Apple iPad Air (5th generation) review: Power and portability

If you’re in the market for an iPad – whether new or a replacement – you will have come to realise that there are decisions to be made. The first is what size iPad you want, the second is which iPad model is best suited to you and what you’re planning to do with it. 

Choosing between the biggest and most powerful iPad Pro M4 – or even the slightly older iPad Pro 12.9 (6th generation) – and the smallest iPad mini will be fairly straightforward. But in the middle of the pack, things get a little more hazy. The iPad (10th generation) was redesigned in 2022 and looks almost identical to the iPad Air but a little cheaper.

So why opt for the iPad Air 2022 at all, especially now it’s been replaced by the more powerful iPad Air (M2)? Well, there are several good reasons and this model was, in fact, my pick of all the iPads until very recently. Having used it for several years, here’s why it still has a place on the consideration list.

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The Disconnekt Downlow

The Apple iPad Air (5th generation) was the darling of Apple’s iPad range since it launched in 2022. Right up until its successor arrived in the iPad Air (M2) offering more power and two screen sizes. Still, this model continues to deliver an excellent design, great performance and a range of decent features for a more affordable price than the all-singing, all-dancing iPad Pro and iPad Air (M2). That said, it’s still quite expensive, its base storage is low for the price – the iPad Air (M2) gets double – and the cheaper iPad (10th generation) is a very capable tablet, giving this Air some tough competition. For power and portability, the iPad Air (5th generation) is no longer unmatched, but it remains an excellent and very capable tablet. If you can find it for a good price, and a larger iPad Air doesn’t appeal to you, it continues to be a great buy in 2024.

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The reasons you should choose the Apple iPad Air (5th generation)

The Apple iPad Air (5th generation) doesn’t just look like the iPad (10th generation), it’s identical to its predecessor – the iPad Air (4th generation) from 2020 – in terms of aesthetics too. But that isn’t a bad thing. That design is sleek, sophisticated and lovely and light, with a classic case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and it’s the same design that the latest iPad Air offers too.

The 10.9-inch display offers vibrant colours and crisp, sharp, detail, while also making good use of the space available with slim, uniform bezels. Could they be slimmer? Probably. Do they need to be? No, because having a little bit of space around the screen to hold it when watching content is helpful rather than a hinderance. The screen also has an anti-reflective coating, which sounds like marketing spiel, but it is in fact noticeable when compared to the iPad (10th generation), which misses out on this feature.

Elsewhere, the pastel colour options of the premium aluminium body are refreshing compared to the more serious stance the iPad Pro takes, and the bolder, more playful, tones of the iPad (10th generation). The inclusion of Touch ID in the power button meanwhile, is probably one of my favourite features of the iPad. Sure, Face ID on the iPad Pro is helpful and if you asked whether I’d like to see it on the iPad Air, I would of course say yes from a convenience standpoint, but it’s not a necessary addition. Lucky too, given the iPad Air (M2) has Touch ID as well.

What I would now deem necessary – especially for those looking to work on the iPad Air (5th generation) – is the Smart Connector on the rear. As with the 2020 model and the M2 iPad Air, this connection point enables you to attach Apple’s Magic Keyboard – or a third-party alternative – to the iPad Air, making it much better as a productivity device. The magnetic strip on the edge is also a handy feature for those keen on the Apple Pencil, though the new Apple Pencil Pro isn’t supported with this model. 

Power is perhaps the biggest reason to buy the iPad Air, because it’s here that this model is the perfect blend of form and function. With the M1 chip running the show on the iPad Air, you get smooth and consistent performance and good handling across even the most demanding of apps and tasks.

The iPad Pro is still the model to pick if you are planning to video edit on the move (or something as intensive), or if you want a bit extra but not the fully-fledged power of the iPad Pro (M4) then you could choose the iPad Air (M2). But for the majority of people, the iPad Air (5th generation) will still offer more than enough power to do what you need, with some left in the locker for when you really feel like testing it.

What the Apple iPad Air could do better

In all honestly, I have very little to complain about when it comes to the iPad Air. It is 2-years-old and it has now been succeeded, but it still performs without a glitch, whether using two apps simultaneously, light image editing, playing games, watching movies, or writing on the delightful Magic Keyboard. 

