Apple iPad Air 2024 Review: New XL Version With M2 Performance

For the first time, Apple is launching an XL version on the market with the latest iPad Air. It is available in an 11-inch or 13-inch version. It is currently available from Apple from 599 dollars in the colors: Blue, Purple, Polar Star and Space Gray and a selectable capacity of 128GB up to 1TB. With the Apple iPad Air, you get a powerful M2 chip, a solid display and, unfortunately, a few less attractive compromises. But still a convincing premium tablet with a proud price.

Design & Build quality

The new iPad Air models come with a stylish matte aluminum casing that is neatly finished and 6.1 mm thick. The 13-inch version is not only the same size as a small MacBook, but also looks more stylish and modern than the 11-inch version thanks to its thinner display edges. The thickness of the devices is also quite pleasant.

The 11-inch model is comfortable to hold, whereas the XL version is quite large and therefore somewhat unwieldy. The protruding camera with the microphone grille underneath is also noticeable on the back, which is quite large compared to other tablets.

As with the new iPad Pro, the front camera is now on the long side of the device. This makes it much more suitable for video conferencing.

It is a shame that Apple has dispensed with dust and water protection for the Air series. This should actually be standard on a premium device in this price range. Samsung’s flagships, for example, all have IP68 certification. Apple has also decided against FaceID unlocking and only offers a TouchID fingerprint sensor via the power button as a security system.

Not a high-end display

The new Apple iPad Air has a Liquid Retina multi-touch IPS display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels in the large version and 2360 x 1640 pixels in the 11-inch version. The brightness differs depending on the variant: the display of the 13-inch iPad achieves a good 600 nits, while the 11-inch variant only has a maximum brightness of 500 nits. By the way, the iPad Air 13-inch has the same display as the previous version of the iPad Pro. In a display comparison with all iPads, we found that this difference in brightness is quite noticeable and the 11-inch version appears significantly darker.

The display of the 11-inch device compares well with that of the iPad 10, although it is of course fully laminated. On the iPad 10, you can see an air gap between the touch panel and the IPS panel.

In general, it is a great pity that no OLED display has been installed, as in the new iPad Pro. According to Apple, the device supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision content, but the display does not offer any real HDR capabilities.

The color performance is very good, as you would expect from Apple. With wide P3 color gamut coverage, True Tone technology and beautiful contrasts, which, however, come into their own more on the brighter display.

The next negative aspect of the display is the disappointing refresh rate of 60 Hz, which is too slow for gaming and videos. Since the fast processor ensures that everything always runs very smoothly, the 60 Hz is not noticeable at first and should work well for most applications, but you should be able to expect more for this price range.

Performance & hardware

The new iPad Air impresses above all with its improved hardware. Apple has installed the powerful M2 chip with 8 CPU and 10 GPU cores, which was already used in the previous iPad Pro.

In our Geekbench 6 benchmark tests, you can clearly see the difference between an M chip and the Bionic chips of the mini or iPad 10. The M2 chipset performs significantly better in terms of graphics performance in particular and beats all Android competitors when it comes to performance.

Graphics apps or photo editing in Lightroom pose no challenge and video editing also runs smoothly for the most part with medium-sized video files. The iPad Air is therefore also recommended for YouTubers, for example.

In general, the processor performance of the Apple iPad Air leaves little to be desired and almost never reaches its limits. Apple’s M processors are currently still the most advanced on the tablet market and will probably remain so for some time to come.

Connectivity and features

The modern connectivity for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 should also be mentioned. The iPad also supports the Apple Pencil Pro and the USB-C version. However, the other Apple Pencils are no longer supported, which is why those who want to switch from an older iPad and have an older stylus are now forced to buy a new one.

A Magic Keyboard is also supported, but this costs a hefty 299 dollars from Apple. An impressive price for a keyboard with trackpad. The Magic Keyboard in combination with the 13-inch iPad Air proved to be a viable alternative to a MacBook in our practical test. At least visually, you get the feeling of a worthy hybrid tablet.

The keyboard is practical when working. The trackpad is not so good. It only reacts with a strong “click” and typing is usually faster. Gestures work very well via the pad, but if you are used to working with a MacBook, you won’t be able to make friends with this alternative so quickly.

Unfortunately, the iPad Air comes without Thunderbolt, but with a USB-C 3.1, which can be used to connect USB hubs, external hard drives or monitors. The cellular version of the Apple iPad Air is mobile-capable and does not require Wi-Fi. However, it does not have a SIM card slot, but only supports eSIM technology.

