Hands-on with the new Apple iPad Air (M2): Is bigger better?

Apple announced a number of new products during its ‘Let Loose’ event on 7 May and while it would be easy to get caught up with all the new features offered by the iPad Pro models – like the gorgeous OLED displays and option of a nano-texture glass screen – save a little love for the humble iPad Air. 

The iPad Air might not have the most recent processor, or Apple’s most accomplished display technology. But it is almost half the price of the iPad Pro 11-inch, there are now two size options – which frankly is big news in itself – and the two new models work with the new Apple Pencil Pro. Power and portability have always been the iPad Air’s biggest attributes and the most recent models are bringing their A-game on that front. Having got my hands on the iPad Air models at the event in London, this is what you can expect. 

Evolution, not revolution

Taking a leaf out of its predecessor’s playbook, the latest iPad Air models opt for uniformed bezels around the display, an aluminium build (though now made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium), flat edges and Touch ID within the power button. Nothing groundbreaking has changed in terms of the general design but that’s not a bad thing – it was a great design in 2020 when it first arrived on the Air line, and it remains a great design today.

The biggest thing about new iPad Air is that it doesn’t just come in an 11-inch size (which replaces the 10.9-inch iPad Air (5th generation)), but there’s also a bigger 13-inch model. Both have the same design and the same finishes – but as with the iPad Pro models, a little more fits on the screen with the bigger model. It allows you to see more and consequently do more, whilst retaining a portable build.

The iPad Air 11-inch weighs 462g – the same as the previous iPad Air – while the iPad Air 13-inch is a heavier at 618g. Both are heavier than the new iPad Pro equivalents, negating the ‘Air’ name a little. But the 13-inch is lighter than the iPad Pro 12.9 (6th generation) and it’s useable one-handed.

When it comes to colour options, both models of the iPad Air come in Starlight – one of the colours you’ll find on the MacBook Air – along with Space Grey and a new Purple and Blue. Purple was my favourite in the flesh – it’s subtle, sophisticated and a little less serious than the colour options of the new iPad Pro models. That said, the Blue is lovely too, and much more understated compared to the Blue of the last iPad Air. 

Apart from introducing the larger size and a couple of new colour options, the biggest design change can be seen in the front camera. Shifting to the landscape orientation that the iPad (10th generation) introduced in October 2022, the new front camera position makes a lot more sense, especially when used with the Magic Keyboard and video calls.

Power upgrade: M2 chip and double the storage

What’s arguably the bigger story overall is that both iPad Air models run on the Apple Silicon M2 processor. The new iPad Pro models have of course now moved away from the M2 and onto the new M4 processor – which you won’t even find on the company’s MacBooks yet – but the M2 is still a very capable processor.

The new iPad Air models also have double the base storage of the iPad Air (5th generation) – now starting at 128GB instead of the measly 64GB you used to get. The starting price remains the same for the 11-inch model too, so we’re talking about a claimed 50 per cent power upgrade and twice as much storage for the same money you would have paid for the iPad Air at the beginning of May.

The display is still Liquid Retina – which is back-lit LCD – for both the 11-inch and the 13-inch model. It’s not a Mini-LED or ‘Tandem OLED’ panel but the iPad Air’s displays have still been impressive over the years so I’m not worried that these new models won’t offer a decent experience. They also both have the same storage options up to 1TB, support for Wi-Fi 6E and they both support the new Apple Pencil Pro. 

A bit about Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard

And that’s where the other big news lies. While the name suggests the Apple Pencil Pro is for the Pro user only, that’s not the case. Instead, the new iPad Air models also offer support for the Apple Pencil Pro alongside the cheaper Apple Pencil (USB-C).

What they don’t have support for is the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) so if you have that Apple Pencil and you upgrade your iPad, you’ll also need to upgrade your pencil. Why? Because the charging and pairing mechanism had to be redesigned for the iPad Pro models to accommodate their slimmer designs. That mechanism was then put into the iPad Air models in order for them to support the Apple Pencil Pro and it’s not compatible with the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) so pairing and charging won’t work. I suspect it will affect a small number of us, but given the Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) are the same dimensions, I’d like to have seen backwards and forwards compatibility for both. 

The new features on the Apple Pencil Pro include a squeeze gesture that offers a small vibration – known as haptic feedback – to let you know you’ve pulled up the menu in whatever compatible app you are using. You can then double tap to swipe between the different options in that menu, such as pen options. There’s also a feature called Barrel Roll that will change the orientation of your tip, allowing you to transition between thin and thick markings, for example. It’s a very smooth experience from what I tried so it really is a shame the Pencil Pro can’t be used with at least the iPad Pro (6th generation). 

When it comes to the Magic Keyboard, the iPad Air models use the Magic Keyboard that was previously compatible with the old iPad Pro models and the older iPad Air. The Magic Keyboard been redesigned for the new iPad Pro models with an aluminium keyboard base, haptic feedback in the trackpad and function keys, but the Magic Keyboard for the new iPad Air sticks with the previous tried and trusted design. 

How much are the new iPad Air models and when are they available?

The Apple iPad Air 11-inch starts at £599 in the UK, with the iPad Air 13-inch starting at £799 in the UK. Both went live for pre-order on 7 May and they will be available from 15 May. 

They both come in storage options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB but there is no special option of a nano-texture glass screen like the iPad Pro models sadly, no matter what storage option you select. The iPad Air also doesn’t support external drives, while the iPad Pro models do. 

The Apple Pencil Pro costs £129 in the UK and the Apple Magic Keyboard costs £299 for the 11-inch model and £349 for the 13-inch model.