iPad Air 5 review roundup: A great yet confounding value proposition

AppleInsider

The iPad Air 5 has the M1, comes in five new colors, and starts at $599. Here are the initial reactions to Apple's mid-range tablet.

The iPad Air 5 is the cheapest way to get the M1 processor

The fifth-generation iPad Air retains the same external design and display, but everything else has been updated. The M1 processor, ultra-wide selfie camera with Center Stage, faster USB-C port, and 5G bring the iPad Air incredibly close to the 11-inch iPad Pro yet again.

According to MacStories, the iPad Air is a fine piece of hardware that brings important aspects of the iPad Pro lineup to a wider audience. It functions as a suitable media consumption device without feeling too heavy while being large enough for use as a Universal Control display at the desk. A better balance than the smaller iPad mini 6.

The Verge calls the iPad Air 5 a "known quantity," but that isn't a bad thing. It is the lowest price to access the M1 processor and comes with several new features that make the $599 price point easy to digest. The portrait-oriented selfie camera is awkward, especially if the iPad is used in a keyboard case.

The price point and feature set make the iPad Air sit at a confounding place in Apple's lineup, says Techcrunch. However, for customers who have never used an iPad with ProMotion, the iPad Air will be a simple choice based on finances alone. The features it lacks from the $200 more expensive iPad Pro won't be missed by much of the market, which makes this a compelling tablet for buyers.

The more saturated iPad Air colors are a favorite among reviewers

The new range of colors has been praised by the early reviews. Gone are the silver shells with tints of color, replaced by saturated hues of pink and blue. There has been some debate over whether the iPad Air is worth it at that price point when the 64GB starting storage leaves a lot to be desired. On the other hand, the inclusion of the M1 in the mid-tier iPad is making people rethink the need for an 11-inch iPad Pro with identical performace.

The iPad-focused YouTuber Christopher Lawley had a lot of praise for the new iPad Air. He has used the 12.9-inch iPad Pro as his main and only computer until recently, switching to Mac for creative work and editing. Now, the iPad Air is his go-to iPad for working while away from the Mac.

Not all reviews have been particularly glowing, with Wired opening up their review with: "If someone told me the only device I could ever use for the rest of my life was an iPad Air, I'd probably cry." They argue that the value proposition is lost once you throw in the $300 Magic Keyboard and $130 Apple Pencil, plus the limitations of iPadOS should leave you wanting a MacBook Air instead.

The excellent hardware, fast processor, and lightweight design make the iPad Air a great computer. However, you'll have to be comfortable with iPadOS for it to be worthwhile when compared to the proven macOS software, concludes Wired.

Tech YouTuber MKBHD calls the iPad Air a disruption to the pricing ladder. The $600 iPad Air starts with 64GB of storage so moving to 256GB for $750 is likely a simple upgrade decision, but then you're only $50 away from the $800 iPad Pro. The tradeoff for the pro model is $50 for ProMotion, Face ID, and 128GB of storage.

The ProMotion display is the sticking point since it enables 120Hz refresh, which makes everything "feel" faster than the iPad Air. For some, this may be enough to drive them to the higher-priced tablet.

The iPad Air 5 is up for pre-order and ships Friday, March 18. It starts at $599 and is available in Starlight, pink, purple, blue, and space gray.

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mike1

I'll chug a long with my 9.7" Pro for now, but if I needed to replace it now, this would be awesome.

Considering I paid $499 for an iPad 2 more than 10 years ago, this is an amazing and compelling value.

sdw2001

I don't agree that it's "confounding" as a value proposition.  Consider: 

iPad:  $329 for 64GB, $479 for 256GB (no 128gb option).

iPad Air:  $599 for 64GB, $749 for 256GB.  M1, Touch ID power button, pro motion.  

iPad Pro 11 inch:  $799 for 128GB, $899 for 256GB.  Face ID.  


So I find the last part misleading.  The trade-off is not "$50 for Face ID, pro motion and 128GB of storage."  The trade off is $50 AND half the storage (128 vs. 256) for Face ID and pro motion.   

Then we have the points about the iPad Air being a "great computer," with the caveat that the keyboard and pencil make it better to just buy a MacBook Air instead.  Granted, the iPad Air with keyboard and pencil (256GB) is $1427.  That's $400 more than the base MBA. Of course, the MBA doesn't have a touch screen or a Pro Motion display.  It's also a....laptop.  You can make your iPad into a laptop, but do you really plan to use it as such? Or are you buying an iPad to be an iPad?  I have an Air (4th Gen) and a new MacBook Pro 14".  I use the MacBook for real work, especially that which involves a lot of typing.  The iPad is great for games, email, social media, basic photo editing, watching video and more.  Maybe I'm old school, but doing "real work" on an iPad has never been my thing.  Instead, by iPad and phone have replaced the "non work" things I did with my laptops for years.   

So it's not confounding to me, but that's just my take.  

Wesley Hilliard

sdw2001 said:

So it's not confounding to me, but that's just my take.  

I don't know, your comment makes it seem rather complex. Complexity breeds confusion. So I think Panzer is right in using the word confounding. It comes down to the buyer and their needs.

Start with how much you want to spend on a computer, then ask what it will be used for. Got $1,500 and want to draw? iPad Pro. Got $800 and want to write? iPad Air. Got $1,200 and going to college? MacBook Air.

It all depends on use case.

Dave Cummings

Wesley Hilliard said:

sdw2001 said:

So it's not confounding to me, but that's just my take.  

