Apple’s strategy of packing powerful chips into affordable devices isn’t new, but it really took off with the iPad Air (5th generation).
Adding a laptop-level processor to the iPad Pro range was one thing, but integrating a powerful M1 processor into Apple’s lightweight, low-end tablet is a no-brainer, isn’t it?
Yes, but as is often the case with any cutting-edge technology, it’s not that simple. Let’s break it down in this test of the Apple iPad Air (5th generation).
About the Apple iPad Air (5th generation)
The Apple iPad Air (5th generation) – commonly known as the iPad Air 5 – replaces the previous Air (4th generation), just seventeen months after the latter’s launch at the end of October 2020. The iPad Air 5 was unveiled at Apple’s Peek Performance event on 8 March 2022, alongside the iPhone SE (2022) and Mac Studio.
If the previous iPad Air was a long-awaited ‘tic’, this one is definitely the inevitable ‘tac’ model. Put the two side by side and no one but the biggest Apple fan will be able to tell the difference. It’s a little heavier (1-2g depending on the model) and the colour options have changed, but the size, ports/buttons, screen, rear camera and speakers are all identical to the iPad Air (4th gen) , as we’ll be skipping over some familiar elements in this review.
It’s also compatible with the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) and Magic Keyboard case, as well as other existing accessories for the iPad Air.
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The iPad Air (5th generation) shares a lot of DNA with its predecessor, but packs all the M1 power of the iPad Pro.
The two biggest changes are under the bonnet: the M1 processor and 5G support. The game-changing M1 chipset needs no further introduction at this stage, but the trickle-down effect of Apple’s silicon strategy means that the iPad Air 2022 – like the iPad Pro (5th generation) before it – comes with MacBook-like power, even if the architecture has been tweaked in subtle ways.
Apple has also doubled the RAM on all models to 8GB and improved the selfie camera.
These minor improvements come with a slight price increase, but only if you’ve set your sights on the cellular model. The Wi-Fi version is identical to its predecessor, but the new 5G version will cost you $20 more.
The iPad Air (5th generation) went on sale on 11 March, with deliveries starting a week later on 18 March 2022. You can buy the iPad Air (5th generation) directly from the Apple Store, as well as from leading third-party retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy. The iPad Air (5th generation) is available in Space Grey, Pink, Purple, Blue and Starlight.
The good Apple iPad Air 5th generation news?
While this isn’t always the case, especially with Apple products, this is one occasion where a redesigned device is a distinct advantage.
All the good things about the iPad Air (4th gen) apply here: quality construction from glass and recycled aluminium, sensible edges that give you just enough room to grip it without obscuring the edges of the screen, and Touch ID for biometrics.
The fingerprint reader is built into the power button, and while the two-step unlock (rest finger and press down) is cumbersome, it’s quick and accurate.
The iPad Air (5th generation) features a USB-C port for accessing external storage and supporting accessories. This may seem like a no-brainer for a modern tablet, but this is Apple. There’s a little hidden improvement here too.
The USB-C 3.1 specification is a ‘Gen 2’ version that increases data transfer speeds to a maximum of 10Gbps (up from 5Gbps). It also makes it possible to connect the iPad Air to Apple’s Studio Display, which is not possible with other Air models.
Let’s talk about the other semi-noteworthy improvements before moving on to the most important. First up is 5G support. It’s predictable and not very exciting, but it’s a good thing for those who want data on the go. The most interesting change is to the front camera, with its wider aperture and higher megapixel count.
This is the same camera as on the iPad Pro (5th generation). It’s a solid little camera, offering pleasing colour accuracy and sufficient detail in decent lighting conditions, although it performs less well in low light.
What’s perhaps more interesting is the addition of Center Stage, another ‘Pro’ feature that tracks faces around the room, zooming and panning so you don’t lose sight of them. It’s an interesting trick, compatible with FaceTime, Zoom and Google Meet.
Of course, the main improvement to the iPad Air (5th generation) is the powerful M1 chip. This is the most complete version, with eight processor cores and eight GPU cores.
That’s a lot of power, perhaps too much for what the iPad Air can actually do (but more on that later). In any case, there’s no competition: this is the most powerful tablet you can buy at this price.
