My 2016 iPad Pro was starting to show its age. It didn’t keep up when I’d try to have multiple pages open in split screen view and it needed to be charged towards the end of my work day. It was time for something new. I could have held off for the iPad Pro or iPad mini coming later this month, but there was a problem with each of them. First, while I like to use my iPad for notes, making the iPad mini an attractive choice, I also liked the idea of being able to write articles from my iPad. That would require a larger screen for split screen and note taking or outline creation while in the early stages of an article. Then there was the iPad Pro. It’ll certainly be faster than the iPad Air when the new model comes out. It will have better cameras. But it has one glaring flaw: Face ID. I frequently use my iPad as it sits on a table, and I know I have to hover over my iPhone when I do that. Face ID would make it more trouble than its worth. The iPad Air has Touch ID.
So I bought an iPad Air.
I’ve now been using it for a few months now, and I think it’s time to review it. This is the high-end iPad for most users. I’d argue, in fact, that this is the best iPad you can buy.
In This Article:
Performance
Benchmark figures for iPad Air 4 and iPhone 12 mini via Geekbench 5 testing. iPad Pro results from Geekbench’s records. The iPad Air only lost to the Pro in multi-core testing.
One of the reasons I finally decided it was time to get a new iPad was a performance issue. I noticed that when I had two apps open side-by-side and brought up a third app, my iPad would sometimes crash. Apps loading in tandum would be incredibly sluggish. I often reached for my iPad to do something quickly, like I would my iPhone, but it just wasn’t keeping up. At that point, I mostly used my iPad as a notepad.
I grabbed an iPad Air 4. It’s shockingly fast, even with multiple apps opened at once. I even have been able to do app swapping that usually caused slowdowns or even crashes on my old 2016 iPad Pro.
According to Geekbench 5 testing, the iPad Air’s A14 chip outperforms the chip in the iPhone 12 series. It even outperforms the newest iPad Pro in single core performance and GPU performance, though loses in the multi-core aspect. This means that multi-threading may be a little slower on the iPad Air, but graphics-intensive tasks or single compute thread tasks will be much better.
Basically put, the iPad Air 4 was a huge upgrade over the 2016 iPad Pro I was using. It’s even better in some ways than the iPad Pro, as well as Apple’s fastest iPhones. For something that doesn’t get Apple’s coveted “Pro” label, the performance of the iPad Air 4 certainly makes it a professional product.
Battery Life
The two ways to charge the iPad Air 4: USB-C and a the Smart Connector
My other large, “it’s time for an upgrade” issue with my iPad Pro was battery life. My iPad Pro would die after a few hours of use. I’d get about 7 hours into my workday when I’d have to connect it to power to charge. batteries degrade over time, and can lose a lot of their ability to store electricity in 5 years. Furthermore, I was using it consistently throughout the day, taking notes, using the internet, and playing music.
The iPad Air 4, however, lasts me over twice as long. I have to charge it perhaps every other day, if I’m only using it for note taking. If I do spend all day using my iPad, for taking notes, browsing the web, writing articles, and watching movies, then I do have to charge it daily. Still, I never have to worry about it dying in the middle of my work day. In fact, Apple says it can last for 10 hours straight when watching video. That’s not an extremely intense task, but it is longer than most people would be watching video for, and it’s longer than most flights.
For me, being able to get through a full working day or two, or just about any flight, is more than enough battery life. In fact, it may be my longest lasting device with a screen.
Screen
I had a 9.7-inch iPad Pro. I had been thinking of upgrading to a more portable iPad mini, but instead decided on the iPad Air. One reason was the larger screen without a much larger device. It would still fit in my bags, but I also get a larger screen. Apple decreased the size of the bezels, giving us a 10.9-inch screen, just 0.1″ smaller than the iPad Pro.
The screen technology also isn’t quite up to par with the iPad Pro. The pixel density is the same, but the iPad Pro has a slightly brighter screen (600 nits vs 500 nits), and also features Apple’s “ProMotion.” ProMotion allows the iPad Pro to go up to a 120Hz refresh rate. This allows for smoother transitions and faster drawing with the Apple Pencil 2. Still, the difference isn’t as much as you’d think going from the iPad Pro to the iPad Air. It’s definitely noticeable, but the iPad Air already has a bright, colorful display. 120Hz would be an improvement, but may not be worth the cost to everyone. For me, this 60Hz screen is just fine. Definitely worht the lower cost and Touch ID.
Apple Pencil vs iPad Screen
My biggest gripe about the screen isn’t the display itself, it’s the glass on top of it. Reflective gloss. Apple allows pros to choose a “Nano-texture” matte glass screen for the iMac and their Pro displays. These reduce reflection, but there’s another reason I want a matte display: the Apple Pencil. Writing or drawing on the iPad just doesn’t feel good with the Apple Pencil. Tapping plastic on hard glass just doesn’t have the feel of pen on paper. I had thought about trying my new iPad out without a matte screen protector, but after using it for a few minutes, I quickly decided to apply one. Since matte screen protectors can sometimes make the screen look grainy and noisy, I went with a Paperlike again. While it does add some pixelation noise, the texture is just right for writing. It’s still frustrating to know that Apple has the technology to improve these displays, but won’t let us use it. I’d pay extra for a low-noise matte coating out of the box. Many other pros and even casual users would too.
