iPad Air (2022) vs 11-inch iPad Air (2024): What’s the Distinction and Which One to Purchase?
The iPad Air (2022) and the recently released 11-inch iPad Air may appear identical, but they have a price difference of approximately Rs 5,000. Here, we compare the old against the new to determine which offers more value for money.
Design
Both the iPad Air fifth gen and the 11-inch iPad Air sixth gen look very similar, but Apple has moved the front camera on the latter to a landscape position, improving the video calling experience. The new iPad is available in two screen sizes, 11-inch and 13-inch, while the previous generation iPad Air sports a 10.9-inch display. However, the iPad Air (2022) and the recently released 11-inch iPad Air have similar aspects, so the new 11-inch iPad Air will look and feel the same as the 2022 model.
Performance
A significant difference between the old and the new iPad Air is in terms of performance. The 2022 iPad Air is powered by the M1 chip, Apple’s first in-house developed chipset. On the other hand, the 11-inch iPad Air sixth gen packs the M2 chipset, which Apple claims is 50% faster in certain situations. Both tablets come with 8GB of RAM, and while the performance difference may be noticeable in resource-intensive activities like video editing, they perform similarly in multitasking scenarios.
More Capacity
The iPad Air (2022) comes in two storage variations – 64GB and 256GB. In contrast, 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 second-gen Apple Pencil, while the new iPad Air is compatible with the recently released Apple Pencil Pro, which offers additional features like ‘squeeze’, ‘barrel roll’, haptic feedback, and ‘Find My’ support. However, the new iPad Air does not support the Smart Keyboard Folio case, so if you’re looking for a tablet to connect a keyboard to, you should stick with the older model.
In conclusion, while the iPad Air (2022) is not obsolete by any means, the base variant of the previous-generation tablet offers only 64GB of internal storage. If you plan to play games, install a lot of apps, and watch movies offline, this might not be sufficient. The iPad Air (2022) is currently available for Rs 55,400 on Amazon India, while the recently released 11-inch iPad Air starts from Rs 59,900. Considering the increased performance and doubled storage for just an additional Rs 5,500, we recommend spending a little more and going with the new 11-inch iPad Air for better value.
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