Apple introduces most powerful and versatile iPad Air ever with M1 chip

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Apple has launched the most powerful iPad Air ever by equipping it with the M1 chip: read all about it!

iPad Air 2022
(Image credit: Apple)

At Apple's Live event  the company introduced the new 10.9-inch iPad Air equipped with the Apple-designed M1 chip, which delivers a massive leap in performance. Available in a new array of colors; Space grey, Pink, Purple, Blue and Starlight. The iPad Air also features the new Ultra Wide front camera with Centre Stage for a more natural video conferencing experience, a USB-C port with up to 2x faster transfer speeds, and blazing-fast 5G on cellular models, starting at an even more affordable price of $599 / £569 / AU $929.

Advanced cameras and compatibility with the latest accessories enable users, including content creators and students, to push the boundaries of creativity, productivity, and self expression. The new iPad Air is available to order beginning Friday, 11 March, and will be in stores beginning Friday, 18 March.

iPad Air:

Pre-order at Apple US: $599 / $749

Pre-order at Apple UK: £569 / £719

Pre-order at Apple AU: $929 / $1,159

(Image credit: Apple)

M1 brings a massive leap in performance to iPad Air

The breakthrough M1 chip is no implemented into the new iPad Air that delivers a giant performance boost to even the most demanding apps and workflows, with incredible power efficiency and all-day battery life. The 8-core CPU delivers up to 60 percent faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous Air-family iPad generations. Combined with the CPU and GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine powers advanced machine learning (ML) functions that enable next-level experiences. From editing multiple streams of 4K video, to playing graphics-intensive games, redesigning a room in 3D, and more realistic augmented reality (AR), the performance of M1 enables users to do more than ever with iPad Air.

Ultra wide 12MP front camera with Centre Stage

The USB-C port on the 2022 iPad Air is up to 2x faster than the previous generation (Image credit: Apple)

Equipped with a new ultra wide 12MP front camera with Apple's Centre Stage, the camera now automatically pans to keep users in view as they move around on web calls. When others join in, the camera detects them too, and smoothly zooms out to include them in the conversation. So whether catching up with loved ones or learning remotely, Centre Stage makes connecting more engaging than ever. With the addition of Centre Stage to iPad Air, all iPad models now feature this magical feature.

The 12MP Wide camera on the back of iPad Air also lets users capture sharp photos and 4K video, scan documents, and enjoy amazing AR experiences. An end-to-end solution for photo and video capture, editing, and sharing, iPad Air has been made to be an incredibly versatile and ultra-portable mobile studio.

Additional features also include:

• Multitasking is even more intuitive, making features like Split View and Slide Over easier to discover, easier to use, and more powerful.

• Notes goes systemwide with Quick Note, and offers new ways to collaborate and organize, whether typing or writing with Apple Pencil.

• SharePlay makes it possible for friends and family to share experiences while on a FaceTime call. Whether users are hosting a viewing party, listening to an album together, or completing a fitness challenge with a friend, SharePlay keeps everything and everyone perfectly in sync.

• iPad keeps getting smarter with advanced ML capabilities. Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo and allow users to take action. For example, a snapshot of a storefront may reveal a phone number and the option to place a call.

The 2022 iPad Air joins the powerful iPad Pro, the popular iPad (9th generation), and smaller iPad mini  (Image credit: Apple)

• With next week’s release of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3, Universal Control will enable users to work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac.

With all these new features, including a new iMovie which has been redesigned to take full advantage of the iPads form factor and portability Apple are encouraging filmmakers on all levels to experience a simplistic flow of video editing on the go with the new iPad Air, now equipped with Apple's legendary M1 chip.

Pre-order the new iPad Air:

Pre-order at Apple US: $599 / $749

Pre-order at Apple UK: £569 / £719

Pre-order at Apple AU: $929 / $1,159

Read More:

Apple live event
iPhone SE 2022
New M1 Ultra explained
Mac Studio & Studio Display

Sebastian Oakley
Sebastian Oakley
Ecommerce Editor

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.

He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing.  He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association. 

He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.