Design
Photo: Apple Newsroom
This is the best designed iPad ever. Yes, it’s better than the iPad Pro. There are some downsides, of course, but what you get is something that takes the features from the iPad Pro that you actually want, sacrifices a few smaller items, and gives you something that’s actually easier to use every day.
The worst part of the hardware design is easy to get out of the way. It’s the camera bump. Apple made the iPad Air thinner than the iPhone 12, but the camera bump is just as thick. It rises off your table so much that your iPad will rock a little. The rocking is incredibly minimal, but it’s there. I rarely notice it because I have padded desk mats, which keep it from being a problem. If you don’t have that, you can also just get a cheap folio-style case from a third party manufacturer. This will counter the bump when you’re writing or drawing.
The rest? It’s gorgeous. It features a significantly smaller bump than the iPad Pro, which makes it less of a hassle to use everywhere. The iPad Air is actually ready for productivity on the go. Apple also continued their tradition of keeping their “Pro” products as bland or incredibly muted colors. On the iPad Air, however, Apple gave each model a splash of color. You can still go for black or silver colors, but you can also grab “rose gold” (a very delicate pink), green, or blue. All of the colors are light touches on the aluminum, and manage to look professional and fun. And that’s the best description of the iPad Air in general.
Sound
This is a neat one. So, the iPad Pro has four speakers. This way you have stereo sound no matter how you’re holding your device. Also, two speakers on each side will cover high pitches while the other two cover low pitches. This gives you rich, dynamic sound.
The iPad Air has only two speakers. Don’t let the four speaker openings confuse you, there are just two drivers.
In landscape orientation, you’ll have stereo sound, as you would on your iPhone. It’ll be mono sound in portrait orientation. The resonance chambers are still the same size as they are on the iPad Pro though. This means they still pump out a lot of sound. A surprising amount of the space in this iPad is empty space to provide resonance for the speaker. What else was Apple going to use it for? Battery would have increased the weight past the point that people want to hold and use the iPad Air, which already has a full day, if not two full days, of battery life. It already has enough processing power. The screen can’t fold up or shrink, so, here we are. A large device with big open areas for sound.
It sounds great and it feels great. Though, for the best sound, headphones or dedicated Bluetooth or wired speakers are always your best bet. I see integrated speakers the same way I see integrated graphics. It’s good to have them there, but they shouldn’t be the only thing you’re using if you’re serious about quality. That said, if you find yourself watching videos or listening to music on this without headphones, for whatever reason that may be, you won’t be disappointed. They’re very good for what they are.
Camera
Is that Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in our solar system? Oh. No. Just a camera bump.
The iPad Air 4 has a camera.
It’s… a camera.
On an iPad.
Seriously, Apple gave us a giant bump for this?
Oh, let me just pull my iPad Air 4 out of my back pocket to take a nice photo!
There was a time when Apple could actually say that they needed a nice camera on the iPad so people could do photo work all on the iPad.
But now?
Now we have AirDrop that actually works. We have photos backed up in iCloud. And, perhaps most importantly, we have USB-C on our iPads. That means we can import photos from a camera with ease, with equipment we likely already have laying around.
For the love of god, Apple, why? Why are you putting such a big bump on your iPads for the world’s most useless high quality camera?
Oh, yes, it’s a half decent camera. I intentionally took some shots with it around my house to send to people to see if they’d notice that it wasn’t from my iPhone 12 mini. No one noticed.
The camera isn’t quite as good as the iPhone 12 mini camera. Yes, I noticed. Still, it’s a good camera, better than it has any right to be. It’s akin to the camera you’d find in the iPhone XR or iPhone SE. The iPad Air 4 camera is decent, can take 4K video, 12MP images, and the lens system has a ƒ/1.8 aperture.
Really, it’s a nice camera.
You’ll likely mostly use it to scan documents or receipts, blow out the contrast, and put them in black and white to make them easier to read and store.
It’s a nice camera. Too nice.
Touch ID
Camera bump ridiculousness aside, this is the real reason I chose the iPad Air 4 over the iPad Pro. The iPad Air 4 may have two fewer speakers, a 0.1″ smaller display, and a processor that’s slightly worse off for multitasking apps (but better in single thread operations and graphics). What it really has over the iPad Pro is Touch ID. Hidden away in the lock button is a functioning Touch ID sensor. And it works more reliably than the one on my MacBook Pro or even my old 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Why is Touch ID so important? I often use my iPad for note taking. For this, I use it like any normal notebook. I leave it on my desk next to my work computer and I make note of items that I have to come back to. I’ll draw diagrams, architect out new features, and write notes to myself during meetings. Why handwritten notes? It’s easier to use abbreviations or code to myself, as well as drawing diagrams. On more than one occasion, I’ve drawn up a design for a UI or used it to explain how the layers in an app’s architecture would work together, then exported my notes to a PDF and sent it to coworkers.