I don't know, your comment makes it seem rather complex. Complexity breeds confusion. So I think Panzer is right in using the word confounding. It comes down to the buyer and their needs.

Start with how much you want to spend on a computer, then ask what it will be used for. Got $1,500 and want to draw? iPad Pro. Got $800 and want to write? iPad Air. Got $1,200 and going to college? MacBook Air.

It all depends on use case.

I use my iPad for my illustration work and I'm "downsizing" my iPad from the 12.9 Pro to a maxed out M1 Air.  Most of the time I work, I work at the couch, so the slightly smaller screen will be a better fit for me.

Japhey

The new, faster USB-C port also allows the Air 5 to be compatible with the new Studio Display. I haven’t really seen this info touched on anywhere yet, but it may be important to somebody considering upgrading since the 4 is not fully compatible. 

sdw2001

Wesley Hilliard said:

sdw2001 said:

So it's not confounding to me, but that's just my take.  

I don't know, your comment makes it seem rather complex. Complexity breeds confusion. So I think Panzer is right in using the word confounding. It comes down to the buyer and their needs.

Start with how much you want to spend on a computer, then ask what it will be used for. Got $1,500 and want to draw? iPad Pro. Got $800 and want to write? iPad Air. Got $1,200 and going to college? MacBook Air.

It all depends on use case.

I mean, it's not simple.  But confounding? Maybe for some people.  But I tend to think that the people who find it that way would probably just buy a regular iPad anyway.  Who might find this confusing? My mother-in-law would.  But for anyone who is reasonably tech savvy, I think determining use and then selecting an option based on need isn't that hard.  

dewme

When I compare the 5th Gen iPad Air with 256 GB storage to the current iPad Pro models with the same exact 256 GB storage the price deltas seem entirely logical, i.e., there is an increase in price with a corresponding increase in features and capabilities. I simply don't buy the $50 delta argument at all because you're comparing a 256 GB machine to a 128 GB machine, which is a substantial difference. The more relevant apples-to-apples delta is more like $150 for WiFi only and $200 for WiFi+cellular. At the apples-to-apples comparison points it's quite obvious from the spec sheets what you're getting for that extra $150-$200 increment in cost.

If Apple could support a true build-to-order (BTO) model for iPad Pro there would be no need for the iPad Air. I suspect that if iPad Pro buyers could optionally select features like ProMotion, TB, upgraded camera array, LiDAR, extremely large storage configurations, screen brightness enhancement, additional case colors, etc., each with a price tag, there would likely be a convergence around the options and features that Apple has chosen for the iPad Air at the Air's price points.

I don't believe Apple would arbitrarily pick & choose the features for the Air without having done their homework and establishing a ranking of which combination of features delighted prospective customers the most. I believe Apple was very intentional. Every time someone realizes that they don't really need an iPad Pro and that the iPad Air meets all of their needs at a lower out-of-pocket cost, Apple's choices pay off because they've captured a customer that may have skipped the Pro entirely or jumped in at the base iPad level, which is probably far less profitable for Apple. Apple can't afford to do full scale BTO with iPad, but they've been pretty smart about doing the next best thing, which is embodied in the iPad Air.

blastdoor

I'd love a larger screen version of the Air. 

I don't need the fancy camera and other features of the Pro, but the larger screen would be great. 

Really, I just want to play Civ6, and the M1 would be a huge upgrade over the A10X in my big screen iPad Pro. 

retrogusto

The iPad Pro also has 4 speakers compared with the 2 of the Air, which matters more for the many people like myself who will never need more than 128gb of storage in their iPad but will often watch content with audio on their device.

And I’d be interested to hear if anyone disagrees, but I think Apple should design all of their iPads to be used primarily in landscape mode, with cameras and speakers oriented accordingly. In 11+ years of iPad ownership, I’ve almost never used one in portrait mode.

jungmark

“ They argue that the value proposition is lost once you throw in the $300 Magic Keyboard and $130 Apple Pencil, plus the limitations of iPadOS should leave you wanting a MacBook Air instead.”

Then the iPad isn’t for you. You don’t need either the keyboard or pencil. 

Im getting the blue one on Friday. My first iPad ever. 

Japhey

retrogusto said:

The iPad Pro also has 4 speakers compared with the 2 of the Air, which matters more for the many people like myself who will never need more than 128gb of storage in their iPad but will often watch content with audio on their device.

And I’d be interested to hear if anyone disagrees, but I think Apple should design all of their iPads to be used primarily in landscape mode, with cameras and speakers oriented accordingly. In 11+ years of iPad ownership, I’ve almost never used one in portrait mode.

I agree with your landscape design idea, I use mine almost exclusively in that orientation. Also, flip the Apple logo on the back. 

I thought the difference in speakers would be a tough compromise when I purchased my Air 4. But, I realized that I’m usually wearing my AirPods when using it, so it ended up not being that big of a deal to me. But, for those that typically use it without headphones or AirPods, I can see the upgrade to the Pro models being worth the cost for that feature. 

entropys

I use the iPad in portrait for reading. Books or webpage. Filling in forms.
landscape for emails and GIS work.  

Writing either way (right now in portrait as lying in bed)  depending on what I am doing, although that may be a function of me never ever using an external keyboard. I always think if you want that get an MBA.

PowerPoint or Word usually landscape but on occasion in portrait.
facetime always landscape.  It would be good to have the camera account for that. Like the Samsung.


as always it is ipadOS holding the iPad back. Poor file system. Poor multitasking and windowing, no multiuser support. Oh and the print function deserves some attention.