Apple reveals new 11‑ and 13‑inch M2 iPad Air models

Now available in two sizes for the first time, the new iPad Air with M2 is more powerful and versatile than ever, featuring phenomenal performance, a landscape front-facing camera, and faster Wi-Fi, along with support for Apple Pencil Pro.
Apple today announced the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, supercharged by the M2 chip. Now available in two sizes for the first time, the 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, and the 13-inch model provides an even larger display for more room to work, learn, and play. Both deliver phenomenal performance and advanced capabilities, making iPad Air more powerful and versatile than ever before. Featuring a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine in M2, the new iPad Air offers even more performance and is an incredibly powerful device for artificial intelligence. The front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage is now located along the landscape edge of iPad Air, which is perfect for video calls. It also includes faster Wi-Fi, and cellular models include super-fast 5G, so users can stay connected on the go. With a portable design, all-day battery life, a brilliant Liquid Retina display, and support for Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Magic Keyboard, iPad Air empowers users to be even more productive and creative. The new iPad Air is available in new blue and purple finishes, along with starlight and space gray. The 11-inch iPad Air still starts at just $599, and the 13-inch iPad Air is a fantastic value at just $799. Customers can order the new iPad Air today, with availability beginning Wednesday, May 15.
“So many users — from students, to content creators, to small businesses, and more — love iPad Air for its performance, portability, and versatility, all at an affordable price. Today, iPad Air gets even better,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing, in a statement. “We’re so excited to introduce the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, offering two sizes for the first time. With its combination of a brilliant Liquid Retina display, the phenomenal performance of the M2 chip, incredible AI capabilities, and its colorful, portable design with support for new accessories, iPad Air is more powerful and versatile than ever.”
The new iPad Air is available in space gray and starlight, in addition to new purple and blue finishes.
The 12MP Wide back camera on iPad Air delivers high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video with support for 240-fps slo-mo.
iPad Air: Now Available in Two Sizes
The redesigned 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, perfect for getting work done on the go. For users who want a larger display, the new 13-inch iPad Air offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 11-inch model. The expansive display gives users more space to capture their ideas in apps like Freeform, or view multiple apps using Split View in iPadOS. Both models include advanced displays with a Liquid Retina design; an anti-reflective screen coating; True Tone technology; high brightness; and support for P3 wide color, resulting in content that looks remarkably rich and vibrant, and text that is sharp in all kinds of lighting conditions.
Landscape Front-Facing Camera
In the redesigned iPad Air, the front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera is now located along the landscape edge. The camera features Center Stage, which uses machine learning (ML) to automatically keep everyone in the field of view. This new camera location is perfect, since it has become the most common orientation for iPad users, whether they are connecting with friends and family over FaceTime, or joining a video conference while using iPad Air in a keyboard. The 12MP Wide back camera on iPad Air delivers high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video with support for 240-fps slo-mo. Dual microphones are designed to work in unison with the cameras, capturing audio from the camera being used and minimizing distracting background noise. The new iPad Air also has landscape stereo speakers with Spatial Audio. The 13-inch model delivers even better sound quality with double the bass, which is great for enjoying music and videos.
Even More Performance with M2

The M2 chip brings another big boost in performance to iPad Air, featuring a faster 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. M2 is a powerful chip that offers a number of improvements over M1, delivering a huge leap in performance for those upgrading from previous-generation iPad Air models. When combined with faster memory bandwidth, the new iPad Air is nearly 50 percent faster than the previous iPad Air with M1 for a wide range of productivity and creative tasks. And compared to iPad Air with A14 Bionic, the new iPad Air delivers up to 3x faster performance. From creating engaging content faster than ever in Affinity Designer, to playing demanding, graphics-intensive games like Zenless Zone Zero, users will feel the speed of M2 in everything they do.
Powerful Device for AI
With M2, the new iPad Air is an amazing device for AI, featuring a more efficient 16-core Neural Engine that is 40 percent faster than M1. Combined with ML accelerators in the CPU and a powerful GPU to boost on-device machine learning, along with Apple silicon’s unified memory architecture, iPad Air delivers exceptional AI performance. Taking advantage of this performance, users can enjoy intelligent iPadOS features such as Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, or Live Text. iPadOS also has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver powerful AI features right on device. With the vast ecosystem of apps that include advanced AI features, users can do things like use the Auto Enhance tool in Photomator, which improves photos with a single click using AI models, or analyze athletic performance like never before with Onform and its motion tracking capabilities. iPad Air also supports cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run advanced productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.