Apple’s general pricing is also worth considering. The iPad Air starts at 599 dollars for the 11-inch device, but if you prefer 512 GB or even a terabyte of storage capacity instead of 128 GB, the price rises very quickly to 1449 dollars, without Pencil or keyboard. For 50 dollars more, you could already get the newer 13-inch iPad Pro with an OLED display and M4 chip as well as 512 GB of storage.

Presenting and screen synchronization

Wireless screen synchronization and output via HDMI to a projector worked very well in the practical test. This makes the Apple iPad Air ideal for presentations or watching movies.

The synchronization functions make it easy to stream the screen content to a projector, TV or Apple device. Ideal for presentations and multimedia content. The HDMI connection via a USB-C hub ensures high-quality transmission of image and sound.

Software & iPadOS

The new iPad Air is now running iPadOS 18 and we strongly suspect that Apple will support it with new software for at least the usual 5 years. It will probably receive security updates for a few months beyond that.

The new iPadOS 18 in particular adapts well to the touchscreen of both models and also to the possibilities of the keyboard and the Pencil. Apple continues to expand the gestures of the Pencil and drawing and writing with the Apple Pencil Pro is a real pleasure. The Stage Manager and the side-by-side options are really practical to use on the 13-inch device and, thanks to the M2 chip, you can also work quickly in many applications at the same time.

The comparison with a MacBook is not too far off, especially when you look at the 13-inch model with keyboard. However, MacOS will initially beat iPadOS, which is based on iOS, particularly in the area of software, as iPad OS simply has too few standard desktop functions. You can only install apps from the App Store. And only iPad-optimized apps. As a result, renowned software often comes with a reduced range of functions in the iPad version.

However, there is also far more user software in the App Store than on Android, but anyone considering switching from a MacBook to an iPad Air as a cheaper alternative should keep this in mind.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether Apple will continue to merge the iPads and MacBooks.

Premium quality for iPad games

The iPad Air offers an excellent gaming experience. Thanks to the M2 chip, the tablet achieved the best results in the 3D Mark benchmark tests and is slightly better than its predecessor. It outperforms the Android competition, especially in terms of graphics performance, and ranks solidly among the iPad Pro models. However, it does not clearly stand out from its predecessor, which is why it is not worth switching from the fifth-generation iPad Air. 

If you are looking for a really good gaming tablet, you will definitely get a device that offers a first-class gaming experience for almost all iPad games such as PubG Mobile or Assassin’s Creed: Mirage on the highest graphics settings for a long time to come.

Weak battery life

Apple itself does not provide any information on the size of the built-in battery. However, the Apple iPad Air achieved poor results in our battery test. When playing an HD YouTube video at full screen brightness, the battery of the 13-inch device only lasted 5 hours.

Many cheaper Android tablets, even with 120 Hz displays, manage significantly more and you should be prepared to charge the iPad Air more frequently than some other Apple devices.

Camera

The iPad Air is equipped with a 12 MP front camera, which has an ultra-wide-angle lens to work as well as possible with the center-stage function. The rear camera also has 12 MP with an aperture of 1.8, good autofocus and 5x digital zoom. Videos can be recorded in 4K at up to 60 FPS.

Overall, the camera performance is satisfactory for a tablet. The camera has not been significantly improved compared to the previous version and is nowhere near the quality of iPhone cameras. However, it is very suitable for video conferencing when there is sufficient light.

Conclusion

The new iPad Air comes in two versions, with the 13-inch version in particular catching the eye with its large, bright display and very powerful processor chip. The smaller version, on the other hand, has a good M2 chip, but is not very innovative in terms of its darker display and external appearance. Unfortunately, it also has a relatively short battery life, but otherwise has a very stylish finish, solid software and presumably long updates.

The larger model in particular could be an affordable alternative to the iPad Pro if you are prepared for the fact that some of the usual Pro features are missing and not much storage space is required. The iPad Air is also suitable as a laptop hybrid in combination with an expensive keyboard, but the limitations of the iPadOS software and therefore the lack of ‘real’ desktop functions must be accepted. However, creative applications generally run smoothly and the iPad Air is also very suitable as a gaming tablet.

With the iPad Air, you get a premium device that is very well equipped for many tasks, from photo editing to gaming, as long as you charge it occasionally. The 13-inch version performs slightly better in our practical test than the 11-inch device and should be very suitable for students or everyday work. However, the XL version is also slightly more expensive.