on March 25, Apple announced two new iPads. 

Starting at $499 (£479, AU$779), the new iPad Air features a 10.5-inch Retina display and the same A12 Bionic processor used in the iPhone XS. The new $399 (£399, AU$599) iPad Mini will replace the aging iPad Mini 4, which had been left virtually unchanged by Apple since its debut in 2015. The new models are now available for preorder and will be in stores next week. See the buying links below, and note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of products featured on this page.

The 2019 iPad Air 

The new iPad Air sits between the 9.7-inch iPad introduced last year, which starts at $329, and the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $799 and has a more powerful A12X processor. The new Air is essentially a refresh of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro from 2017, which Apple has now discontinued. It has a nearly identical design -- and accessories will be interchangeable between the two -- but a few newer components. Apple hadn't released an "Air" version of the iPad since switching over to the plain old "iPad" in 2017.

The new iPad Air with Apple's smart keyboard and Pencil.

Apple

Here's a rundown of the 2019 iPad Air's specs:

• 10.5-inch Retina display (2,224x1,668-pixel resolution), 500 nits
• 8-megapixel rear camera, 7-megapixel FaceTime camera
• Support for the original Apple Pencil (not the newer one announced in October)
• A12 Bionic processor with Neural Engine, M12 coprocessor
• 64GB or 256GB of storage
• Support for eSIM
• Rated for 10 hours of battery life
• 3.5mm headphone jack
  
• Touch ID
• Lightning connector
• Weighs 1 pound (456 grams); Wi-Fi + cellular model weighs 1.02 pounds (464 grams)
• Available in space gray, silver and gold
• Starts at $499, £479, AU$779

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The 2019 iPad Mini

The new iPad Mini.

Apple

The new iPad Mini has the same basic design as the iPad Mini 4, with the same 7.9-inch display and the same broad bezels. (The camera has moved to a different position, however, so Mini 4 cases may not fit properly on the new model.) The new Mini doesn't have Face ID or USB-C ports -- major upgrades found on other recent Apple tablets -- though it has a much faster A12 processor. That chip will surely give the new model a significant performance advantage over its predecessor, which used the same A8 chip as the 2014-era iPhone 6. The new model retains the previous model's 3.5mm headphone jack and Lightning port -- two features that Apple excluded from last year's batch of iPad Pros. 

Here's a rundown of the 2019 iPad Mini's specs:

• 7.9-inch Retina display (2,048x1,536-pixel resolution)
• 64GB or 256GB of storage
• A12 Bionic processor with Neural Engine, M12 coprocessor
• 8-megapixel rear camera, 7-megapixel FaceTime camera
• Support for the original Apple Pencil (not the newer one announced in October)
• Touch ID
  
• Lightning connector
• 3.5mm headphone jack
  
• Support for eSIM
• Weighs 0.66 pound (300 grams); Wi-Fi + cellular model weighs 0.68 pound (308 grams)
• Available in space gray, silver and gold
• Starts at $399, £399, AU$599

Apple often introduces new products in March. At last year's event, Apple delivered a refreshed edition of its entry-level iPad in addition to some education-friendly software initiatives. That today's announcement was made by press release suggests that the company wants to keep the focus of next week's event solely on its new video streaming service.

Originally published March 18 at 6.39 a.m. PT.
Update, at 11.05 p.m. PT: Added more details about accessory compatibility.

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