Yes I did just use the word “delightful” to describe a keyboard case – it’s a pricey bit of kit and it makes the iPad Air very heavy, but it does offer a lovely typing experience and makes it easier to work off this device. I suppose that’s one area that the iPad Air could be better. The Magic Keyboard adds over 600g of weight to what is a nice and light device. To put that number into context, the keyboard is around 1.5x the weight of the Air itself, making them weigh over 1kg together. There is a new Magic Keyboard that is lighter but its compatibility is restricted to the iPad Pro (M4) meaning you can’t benefit from it with this model.

I mentioned the iPad Air’s design having not moved on since the 2020 model and this is another area where some improvements could be made. There’s no denying that it’s a great design, but there’s little reason to upgrade if you already have the 2020 model, unless you really want that extra power. The same could of course also be said for choosing the iPad Air (M2) over this 5th generation model, unless you want that extra power jump again or a larger iPad Air as the latest also comes in a 13-inch model.

Several months after the iPad Air (5th generation) launched, the iPad (10th generation) was introduced with not only a similar design, but the addition of a landscape orientated camera too. Great for the iPad (10th generation), but not so great for the iPad Air as this camera position makes perfect sense from a video calling point of view – whether personal or business – so it’s a feature the cheaper model and newer Air offer over this iPad Air.

A higher base storage and a larger option of the iPad Air also wouldn’t go a miss – two boxes the iPad Air (M2) tick. The iPad Air 13-inch (M2) delivers a huge amount of power and it’s nowhere near as expensive as the iPad Pro (M4) so it’s worth pausing to consider if a larger iPad is something you’re in the market for.

The last complaint I have – note that these are minor grievances rather than deal breakers – is that the software could be better in some areas. While macOS allows for user profiles, for example, iPadOS does not – and that’s a pain if you live in a household where one iPad is shared among many.

A little bit about iPadOS 17

The iPad Air (5th generation) arrived on iPadOS 15 but as we are now 2 years on, there have been two major software updates in that time, putting the iPad Air on iPadOS 17. Several features were introduced in those updates including Stage Manager – initially introduced with iPadOS 16 – which has been significant in the iPad Air’s bid to becoming useable as a laptop replacement. 

Stage Manager was improved further with iPadOS 17 and while it still doesn’t deliver as good an experience as macOS when it comes to working on different apps at the same time, it’s better than not having the feature at all. The iPad (10th generation) doesn’t have it as it requires Apple’s M series chip to run so that’s worth keeping in mind if you’re choosing between the two.

The iPad Air (5th generation) should be compatible with iPadOS 18 when it arrives towards the end of the year, with the features we can expect for the software likely to be announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. For now, iPadOS 17 continues to run this iPad from a software perspective, offering a range of decent features.

Profiles on Safari is one I use regularly, enabling me to split tabs, search history and passwords between work and personal, while interactive widgets are also something I’ve really got on board with. Multi-tasking has improved over the years too, and being able to view and annotate PDFs in Notes is certainly something I won’t complain about – the experience is better with an Apple Pencil however. 

There will be plenty of features within iPadOS 17 that you’ll never use, which someone else might use all the time. What’s important is the software experience is clean, concise and easy to navigate. If you’ve got other Apple devices, like a Mac or iPhone, iPad works brilliantly together with them too – especially true in the case of Mac and iPad – but it’s excellent as a one-man band if this is the first Apple device you will have.

Should you buy the Apple iPad Air (5th generation)?

The Apple iPad Air (5th generation) was the darling of Apple’s iPad range since it launched in 2022. Right up until its successor arrived in the iPad Air (M2) offering more power and two screen sizes. Still, this model continues to offer an excellent design, great performance and a range of decent features for a more affordable price than the all-singing, all-dancing iPad Pro.

That said, it is still quite expensive despite not being the latest Air anymore – especially as you move up the storage options. The cheaper iPad (10th generation) is also a very capable tablet, offering a very similar design and with enough power for the average user, while the iPad Air (M2) is compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro and has more power, giving this Air some tough competition.

So should you buy the iPad Air (5th generation) in 2024? Well, the answer is yes if you’re after an excellent tablet that offers a great design and plenty of power, because that doesn’t change even though this model has been replaced. For power and portability, it’s no longer unmatched, but it’s still an excellent tablet that’s more than capable.

FAQs

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Update: This iPad Air (5th generation) review was first published on 4 May, 2024. It was updated on 18 May, 2024 to reflect the announcement of the new iPad Air M2 on 7 May, 2024.

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