Say 'hi' to new iPad Air

After Tim Cook spilled the beans yesterday about a new Air-themed product this week, we got one today — although it wasn’t what everyone expected.

Most Apple watchers anticipated a new M4 MacBook Air this morning, but instead we got an updated iPad Air. (The M4 MacBook Air probably will launch tomorrow.)

Still, the new iPad Air looks like a worthwhile upgrade, with the same speedy M3 chip that went into the Air’s pricier iPad Pro siblings last year.

To date, the iPad Air hasn’t sold in huge numbers. That’s a bit puzzling, given that the midrange tablet comes with a nice, big 13-inch screen and an appealing thin-body design. Its older processor — the aging M1 — probably held it back.

That’s now been fixed. Apple says the new iPad Air runs twice as fast as its M1 predecessor.

With its faster chip, the new 13-inch iPad Air looks like a really nice iPad if you don’t need the bells and whistles of an iPad Pro. I hope it sells well. Starting at $799 for the 13-inch variant, it still ain’t cheap, though.

If you want cheap, check out the basic iPad, which Apple also updated this morning.

Surprisingly, Apple didn’t even issue a press release about the new iPad 11, which got an updated chip and not much else. It just magically appeared on Apple’s website this morning.

Apple bumped the entry-level iPad from the A14 chip to the A16. But notably, the iPad 11 does not get Apple Intelligence, which requires an A17 chip or better. The iPad 11 stands out as the only recent new Apple product that doesn’t support Apple’s AI tools.

I saw some speculation on the socials that Apple is using older “binned” A16 chips for the new iPad. Binned chips don't meet the performance standards of top-tier chips, thanks to variations in manufacturing. The A16s in the new budget iPad come with two fewer cores (one CPU and one GPU).

While you gotta admire Tim Cook’s frugality if that’s true, this is the second recent example of Apple excluding key features from its entry-level products.

The other example is the new iPhone 16e, which doesn’t have MagSafe.

Why doesn’t it have MagSafe? We still don’t know.

We were all waiting for the first iPhone 16e teardown for clues as to why. Perhaps a bigger battery prevented Apple from including the MagSafe magnets?

But now that we have the first teardown, this appears to not be the case. There seems to be no technical reason MagSafe wasn’t included.

Instead, it looks like Apple left out the tech on purpose, likely as an incentive for customers who want MagSafe to buy a more expensive device — the same as with Apple Intelligence on the iPad 11.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• The latest iOS 18.4 beta includes some new emoji and a few other fresh features. Here’s everything that’s new.

• Apple rolled out its spring collection of iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands this morning in bold new colors.

• We have an exclusive discount on this great 8-in-1, multi-tip charging cable with USB-C, Lightning and more. It’s a perfect addition to your keychain, backpack or go bag.

• If you’re looking for a big fat power bank that will charge everything, last for days or weeks on a single charge, and costs less than many competitors, check put our hands-on review of this bad boy.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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Today’s poll

Results from yesterday’s poll: Is the iPhone 16e's lack of MagSafe a deal-breaker?

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