The iPad Air has been renewed and has done so in a remarkable way. This is a tablet that rivals the iPad Pro in many ways and in fact outlines improvements that we will probably see in many other Apple devices from now on.
Among them, two highlights: the new Apple A14 Bionic processor, made with 5-nanometer technology, and the new TouchID sensor, which is located in a button on one side of the tablet and offers a precision that according to Apple is the best in the history of this component.
iPad Air 2020 Datasheet
| iPad Air 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Screen | 10.9 inches 2,360 x 1,640 pixels (264 dpi) True Tone, 500 nits Wide Color Gamut (P3) |
| Processor | Apple A14 Bionic |
| RAM | – |
| Storage | 64/256 GB |
| Main Camera | 12 MP f / 1.8 |
| Front Camera | 7 MP f / 2.2 |
| Battery | 28.6 Wh Up to 10 hours |
| Operating System | iPadOS 14 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi 6 + Cellular Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Dimensions and Weight | |
| Others | USB-C, Touch ID on the side |
| Price | Wi-Fi 6: $599 Wi-Fi 6 + cellular: $729 |
A Beast Inside: the Apple A14 Bionic
The great novelty of the new iPad Air is its processor, the Apple A14 Bionic, a remarkable evolution of the previous processor used in both tablets and Apple smartphones.
To begin with, the new A14 Bionic is manufactured with 5-nanometer lithography, something that has allowed Apple to integrate 11.8 billion transistors and propose some very striking performance improvements.
Thus, its new six-core CPU (two high-performance, four more efficient) allows for 40% more performance compared to the 2019 iPad Air which had an Apple A12 Bionic. The quad-core GPU also poses a 30% improvement over the integration in that SoC, something that shows the progress of these developments from Apple.
Things do not stop there: there are also changes in the cores of its Neural Engine, which now has a 16-core architecture that gains key performance in automatic learning operations (machine learning) and applies them to scenarios such as video editing or image post-processing taken with the camera.
It is expected that this is also the processor that is integrated into the iPhone 12 that will still have to wait a few weeks to be presented, and we will surely see how the A14 Bionic precisely is responsible for much of the performance of its camera system.
These internal improvements also affect, for example, LTE connectivity, which can be up to 60% faster. Support for Wi-Fi 6 connectivity is another improvement in that area.
New Touch ID, new camera, and even USB-C!
In addition to this notable change in the processor, there are other relevant innovations. For example, the fact that we now have a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina screen with a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels.
This iPad Air says goodbye to the Lightning connector and makes use of a USB-C connector that can offer transfer speeds of up to 5 Gbps and has support for fast charging at 20 W.
There is also a major change to the Touch ID sensor, which evolves into a button on the side of the tablet. The sensor makes use of sapphire protective glass and an improved sensor which according to Apple is the best they have come up with for this technology.
The cameras on the iPad Air also make a generational leap. The front has a 7 MP f/2.2 sensor capable of capturing 1080p video at 60 FPS and ensuring FaceTime HD quality video conferencing.
The back has the 12 MP sensor and f/1.8 aperture that we already saw on the iPad Pro and that will allow this iPad Air to have outstanding photo quality and also make it possible to record 4K video at 60 FPS with improved video stabilization.
The new stereo speakers join the stand of all the accessories already supported by the iPad Pro, such as the Magic Keyboard or the Apple Pencil.
iPad Air Price and Availability
The new iPad Air will be available in October at a price of $599 for the Wi-Fi version and $729 for the version with LTE connectivity.
It will be available in five colors (silver, space grey, golden pink, green and light blue) and will complete Apple’s range of tablets alongside the iPad Pro, the new 8th generation iPad also launched today, and the iPad mini.
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