4 min readNew DelhiMay 12, 2024 04:01 PM IST
First published on: May 10, 2024 at 04:58 PM IST
An iPad Air will more than suffice if you are considering a tablet that can potentially replace your old, bulky laptop. As Apple unveils a bunch of new tablets including the iPad Air 6th Gen, the question is whether you should get the latest model or go for the previous one, the iPad Air 2022, which is Rs 5,500 cheaper. Here’s a quick comparison between the two iPad Air models to help you figure out which tablet to go with.
Design
Both the iPad Air 5th Gen and the iPad Air 6th Gen look more or less the same, but Apple has shifted the front camera on the latter to a landscape position, making the video call experience way better.
The new iPad is available in two screen sizes, 11-inch and 13-inch. The previous generation iPad Air sports a 10.9-inch display. However, the iPad Air 2022 and the newly launched 11-inch iPad Air have the same dimensions. The new 11-inch iPad Air will look and feel the same as the 2022 model.
The new 11-inch iPad Air costs approx. Rs 5,500 more. (Express Photo)
Performance
A big difference between the old and the new iPad Air is in terms of performance. The 2022 iPad Air is powered by the M1 chip, the first chipset Apple developed in-house. On the other hand, the 11-inch iPad Air 6th Gen packs the M2 chipset, which the company claims is 50 per cent faster in some scenarios.
On paper, the M1 chip has an 8-core CPU accompanied by an 8-core GPU whereas the M2 chip boasts an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Both tablets come with 8GB of RAM. If you do resource-intensive activities like video editing, the performance difference might be a bit noticeable, but when multitasking, both chipsets perform more or less the same.
More storage
The iPad Air (2022) comes in two storage variants – 64GB and 256GB. On the other hand, the 2024 iPad Air’s base variant offers 128GB storage and the top model offers 1TB capacity.
Apple Pencil and keyboard case
The 2022 iPad Air supports the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, whereas the new iPad Air is compatible with the newly-launched Apple Pencil Pro, which costs the same as its predecessor.
However, it brings some additional features like ‘Squeeze’, ‘Barrel roll’, Haptic feedback and ‘Find My’ support. If you are into designing, the new iPad Air is the one to pick.
While the iPad Air 2022 supports Smart Keyboard Folio case, the new iPad Air misses out on this. This means, those looking for a tablet to connect a keyboard to, should stick with the older model.
iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): Which one to buy?
The iPad Air (2022) is not outdated by any means, but the base variant of the previous generation tablet offers only 64GB of internal storage. This might not be enough if you want to play games, install a lot of apps, and watch movies offline.
The iPad Air (2022) is currently available for Rs 55,400 on Amazon India and can be found on other e-commerce platforms at more or less the same price. The newly-launched 11-inch iPad Air starts from Rs 59,900.
While the older iPad Air model offers great value for money, we suggest you spend a bit more and go with the new 11-inch iPad Air as it offers more performance and doubles the storage space for just Rs 5,500 extra.
The iPad Air 5th gen and 11-inch iPad Air 6th gen have the same dimensions. (Express Photo) 
The new 11-inch iPad Air costs approx. Rs 5,500 more. (Express Photo)
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