The iPad Air 5: Price, Release Date, Specs, and News

Includes the same M1 chip as the 5th-gen iPad Pro

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on May 21, 2022
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

The 5th-gen iPad Air was announced in March 2022. It's equipped with the M1 chip, 5G, and a new front camera with Center Stage.

iPad Air 5 Release Date

Apple first announced this iPad on March 8, 2022. It became available for sale on March 18. Visit Apple's website to order the latest iPad Air.

iPad Air 5 Price

Similar to the 4th-gen models, the iPad Air 5 ranges in price from $599 for the 64 GB version to $749 for the 256 GB model. Those prices are for Wi-Fi only; the Wi-Fi + Cellular version runs $749 for 64 GB and $899 for 256 GB.

iPad Air 5 Features

5G capabilities and the inclusion of Apple's M1 chip are the highlights in the 2022 models. The 8-core CPU promises up to 60 percent faster performance, and the updated 8-core GPU boasts twice as fast graphics performance compared to the 4th-gen iPad Air.

2022 iPad Air and Magic Keyboard

Apple

iPad Air 5 Specs and Hardware

According to DigiTimes in early 2021, Apple had planned to adopt OLED displays in at least some iPad models. That report claimed it's an iPad with a 10.9-inch screen using with OLED technology. Since the iPad Air 4 has a screen of that size, it only made sense that we'd see the same screen size, with OLED, in the iPad Air 5.

A later report claimed Apple won't release its first OLED iPad until 2023 or 2024. That year, according to that report, we'll get two OLED iPads, in 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes.

Of course, this turned out to be true. The 2022 iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, with 3.8 million pixels and 500 nits of brightness, True Tone, and an anti-reflective screen coating.

Another rumor we saw early on was that the iPad Air 5 would be based off the 2021 iPad Pro, which meant the design and size would match the smaller 2021 iPad Pro. The iPad Air 5 was also said to have an A15 Bionic chipset, four stereo speakers, 5G, thinner bezels, and a dual-lens camera setup.

These are the actual specs for the iPad Air 5:

Capacity: 64 GB / 256 GB
RAM: 8 GB
Finish: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, Blue
Display: 10.9-inch / LED‑backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
Chip: M1 chip / 8-core CPU / 8-core graphics / Apple Neural Engine
Camera: 12MP wide camera / 5x digital zoom / 12MP Ultra Wide front camera
Video Recording: 4k video at 24/25/30/60 fps; 1080p HD video at 25/30/60 fps; slo-mo video / playback zoom
Cellular and Wireless: 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6; simultaneous dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO; Bluetooth 5.0 technology; 5G NR / Wi-Fi calling
SIM Card: Nano‑SIM; eSIM
Location: Digital compass, Wi-Fi, iBeacon, GPS, Cellular
Sensors: Touch ID, three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor
Charging and Expansion: USB-C
Power and Battery: Built‐in 28.6‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‑polymer battery; up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‐Fi or watching video; charging via power adapter or USB‑C to computer system
Operating System: iPadOS 15

The Latest News About the iPad Air 5

You can get more Apple-related content from Lifewire; below are some news stories and earlier rumors on the 2022 iPad Air:

Was this page helpful?