
Following the announcement of the new iPad last week, the press has published the first reviews of the M4 iPad Pro. We now have reviews for the M2 iPad Air as well, and they praise the balance between powerful enough hardware for a reasonable price.
M2 iPad Air Review Round-up
According to Engadget, the new M2 iPad Air is the “gettable iPad.” While the website claims that the M4 iPad Pro is hard to recommend due to its high price, the iPad Air offers a “compelling mix of features while maintaining a reasonable price.” The review highlights storage upgrades for the base model (now with 128GB) and the new 13-inch version.
But for the rest of us, there's still the iPad Air, which offers 80 percent of the iPad Pro experience for a lot less money. And for the first time, a larger-screen iPad is available at a much more acceptable price. My heart probably wants the iPad Pro, but my brain (and wallet) agree that the iPad Air is a far more reasonable choice.
Arstechnica M2 calls the iPad Air “the everything iPad.” Although reviews emphasize that the entry-level iPad is probably enough for most buyers, the new Air offers the full iPad experience at much lower prices than the iPad Pro. The website also says the M2 chip is “powerful enough to do everything people currently use the iPad to do.”
The 13-inch Air may be particularly appealing to those looking to replace their laptop with an iPad. The screen is quite large and the device is certainly quite fast. The price is fine, although you have to take into account the cost of the keyboard attachment (if you want a giant slab of glass to read on, the 13-inch Air is still fine, but I find this device a bit much if you only It's too big and cumbersome if you're planning on using it as a tablet).

CNET Other reviewers seem to agree. Additionally, the review also suggests that new iPad Air buyers will also need to purchase the Apple Pencil Pro, as the Apple Pencil 2 is not compatible with it.
It looks and feels exactly the same, but has new rotational capabilities and a haptic-enabled squeeze gesture for supported apps. The new Pencil Pro costs the same price as the Pencil 2 ($129), which is great, except… the new Air won't work with your old Pencil 2 at all. So you'll have to buy a Pencil Pro, or use a lesser USB-C Pencil stylus that lacks pressure sensitivity. Objection to this – It's wasteful and forces you to upgrade an accessory you wouldn't otherwise have.
the vergeOn the other hand, let's say the iPad to buy isn't the new Air, but the entry-level iPad that just got cheaper — now starting at $349.
Apart from a few specific scenarios, I don't think I would tell you to buy this year's iPad Air. Not because it's not cool – it's awesome! It's just that for $250 less, you can get a base iPad that does pretty much every normal iPad function. The 10th-generation iPad is a few years old at this point, but it's still an excellent device, especially after Apple dropped its price from $449 to $349. The iPad, not the iPad Air, is the right iPad for most people.
The iPad Air starts at $599 for the 11-inch version and $799 for the 13-inch version.
video reviews
You can check out some video reviews below:
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