The iPad Air proved equal to the task of playing intensive games like Genshin Impact, with a refresh rate hovering around 50-55 on average at maximum settings. Benchmarks only confirm the sheer size of the beast, with figures that exceed the Tab S8 series’ Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 implementation and also outperform Windows hybrids.
While multitasking was never an issue on the latest model, the doubling of RAM will also protect the tablet for years to come – and that’s a good thing, as Apple typically backs its tablets with software updates for five years or more.
The chip’s efficiency is a boon for battery life, although the iPad Air (5th generation) largely sticks to its predecessor’s 10 hours or so of battery life when discharged from 100% to zero. The battery life decreases more rapidly with intensive use, but it’s still a tablet that can be used all day, and even longer.
Apple has also incorporated faster charging into the latest model, although the charger supplied is only rated at 20W. If you have a 30W USB PD PPS charger, you’ll be able to charge your tablet in just over two hours, instead of two and a half. Check out our guide to the best chargers.
The iPad Air M1 is the tablet that offers the best value for money.
iPadOS still sits awkwardly between iOS and macOS, closer to its mobile and siloed roots than Mac’s more open software platform, but for all its quirks (seriously, why aren’t widgets interactive?) and omissions (desktop mode and multi-user support, please!), the app ecosystem is unrivalled in terms of optimisation and breadth.
It’s safe to assume that most apps will adapt to screen dimensions through personalised UI adjustments, which isn’t the case with even the most basic apps on Android or Windows tablets. Things will only get better with iPadOS 16, scheduled for the end of 2022.
The latter adds the Stage Manager dock, which lets you switch from one application to another just like on a desktop computer, the Weather and Home applications, child account management and much more.
Congratulations to Apple for continuing to make tablets funky.
The pastel shades of the iPad Air are a breath of fresh air (ha) in a market overrun by black/grey/silver tablets. That said, the more subdued Starlight colour shown in this review is there if you’re not feeling up to it. On the other hand, I do miss the green colour of the previous generation.
What’s not so good about Apple iPad Air 5th generation
We’ve said it at length before, but it bears repeating: 64GB is no longer enough storage space for a technology product, especially when just over 10GB is taken up by system storage.
Admittedly, it’s possible to stick to this capacity if you only use a few applications and are fussy about iCloud management (or if you regularly plug in an external drive), but it’s not necessary. 128GB is the norm for any other tablet manufacturer in this price range, and there’s no excuse for Apple not solving a problem that should have already been solved with the previous generation iPad Air.
Compounding the problem is the price of the 256GB model. At $749 for the iPad Air Wi-Fi with 256GB of storage, you’re only $50 off the iPad Pro’s $799 asking price. The $100 gap for the cellular model is a little bigger, but even despite their growing similarities, the Pro is still a Pro for a reason.
All the major criticisms levelled at the old iPad Air also apply to the new model.
One of the ‘Pro’ features not found on the Air is ‘ProMotion’, Apple’s fancy name for a high refresh rate screen. This is undoubtedly an excellent tablet screen. It’s colourful without being oversaturated, rich in pixels and, although it’s rated at ~500 nits compared to ~600 nits for the 11-inch Pro, it’s bright enough to be used out of direct sunlight. The 60Hz limit is a real drawback.
Again, other tablets at this price point are moving to 90Hz or higher. It was ridiculous enough that Apple limited its vanilla iPhones to 60Hz, but a device with laptop-level internals? It may run at Goku-esque power levels, but the laggy animations mean it’s not as fluid as it should be when it comes to switching between apps and navigating the user interface.
If you’re new to the Apple ecosystem, be prepared to balk at the price of these accessories. The Magic Keyboard ($299) and the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) ($129) really unlock the potential of the iPad Air, but you’ll have to shell out over $400 more in your bank account.
Center Stage is one of the main improvements of the fifth-generation iPad Air, but it’s not unique (the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 has an identical feature), and Apple’s insistence on placing the front camera on the portrait frame still makes it feel like you’re staring into space during video calls. Unlike the rear camera, the front camera also lacks a 4K capture option.
Apple iPad Air (5th generation) specifications
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Apple iPad Air (5th generation) review: The verdict
The iPad Air (5th generation) is the most cost-effective tablet to date. Apple’s software support keeps the device fresh and stable, but it’s the oversized M1 chip and large amount of RAM that guarantee it will last for years to come.
