Apple iPad Air 2024 review
In Short
- The iPad Air 2024 is the first in its series to have a 13-inch display.
- The camera is now placed more conveniently.
- The price for the iPad Air 2024 in India starts at Rs 59,900.
When most people talk about a powerful tablet, they probably mean the iPad Pro. We recently reviewed the all-new M4 iPad Pro. We raved about how great and powerful it is.
Meanwhile, for simple tasks, the iPad Air is the most recommended. Something for watching videos, for kids to play with.
After using the iPad Air 2024 for my everyday use for a week now, I think that’s not the case. A lot of people think it’s not powerful enough, I don’t think so. I think the iPad Air 2024 is powerful enough. Possibly the best iPad ever.
The new iPad Air is the best. It’s powerful, has the same design as the 2022 iPad Pro and now has a 13-inch display. The base storage has also been increased to 128GB. It also supports Apple Pencil Pro and USB-C Pencil. The 11-inch variant has a starting price of Rs 59,900. The 13-inch iPad Air 2024 that I am testing starts at Rs 79,990. It is not cheap, but it is enough for a tablet with this much power.
The new iPad Air does not have the fancy new M4 chip. The 2024 iPad Air is equipped with the M2 chip. This is the same processor that you get in the 2022 iPad Pro. The M2 chip is powerful and gives the tablet a fast speed.
The design is slightly different from the 2022 iPad Pro. The biggest difference is its front camera. It is now on the landscape edge. This makes video calling convenient.
The screen size has also been increased. It is now 13 inches. Don’t worry, if you like the 11-inch screen then you can choose it. It gives users more options according to their use.
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It is quite pro on the inside
It does not have the super powerful M4 chip. Instead, the Air 2024 has the M2 chip. This is the same processor you find on a lot of MacBooks. People use those notebooks as daily drivers.
Here’s what it means in practical terms. Apple threw out some numbers: The CPU cores on the M2 chip are 15% faster than the cores on the previous Air’s M1 chip. The GPU on the M2 is also 25% faster. The Neural Engine is also now faster, 40% to be precise.
I’ve been using the iPad Air 2024 for the past week. During this time, I’ve streamed a lot of shows and movies on it. I’ve also played games and used it as a secondary display to my MacBook Pro. I’ve edited a lot of photos and made several video calls. I haven’t faced any performance issues.
What’s it like to use the iPad Air
The iPad Air M2 comes with a big screen. It’s great. I personally prefer the 11-inch one, but a bigger option is always nice. The display is really nice to look at, especially when I streamed my favourite movie Il Postino. The colours on the screen were really nice. And the stereo speakers made the audio even better, thanks to the Spatial Audio support.
The iPad Air is my companion, whether I’m inside or outside, it’s always with me. The best part is that even in direct sunlight I can easily read the display. It feels a bit bulky if you hold it with one hand and try to do something with it, but it’s not so bad if you carry it around. It’s best used with the Folio or Magic Keyboard, or when it’s flat on a table. And hey, there are plenty of colours to choose from, like this funky lilac one. But for this review, we’re looking at the blue version.
The battery performance on the new iPad Air is pretty good. I usually get around 10 hours of battery life, or more if I don’t use it too much. It comes with a Type-C cable and a 20W USB-C power adapter. The iPad takes about an hour to fully charge.
One thing I liked most about the Air was the change in the camera position. Instead of placing it on top, it now rests on the side when you hold it in landscape mode. This makes video calling a lot easier – no awkward shots where you try to adjust the camera to your face.
The iPad Air has a 12-megapixel front camera. It’s good enough for video calls if you’re in a room with enough light. There’s also a 12-megapixel camera on the back. I personally don’t use the rear camera on a tablet, but it’s not bad when you need to quickly take a shot.
I used the Air with the new Smartfolio, and it’s much better. It now has different angles, and you can easily adjust the tablet to your preferred position. These are small things, but they matter.
Choosing between an iPad Air and an iPad Pro? That’s the question.
Well, personally I prefer the Air if you don’t like all the cool stuff that the Pro has.
The Air 2024 doesn’t have all the cool features that the new iPad Pro has, like the LiDAR scanner or FaceID. But honestly, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. TouchID on a bigger iPad like the 13-inch Air is pretty convenient, I must say. And yes, the Pro has a great Tandem OLED screen, but the Liquid Retina display on the Air felt pretty great to me. I couldn’t really tell the difference when I put them side by side.
Also, there is a huge difference in price. The Air costs about Rs 50,000 less than the Pro. Saving such a huge amount for very few features is a huge deal.
But what made me buy the Air is that it feels really good to use. It may not have all the cool stuff like the Pro, but it still gives the “Pro” feel and performance with the hardware of the previous generation Pro. And if you look, the previous generation Pro was priced much higher, so that is a big deal. So yes, it is all Air for me.
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Apple iPad Air 2024: Who should buy it?
When I was using the iPad, my dad was curious about who should buy it. He asked if it was good for office work. Well, the thing is: if you are someone who does a lot of work on his phone, the iPad might be a bigger, better version for you. But if you need a laptop for work, the iPad is not for you. Apple hasn’t designed it to replace a laptop. They deliberately made it different with iPadOS instead of macOS.
So who should buy an iPad? If you need something for fun or collaborative work, or if you only need it to make simple changes to documents, the iPad Air could be the right choice for you. And if you’re the creative type, or if you add accessories like the Magic Keyboard or Pencil, it could be really useful. But those accessories are expensive, and you could end up spending a lot of money, maybe around Rs 1 lakh. But if you can take advantage of its features, the iPad Air is the right choice for you.
This table provides a quick summary that should be easy to understand
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Display | 13-inch display, the first in the iPad Air series |
| Design | Similar design to the 2022 iPad Pro, with a front camera placed on the landscape edge for convenient video calling |
| Processor | Equipped with the M2 chip, offering fast performance comparable to the 2022 iPad Pro’s M2 chip |
| Storage | Base storage increased to 128GB |
| Pricing | Starting price in India: Rs 59,900 for the 11-inch variant, Rs 79,990 for the 13-inch variant |
| Performance | M2 chip offers 15% faster CPU cores, 25% faster GPU, and 40% faster Neural Engine compared to the previous Air’s M1 chip |
| Usage | Suitable for streaming, gaming, productivity tasks like photo editing and video calls |
| Display and Sound | High-quality display with vibrant colors, stereo speakers with Spatial Audio support |
| Portability | Relatively lightweight for carrying around, best used with accessories like the Folio or Magic Keyboard, available in various colors |
| Battery Life | Approximately 10 hours of battery life, comes with a Type-C cable and 20W USB-C power adapter, takes about an hour to fully charge |
| Camera | Front camera positioned on the side in landscape mode for easier video calling, 12-megapixel front and rear cameras for decent-quality photos and video calls |
| Accessories | Compatible with accessories like the Smartfolio for adjustable viewing angles |
| Comparison with iPad Pro | Does not have features like LiDAR scanner or FaceID found in the iPad Pro, but offers TouchID for convenience, Liquid Retina display provides a similar viewing experience |
| Who should buy? | Suitable for those who need a larger device for tasks beyond what a phone can handle, not intended to replace a laptop but suitable for fun, collaborative work, and basic productivity |
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