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New iPad Air announced by Apple for 2022
Wed, 9th Mar 2022
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Apple has announced a brand new model of iPad Air as part of their new product range for 2022.

Containing a breakthrough M1 chip, 5G capabilities and a new front camera with Center Stage, the new model is set to provide better performance capabilities and user experience.

Available in a new array of colours, a key feature of the device is the ultra-wide front camera made for a better video conferencing experience. It also comes with a USB-C port with up to 2x faster transfer speeds, and 5G on cellular models.

Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak says the product's versatility makes it suitable for a wide variety of target markets, and it can be utilised in a variety of different work and living situations.

"Whether it's a college student taking elaborate notes, a content creator working on their latest project or a gamer playing graphics-intensive titles, users love iPad Air for its amazing performance and versatility in such a portable design," he says.

"With the breakthrough M1 chip, Ultra Wide front camera with Centre Stage and ultrafast 5G, iPad Air is now more powerful, more capable and simply more fun than ever."

A variety of other new features of the device include:

An all-screen design with the liquid retina display and touch ID

The device features a 10.9-inch liquid retina display with 3.8 million pixels and advanced technologies, including 500 nits of brightness, full lamination, a P3 wide colour gamut, true tone and an anti-reflective screen coating.

Ultra-wide 12MP front camera and back cameras

The 12MP front camera with Centre Stage automatically pans to keep users in view as they move around, while the back camera lets users capture photos and 4K video, scan documents and enjoy AR experiences.

5G connectivity 

The iPad can reach speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps in ideal conditions, and eSIM and Wi-Fi 6 support offer greater flexibility options.

iPadOS 15 

iPadOS 15 helps harness the iPad's capabilities for easier operating and sharing.

The Apple Pencil and magic keyboard will also be available for purchase, with wireless charging and pairing.

The new iPad Air will be available to order beginning Saturday, 12 March, from apple.com/nz/store and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including New Zealand, with availability beginning Friday, 18 March. Wi-Fi models of iPad Air are available with a starting price of NZ$1,049 RRP inc. GST and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at NZ$1,299 RRP inc. GST. The new iPad Air, in 64GB and 256GB configurations, comes in space grey, starlight, pink, purple and blue finishes.