Apple unveiled the new iPad Air at their Peak Performance Event, 2022, situating it as a laptop replacement. Claimed to be the most powerful and versatile Apple Air ever, the device features the breakthrough M1 chip, ultra-fast 5G and a new front camera with Center Stage. 

The new iPad Air will have the same M1 chip that has powered the iPad Pro. Apple says this makes it twice as fast as the best selling Windows laptop in its price range. In fact, Angellina Kyazike, Engineering Program Manager for iPad, noted M1 makes iPad Air “Faster than the fastest competitive tablet”. In addition, the device is expected to feature the A15 Bionic chip with 5G connectivity and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide front camera. The previous iPad Air 4 ran on the A14 Bionic chip with a 4G connectivity.

On the hardware end, the new iPad will be powered by an 8-core CPU that delivers up to 60% faster performance and an 8-core GPU that delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. Additionally, a 16-core Neural Engine will support advanced ML functions on the device, including 3D modelling, AR and graphics-intensive games. 

Apple promises an enhanced experience with the iPad OS15, that supports multitasking, collaboration, note-taking, share-play and advanced ML capabilities such as live text and on-device intelligence. The iPad Air is situated to become a chosen tool for content creators, developers, designers and gamers. It also supports the Smart Keyboard Folio and Magic Keyboard, allowing laptop users to turn their iPad Air into a functional laptop.

Apple also spoke of their environmental sustainability plans to have a net-zero climate impact across the entire business by 2023 and introduced environmentally safe modifications. For instance, the new iPad features a 100% recycled aluminium enclosure, 100% recycled tin in the solder of the main logic board, and 100% recycled rare earth elements in the enclosure and audio magnets.