New iPad Air

"iPad Air 2020. © Apple.

At Apple’s latest Special Event, Tim Cook announced a new iPad Air. Starting at USD600 (CAD780), it comes in five colors (silver, space gray, rose gold, green, and sky blue), and two storage options: 64GB or 256GB. With a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display (2360 x 1640px), it measures 9.7” x 7” x 0.24” and weighs just over 1lb. New to Apple devices is the Touch ID fingerprint reader, integrated into the top button (only the iPad Pro has the TrueDepth sensor for Face ID authentication, a feature of limited use in these mask-wearing times). The camera is clearly better than the previous generation, with 12MP and 4K video at 60ips. The lithium-polymer, 28.6Wh battery lasts about 10 hours. Also, the iPad Air supports the iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard and Pencil 2. But one of the best features of this device is that it has the new A14 SoC, which will power the next generation of iPhones and, no doubt, the first Mac ARMs. This first-ever 5nm chip, says Apple, offers a 40% CPU improvement and a 30% GPU performance boost. The iPad Air will be available in October, probably coinciding with the new generation of much-anticipated iPhones.

⇨ YouTube, “Apple September 2020 event in 12 minutes.”

⇨ Ars Technica, Samuel Axon, Jim Salter, “The new iPad Air goes all-screen, adds Magic Keyboard support.”