The Best Value Tablet: iPad Air 4th Generation Review (2020)

 

“What’s a computer?”

I’m a nerd. I collect and restore old iBooks and MacBooks for fun. I built a PC (who hasn’t in 2020?). I own a lot of computers. But there is no computer I love nearly as much as the iPad.

And I have had a lot of iPads. I waited in line for the first iPad in 2010, thinking it would be an ideal MacBook replacement, and it fell noticeably short. Beyond not having a physical keyboard accessory that was easy to transport, the original iPad simply lacked the available software and processing power of the Mac and was ultimately not sufficient at the time as a full-on ‘computer.’ I didn’t give up. Becoming particularly enamored with the idea of turning an iPad into a laptop replacement, I tried again, souping up an iPad Mini 1^st generation with a keyboard case (a ClamCase—remember those?!). Again, the iPad was not enough. I tried again, this time with the iPad 5^th generation. I loved this iPad. I managed to get most of my work done during a summer internship with little issue, thanks to an enormous library of apps and updated multitasking capabilities. I stuck with the device for a few years, and last year traded it in for the iPad Air 3^rd generation. This time, I would be studying in Tel Aviv and would only have access to this as my primary computer. Using Apple’s smart keyboard at the time, this was a good solution. But it just was not enough. The iPad Air 4^th generation, however, is.

iPad Air 4 is the culmination of a decade of iPad evolution. What began as a giant iPhone has grown up to become a full-on laptop replacement, including real file management, multitasking, and raw computing power that puts many PC notebooks to shame.

I believe Apple’s announcement at WWDC to transition away from Intel chips and to Apple-designed silicon will be the beginning of a much larger transition, as Apple merges its app stores and likely their software platforms—iOS, iPadOS, and macOS—to be one in the same. The Mac, once the golden child of the Apple dynasty, is losing popularity. Consumers who buy Macs have historically been content creators, schools and students, artists and moviemakers—you know, the creative types. But Apple is a devices company now (remember, they’re no longer Apple Computer Inc., but Apple Inc.), and they ship iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Hell, Apple ships smart speakers and streaming boxes now. This is not the Apple of the 20^th century, and it began with the iPod and was cemented with the iPad.

In 2010 at his last appearance at All Things Digital 8, Steve Jobs commented on the role of their then-new iPad and the future of the traditional desktop Mac.

“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks because that’s what you needed on the farm. But as vehicles started to be used in the urban centers and America started to move into those Urban and then Suburban centers, cars got more popular…PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around, they’re still going to have a lot of value, but they’re going to be used by every one in X people. This transformation is going to make some people uneasy because the PC has taken us long ways…”

When Steve Jobs made this statement at D8 in 2010, it was a hugely different time for the iPad. Developers were just beginning to write new apps for the platform, the capabilities of the Apple-designed single-core A4 chip were still considerably limited—not to mention the impossible-to-upgrade and paltry 256 MB of RAM.

This is no longer the case. The iPad is a computer. 

Let me get this out of the way, any of Apple’s iPads could be used a laptop replacement. The entry level iPad 8^th Generation is a fantastic device for only $329. The A12 is fast and will likely feel so for years to come. Even the iPad mini makes for a great travel computer (it was my go-to on-the-go computer). The iPad Pro has already become a lot of folks’ primary device. But it starts at $799, and that’s just for the iPad. Add a smart keyboard and Apple Pencil, and you’re looking at over $1200. It’s expensive, and that is why it’s the ‘pro’ device. The iPad Air 4 combines all the best essential features with a price that is only $100 more than the original 16 GB iPad, and is markedly reasonable when compared to the Pro.

Design, Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil 2^nd Gen

The iPad Air is essentially an iPad Pro 11” with an ever-so-slightly smaller display, which means this tablet is a looker. From its futuristic flat edges and minimal slate-like appearance, this feels like the first consumer-level iPad that capture’s Steve Jobs’ vision for an immersive experience where the device fades away to allow the user to focus on content and software. The iPad Air features a new Touch ID sensor embedded in the lock switch, a single USB-C port, and a beautiful edge-to-edge laminated 10.9” ‘Liquid Retina’ display. There’s no 120 Hz refresh rate or what Apple coins ‘ProMotion,’ but it doesn’t need that to feel smooth and speedy. There’s no pro camera with LiDAR, but most people won’t miss it. There’s no Face ID, but Touch ID on this device is extremely convenient and quick. I hope Apple brings this to iPhones in the future, and it feels like they missed the mark not providing it as an alternative unlocking feature on the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.

