Apple's new iPad Air is the best value for those who want a powerful tablet

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• The 2022 iPad Air now runs on Apple's M1 processor, giving it computer-grade performance.
• It's $200 less than the iPad Pro with the same power, making it the most affordable power option.
• The $750 model with 256GB storage may be the best option for certain heavier workloads.

Ever since Apple started pricing its iPad Air at $600 with the 2020 model instead of $500 like previous models, the tablet has strayed away from being a mid-tier option for casual and professional users, alike.

Indeed, the $500 iPad Airs of yore could be premium versions of the standard iPad, and it was easier to justify spending $170 more to get a more premium experience. It also offered decent capabilities for heavier workloads while costing less than iPad Pros. It truly used to sit right in the middle. 

Now, starting at $600, iPad Airs have become budget versions of the company's 2021 iPad Pro lineup, and it's more difficult to recommend casual iPad users to spend $270 more for the iPad Air series. 

That's not to say that casual users wouldn't enjoy the 2022 iPad Air, but spending $270 more is harder to justify, especially when the $330 iPad is such a good tablet. Conversely, the 2022 iPad Air is the value champion for power iPad users.

Apple 2022 iPad Air specifications

Design

There isn't much to evaluate here about the 2022 iPad Air's design, seeing as it's identical to the previous 2020 iPad Air's design. 

The 2022 iPad Air is as premium and sleek as ever with its slim profile, sophisticated flat edges and back, and aluminum build. It's also the lightest Apple tablet in the 10- to- 11-inch range.

The uniform display bezels are as slim as they get on a tablet without becoming so narrow that you're constantly tapping the screen edges by mistake.

Display

The 10.9-inch display is identical to the previous 2020 iPad Air, so it's still Apple's Liquid Retina display that produces rich, vibrant colors and a bright picture. There's no upgrade to HDR for more dynamic colors or Apple's ProMotion feature that increases the screen's refresh rate from the standard 60Hz up to 120Hz, like you'd find on the iPad Pro series.  

A 120Hz refresh rate means that the screen refreshes itself 120 times per second, which leads to smoother animations than standard 60Hz displays, like the 2022 iPad Air's. It's mostly cosmetic, but it makes an impact by making devices look and feel more powerful. 

Performance

This is where the 2022 iPad Air really starts to shine. Apple graced its latest iPad Air with its computer-grade M1 processor, which you'll also find in the 2021 iPad Pros, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini. 

Using the Geekbench 5 benchmarking app, the 2022 iPad Air scored 1,721 for single-core performance, and 7,333 for multi-core performance, which is right in line with our results for the M1 13-inch MacBook Pro and the 2021 iPad Pro.

To compare, the 2020 iPad Air scored 1,590 for single-core performance and 4,244 for multi-core. Those are massive gains for multi-core performance in the 2022 iPad Air that will benefit heavy workloads. Still, most people will unlikely see much of a difference in 2022 when the 2022 iPad Air is released, but the difference will likely be noticeable a few years down the road. 

For mobile gamers and casual users who run basic apps for normal everyday use, that means the 2022 iPad Air has longer legs than the standard iPad running on Apple's mobile A13 Bionic processor from the iPhone 11 series. Still, the 2022 iPad Air costs almost twice as much as the standard iPad, and it's hard to justify the extra cost for casual use. 

For power users who want to use an iPad as a portable powerhouse for heavier workloads like video or photo editing, it means the 2022 iPad Air is up to the task in the same capacity as other powerful Apple devices, like the iPad Pro and others I mentioned above that run on the M1 processor. 

Add the fact that the 2022 iPad Air costs $200 less than the $800 11-inch iPad Pro, and you have yourself a tablet that offers incredible value. 

To be sure, the 2022 iPad Pro running on Apple's M1 processor may not match the power of a professional's primary work machine. But as far as mobile, portable tablets are concerned, iPads running on the M1 processor offer the most power of any tablet to date.

Battery life

In our standard battery test for mobile devices, where we continuously stream a YouTube video at the display's maximum brightness, the 2022 iPad Air lasted four hours and 53 minutes.

From my day-to-day experience, the 2022 iPad Air — as a casual tablet to run basic apps and web browsing — has decent battery life, but it isn't especially impressive. I'd also get better battery life while watching videos than I did during our battery test, as I wouldn't have the screen set to the maximum brightness. 

An important note about storage on the 2022 iPad Air for professionals

The one thing holding back the base 2022 iPad Air for professionals is its comparatively low 64GB storage option, which makes it less useful for projects that use big files, especially high-resolution video projects that can easily exceed 64GB alone. 

Depending on a professional's typical project size, it could mean that the $750 iPad Air with 256GB is a better option. The 256GB iPad Air is still a good deal, as it has double the storage of the base $800 iPad Pro with 128GB. 

Using a portable solid-state drive (SSD) that supports the 2022 iPad Air's faster 10 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) USB-C port could be an option to add storage to the base 64GB iPad Air. However, I haven't been able to test the viability of an external SSD drive for active workflows rather than simple storage. 

Still, it's worth noting that if you want an external SSD drive for storage, make sure it supports the USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard that supports 10GB/s transfer speeds.

What are your alternatives?

In the 10.9-inch 2022 iPad Air's $600 price range, the $700 Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 comes to mind for its top performance, 128GB storage, included S Pen, and beautiful screen that supports that silky smooth 120Hz refresh rate. However, I'd only recommend a Samsung tablet to Samsung phone users to make the most of Samsung's now-improving ecosystem. 

I haven't reviewed the base Galaxy Tab S8, but you can check out my review for the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus to get an idea.

Otherwise, the rest of Apple's iPad lineup is your alternative, and it entirely depends on what you need. 

Do your tablets stay on the couch or the bed for browsing the web and social media, streaming videos, and playing games? Get the standard iPad. 

Do you run power-hungry apps for photo or video editing? Get the 256GB iPad Air, or the base 64GB iPad Air if you don't need the storage. 

Do you want a big-screen, professional-grade tablet with all the bells and whistles? Get the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. 

The bottom line

I wouldn't recommend the standard iPad to a professional who needs the power, and I wouldn't recommend the iPad Pro to a casual tablet user.

It's clear that the 2022 iPad Air sits in the middle, but its $600 price and power leans more heavily towards iPad Pro territory. Casual users wouldn't really get much of a benefit by paying twice as much over the standard iPad. 

Essentially, the 2022 iPad Air is more of a budget version of the iPad Pro than it is a premium version of the standard iPad. Just be aware of the base iPad Air's small 64GB of storage.

Pros: Unbeatable value for performance, lightweight, fast 10Gbps USB-C transfer speeds, supports 2nd-gen Apple Pencil, supports mouse input 

Cons: Base 64GB storage is low, pricey for casual tablet users