In between yays

Apple's new middle-child tablet has a whiff of the Pro, yet with some of the more simple ways of the cheaper 11th-gen iPad. So does that make it the one to get?

- 

Occupying the middle ground isn't always easy. While the most expensive option has all the fancy features, and the cheapest one has affordability on its side, the in-betweener is neither one nor the other.

Apple's latest iPad Air, which comes with either an 11in or 13in screen, is essentially a blend of the basic iPad and the top-end Pro. It's powered by an M3 chip, with hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, but has bigger bezels around the screen and lacks Face ID.

It is quite significantly more expensive than the standard iPad, though, with prices starting at R13 600 for the 11in version and R16 000 for the 13in one. Add support for cellular connections and you'll have to find another R3 400—and that's before you factor in a keyboard or stylus (see panel).

So does this new thin and light iPad make the Pro look like overkill? Or does it just offer power that most people won't need?

Why can't I be blue?