Washington [US]: At the Apple launch event on Tuesday, the tech giant has announced an update to the iPad Air, a year and a half after it gave the tablet an iPad Pro-style redesign.

According to The Verge, though most of the design is still the same, however, the new iPad Air model has been updated with a faster M1 processor, which was first seen in Apple’s Macs.
Starting at USD 599 for the Wi-Fi-only model, it will also support 5G, and the USB-C port is up to twice as fast with 10Gbps of data transfer speeds. The Wi-Fi and cellular version will be priced at USD 749.

The tablet, which has a built-in Touch ID in the power button, will be made available from March 18 in colours including grey, pink, purple, blue, and a silver/gold cross which Apple is calling “starlight.”

In the camera department, the device has an updated 12-megapixel sensor in the front and will support Apple’s Center Stage feature that’s designed to automatically keep the user in the frame while on calls. The new iPad Air’s back camera is still the same with 12 megapixels.

Its 10.9-inch display peaks at 500 nits brightness and supports HDR, but there’s no mention of ProMotion. The iPad Air has landscape stereo speakers.

As per The Verge, similar to the previous gen, it’s compatible with the Apple Pencil as well as the Magic Keyboard.