Of course, 5G support aside, this was already the case with the last-generation iPad Air. Admittedly, it wasn’t equipped with an M1 chip, but the A14 Bionic was already well ahead of 2020, and remains competitive with today’s best mobile processors.
Meanwhile, the same gripes we had with the fourth-generation Air are all present and accounted for, and grumbles about the 64GB base storage and 60Hz refresh rate have only grown louder with the passage of time.
So the iPad Air finds itself in a strange situation. It remains a fantastic gateway into the iPad ecosystem that offers just enough flexibility to function as an ‘iPad Pro Lite’ for work and play.
Similarly, if all you want to do is stream movies and play a handful of games, the base model is a real bargain, and its screen, design and features represent enough of a step up from the classic iPad to justify the extra investment.
But even with all that raw power, the iPad Air (5th generation) sometimes feels dated – a tablet that has been given a huge boost in an area where it already excelled, while overlooking its earlier shortcomings.
The iPad Air is still probably the easiest product in Apple’s gigantic ecosystem to recommend.
The real question is: should you buy the iPad Air (5th generation) or the 11-inch iPad Pro ($749)? If you can make do with a paltry amount of storage space, the price differences between the basic models (Wi-Fi or cellular) will save you a fair amount of money.
On the other hand, if you’re thinking of buying the iPad Air with 256GB of storage, we strongly recommend that you spend a little more money.
For an extra $50, you get Face ID biometrics, an ultra-large rear camera and four speakers. But it’s the 120Hz screen that’s most interesting. Once you’ve tried an iPad with smooth animations, it’s hard to go back to a 60Hz screen. Admittedly, the Pro offers half as much storage space as the Air, but 128GB isn’t bad.
Elsewhere in Apple’s ecosystem, there’s the iPad Mini ($499) for those who want something a little more portable and the vanilla iPad ($329) for all the basics on a budget. We’d also recommend buying a new iPad Air (4th generation), as almost all the strengths of the latest generation have been inherited from its predecessor.
In terms of direct competition, the iPad Air (5th generation) is behind the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 ($699) but ahead of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE ($529), unless you opt for the latter’s underpowered 5G model (which we don’t recommend).
The Galaxy Tab S8 is closer than ever to challenging Apple’s dominance of tablets thanks to faster charging, but it’s hampered by Android’s poor optimisation for larger screens (although this issue is somewhat resolved with Android 12L), not-so-stellar battery life, and it’s years behind on raw performance. Google’s forthcoming Pixel tablet hopes to take Android tablets to the next level in 2023, but by then Apple’s competition is few and far between at this price point.
The iPad Air (5th generation) remains unquestionably the best sub-flagship tablet money can buy, and probably the easiest product to recommend across Apple’s massive ecosystem. If you own a pre-2020 iPad and don’t want to upgrade to the Pro version, this is the one for you. Let’s just hope the next Air can ‘tick off’ some of these lingering reservations.
Top questions and answers about the Apple iPad Air (5th generation)
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Is an iPad Air case compatible with an iPad Air (5th generation)?
If you have bought accessories or a case for the Air (4th generation), they will work perfectly, but cases for older models will not be suitable.
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Is the iPad Air 2 or the 5th generation newer?
The iPad Air 2 was launched in 2014 and is no longer on sale. The iPad Air (5th generation) is the latest iPad Air model.
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Is the iPad Air (5th generation) 5G compatible?
Yes, the iPad Air (5th generation) supports the 5G sub-6Ghz bands. It does not support mmWave bands.
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What do the iPad Air (5th generation) speakers look like?
The iPad Air (5th generation) has four speaker grilles, but only two stereo speakers (facing left). They’re fine, but the sound is a little unbalanced when the tablet is held in portrait mode.
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Is the iPad Air (5th generation) equipped with Face ID?
No, the iPad Air (5th generation) is not equipped with Face ID. It has Touch ID biometrics via the power button.
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Does the iPad Air (5th generation) have a headphone socket?
No, the iPad Air (5th generation) does not have a headphone jack. You’ll need to use Bluetooth headphones or USB-C headphones.
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Does the iPad Air (5th generation) have Wi-Fi 6?
Yes, but it doesn’t have Wi-Fi 6E, nor the latest Bluetooth standard (Bluetooth 5.0 only).