I don’t have my iPad on a drafting table, it’s on my desk. That means the camera is usually facing straight up. So when I go to unlock it, if it was using Face ID, I’d have to pick it up or lean over it. With Touch ID, I just hit the lock button. It reads my fingerprint, unlocks, and I’m in business. I can even unlock it and start taking notes without ever breaking eye contact with someone over a Zoom call. Useful when interviewing candidates, they won’t realize when I’m writing about them (all good things, I’m sure!).
Touch ID is the best tool for unlocking your iPad. It’s a mockery of what Apple has become that the “professional” model lacks this professional feature from the “consumer” model. As a pro, the iPad Air 4 was the best bet for me.
Don’t forget masks. Even when we return to the office, masks will likely become part of our culture. Coming off of a bad cold and perhaps still contagious? Wear a mask at your desk or in small meeting rooms. The iPad Air 4 works with our masked future. The iPad Pro does not.
Frankly, the iPad Air is just better for pros and better for the future.
Accessories
I don’t want to go into these too much. You may pick separate or different accessories. Also, in the case of the Magic Keyboard, especially, I believe I could write a completely separate review. It really does change how you use the iPad Air. But I’ll make a few quick notes here and, once I do review the Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard, I’ll update this section to include links to those full reviews.
Update:
The iPad Air works well enough on its own. You can draw on it with your finger or a capacitive stylus, and you can use just about any keyboard. In fact, now that the iPad Air has a USB-C port, instead of Lightning, you can use a variety of wired accessories. Still, if there’s one accessory you’re going to get with your iPad, iPad Air, or iPad Pro, make it an Apple Pencil.
No other stylus works as well. It’s perfect for taking handwritten notes, drawing, or coloring. With the latest version of iPadOS, you can even use it to write into text fields, if you don’t feel like using the software keyboard or a hardware keyboard at the time. The Apple Pencil 2 lasts for about 4 days of usage for writing, a bit less if you’re using it for a lot of notes or drawing. It’s easy to charge too, you can just attach it to the side of your iPad and it’ll start charging. No more Lightning port, it’s all wireless.
For the rest, you can largely go off-brand. I did that for a simple folio case for when I don’t feel like using the entire Magic Keyboard. I also got a Hyper USB-C dock, like the one I have for my MacBook Pro. This adds a headphone jack, USB, a pass-through USB-C data and charging port. Again, I’ll likely review it separately, but a dock really makes your iPad feel like a full computer. You can quickly load photos from a camera with an SD card slot, add a DAC Amplifier, charge, and still have a port or two to spare.
As for the Magic Keyboard, well, I’m typing on it right now! It uses Apple’s new scissor switches that actually feel like their old scissor switches. These are reliable and, for low profile membrane switches, have a snappy tactility. Of course, you bottom out, so it’s no mechanical keyboard, but it’s still nicer than typing on the screen or on the Smart Folio, which just uses a formed fabric membrane to provide structure to the rubber dome keys. It adds thickness, and it’s expensive. But if you can get it on sale, it’s a great way to turn your iPad into a little portable computer. It’s perfect for trips when you may want to preserve some bag space or disconnect a little from the internet and work. That is, unless you work on your iPad regularly.
Odds & Ends
I don’t have many that I haven’t already mentioned. However, there is one thing that I still haven’t gotten used to, potentially because it’s just broken. When you have the software keyboard up and swipe up from the bottom of your display to close the current app, you will almost certainly type a few letters. It’s especially annoying in messaging apps, where someone may thing you’re typing them a message, but then never send it. Apple got rid of the home button. On the iPhone, that’s largely a natural progression. But, I have noticed a few odd occurrences of randomly typed letters when I swiped up. Is it a big deal? No. But I wish Apple would improve the sensitivity here.
Finishing Thoughts
The last time I reviewed an iPad was almost 5 years ago. At the time, I was just happy to finally have something reliable. The Apple Pencil support and Smart Keyboard were great (though the latter didn’t work very well over time), but I was mostly impressed with the performance of that 9.7-inch iPad Pro. With the iPad Air 4, I feel like Apple has finally gotten everything together. This is a tablet computer. This is a device for work and for browsing news stories on the couch. The iPad finally feels truly complete. USB-C, the Magic Keyboard, and the Apple Pencil make it an all in one product that is a computer replacement for most people and a perfect travel companion for pros. Plus, it’s the best way to take notes.
Right now, the iPad Air 4 is the better buy over the iPad Pro, though Apple will likely update the iPad Pro next week. Touch ID, fantastic performance, a smaller camera bump, a lighter design, and all of the other features of the iPad Pro make it an easy win. It comes in a variety of colors as well, something Apple still won’t allow on their “Pro” products. For most people, the iPad Air 4 is the best tablet you can buy. For some people, it may be the only computer they need. It’s come a long way from a little tablet that barely could into something truly wonderful.