I’ve just had this a couple days but from what I can tell so far this was a great purchase. It did not come with the original Apple charger but it did come with a nice long 10ft charging cable which I liked since I tend to need longer charging cables anyway. The exterior of the iPad Air is completely clean and looks like new. I was able to charge and set it up with zero issues. The battery life is great so far! It does not drain quickly. I liked that I was able to get a 4 year protection plan on this too, which is a major reason I went with it, because Apple’s plan only lasts 2 years or you have to pay monthly forever. I think the 4 year plan with Asurion is just right and they also have their own monthly plan if you want to look into even longer coverage. I actually bought this 5th generation Air to replace a 4th generation that quit due to a bad motherboard (First time I’ve ever experienced that with an Apple product and my whole family uses only Apple products that have lasted at least 7 to 10 years.) I had that previous Air 3 years, just a year past Apple coverage which was definitely frustrating but I learned my lesson that I need a longer care plan than just 2 years. I recommend everyone going with as long a protection plan as you can afford, because you are just as likely to encounter any issues if not more so past that 2 year timeframe. My power button on the last device was also starting to get stuck despite using a case and those buttons are not easy to repair on an iPad Air due to their proximity to the motherboard, so definitely do all you can to protect your device. Don't use a casual thin case that just looks cute, use something with enough padding to protect the whole device, especially if you live in a home with kids and pets, things get knocked over despite best practices. If you want your power button to last longer I recommend trying assistive touch too! It limits how much you need to use that power button and the volume buttons, since you can use Assistive Touch with a small button directly on the screen to do things like lock your screen, restart your device, control volume, and take a screenshot. Very cool!

Apple is a known quantity. The design, screen, speakers, rear camera, and fingerprint scanner are all carried over from the 2020 model. The updated front-facing camera with Apple’s Center Stage feature can be found across the entire iPad line. It’s compatible with all the same cases, keyboard, and stylus accessories as before. New processor and 5G aside, the iPad Air remains the iPad for those looking for a nicer tablet than the base model, but don’t necessarily want to spend the cost or need all the bells and whistles of the iPad Pro. It’s got a modern design, more performance than most people will know what to do with in a tablet, and an excellent screen that works equally well in portrait or landscape orientation. It’s not the iPad I’d recommend wholly replacing a laptop with, though it can work for certain laptop-like tasks when paired with an optional keyboard case. It’s the nicer iPad for those looking to do iPad things, like reading, watching video, playing games, taking notes, and perhaps writing the occasional email but aren’t planning on making it their only computing device.

All together is a very good and powerful product. I can perform many tasks without needing my PC. Surfing, watching videos, taking notes and developing photos with Lightroom for iPad works very well. Combined with a (pricey) Magic Keyboard is almost like having a very lightweight laptop.

It misses a few “pro” features that justify the more expensive model. For example, the 120Hz variable refresh rate, and the Face ID unlock. However, are minimal aspects that is possible to ignore.

For heavier duty operations I use the VMWare Horizon client to connect it to a Windows instance if needed, but is a very niche application.

All and all, is a very capable and powerful powerhouse, I highly recommend it as an alternative to a laptop. However, keep in mind that is still quite limited by iPad OS.

I was going to buy the iPad Pro but in all conscience couldn't justify the extra expense. This is a swap for my old iPad Pro, the original version. I wanted extra size and extra memory, this fits the bill nicely. Super light and with an ESR case to absorb shocks if dropped it's happy being held for any length of time. The screen is nice and bright and having the extra size means I can enlarge my fonts without cramping the space. Plenty of room to view photos and edit, which is quite important for me. Glad I may the purchase. The additional 2 years of cover you get with JLP is also a worthwhile consideration. I will also advise I took advantage of the Cashback scheme, all very simple to use and payment was quick and efficient.