The iPad Air 5 is the upcoming affordable iPad from Apple that’s set to be an incredible iPad for the price.
With plenty of improvements from the predecessor this is definitely going to be a popular iPad in the market.
Design
The iPad Air 5 is coming with a 10.9″ full screen display and will be similar to the iPad Pro series but with larger bezels. While there were early rumors of this being the first iPad air to feature an OLED display, Ming-Chi-Kuo advised that it will be an LCD panel.
There will be no in display fingerprint scanner & it will instead use a Touch-ID button on the side.
It will have a flat edge design with a chrome finish and be available in a variety of different colours.
The main change this year is on the rear of the iPad Air 5 where we will be getting a dual camera array.
Hardware
Powering the iPad Air 5 will be the A15 Bionic chip found in this years iPhone. There are rumors of the M1 chip going around but that’s just not going to happen as this is a budget iPad.
It expected to come with 6GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 256GB storage.
Its expected to come with a 29 Watt hour batter to provide at least 10 hours of media watching time & it will of course be powered by USB-C.
It will have Touch-ID on the power button and be equipped with stereo speakers & a dual microphone system.
We get support for 2nd Generation Apple Pencil & according to Macotakara is will also be equipped with mmwave 5G
Cameras
On the front we have a selfie camera inside the bezel which is rumored to be a 10MP selfie camera supporting 1080p at up to 60FPS.
On the rear we have a dual camera system that will consist of a wide & an ultrawide camera. The exact cameras are unknown at this time but it will likely be a dual 12MP system.
In the Macotakara report they also state that there is a possibility of the Lidar scanner coming to the iPad Air 5.
Price
The iPad air is always a more budget friendly offering from Apple and its likely that there wont be too much movement here. The iPad Air 5 is expected to start from $600 / £580 / AU$900 and this is of course for the non cellular 128GB model.
For cellular connection & higher storage options these will of course be higher.
Launch Date
The iPad Air 5 was tipped for a launch date in 2022 but the exact timing is not known at the moment. The iPad Airs don’t release yearly so it can be dependant on what else apple has in the pipeline. We estimate a Q2 release in 2022 for the iPad Air 5 so this could be anywhere from April – July. With the iPhone 14 Launch being September it will no doubt be before this event.
iPad Air 5 Conclusion
The iPad Air 5 is going to be a great choice for those needing a new iPad but dont want to shell out for a pro model. It will have capable hardware and a similar design to its predecessor with minor refinements.
There were plenty of rumors early on about this being the first iPad air to utilize OLED technology but it seems apple will continue to use LCD on lower end models & mini LED on premium models.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments though, Who is excited for the iPad Air 5? And will any of you purchase one?
