The iPad 2020 The air comes at an interesting time in Apple's release cycle. The iPad Pro is still strong from a spec point of view but is now technically half a generation behind in terms of CPU. The new pro models will not arrive for months (theoretical).
So what you get is a device that shares the design philosophy of the iPad Pro and inherits some of its best features while simultaneously leaping forward in terms of pure computing power. That makes the Air one of the best overall values in any Apple computing device for quite some time. In fact, it has become obvious that this is my first choice to recommend as a laptop and casual computer of the entire Apple range, including MacBooks.
The new clean design has a subtle and pleasantly colorful simplicity. It matches the aesthetics of the new iPhone 12 quite well. The rounded corners and dusty blue pebble finish make this iPad one of the most beautiful iPads from the original. For years, Apple has been moving to try to "pull" the iPad casing on the back, making it disappear. This new design strikes a good balance between the straightforward simplicity of the original and the new direction of the iPad Pro. A little less sharp and a little more "friendly" while still crisp.
One thing I really love about the Air is that it lives up to its name and fits lighter weight than any other Apple laptop at 1.0 lbs. This plus the Magic Keyboard is such a killer portable typewriter it's wild.
Apple didn't fix the camera position on this one, something that still smells like the iPad Pro because you have to use Face ID to unlock it and your hand is always in the way in landscape mode. Instead, they completely ditched the entire True Depth camera and Face ID and hid Touch ID in the power button.
The initial scan process to set up a finger seemed slightly more reluctant to grab my fingerprint here than on the home button before. My guess is that it has to do with the oblong shape of the sensor or its housing. But once scanned and inserted, I'm happy to report that it works exactly as if not better than any version of the iPhone home button. I put a finger on my left hand here because I only use iPad in landscape mode. But if you are not a keyboard player and are reading a lot, the right hand would be appropriate.
I actually found this to be a file natural sensation activation gesture rather than swiping up just to remember that my hand is in the way and I have to move it and look at the camera. If the camera was placed along the horizontal edge of the iPad Pro or even in the corner I might feel differently. But as a compromise so that Apple doesn't have to ship a True Depth camera in this unit, it works flawlessly.
The surface of the Touch ID button is covered with a matte sapphire crystal cover that blends well with the case but allows the print to be read through it.
Once unlocked, the iPad Air falls straight into the "X" style navigation system. Swipe to open, navigate and move. This is great because it brings nearly parity of navigation across the entire range of Apple devices (minus the iPhone SE).
The camera is fine. Do you take photos on an iPad? Do you really do it? Wow, interesting, ok. Maybe buy the iPad Pro which has a full LiDAR array, a wide angle lens and an ultra wide angle one. Great for artists, scans, reference works, etc. On the iPad Air the camera is but it is really a formality. It can be used in all of these ways and the quality is on par, but it's there because it has to be there.
Those of you who travel with an iPad and an iPhone will be happy to know you charge an iPhone from the iPad Air's USB-C port. And yes, it works well with USB-C hubs and card readers too.
The iPad Air has 4GB of RAM, while the 2020 iPad Pro has 6GB. It has a Liquid Retina display, but no ProMotion 120hz upgrade. The lack of ProMotion is unfortunate but understandable. It requires another whole layer of display technology that's a little more expensive. Having gotten used to it now, I'd argue that on a bigger screen like this is hands down the best excuse to spend the extra $ 150-200 to upgrade to the 11 "Pro model. That's pretty damn nice. If you've never had one, of course you will miss a lot less.
But it also has an A14 Bionic chip where the 2020 iPad Pro models are still on the A12Z. Since that "Z" is related to the fact that it has an extended number of graphics cores (8-core CPU / 8-core GPU), the performance gap isn't as big as you might think.
Even though the iPad Air outperforms the iPad Pro in terms of single-core performance, the multi-core numbers are essentially on par. This indicates that the iPad Pro is optimized to handle multiple simultaneous threaded processes for image and video processing. If you're using Photoshop or Premiere Rush or LumaFusion on an iPad, we recommend Pro. For most other uses, you'll be fine with the Air.
I really wish the Air would start at 128GB instead of 64GB for the base price of $ 599. Apple has finally brought the iPhone to a great spot for minimal storage across the range and I wish the iPad Air matched it. If a lot of space is important to you, it's important to note that you can't get anything more than 256GB in this drive, unlike the iPad Pro which is offered up to 1TB.
The two speaker system in the iPad Air is laid out in a much better horizontal matrix, but that's half the amount found in the iPad Pro and it shows. It's a little less noisy overall, but honestly the top volume is still way more than needed for the typical iPad viewing distance.
Much of what I've written about using Apple's iPad Pro over the course of 10,000 miles of travel applies directly here. I still find it to be a great experience that, once you adjust to workflows, is as powerful as any laptop. The additional features provided in iOS 14 by that review only made the iPad a better platform for legitimate work.
And now you get the Gen 2 Pencil and the awesome Magic Keyboard in an iPad outside of the Pro range and it honestly adds a ton of utility.
Here's my advice: buy it if you want a portable iPad Pro to use alongside a MacBook or desktop computer for those times you don't want to carry it or can't carry it. If you want an iPad Pro as your only computer, get the big iPad Pro but probably wait until they update it in a few months.
