Apple Unveils Redesigned iPad Air with M2 Chip, Featuring Two Sizes

Now available in two sizes, iPad Air is more powerful and versatile than ever with phenomenal performance and AI capabilities, a new landscape front camera, and faster Wi-Fi, along with support for Apple Pencil Pro.

Apple today announced the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, supercharged by the M2 chip. Now available in two sizes for the first time, the 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, and the 13-inch model provides an even larger display for more room to work, learn, and play. Both deliver phenomenal performance and advanced capabilities, making iPad Air more powerful and versatile than ever before.

Featuring a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine in M2, the new iPad Air offers even more performance and is an incredibly powerful device for artificial intelligence. The front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage is now located along the landscape edge of iPad Air, which is perfect for video calls. It also includes faster Wi-Fi, and cellular models include super-fast 5G, so users can stay connected on the go. With a portable design, all-day battery life, a brilliant Liquid Retina display, and support for Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Magic Keyboard, iPad Air empowers users to be even more productive and creative.

The new iPad Air is available in new blue and purple finishes, along with starlight and space gray. The 11-inch iPad Air still starts at just AED 2,499, and the 13-inch iPad Air is a fantastic value at just AED 3,299. Customers can order the new iPad Air today, with availability beginning Wednesday, May 15.

“So many users — from students, to content creators, to small businesses, and more — love iPad Air for its performance, portability, and versatility, all at an affordable price. Today, iPad Air gets even better,”

said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing.

“We’re so excited to introduce the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, offering two sizes for the first time. With its combination of a brilliant Liquid Retina display, the phenomenal performance of the M2 chip, incredible AI capabilities, and its colorful, portable design with support for new accessories, iPad Air is more powerful and versatile than ever.”

iPad Air: Now Available in Two Sizes

The 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, while the 13-inch model provides an even larger display for more room to work, learn, and play.

The newly redesigned 11-inch iPad Air is highly portable, making it ideal for productivity on the move. For those seeking a larger screen, the new 13-inch iPad Air offers 30 percent more display area than its smaller counterpart. This spacious display provides users with ample room to express their creativity in apps like Freeform or to multitask with Split View in iPadOS. Both models feature advanced displays with Liquid Retina technology, anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone functionality, high brightness, and P3 wide color support. These features ensure that content appears vivid and vibrant, with sharp text even in varying lighting conditions.

Landscape Front-Facing Camera

With 30 percent more screen real estate than the 11-inch model, the 13-inch iPad Air features an expansive display that allows users to spread out with all their favorite apps and get tasks done.

In the redesigned iPad Air, the front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera is now positioned along the landscape edge, featuring Center Stage for automatically keeping everyone in view during video calls. The 12MP Wide back camera captures high-resolution photos and 4K video, supported by dual microphones for clear audio, and landscape stereo speakers with enhanced bass, providing an immersive audio experience, especially in the 13-inch model.

Even More Performance with M2

The M2 chip offers significant performance enhancements for the iPad Air, boasting a faster 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU compared to its predecessors. With nearly 50 percent faster performance than the previous iPad Air with M1 and up to 3 times faster performance than the iPad Air with A14 Bionic, users will experience a significant speed boost across various tasks, from productivity to gaming.

Powerful Device for AI

The new iPad Air, powered by the M2 chip, excels in AI performance with a 16-core Neural Engine that is 40 percent faster than its predecessor. Leveraging ML accelerators in the CPU and a robust GPU, along with Apple silicon’s unified memory architecture, iPad Air delivers exceptional AI capabilities, enabling users to enjoy features like Visual Look Up and Subject Lift in iPadOS. With advanced frameworks like Core ML, developers can easily integrate powerful AI features into their apps, enhancing user experiences. Additionally, iPad Air supports cloud-based solutions, allowing users to access advanced productivity and creative apps such as Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Firefly.

Faster Connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E and 5G

The new iPad Air offers faster wireless connectivity, supporting Wi-Fi 6E for up to 2x increased performance compared to the previous generation. With Wi-Fi + Cellular models featuring 5G, users can seamlessly access files, communicate, and back up data while on the move. These models also utilize eSIM technology, providing a secure alternative to physical SIM cards and allowing users to quickly connect and transfer existing plans digitally, with the convenience of storing multiple cellular plans on a single device. Additionally, customers can easily access wireless data plans in over 190 countries and regions without requiring a physical SIM card from a local carrier.

Versatile Accessories, Including Apple Pencil Pro

With advanced features like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback, Apple Pencil Pro makes marking up, taking notes, and creating a masterpiece in apps like Affinity Designer 2 more intuitive than ever.

