Apple reveals a very powerful iPad Air and 8th-gen iPad

Apple completely redesigned the iPad Air from the ground up, now featuring an all-screen design, more color finishes, and a massively improved processor. Meanwhile, the 8th generation iPad receives marginal boost and better pricing.

The iPad got better

The standard iPad still has the same design overall but received better internals inherited from the previous models in the lineup. It now has an A12 Bionic chip that gives it 40% faster CPU performance and twice the visual capability. It’s also now equipped with a Neural Engine for machine learning capabilities and motion tracking.

Together with the iPadOS14, you can now use Scribble with your iPad allowing you to use the 1st gen Apple Pencil to write anywhere where text input is needed. 

Overhauled iPad Air

Apple implemented an all-screen design for the new iPad Air that’s now available in Sky Blue, Rose Gold, and Green, though it still has thick bezels all around. It now has a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, just 0.1-inch shy of that of the small iPad Pro. The screen has P3 wide color support, True Tone, and anti-reflective coating.

To get the all screen design, Apple moved the TouchID to the top button. It still has the same 7mp Facetime HD camera infront but at the back, it gets the 12mp camera used in the current iPad Pro. Speakers also become stereo once you’re in landscape mode for a better aural experience.

Before we get to the main update, the new iPad Air now has a USB-C connection, while the standard iPad retains the Lightning connector. Apple themselves admitted the superiority of the USB-C saying it has up to 5Gbps data transfer that’s 10 times faster and can be used for connecting to cameras, hard drives, and external monitors even in 4K resolution. At this point, I won’t be surprised if we see the USB-C in the next iPhone.

The new iPad Air is also compatible with the Magic Keyboard folio that’s introduced alongside the latest iPad Pro, and it can now work with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil.

A14 Bionic Chip

It’s weird that Apple decided the iPad Air as the platform for this, but it’s the first device in their lineup to get the new A14 Bionic. It has a 6-core design for 40% more CPU performance, with a 4-core graphics architecture for 30% improvement in visuals. It also has a 16-core Neural engine that is twice as fast. 

Basically you can play the most intensive games, do professional editing in either photo or video, and more advanced activities like machine learning and analyzing motion with the new iPad Air.

It’s astounding how Apple was able to pack so much in the iPad Air and charge relatively little for it, seeing that it’s almost competing with the iPad Pro. See the pricing below for the new iPad and iPad Air.

iPad:
32GB WiFi – P18,990
32GB WiFi + Cellular – P26,990
128GB WiFi – P24,990
128GB WiFi + Cellular – P32,990

iPad Air:
64GB WiFi – P33,990
64GB WiFi + Cellular – P41,990
256GB WiFi – P42,990
256GB WiFi + Cellular – P50,990

The 8th-gen iPad will be available soon on Apple, while the new iPad Air is set to start shipping next month, though expect further delays because we’re a smaller market.