Apple iPad Air 2024 — top specs, features, full India prices, everything else to know

Next to the swanky new iPad Pro, the iPad Air 2024 launched alongside may look a lot less exiting to some people, conservative if you will, but it was mostly expected. The iPad Pro was supposed to run away with all the spotlight but when you take some time out, and look at the new iPad Air in totality, it’s actually a very sweet deal. I mean, not everyone needs a pro iPad, not everyone must get one. But for a large group of people, a second-best option in the line-up could spell wonders. Previously, these people had access to only one screen size. Now, they have two. In fact, the iPad Air 2024 is available in the exact same—11- and 13-inch—size as the iPad Pro 2024 for the first time. Of course by that I only mean screen size and not actual dimensions. It’s a whole different conversation how the iPad Pro is now thinner than the iPad Air.

Anyhow, coming back to the topic at hand: making the iPad Air in the exact same screen size connects Apple to a bigger crowd. The sheer promise of a “pro” size display at more affordable prices is both wild and a clever marketing move. Apple has never really been into the big volumes market but these are desperate times, a 17 percent sale decline is not a joke. While it’s possible that the 11-inch model might still be the most preferred, but the potential of a 13-inch screen can’t be taken lightly either. Besides, not many players are doing it, so it’s advantage Apple for the time being.

It would have been a marketing genius had the iPad Air also jumped a hardware version like the iPad Pro but sadly, it has M2 (not M3), keeping things nice and simple—and still mighty powerful for the asking price. What’s even better is that Apple has doubled down on storage in this generation and also increased the number of options to pick from. While the previous iPad Air started with just 64GB, the new iPad Air starts with 128GB. And it can go up to 1TB (the 2022 version maxed out at 256GB).

Apple iPad Air 2024: Everything you need to know in 10 points

1. Design: The new iPad Air has the same design as the last iPad Air. It has the same colour options, too. If anything, Apple has reduced the number of options in this generation (from 5 to 4). You get a choice of space grey, starlight, purple, and blue.
2. Display: Both 11- and 13-inch iPad Air models are using an IPS LCD “Liquid Retina” display. The 13-inch model has a slightly higher peak SDR brightness (600 nits versus 500 nits on the 11-inch). New to this generation of iPad Air is support for Apple Pencil’s hover functionality. Refresh rate is still capped at 60Hz. There is True Tone.
3. Processor: Powering the iPad Air 2024 is the Apple M2 silicon which in theory is up to 50 percent faster than the M1 inside the previous model. The M2 version inside the iPad Air has an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU (plus 16-core NPU).
4. Memory: The new iPad Air comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB memory. All models come with 8GB of RAM by default.
5. Camera: The iPad Air has a single 12-megapixel rear camera (with 4K video) and another 12-megapixel camera on the front, now in a landscape orientation, same as the iPad Pro (minus the TrueDepth FaceID technology).
6. Speakers: The iPad Air has two speakers.
7. Connectivity: The new iPad Air supports Wi-Fi 6E and 5G along with Bluetooth 5.3. Apple is going completely eSIM in this generation. The Apple Pencil Pro works with the iPad Air but the new Magic Keyboard isn’t compatible with it.
8. 11-inch iPad Air India prices: The 11-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi is priced at Rs 59,900 for 128GB, Rs 69,900 for 256GB, Rs 89,900 for 512GB and Rs 1,09,900 for 1TB. The 11-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi and cellular is priced at Rs 74,900 for 128GB, Rs 84,900 for 256GB, Rs 1,04,900 for 512GB and Rs 1,24,900 for 1TB.
9. 13-inch iPad Air India prices: The 13-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi is priced at Rs 79,900 for 128GB, Rs 89,900 for 256GB, Rs 1,09,900 for 512GB and Rs 1,29,900 for 1TB. The 13-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi and cellular is priced at Rs 94,900 for 128GB, Rs 1,04,900 for 256GB, Rs 1,24,900 for 512GB and Rs 1,44,900 for 1TB.
10. Apple Pencil Pro India price: The Apple Pencil Pro with haptic feedback and Find My support is priced at Rs 11,900.

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