Three reasons to buy Apple’s new iPad Air – I should know, I’ve been testing it for a week

WHEN it comes to tablets, Apple is king – and there’s another shining jewel in its crown.

I’ve been secretly testing the new iPad Air 2024, an updated super slate that’s thin, light, and extremely impressive.

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It’s a beautiful metal and glass sign that comes in four colors: Starlight and Space Gray, as well as the new Blue and Purple.

I’ve also been trying to pair it with the floating-effect Magic Keyboard ($299/$349) and the rollable, squeezable Apple Pencil Pro ($129).

It transforms into what appears to be a laptop, but is easily disassembled into its central tablet form depending on your needs.

That’s a lot of money to spend beyond the $599 base price, but it’s worth it as the upgrades these accessories offer are significant.

Unless you’re an artist, you can probably skip Pencil Pro (or spring for the cheapest pencil at $79).

But the Magic Keyboard looks fabulous, works like a case, and allows for much greater productivity.

iPad Air is now available in two sizes to suit most needs.

Apple’s 11-inch tablet is cheaper and offers plenty of screen real estate for casual gaming, movie watching, or web browsing.

But you’ll get a much broader view with the more expensive 13-inch option ($749), which also allows the tablet to work better as a laptop replacement.

This is the one I’ve been using and I love it. The screen looks downright giant, but it’s light enough to hold and use comfortably.

If you plan on using it as more than just a tablet, the 13-inch is a much more comfortable option for greater productivity use.

NO PAD!

On that subject, if you want to play or work (relatively) seriously on the iPad Air, you’ll have a lot of fun.

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That’s because the new iPad Air is equipped with Apple’s fast M2 chip, which has already appeared in MacBooks.

This laptop processor handles everyday tasks with ease and allows you to comfortably edit videos, photos and music in real time.

And it’s a pretty efficient chip too, so you’ll be able to comfortably get a day of use out of a single charge.

One small but welcome change is the move of the front camera to the edge of the iPad’s landscape.

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This means your eyes will be centered instead of averted during the video call.

And you’re less likely to get finger smudges on the camera, too.

Apple has made significant updates to its iPadOS, now allowing for much greater productivity compared to older software versions.

For example, Stage Manager mode is a great laptop-style multitasking window arrangement that will feel more familiar to MacBook users.

And we expect more iPad software updates later this year, which will inevitably arrive as free updates for this model.

CLEAN AIR?

So is the new iPad Air worth buying?

It’s easy to think that because the iPad Pro exists, the iPad Air is a casual machine. This simply is not true.

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The iPad Air has enough computing power to outperform many laptops and costs $599 or $799 (depending on screen size).

At the same time, you have other options: the regular iPad is cheaper and suitable for very casual users, while the new (and more expensive) iPad Pro is extremely powerful but may be overkill for many.

Three reasons to get it: The iPad Air is a middle ground that can function as a secondary professional device, a student laptop alternative, or a brilliant portable entertainment machine for almost anyone.

The Sun says: The best of both worlds, Apple’s new iPad Air is at the heart of the tablet lineup and offers excellent value for money. 5/5

IPAD AIR PRICE AND RELEASE NOTES

The iPad Air is now available to order and will be in stores from Wednesday, May 15th.

Here’s how much you’ll pay:

• 11-inch iPad Air (Wi-Fi) – $599 / £599
• 11-inch iPad Air (cellular) – $749 / £749
• 13-inch iPad Air (Wi-Fi) – $799 / £799
• 13-inch iPad Air (cellular) – $949 / £949
• Apple Pencil Pro – $129 / £129
• Magic Keyboard (11-inch) – $299 / £299
• Magic Keyboard (13-inch) – $349 / £349
• New Smart Folio (11-inch) – $79 / £79
• New Smart Folio (13-inch) – $99 / £99

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing.