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iPad Air 5 VS iPad Air 4! Should You Upgrade?

9:54 video

I picked up an iPad Air 5 at the Apple Store on launch day: does a new processor, a new front camera and the potential for 5G make it worth upgrading from the iPad Air 4? ESR sponsored this video. The iPad Air 5 was announced at Apple’s March 8th Peek Performance event, along with the new iPhone SE, the Mac Studio and the Studio Display.

Unboxing

I got the blue. It’s nice, like a baby blue or sky blue, with real saturation. Last year’s colors were basically really light pastels, almost like Easter eggs, and I had to do tricks in Final Cut Pro to make the green stand out on video; these look like Easter eggs left in the dye a bit longer. In the box: the iPad Air, the obligatory Apple stickers (I’ve never used one), a Quick Start Guide, a USB-C to USB-C cable and a 20 W charger.

The outside

It’s very similar to the Air 4: a single rear camera and mic, the Smart Connector on the back for keyboard accessories, the magnetic strip on the right side for the second-generation Apple Pencil, volume buttons, a top Touch ID power button, speakers, and USB-C on the bottom. The form factors are almost identical, which is good news for any accessories you bought for the previous Air.

ESR accessories

  • Ascend Keyboard Case (for the Air 5, Air 4 and 11-inch iPad Pro): a hybrid of other iPad keyboard cases. It protects the iPad even when it isn’t connected to the keyboard, and the kickstand adjusts to any angle, so it works whatever your height or desk. It connects over Bluetooth, and the keyboard and trackpad work as you’d expect in iPadOS (two-finger scrolling, three-finger swipe home, three-finger swipe between recent apps). Unlike some external keyboards, it has a full function row. You can also mount the iPad in portrait mode for writing scripts or documents.
  • Rebound Hybrid case: a full protective case with a folio cover that adds protection and works as a stand.

You can save 10% by searching “ESR iPad Air case” on Amazon, and there’s a link in the description to win an iPad Air 5.

Inside: M1 vs. A14

  • Air 4: A14 chip (the iPhone 12’s): 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 4 GB of memory.
  • Air 5: M1: 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8 GB of memory, the same chip as the Mac mini, MacBook Air, 24-inch iMac and iPad Pro, so performance is very similar to the iPad Pro’s. That’s crazy for the Air, especially since iPadOS still can’t fully take advantage of it. But the Air 4 isn’t slow: they run the same apps almost the same, and you won’t see much difference.
  • 5G: the cellular version of the Air 5 gets 5G, versus 4G LTE on the Air 4. It depends on where you live and how much you use cellular. I haven’t found a benefit in my city or travels, and I keep 5G off on my iPhone 13 Pro for battery life.
  • Storage: both start at 64 GB, up to 256 GB.
  • USB-C: the Air 5’s port is twice as fast, up to 10 Gbps, for fast SSDs or a dock for a desktop setup.
  • Display: the same 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, up to 500 nits, P3 wide color and fully laminated, so it looks like you’re touching pixels, one of the best displays on any device. The bezels are slightly bigger than the iPad Pro’s.
  • Cameras: the rear camera is the same 12 MP f/1.8; the front is now a 12 MP ultra wide (f/2.4) with Center Stage, as on last year’s iPad mini, which keeps you centered when you move and widens the view when others join. It’s great for family video calls, and I wish we’d had it in 2020.

Should you upgrade?

If you need the extra power, 5G and the ultra wide Center Stage camera, it might be a good upgrade. But for most people, I don’t see enough difference to warrant it. If you have the Air 4, you have essentially the same device and should probably hang onto it. If you’re an idiot like me, the color alone might make you upgrade. What do you think of the Air 5?

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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