iPad Air М2 (2024) VS iPad Air 5 (2022): More power, more space

Intro

Apple launched the 5th-gen iPad Air back in 2022, so it’s been a good two years of waiting for us to see the company’s next generation of mid-range tablets. Well, the wait is over, as the 2024 iPad Air (6th-gen) has now been announced.

As was already suspected by many, it turns out this time Apple is offering buyers an additional, larger iPad Air. As you might already expect, the bigger size also carries several benefits, which we will be addressing in this comparison with the predecessor.

But, of course, there’s a little more to the new generation besides the additional size. The M1 chip on the 2022 iPad Air has been replaced for the M2 chipset, which powers both new iPad Airs. More on what that entails below.

Design and Size

Some minor design changes and a new size option

The design and size are two of the main areas where Apple has introduced changes with the new iPad Air (2024) generation. For starters, there’s the aforementioned 13-inch iPad Air, which is a similar size to the 13-inch iPad Pro.

The 13″ iPad Air dimensions, on the other hand, are 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1mm (11.05 x 8.46 x 0.24in), which is almost the size of the 2022 13-inch iPad Pro. It weighs less than the Pro model, though, coming in at 617 grams (1.36 pounds) vs 682 grams (1.50 pounds).

Design-wise, Apple finally moved the front-facing camera on one of the sides, instead of placing it at the top bezel like it has been with the previous generations. This should make it more comfortable to take video calls while holding the device horizontally, which is the orientation most people tend to use their tablet in.

Display Differences

Well, sadly, Apple did not include anything crazy like Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED LCD panel that’s on the Pro models. And, no, there’s no 90Hz or 120Hz display refresh rate. What you do get with the newer model is the option to have a bigger 13-inch display.

Performance and Software

Better connectivity and a more capable chipset

Besides the size, performance is the other area where the iPad Air (2024) offers more than its predecessor. That’s because it comes with the M2 chipset, which comes with a 15% faster CPU, a 25% more powerful GPU, and a 40% more capable neural engine.

Apple claims that the 2024 iPad Air is about 50% faster than the 2022 model, so there’s definitely a performance boost with this new generation. New is also the support for AI-powered features such as Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, and Live Text capture, although we are not quite sure why the M1 chip can’t support those too.

Another small change has to do with the Apple Pencil. The new Airs now come with Apple Pencil Hover, which shows a small pointer on the screen when you bring the Apple Pencil close enough, helping with the accuracy.

On the software side of things, you can expect the same minimum of 6 years of iPadOS updates and security patches. The 11-inch iPad Air (2024) and 13-inch iPad Air come with the latest version of iPadOS 17.

The 2024 iPad Air tablets will also come with updated hardware for better connectivity. Both support Bluetooth 5.3 vs 5.0 on the older model, meaning connections to Bluetooth devices will be more stable (especially at longer distances), and using the Bluetooth will draw less battery as 5.3 is more power-efficient.

Camera

From vertical to horizontal

The iPad Air (2022) comes with a single camera at the back, it has 12MP and an aperture of f/1.8. It is nothing impressive, especially when placed to the recent iPhone cameras, but it does the job for quick snapshots. This remains unchanged with the iPad Air (2024), including the larger model.

The 12MP ultrawide front-facing camera of the 2022 iPad Air is arguably the more important one, given that we are talking about a tablet here. Apple has changed this one, as we mentioned above, moving it from the top bezel to one of the side bezels. Besides making it more comfortable to have video calls while holding the tablet horizontally, this will also help keep you centered in the frame.

Other than the positioning of the selfie snapper, no other upgrades were mentioned during Apple’s Let Loose event. In other words, the main camera is capable of 4K at 60FPS and 1080p at 240FPS video recording, just like with the iPad Air from 2022. Same goes for the front-facing camera, which can record video at 1080p 60FPS, and comes with Face detection.

Audio Quality and Haptics

Haptics are not that important with iPads, so Apple doesn’t pay too much attention the vibration motor inside or any software features that are related to haptic feedback. That being said, the speakers inside a tablet are of extreme importance, as most users buy one specifically to enjoy watching movies, TV shows, and videos.

The 2022 iPad Air has pretty good speakers, but unlike the Pro models that have four, it only comes with two. This remains the same with the 11-inch 2024 iPad Air, but the bigger 13-inch model offers “double the bass” according to Apple.

Battery Life and Charging

Still no faster charging

The 11″ iPad Air (2024) keeps the same battery size of 7,606 mAh as the iPad Air from 2022, but the new 13-inch iPad Air has a larger battery capacity. If logic serves, the battery is somewhere close to that of the 13-inch iPad Pro, which is 10758 mAh. Given the information on Apple’s website, our guess would be 9705 mAh.

As for charging, Apple did not mention any upgrades, so we expect the same as with the 2022 Air, with a slower charge on the 13″ as it has a larger battery.

Specs Comparison

Summary

So, in short, the main differences between the 2024 edition of the iPad Air and the previous generation from 2022 is the new 13-inch iPad Air with its larger display and better audio quality. There’s also a performance upgrade in the form of Apple’s M2 chip, which replaces the M1 that the 2022 iPad Air came with.

There are also the new storage options, with the base storage being double that of the 2022 iPad Air. Buyers also have the option to go as high as 1TB with the 2024 models.

Is all of this worth the upgrade, though? Well, our take is that the M1 chipset is plenty powerful for most, so for many users out there it will boil down to whether or not they want a bigger display with better sound. You can easily grab cloud storage, so the new internal storage options are not that alluring.

Of course, if you think that the power of the M2 chipset would come in handy for your use case, than you have one more massive reason for an upgrade.