Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) review: Display
In appearance, the iPad Air might look just like an iPad Pro, but there are several ways in which it doesn’t match up and the display is the main one.
On paper, it doesn’t look all that different. At 10.9in across the diagonal it’s a mere 0.1in smaller than the 11in iPad Pro, and its resolution of 2,360 x 1,640 means it’s perfectly sharp from normal viewing distances. Apple also says the display will reproduce the whole of the P3 colour space.
The first thing you’ll notice, however, is that if you’re coming to it from a modern smartphone with a 90Hz or 120Hz display, the iPad Air’s 60Hz refresh rate feels a little sluggish. You won’t notice it while you’re typing or watching Netflix but while swiping from screen to screen and scrolling through menus and web pages, the difference is immediately obvious. You’re also not getting the Mini LED display of the 12.9in iPad Pro here, so the black level isn’t as deep and dark and HDR content doesn’t look quite so impactful.
What you do get, though, is a colour-accurate IPS panel with a measured peak brightness of 489cd/m² (Apple quotes 500 nits) and a contrast ratio of 1,356:1. There’s also full lamination so there are no internal reflections to wash out the display in bright conditions, and it has a highly effective anti-reflective coating.
So no, it isn’t the pinnacle of display perfection, but for the money this is still a very impressive display.
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Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) review: Performance
With the Apple M1 chip inside, the performance of the iPad Air (2022) is significantly better than the previous model across both graphics and productivity tasks.
There’s double the RAM this time, too, at 8GB, and USB speeds have risen as well to a theoretical maximum of 10Gbits/sec. However, I only recorded read speeds of around 2.3Gbits/sec when transferring large files from external storage. That’s still quick enough for most purposes but disappointingly nowhere near what it could be.
The one issue I have is that the 64GB base storage is rather mean. It won’t take long to fill that up, especially if you’re a gamer or work with large files, so I’d recommend upgrading to the 128GB model if you can afford it.
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Still, if you need the performance, there’s loads on tap here. Below is a selection of benchmark results, all of which show the iPad Air 5 ahead of both its predecessor and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 by a significant margin. It’s also not far behind the M1 12.9in iPad Pro and the M1 Mac mini.
I’m yet to receive the Tab S8 in for review, so can’t yet put up comparison benchmarks but, based on results we’ve seen from other Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 devices, I don’t expect the speeds to overhaul those of the iPad Air (2022).
Essentially, what this means is that the iPad Air is just as good a laptop replacement as its more powerful siblings. If you can find the software to replace your Mac/Windows apps in the App Store, it’s a great do-it-all machine and it eats 4K video-editing tasks for breakfast.
Even battery life is improved. Apple quotes the usual 10 hours of web browsing or video playback as usual, and in our tests it exceeded those claims, lasting 10hrs 25mins. That’s a full hour longer than the previous iPad Air though still behind the M1 iPad Pro 12.9in and a long way behind the likes of the M1 Apple MacBook Air, which lasted an impressive 14hrs 41mins in the same test.
Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) review: Verdict
I’ve seen others wondering where the iPad Air 5 (2022) fits into the iPad range, especially since the iPad Pro 11in is so similar and more capable. I think, however, that it’s more appropriate to flip that question and ask what the point of the smaller iPad Pro is, now that the Air has inherited its M1 processor.
If you don’t mind missing out on the Pro’s 120Hz display, its Face ID camera and its slightly superior audio system, the iPad Air delivers a very similar overall experience and performance for a lot less cash.
Moreover, what you’re getting here is a laptop alternative that’s as powerful as a MacBook Air but one that costs as much as £300 less. The smaller screen and 64GB base storage might give you pause, but there’s no denying that 2022’s iPad Air packs in an awful lot in for your money.
