Apple has announced the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, supercharged by the M2 chip coming with a front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage located along the landscape edge of iPad Air, perfect for video calls.

It also includes faster Wi-Fi, and cellular models include super-fast 5G and supports Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Magic Keyboard.

The new iPad Air is available in new blue and purple finishes, along with starlight and space gray. The 11-inch iPad Air still starts at just $599, and the 13-inch iPad Air at just $799. The iPad Air will be available beginning Wednesday, May 15.

Landscape Front-Facing Camera

In the redesigned iPad Air, the front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera is now located along the landscape edge and uses machine learning (ML) to automatically keep everyone in the field of view. The 12MP Wide back camera on iPad Air is ideal for photos and detailed 4K video with support for 240-fps slo-mo. Dual microphones capture audio from the camera being used and minimize distracting background noise. The new iPad Air also has landscape stereo speakers with Spatial Audio with even better sound quality with double the bass, which is great for enjoying music and videos.

Now located along the landscape edge of iPad Air, the 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera with Center Stage creates a perfect video calling experience, especially when iPad Air is attached to a Magic Keyboard.

Performance with M2

The M2 chip brings another big boost in performance to iPad Air, featuring a faster 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. M2 is a powerful chip combined with faster memory bandwidth, making the new iPad Air nearly 50 percent faster than the previous iPad Air with M1. And compared to iPad Air with A14 Bionic, the new iPad Air delivers up to 3x faster performance.

Powerful Device for AI

With M2, the new iPad Air is an amazing device for AI, featuring a more efficient 16-core Neural Engine that is 40 percent faster than M1. Combined with ML accelerators in the CPU and a powerful GPU to boost on-device machine learning, along with Apple silicon’s unified memory architecture, iPad Air delivers exceptional AI performance. Taking advantage of this performance, users can enjoy intelligent iPadOS features such as Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, or Live Text. iPadOS also has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver powerful AI features right on device.

The new iPad Air supports Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers up to 2x increased performance than the previous generation, so users can download files, play games online, and stream movies. Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 5G allow users to access their files, communicate with peers, and back up their data in a snap while on the go. Cellular models of the new iPad Air are activated with eSIM.

Apple Pencil Pro

Apple Pencil Pro features even more magical capabilities and powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors, all without interrupting the creative process. Apple Pencil Pro brings support for Find My to Apple Pencil for the first time, helping users locate Apple Pencil Pro if misplaced. It pairs, charges, and is stored on the side of iPad Air through a new magnetic interface. iPad Air also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), ideal for note taking, sketching, annotating, journaling, and more, at a great value.

iPad Air works with the Magic Keyboard, which includes a floating design, built-in trackpad, and backlit keyboard. The new iPad Air is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards.

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can order the new iPad Air with M2 starting today, May 7, on apple.com/store, and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, May 15.

• The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air will be available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.

• The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $749 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Air starts at $799 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $949 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

• For education, the new 11-inch iPad Air starts at $549 (U.S.), and the 13-inch model starts at $749 (U.S.). Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels.

• The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Air. It is available for $129 (U.S.), and $119 (U.S.) for education. Apple Pencil (USB-C) is available for $79 (U.S.)and $69 (U.S.)for education.

• The Magic Keyboard, available in black and white finishes, is compatible with the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air. It can be purchased for $299 (U.S.) for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and $349 (U.S.)for the new 13-inch iPad Air, with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $279 (U.S.), and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $329 (U.S.).