Apple has introduced an replace to the iPad Air a 12 months and a half after it gave the pill an iPad Pro-style redesign. Much of that redesign continues to be intact, however the brand new iPad Air mannequin has been up to date with a quicker M1 processor, first seen in Apple’s Macs. It additionally helps 5G, and the USB-C port is as much as twice as quick with 10Gbps of information switch speeds.

It’ll be out there beginning at $599 for the Wi-Fi solely mannequin, rising to $749 for the Wi-Fi and Cellular model. It’ll include 64GB or 256GB of storage, and out there colours embody grey, pink, purple, blue, and a silver/gold cross Apple is looking “starlight.” Pre-orders open this Friday, and the pill might be on sale from March 18th.

Apple says the iPad Air’s M1 processor, which was additionally included in its newest iPad Pro, has an 8-core CPU that’s as much as 60 p.c quicker than the A14 Bionic processor present in final era’s mannequin. It has an 8-core GPU with two two instances the graphics energy of its predecessor.

Its entrance dealing with digital camera has additionally been up to date to make use of a 12-megapixel sensor (up from 7-megapixels final time round), and it now helps Apple’s Center Stage characteristic that’s designed to robotically preserve you in body whereas on calls. The rear digital camera has a decision of 12-megapixels, similar as final time. The new iPad Air’s 10.9-inch display has a peak brightness of 500 nits, and HDR help, however there’s no point out of ProMovement. The iPad Air has panorama stereo audio system.

Like its predecessor, the brand new iPad air is appropriate with the $129 Apple Pencil, which magnetically attaches to its measurement, in addition to the $299 Magic Keyboard. It’ll additionally work with the $179 Smart Keyboard Folio and $79 Smart Folio covers. It makes use of Touch ID constructed into its energy button as its biometric safety.

The iPad Air sits under the iPad Pro in Apple’s pill lineup and was final up to date in 2020. Last time round, the Air featured a smaller show with a decrease refresh price and a slower processor than the Pro. But lots of the different options of the iPad Pro have been nonetheless out there on the Air, together with a USB-C port and help for Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Pencil. It made the Air a wonderful lower-cost different to the Pro. If something, that’s much more the case this time round now that it’s additionally powered by an M1 chip.