Apple Gives iPad Air a Major Boost With M1 Chip
Available in space gray, starlight, pink, purple and blue finishes.
Apple unveiled a number of updates to its product lineup during its Peek Performance Event on Tuesday, including a boosted iPad Air with its powerful M1 chip.
The M1 chip is the same chip used in the iPad Pro and offers better power efficiency and all-day battery life. The 8-core CPU delivers up to 60% faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. In addition, the M1 includes a 16-core Neural Engine that powers advanced machine learning functions to speed-up complex computing tasks.
The new iPad Air has also been outfitted with a 12MP Ultra Wide front camera that includes the popular Center Stage feature that detects movement and adjusts to keep people in the frame — a feature now available on all iPad models. The 12MP Wide back camera captures 4K video and crisp photos, with editing and sharing capabilities built into the device.
The thin and light iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with 3.8 million pixels, True Tone capabilities and an anti-reflective screen coating. The device features landscape stereo speakers and Touch ID built into the top button for easy login. The USB-C port on the device has been updated with 2x faster speed than the previous generation and allows it to connect to displays and other external storage devices.
In addition, the new iPad Air now offers 5G connectivity that can reach peak speeds of up to 3.5 gigabytes per second, and the device is compatible with a number of Apple accessories on the market, including the Apple Pencil (2nd generation), Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio and the Smart Folio covers. It runs on iPadOS 15, which offers a new multitasking menu, split-screen view, new widgets, keyboard shortcuts and more.
The new iPad Air comes in 64GB and 256GB configurations and is available in space gray, starlight, pink, purple and blue finishes. It is available for pre-order beginning Friday, March 11, and begins shipping on March 18. Prices start at $549 USD.
In other news, Apple has revamped its iPhone SE with its A15 Bionic Chip.