Apple Pencil Pro introduces enhanced features and interactions, including a sensor in the barrel for intuitive tool selection through squeezing, a custom haptic engine for feedback, and a gyroscope for precise control. It supports Find My integration for locating if misplaced and attaches magnetically to iPad Air for pairing, charging, and storage. iPad Air also offers compatibility with Apple Pencil (USB-C) and accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio, providing versatile options for productivity and creativity.

Power of iPadOS 17

With a floating cantilever design that attaches magnetically and supports multiple viewing angles, Magic Keyboard features a great typing experience, a trackpad that expands how users can work with iPadOS, a USB‑C connector for pass‑through charging, and front and back protection.

iPadOS 17 brings new levels of personalization and versatility that elevate the iPad Air experience:

Users can customize the Lock Screen to make it more personal, taking advantage of the 11-inch or new, larger 13-inch display on iPad Air. This includes stunning wallpapers, fun ways to showcase users’ favorite photos, and expressive fonts and colors to personalize the look of the date and time.
Interactive widgets take glanceable information further with the ability to get tasks done right in the moment with just a tap.
Messages offers fun ways for users to express themselves, including a stickers experience with emoji stickers and the ability to create Live Stickers by lifting subjects from photos.
In FaceTime, users can leave an audio or video message when someone doesn’t pick up a call. With Continuity Camera, users can take advantage of the camera and microphone on iPad Air and initiate a video call directly from Apple TV, or start the call on iPad and then hand it off to Apple TV.
Freeform offers new drawing tools; support for hover, tilt, and snap to shape; the ability to add connection lines and new shapes to any object; and Follow Along to guide collaborators around the board.
The Notes app gives users new ways to organize, read, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs. Working with PDFs is also easier with AutoFill, which intelligently identifies and fills fields in forms.
With Stage Manager, users can work with multiple overlapping windows in a single view, resize windows, tap to switch between apps, and more.
In addition to Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, and Live Text, users can take advantage of AI capabilities like Live Captions for real-time audio captions and intelligent accessibility features such as Personal Voice.

Vast Ecosystem of Apps

iPadOS 17 includes amazing features and apps like widgets, Freeform, and Notes that empower users to get tasks done more quickly and easily.

iPad Air also comes with exceptional apps built in, including Freeform, Notes, iMovie, GarageBand, Photos, and the iWork suite of productivity apps — Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 bring new features that transform iPad Air into an even more flexible creative powerhouse. Available Monday, May 13, Logic Pro delivers breakthrough professional experiences for songwriting, beat-making, producing, and mixing with powerful AI-driven features, including Session Players, ChromaGlow, and Stem Splitter. Coming later this spring, Final Cut Pro turns iPad into the ultimate mobile production studio, with Live Multicam to control and record with up to four iPhone or iPad devices with Final Cut Camera; external project support; and even more new content. And with over a million apps on the App Store, iPad Air users can find apps for anything they want to do, from advanced productivity to creativity.

Better for the Environment

The new iPad Air is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. The new iPad Air meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product.

Pricing and Availability

Customers can order the new iPad Air with M2 starting May 7, on Apple Store, and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, May 15.
The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air will be available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.
The 11-inch iPad Air starts at AED 2,499 for the Wi-Fi model, and AED 3,099 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Air starts at AED 3,299 for the Wi-Fi model, and AED 3,899 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
For education, the new 11-inch iPad Air starts at AED 2,299 and the 13-inch model starts at AED 3,099. Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit the website.
The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Air. It is available for AED 529, and AED 499 for education. Apple Pencil (USB-C) is available for AED 319 and AED 279 for education.
The Magic Keyboard, available in black and white finishes, is compatible with the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air. It can be purchased for AED 1,199 for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and AED 1,399 for the new 13-inch iPad Air, with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for AED 1,099 and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for AED 1,299.
The new Smart Folio, available in charcoal gray, light violet, denim, and sage, is AED 339 for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and AED 419 for the new 13-inch iPad Air.
Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available May 13 as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it will be available on the App Store for AED 19.99 per month or AED 199 per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit the website.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will be available later this spring on the App Store for AED 19.99 per month, or AED 199 per year, with a one-month free trial.
Apple offers great ways to save on the latest iPad. Customers can trade in their current iPad and get credit toward a new one by visiting the Apple Store online, the Apple Store App, or an Apple Store location. To see what their device is worth and for terms and conditions, customers can visit the website.
Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all upfront.

News Source: Apple Newsroom