The story of iPad Air’s design does not end with the tablet itself, as Apple’s Smart Keyboard and 2^nd generation Apple Pencil are almost necessary to transform this device into a productivity and creation device. This is not my first time using the new Smart Keyboard, but it is my first time using it extensively. While I really enjoyed playing with Logitech’s Combo Touch, it was annoying trying to use it on my lap or in bed if I wanted a keyboard and trackpad. Apple’s solution feels like using a MacBook, just with less viewing angles (but truly, I have not yet found a situation where this is an inconvenience). It’s sturdy, and the iPad Air feels safe with the strong magnets holding it to the keyboard. I seriously shook the shit out of this thing to try and get the iPad to fall off, and it clung on with zero effort. Just as easily as it stays connected, it can be removed for when you want to use the Air as a tablet. Hell yeah, magnets! The keyboard itself has great travel and a trackpad that feels no different than any MacBook I’ve ever used. The 2^nd gen Apple Pencil is responsive and is a must for artists and content creators looking to get the most out of the Air’s large canvas.

Apple’s new product strategy with the iPad is the same as the new iPhone 12—modularity is the solution to the iPad’s prior limitations. Want to do work? Get the Smart Keyboard. Want to create content? Get the Apple Pencil. Need more I/O? Add an adapter or dongle and expand the port offering. Need more storage? Attach a USB flash drive or hard drive. We no longer live in a world where everyone needs an array of ports. My only complaint is with outputting video to an external display, which looks silly with large bezels tapering the sides of the scaled up iPad screen, and with no option for extending your display—you can only mirror what is on your screen. I think this is a huge setback for people who desire using an iPad as a primary device and is something Apple can and should rectify in a later iPadOS release.

Performance and the A14

The iPad Air is fast. How fast, you ask? After running Geekbench 5 for both the CPU and GPU, the Air’s new A14 silicon proves its worth. The CPU score I ran came back with 1598 in the Single-Core and 4356 in the Multi-Core. The Compute Benchmark showed a Metal score of 12271. In comparison, the A14 performance is more capable than the A12X and A12Z in some areas, and easily surpasses the processing power of the A12. That performance really shines when running apps like LumaFusion, Call of Duty Mobile, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Procreate. Virtually any piece of software on the App Store will run very well on the Air.

Of course, the new bump in processing power in the iPad Air is thanks to the new 5 nm process of the A14, which allows Apple to pack 11.8 billion transistors in the smaller package size than the A12. This, along with a new 16-core Neural Engine, allows the Air to process 11 trillion operations per second. For most people, this doesn’t mean much beyond “wow, this thing is pretty damn fast!” For the bigger picture, the advancements made with the A14 SoC (system on a chip) is promising for this pro-like device to run pro apps, be more advanced at machine learning tasks, and for future Apple Silicon to be seriously powerful. Not to mention the benefits inherent in efficiency, with Apple ARM chips not requiring the same thermal management as an Intel or AMD machine. Now, of course, the A14 is a step down from Apple’s new M1 chip in the MacBook Air and Pro 13”, but it provides more than sufficient performance for every app I tested, especially games like Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG, Asphalt 8, and especially during instances of multitasking.

One of the most noticeable upgrades from the iPad Air 3 to the iPad Air 4 is battery life and charging. I was able to get about 12 to 13 hours a day on average with long FaceTime calls, productivity, and streaming music and video on my iPad Air 4. That said, iPads almost never have battery issues when they’re still new, and Apple’s 10-hour rating is usually above or on par with real-world use. The iPad Air 3, in my experience at least, was similar, minus perhaps an hour or two of use. But the real story here is with the new 20 W charger Apple includes in the box, which charges this thing fast. I also tried to charge my iPhone from my iPad Air while it was plugged into power from the Magic Keyboard and my Anker USB-C adapter. The results were rather unimpressive, yet I look forward to situations outside of a pandemic where I’ll need to charge my iPhone using my iPad.

Can it Replace My MacBook?

In a word, yes. The real question to ask, is, should it? Apple’s latest MacBook Air is a screamer—a surprisingly fast CPU and GPU inside an entry level Mac—but it suffers from compatibility issues with iPhone and iPad apps due to the lack of a touchscreen. In truth, the only differentiator between a MacBook Air and an iPad Air is available software and slight differences in the chipset, RAM, and battery capacity. Whether or not an iPad is a laptop is no longer a debate, but whether an iPad could replace a MacBook comes down to what software you run. Additionally, the MacBook Air comes with four times the storage of the iPad Air by default. If you don’t need to store a ton of media or apps on your device, then the 64 GB in the entry model iPad Air is plenty fine. I’ve admittedly never filled up 256 GB on an iPad—but I’ve always had storage issues on a Mac. Regardless, if you want to use the iPad Air as your primary computer, you should consider getting the 256 GB model, as the 64 GB may not be enough on for long-term storage needs.

Does it replace your MacBook? For me, I think if Apple is willing to improve on display output with iPadOS and you don’t need apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, or the full-fledged Adobe suite (although, much of it is currently available with more to come), you should be pleasantly surprised with what an iPad Air could do as an everyday machine. With it’s powerful A14 SoC, iPad Pro-like design and compatibility, and an affordable price of entry, the iPad Air 4 is a wonderful way to be productive, creative, and have fun. If you’re looking for a great tablet that feels premium but doesn’t break the bank, the iPad Air 4 is the best option on the market today.

