I have owned a iPad Air 3 for three years. I used it for reading and watching videos. Apple announced a new iPad Air 5 equipped with M1 SoC a month ago.
This is a specs comparison between iPad Air 3, 4 and 5.
I received my order of iPad Air 5 last week. Here is my take on iPad Air 5.
Good
- USB Type-C port with DisplayPort mode. This is the biggest motivation for me to upgrade.
- Touch ID.
- Powerful M1 SoC.
- Larger 8GB RAM. (iPad Air 3 has 3GB)
- Speakers on both sides.
- Ultrawide front camera.
- Rear camera capable of 4k60p video recording. Although I never will record video with an iPad.
- WiFi 6.
Bad
- Lower battery capacity.
- No 3.5mm jack.
- The rear surface is not flat due to the protruding camera lens.
- No home button. I find the gesture error prone. So I turned on assistive touch.
- The fingerprint sensor is on the edge, which is difficult to access with one hand while the tablet is on a flat surface.
- The fingerprint sensor is placed on the lock button. I often press the button while trying to unlock.
- The edge is sharp and uncomfortable to hold. While iPad Air 3 has a smooth edge.
I wish Apple could build an iPad which has the best of both:
- USB-C port
- M1 SoC
- 8GB RAM
- Home button with fingerprint sensor
- Flat bottom (I don't care about rear camera specs.)
- Smooth edge
I also considered the iPad Air 4 which is $100 cheaper than 5. But it does not have M1 SoC or 8GB RAM. So I bought the 5.
