MacFormat UK – June 2019

APPLE CHOICE iOS hardware

From £479 FROM Apple, apple.com/uk FEATURES 10.5in Retina display,

A12 Bionic chip, 64GB or 256GB storage, Wi-Fi (add £120 for mobile connectivity)

P

lease welcome the third-gen iPad

Air, the middle child of Apple’s

tablet line-up. No, it’s not as cute

as the new 7.9in iPad mini, and its traditional

looks make it a wallf lower compared to last

year’s redesigned, third-gen iPad Pro, but the

iPad Air now has a 10.5in display, thinner

bezels, a faster chipset and a higher-resolution

front-facing camera.

If you’re going for Wi-Fi only, the 64GB

model is £479 and the 256GB option is £629.

Mobile connectivity adds a further £120.

The thinner bezels and Retina screen

really make a difference, and the new fully

laminated display means there’s almost no

gap between the thinner glass on top and LCD

panel underneath. Thanks to the wide colour

display (P3) and 2224x1668 resolution, colours

really pop and it’s hard to unsee the difference

next to a cheaper iPad. The screen now also

uses Apple’s True Tone display technology, so

using the tablet is easier on the eye and colour

feels more natural. Outside, we appreciated

the screen’s anti-ref lective coating that’s

exclusive to this new Air and all Pro models.

The new Air is also Apple’s thinnest

non-Pro iPad at 6.1mm (the mini matches it,

the Pros are 5.9mm, but the entry-level 9.7in

tablet is 7.5mm), and it weighs just 456g.

The third-gen iPad Air sticks with the

fingerprint-sensing Touch ID button, so

there’s no move to Face ID. And, while the

newer iPad Pros have adopted USB-C, the

iPad Air has also retained the traditional

Lightning port, which could prove annoying

for new MacBook owners who are geared up

for a USB-C future. While the new iPad Pros

Fantastic display,

serious horsepower

and future-proofing,

plus connectivity with

Apple add-ons.

++++++

A12 Bionic chip

Works with Smart

Keyboard and Apple Pencil

Fa s t c h a r g i n g w i t h

Lightning to USB-C

Tra diti o na l d esi g n

VERDICT

also boast four-speaker audio, there are still

just two speakers on the Air. You also get

a 3.5mm headphone jack here, though.

Compatibility with Apple’s Smart

Keyboard is a good reason to spring for the

new iPad Air over the temptingly priced 9.7in

iPad (which only works with Bluetooth

keyboards). The iPad Air is now Apple’s

cheapest tablet with a Smart Connector,

which magnetically fastens the Smart

Keyboard cover to the bottom of the device

(when in landscape). The keyboard has a

one-piece custom-woven fabric design with a

tri-fold back, and the laser-etched fabric keys

are water- and stain-resistant. Annoyingly,

considering its £159 price, it’s not backlit.

Apple Pencil support

This is the first iPad Air to be compatible

with Apple Pencil, which is great news – but

it only works with the first-generation model

and Logitech Crayon. That means you don’t

get the magnetic charging, f lat-sided design,

automatic pairing, or the time-saving ability

to double-tap to switch tools. Charging the

first-gen Apple Pencil remains awkward,

with its capped end containing a Lightning

connector that plugs in (and sticks out of )

the iPad Air.

The f lip side here is that the original

Apple Pencil is a little cheaper at £89, and it

works well – we experienced no lag, and were

able to create thicker lines by applying more

pressure and tilt the Pencil for shading.

The latest iPad Air actually takes

respectable photos for a tablet; the rear

camera captures 8MP photos with an

f/2.4 aperture, the same as

the entry-level 9.7in iPad.

It’s the 7MP front-facing

camera of the iPad Air

that’s a meaningful

upgrade (compared to

the 1.2MP FaceTime

camera on the 9.7in

iPad) for better selfies,

and its superior 1080p

Apple’s lightweight powerhouse of a tablet

iPad Air

84 | MACFORMAT | JUNE 2019

Jo says...

I love the look and feel of

the iPad Air. The negatives

mentioned about the

Lightning port, two

speakers and lack of Face

ID don’t matter that much

to me. The fact that I can

use an Apple Pencil and

Smart Keyboard with this

easy-to-handle model

makes it a great choice.

macformat.com @macformat

The iPad Air now packs in a whole lot more – you get a big boost to processing power,

plus a bigger, more colour-popping display.