Apple just launched a bigger, better 13in iPad Air 6 (M2, 2024): Who’s going to buy an iPad Pro now?

Apple has taken the wraps off its latest iPad models today and, as expected, there’s a new iPad Air with a larger 12.9in display.

As with the more expensive iPad Pro, the Air is now available in both 11in and 13in sizes but Apple is keeping the much anticipated OLED display technology to its more expensive iPad Pro range.

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Apple iPad Air 6 (M2, 2024) preview: Specifications, price and release date

• 11in or 13in Liquid Retina display
• Apple M2 chipset
• 128GB, 256GBGB, 512GB or 1TB storage
• 12MP rear camera
• 12MP landscape-mounted front camera with Centre Stage face-tracking
• Compatible with: Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C)
• Available in four colours: Starlight, Purple, Blue, Space Grey
• Price: From £599 (11in, 128GB storage); £799 (13in, 128GB storage); Magic Keyboard, £299 (11in); £349 (13in)
• Availability: Preorder from 7 May, 2024; Shipping from 15 May

Apple iPad Air 6 (M2, 2024) preview: Key new features and first impressions

The big news with Apple’s latest iPad Air is that it is now available with a larger 13in display, but uses a Liquid Retina display instead of an OLED panel like the new iPad Pro models.

In fact, with an Apple M2 chipset on-board, and compatibility with the Apple Magic Keyboard, with its touchpad, backlit keys and floating hinge – and the new Apple Pencil Pro, the new iPad Air is effectively a 2022 iPad Pro in all but name.

The design isn’t completely identical, though. The new tablet’s rear camera setup is more basic with only a single 12MP camera and a single LED flash just below it. And the front camera is different as well. Its resolution is a sharp 12MP and it now supports Centre Stange face tracking but, more significantly, it has been moved from the short edge of the tablet to the longer “landscape” edge. Face ID is missing but the tablet supports Touch ID biometric logins, as before.

The repositioning of the webcam means when the tablet is mounted on the Magic Keyboard, you no longer have to put up with the awkwardly side-angled webcam view in video calls as you have in recent iPad Pro models. It should behave like every other laptop webcam in other words; an improvement that is long overdue.

The iPad Air also comes with landscape stereo speakers with “double the bass” than the previous iPad Air, and it comes in four colours: blue, Starlight, purple and Space Grey.

The only other major upgrade is that the cheapest models now come with double the storage of the old models, starting with 128GB, and running up to 1TB, so you’re not stuck with a paltry 64GB of storage if you can’t afford to bump it up at the point of purchase.

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Apple iPad Air 6 (M2, 2024) preview: Early verdict

The real killer feature for the new iPad Air, however, may well be the price, which starts at £599 for the 11in model and £799 for the 13in tablet, with the Magic Keyboard costing £299, bringing the total to £898 for the 11in iPad Air 6 and £1,148 for the iPad Air 6 13in.

That’s significantly cheaper than both the outgoing iPad Pro and the new one, and it brings Apple’s productivity tablet closer in price to the M3 MacBook Air as well, where previously buying the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard was a heftier investment.

We’ll have full reviews of both devices for you soon – just as soon as we get our hands on review samples.