iPad Air (2020)

Apple’s best iPad is now even better

- Rob Mead-Green

From £579 FROM Apple, apple.com/uk FEATURES 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone, A14 Bionic chip, 64 or 256GB storage, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi + Cellular connectivity option

Ever since it made its debut in 2013, the iPad Air has been in Apple’s tablet sweet spot – delivering both great performance and features, while remaining affordable. The 2020 model on test here is no different. And yet it’s dramatically different – in every way.

For one thing there’s its design. Now more akin to the all-screen iPad Pro, the 2020 iPad Air boasts a 10.9-inch edge-to-edge display (up from last year’s 10.2-inch) and has been given a radical new case design with flat edges just like the iPhone 12. That all-screen design also means that Apple has ditched the Home button, shifting its Touch ID sensor from the front to the top of the device, where it now resides as part of the power button.

Another big outward change is that Apple has dropped Lightning from the 2020 iPad Air and gifted it a USB-C port, just like the iPad Pro. It also comes with two sets of speakers – top and bottom – enabling you to enjoy glorious stereo sound whichever way around you hold the device, and that 100% recycled aluminium case now comes in five striking colours – Silver, Space Grey, Rose Gold, Green and Sky Blue.