This year was a bumper one for Apple fans; as the Californian tech company rolled out a swathe of boxy new design changes across its iPhones and now, the iPad Air.
Yes, 4th generation iPad Air looks like an iPad Pro, and also supports Apple’s smart accessories. But along with that new design has come a slightly higher price tag.
2020’s iPad Air then is more ‘Pro’ than a standard model, yet not quite ‘Pro’ enough to earn it Apple’s monicker. So where exactly does it fit in with Apple’s slate of tablets? Let’s find out.
Apple iPad Air (2020): Design
There’s no getting away from the simple fact that the new iPad Air looks like a pint-sized version of the iPad Pro. And all but the most Apple faithful won’t spot the differences between the two (that the bezel is slightly larger on the Air).
Like most products that come out of Cupertino, the new iPad is certainly solid to touch. The flat edges aren’t sharp to hold, and actually make the tablet easier to grip. And unlike its Pro-grade older brother, the Air lives up to its name by not being too heavy to hold if you’re reading or watching a movie.
The back of the Air sees more changes over the Pro model; you get a single camera (a 12MP snapper) and a few more colour options (namely, rose gold, green and sky blue). All versions look rather snazzy, which makes the age-old question of “do you cover it up in a protective case” that much more of a dilemma.
Apple iPad Air (2020): Screen
This is the first ‘regular’ iPad to forego the home button, which helps keep those bezels slim. It also bumps up the display size from 10.5 inches, to 10.9 inches. In practical terms that makes little difference, however when matched with those flat sides and narrow bezels makes the Air’s screen feel far larger than previous models.
As per, the screen is clear and bright. True Tone adapts to lighting conditions depending on the time of day, and P3 wide colour means it’s suitable for creative tasks, such as photo editing.
The only downside to the screen that we can see, is that it lacks Pro Motion – which comes courtesy of the high refresh rates on Apple’s iPad Pro models. That said, unless you are an active user of said iPad Pro, you aren’t really going to notice the difference.
Apple iPad Air (2020): Performance
Under the hood you get Apple’s latest A14 Bionic chip that boosts performance by 40 per cent, and beefs up graphics 30 per cent over the previous model. Technology specifications aside, that means the iPad Air can call upon some serious power.
Multitasking is made easy, as is playing high-res games and even editing photos and videos. Performance wise, we don’t see a huge difference between it and the iPad Pro, which is impressive given the price differences.
Apple iPad Air (2020): X Factor
Given the world that we live in, we are mighty thankful that Apple ditched Face ID in favour of Touch ID. It’s not that we don’t like Face ID, it’s just that it doesn’t tend to work very well when you’re wearing a mask nearly all the time.
Touch ID is super responsive, and unlocking it is nearly effortless. We can’t wait for this feature to arrive on the next generation of iPhones (if we are so lucky).
Elsewhere, this is the first iPad Air to feature a USB-C connection, over the Lightning Port. That’s only a good thing in our book, as it’s more compatible with a range of accessories – everything from storage devices to cameras.
Apple iPad Air (2020): Verdict
Every year we say the same thing, especially when it comes to Apple products; “this year’s iPad Air is the best iPad Air yet.” That much is obvious. However, for the first time in a long time the upgrades aren’t just under the hood.
The new design really does wonders for Apple’s thinnest tablet; which combined with significantly more power and its ability to work with more accessories, makes this one heck of tablet.
In fact, it’s so good that we wonder what Apple is playing at here, because the new iPad Air is almost competition for its own Pro line of iPads. And if you don’t need that larger screen and a few extra cameras around the back, we reckon many people will choose to pick up the new Air, over last year’s iPad Pro.
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