Review of iPad Air 4 after one year: Still meeting the needs of many users

Upon its introduction, the iPad Air 4 made a significant impression on users with its sleek design and powerful, versatile configuration. So, at this point, is the iPad Air 4's configuration still impressive? How is the iPad Air 4's camera performance? How long does the iPad Air 4's battery last? Let's assess the iPad Air 4 after one year since its release to find the answers!

Note: This article is translated and referenced from Tom’s Guide.

Learn more: Comparison between iPad Air 2022 and iPad Air 4: notable differences

iPad Air 4 design remains sleek and lightweight after 1 year

The iPad Air 4 resembles the iPad Pro so much that many people thought Apple had released a new color for the 11-inch version of its highest-end tablet line. The iPad Air 4 comes in color options such as Green, Blue, Rose Gold, Silver, and Space Gray, offering a variety for users to choose from according to their preferences.

As the successor to the iPad Air 3, the iPad Air 4 has seen design improvements by removing the Home button to increase the screen size. Specifically, the iPad Air 4 features a 10.9-inch display, slightly larger than the iPad Air 3 (10.5-inch).

One noticeable difference between these two devices lies in the placement of buttons and security solutions. Apple has opted for a new position to place this sensor, which is the power button of the product. The author prefers the power button of the iPad Air 4 over that of the Galaxy Tab 7 (which also has an integrated fingerprint sensor into the power button) because of Apple's slightly protruding button finish, making it easier to see and operate. Whereas the fingerprint sensor of the Galaxy Tab 7 is slightly recessed, requiring more time to locate during operation.

The iPad Air 4 also eliminates the Lightning port and replaces it with USB-C, which will help some users limit the need to carry too many charging cables. The author evaluates this as a move worth applauding and hopes that other generations of iPads will also receive this change.

The iPad Air 4 does not have a headphone jack, similar to the Galaxy Tab S7 or iPad Pro. The absence of this port from Apple may pose a slight inconvenience to users who do not have or do not know how to use wireless headphones. Therefore, the author hopes that in the next generations of iPads, the headphone jack will return, although listening to music with AirPods Pro is still quite good.

With dimensions of 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm and a weight of 450 g, the iPad Air 4 shares the same measurements as the 11-inch iPad Pro while being slightly thinner and lighter than the 10.2-inch iPad and Galaxy Tab S7.

iPad Air 4 sharp display with good color reproduction

The display of the iPad Air 4 is sharp, but the brightness is not very impressive. The author experienced watching movies on the device and assessed that the level of detail and color reproduction are good.

The author used the Klein K10-A colorimeter. iPad Air 4 achieved 102.9% sRGB color gamut, lower than the Galaxy Tab S7 (111% in Natural mode, 152% in Vivid mode), and 122.9% of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, while regular iPads reached nearly 97%.

iPad Air 4 has a maximum brightness of 440 nits, a decent result but not outstanding compared to competitors. This figure is even lower than regular iPad (484 nits), Galaxy Tab S7 (499 nits), and iPad Pro (559 nits) which have very good brightness.

In terms of sharpness, iPad Air 4 has a pixel density of 264 ppi, the same as the ratio of regular iPad and iPad Pro. The 11-inch 2,560 x 1,00 pixel display of Tab S7 has a pixel density of 276 ppi, slightly better than iPad Air 4.

Another positive point for the iPad Air 4 screen is its coatings, which have excellent anti-glare and fingerprint-resistant capabilities. The viewing angle of the iPad Air 4 is also very good, with the author able to tilt the device at an angle of about 85 degrees without much reflection when displaying dark content.

iPad Air 4 performance still strong with A14 Bionic chip

iPad Air 4 runs on the A14 Bionic chip with a 6-core CPU and a 4-core GPU, this combination provides the device with swift speed compared to most other competitors. The author noticed no lag or stuttering with daily tasks on the iPad Air 4, it can multitask with 12 Safari tabs and watch YouTube videos in 1080p resolution simultaneously. Meanwhile, the author also opened the Pixelmator Photo image editing app and found that the process of performing ML Super Resolution enhancement took less than 30 seconds.

iPad Air 4 scored 4,262 points in the Geekbench 5 test, surpassing its main competitor, the Galaxy Tab S7 (Snapdragon 865+), which scored 3,074, and the 2020 iPad (A12 Bionic), which scored 2,685. The only model to outperform the iPad Air 4 was the 2020 iPad Pro (A12Z Bionic), which scored 4,720 points.

The author also tried playing the game Asphalt 9: Legends and found that the iPad Air 4 runs very smoothly during races. Occasionally, there was a slight lag or FPS drop when the car crashes, goes off track, or crosses the finish line.

iPad Air 4 camera captures sharp photos even though it's a year old

Apple seems to be encouraging users to use the camera on the iPad more by equipping the iPad Air 4 with a 12 MP wide-angle lens. A reviewer from Tom’s Guide evaluated that the camera of the iPad Air 4 has performed well in reproducing sharp and accurate details and colors of subjects in photos.

The 7 MP front camera of the iPad Air 4 also provides sharp and realistic photo capabilities, the author has taken selfies and noticed that the device reproduces a lot of detail.

Following that, the author used the iPad Air 4 for a video call via Google Meet and rated the call quality very good, even better than some standalone webcams. The front camera of the iPad Air 4 captured detailed and accurate subject colors, with no glare or overexposure from the light source.

The only minor drawback of the iPad Air 4's camera is that it protrudes slightly, so it may shake or wobble when placed on a flat surface; this can be addressed by equipping the device with a case or cover.

iPad Air 4 battery can last for more than 10 hours

iPad Air 4 offers users all-day battery life, specifically achieving 10 hours and 29 minutes in Tom's Guide web browsing battery test. This result outperformed the iPad Pro (10:16) but falls short of the 10.2-inch iPad (12:57) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 (13:16).

With this difference, you may need to charge the iPad Air 4 a bit earlier, but the difference is not too significant, so don't worry too much!

Is it worth buying iPad Air 4 right now?

iPad Air 4 is considered a worthwhile tablet to buy at the moment, with its faster speed, attractive design, and the ability to connect to the Magic Keyboard to become a conventional laptop.

So what about you? How do you evaluate the iPad Air 4? Leave your thoughts below for us to know! Thank you for reading through our article.

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