Faster Connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E and 5G
With faster wireless connectivity on the go, users can do even more on iPad Air. The new iPad Air supports Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers up to 2x increased performance than the previous generation, so users can download files, play games online, and stream movies. Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 5G allow users to access their files, communicate with peers, and back up their data in a snap while on the go. Cellular models of the new iPad Air are activated with eSIM, a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device. Customers can easily get connected to wireless data plans on the new iPad Air in over 190 countries and regions around the world without needing to get a physical SIM card from a local carrier.
Versatile Accessories, Including Apple Pencil Pro
Apple Pencil Pro features even more magical capabilities and powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors, all without interrupting the creative process. A custom haptic engine delivers a light tap that provides confirmation when users squeeze, use double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape for a remarkably intuitive experience. A gyroscope allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. And with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualize the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.
With advanced features like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback, Apple Pencil Pro makes marking up, taking notes, and creating a masterpiece in apps like Affinity Designer 2 more intuitive than ever.
With these advanced features, Apple Pencil Pro allows users to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways, and developers can also create their own custom interactions. Apple Pencil Pro brings support for Find My to Apple Pencil for the first time, helping users locate Apple Pencil Pro if misplaced. It pairs, charges, and is stored on the side of iPad Air through a new magnetic interface. iPad Air also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), ideal for note taking, sketching, annotating, journaling, and more, at a great value.
iPad Air works with the Magic Keyboard, which includes a floating design, built-in trackpad, and backlit keyboard. The new Smart Folio for iPad Air attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in charcoal gray, light violet, denim, and sage, the new Smart Folio complements the finishes of iPad Air.
With a floating cantilever design that attaches magnetically and supports multiple viewing angles, Magic Keyboard features a great typing experience, a trackpad that expands how users can work with iPadOS, a USB‑C connector for pass‑through charging, and front and back protection.
Vast Ecosystem of Apps
iPad Air also comes with exceptional apps built in, including Freeform, Notes, iMovie, GarageBand, Photos, and the iWork suite of productivity apps — Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 bring new features that transform iPad Air into an even more flexible creative powerhouse. Available Monday, May 13, Logic Pro delivers breakthrough professional experiences for songwriting, beat-making, producing, and mixing with powerful AI-driven features, including Session Players, ChromaGlow, and Stem Splitter. Coming later this spring, Final Cut Pro turns iPad into the ultimate mobile production studio, with Live Multicam to control and record with up to four iPhone or iPad devices with Final Cut Camera; external project support;4 and even more new content. And with over a million apps on the App Store, iPad Air users can find apps for anything they want to do, from advanced productivity to creativity.
Better for the Environment
The new iPad Air is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. The new iPad Air meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.
Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product.
Pricing and Availability
• Customers can order the new iPad Air with M2 starting today, May 7, on apple.com/store, and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, May 15.
• The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air will be available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.
• The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $749 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Air starts at $799 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $949 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
• For education, the new 11-inch iPad Air starts at $549 (U.S.), and the 13-inch model starts at $749 (U.S.). Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit apple.com/us-hed/shop.
• The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Air. It is available for $129 (U.S.), and $119 (U.S.) for education. Apple Pencil (USB-C) is available for $79 (U.S.) and $69 (U.S.) for education.
• The Magic Keyboard, available in black and white finishes, is compatible with the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air. It can be purchased for $299 (U.S.) for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and $349 (U.S.) for the new 13-inch iPad Air, with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $279 (U.S.), and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $329 (U.S.).
• The new Smart Folio, available in charcoal gray, light violet, denim, and sage, is $79 (U.S.) for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and $99 (U.S.) for the new 13-inch iPad Air.
• Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available May 13 as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it will be available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad.
• Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will be available later this spring on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial.
• Apple offers great ways to save on the latest iPad. Customers can trade in their current iPad and get credit toward a new one by visiting the Apple Store online, the Apple Store App, or an Apple Store location. To see what their device is worth and for terms and conditions, customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in.
• Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all upfront.
MacDailyNews Take: A tremendous value for a product that will last many years!
‎
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple reveals new 11‑ and 13‑inch M2 iPad Air models appeared first on MacDailyNews.