Wait For Apple Silicon—it’s worth it.

It’s time for another transition. For Apple, this is the fourth major transition in its product history, beginning with the shift from Motorola’s 68000 chipset to IBM PowerPC processors in the 90s, to the major overhaul of Mac OS X from legacy Mac OS 9, and most recently with transition from PowerPC to Intel. This isn’t Apple’s first rodeo, albeit it could get messy, especially for consumers who likely aren’t familiar with the differences between Intel, AMD, and ARM processors (although the RISC instruction set is only a small piece of the Apple SoC story). While there has been much chatter from the pundits exclaiming the glory of the Apple SoC, the rest of the world remains unfamiliar with how important this transition is not only for Apple, but for the entire industry. 

It is my feeling that the benefits of using Apple’s integrated System on a Chip (SoC) far outweigh translation limitations when porting over apps from Intel, and it feels like Apple really softened the blow with macOS 10.15 Catalina, which infamously removed 32-bit app support. There are few apps at this point I run that do not already run on iPadOS or iOS or at least could port over well with Universal 2, but I know this isn’t the case for everyone. Apple will seriously need to address recent performance concerns inherent with the Rosetta 2 translation process, but truly the best solution is for developers to recompile for the Apple SoC. 

Tell me if you’ve heard this before—you’re running a slew of messaging apps, streaming video, checking email, and working on several documents at one time. Maybe you also have Photoshop or InDesign open. It may sound like a lot, but with many apps running on different desktops and in the background, this is a pretty common scenario for the typical Mac user. With a desktop Mac, such as my trusty 2020 quad core i3 Mac Mini, or even my 2019 A12 Bionic iPad Mini, this is nothing. They barely feel hot to the touch. But on any one of Apple’s current notebooks, be it the new MacBook Air or the 16” MacBook Pro, this is a thermal nightmare. I’ve felt more than acceptable burns on my legs and downstairs furniture, and while those of us more familiar with the cooling process know that using a notebook computer on your lap traps heat and throws a wrench in performance, most folks just don’t care. 

And if you think that software could remedy this, why don’t you try out macOS 11 Big Sur on a 2014 MacBook Air? The six year old i5 runs hot, but it always did, even with its OEM-installed OS X Mavericks, often clocking in at over 90 or 100 degrees C with very few apps open. For the better part of a decade, Apple has tirelessly worked to adapt thermal designs to better fit customer desires, but Intel has held them back, and frankly, it’s held the entire industry back. 

The buck does not stop with thermal improvements, because Apple’s SoC design is fully loaded with a cornucopia of features that Intel could only dream of designing without burning the chip like your clueless boomer parents roasting marshmallows on an open fire. What makes Apple chips so special is that they, through miniaturization, cram the components of a logic board into a single 7 nm package that includes CPU and GPU cores, and integrated RAM. With miniaturization like this, Apple is able to do what is quite frankly currently unimaginable from a performance standpoint, and that shouldn’t be shocking from the company that invented the ultrabook design we all use today. 

Apple isn’t the first company to bring their desktop OS to ARM chips, with Microsoft delivering the Surface Pro X last year—but they will likely be the best at it, because their SoC is so tightly integrated with their software. 

For everyone else not immersed in Apple’s ecosystem, this transition will inevitably affect you too, as more and more OEMs are realizing the performance issues associated with Intel chips, and the rise in popularity in AMD CPUs. And even for Intel, this transition should help push them to develop more efficient chipsets that fit into consumer desires for achieving a balanced performance-per-watt.

So this begs the question, should I purchase an Intel Mac right now? I asked myself the same question, considering this transition has been rumored for years now, and had been relying on the iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini to do most of my work, sometimes having to fall back on my 2014 MacBook Air. Three months ago, when COVID hit, it was reasonable to purchase the much-needed Mac Mini to get my work done in a full-fledged desktop OS, but the game has changed since then, and it's clear we will have much more ideal performance in Apple's soon-to-be-refreshed product line. 

If your Mac is feeling long in the tooth (in particular 2014 or earlier MacBooks) I would bite the bullet and purchase your final Intel Mac, or consider one of Apple’s many iPads. However, if your Mac is from 2015 and you’re still able to comfortably get through your workflow, this strange moment of limbo is a good time to save up for an Apple Silicon Mac. Apple has said that they expect to support Intel Macs for years to come and still has Intel machines in the pipeline, but it’s hard to imagine these are intended for consumers. 

Alright, so should I purchase an Intel Mac right now? Unless you're desperate, I would wait. This next year should have a lot of interesting new devices powered by Apple Silicon, and if all goes well, ones that won't double as a hot plate.