Apple iPad Air (2022): Ideal for Creators

The do-it-all tablet

- By Sascha Segan

EDITORS'CHOICE

Apple iPad Air (2022)

OUTSTANDING

Apple’s 2022 iPad Air is the epitome of a mobile tablet, with a nearly perfect balance of features and performance. The company’s M1 chip is impressively powerful, and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil makes the new Air a better creative tool than its predecessor. While battery life could be better, it’s not bad, so that’s a relatively minor complaint. If you’re looking for a do-it all tablet with top-notch accessories, the 2022 iPad Air is the best choice in Apple’s tablet lineup—and a better bet than any Android tablet—earning it our Editors’ Choice award.

THE PERFECT FORM

Apple currently sells five different versions of the iPad, including the $329 iPad, the $499 iPad mini, the $599 iPad Air we’re reviewing here, the $799 11-inch iPad Pro, and the $1,099 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The three to pay attention to are the $329 model (which is best for a general audience), this one (the ideal iPad for creators), and the 12.9-inch Pro (the top choice for pros).

At 9.74 by 7.02 by 0.24 inches and 1.02 pounds, the 2022 iPad Air is extremely close in size and weight to both the 4th-generation iPad Air (9.74 by 7.02 by 0.24 inches, 1.01 pounds) and the 11-inch iPad Pro (9.74 by 7.02 by 0.23 inches, 1.03 pounds); it even fits into cases designed for those models. The tablet’s matte-aluminum back comes in five colors: dark- or light-gray, pink, purple, or blue.