At Apple’s latest virtual event on September 15th, 2020, Apple announced the release of iPad Air 4 and the new entry-level iPad 2020. Other devices, including the Apple Watch 6 and the Apple Watch SE, were also announced. 

Display 

iPad Air 4

A 10.9-inch screen with a resolution of 2360 x 1640 is slightly inferior to the Pro model. For improved display quality, Apple’s True Tone Display tech and Liquid Retina Display tech are installed. It is still the first Apple tablet to have a fingerprint sensor on the side button. Previously, Apple has only given a fingerprint sensor in the home button on the front, so this can be an interesting new user experience. 

Other features from the Pro category include using the new stylus second-generation ‘Apple Pencil’ and the Magic Keyboard.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

With the same 10.2-inch display size, there are hardly any changes in this part of the iPad 2020. It offers a screen resolution of 2160 x 1620 pixels.

Camera

iPad Air 4

The tablet has a 7MP front camera with a 12 MP rear camera. The rear camera is the same as the iPad Pro; it offers to shoot high-resolution photos and 4k videos. Editing those videos will also not be a problem, thanks to the A14 Bionic chipset.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

The device offers a 1.2MP front camera and a 7MP rear camera, which is the same as its predecessor. 

Design 

iPad Air 4

iPad Air 4 with flat edges, all-screen display, and indistinct side buttons looks more like an iPad Pro. Since we know that the previous iPad Air models were designed more similar to Apple’s entry-level tablets, this is a massive design upgrade. 

Apple has first time integrated Touch ID in a side button. In iPad Air 4 the Touch ID is moved from home button, which is removed to make room for full-screen display, to the power button on top side.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

The iPad 2020, in terms of design, is very similar to its predecessors. Colors are the only new thing you get on this device’s design. It supports the original Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard.

Colors

iPad Air 4

The shades that the new iPad Air is releasing with are silver, space gray, rose gold, green, and sky blue.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

The new iPad 2020 comes in space gray, silver, and gold finishes.

Chipset

iPad Air 4

The iPad Air 4 is powered by the A14 Bionic, the first 5nm chipset by Apple. The A14 Bionic is a Hexa-core chipset that also features a 16-core neural engine. 

Apple states that it will be the most powerful iPad Air so far. A14 Bionic brings increased performance and power efficiency with the help of 11.8 billion transistors present in nearly every part of the chip. 

Geekbench scores for the A14 Bionic chip performance show that it will outperform any other SiC, managing 1,658 points for single-core and 4,612 points for the multi-core test.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

Apple claims the iPad 2020 to be the most powerful entry-level iPad and two times faster than any top-selling Windows laptop, because of the A12 Bionic chipset paired with Apple’s Neural Engine. The 6-core design in the chip brings a 40% speed boost to the processor and a 30% improvement in the graphical display.

Charging Port 

iPad Air

Lately, we have seen Apple leaving out on the lightning port for some of its devices in favor of a USB-C port. Apple has done that for recent iPad pros and now implemented it on iPad Air 4 as well. The USB-C port makes data transfer and charging faster. The USB-C port offers 5Gbps speed for data transfer, which is quite fast. However, Apple did not disclose battery specifications but says it will make it through your day. 

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

The iPad 2020 still uses the traditional lightning port. For the iPad 2020, Apple makes the same promise of all-day battery life.

Why might Apple move to USB-C?

Earlier this year, BBC reported that according to members of the European Parliament, a lot of electronic waste is generated every year, which can be minimized if all electronic devices shift to a similar, single charging port. Apple believes that moving to a new charging port will cause an immediate rise in electronic waste. This leaves Apple in the middle, making both ports usable for its devices. However, there is still no plan to make lightning port obsolete as millions of users use it.

A common question around Apple users is whether it will shift to USB-C charging port for iPhone 12? However, it feels highly unlikely that any such thing will happen 

iPadOS 14

Both the devices will support the new iPadOS 14. The new OS is expected to enhance the performance of the two tablet devices. iPadOS 14 releases on September 16.

It will help bring the devices to their full potential, such as satisfying the large Multitouch display entirely. The OS makes most from the use of the Apple Pencil. It makes maximum use of handwritten notes. It uses machine learning to convert handwriting into text. The handwritten text is distinguished from drawings and can be cut/pasted or copy/pasted. It further uses the Scribble feature to use handwritten text for any text field on the phone.

The new designs throughout the OS make the user experience smooth, fast, and comfortable. For example, surfing through the web, searching through your phone, or scrolling through your galley comes with improved designs like new sidebars, toolbars, etc.

Release Date and Price

iPad Air 4, the mid-range iPad version, is 4th of its generation, whereas the iPad 2020, the budget model of iPad, is 8th in its line.

iPad Air 4

The iPad Air 4, although Apple refers to it as iPad Air 2020, will cost $599 for its base model with 64GB. Other variants include 64GB with LTE, 256GB, and 256GB with LTE which will cost $729, $749, and $879 respectively. The device is expected to be available in the market by mid-October 2020.

iPad 2020 (8th-gen)

The iPad 2020 costs $329 for the 32GB Wi-FI only version and $429 for the 128GB Wi-FI only version. The LTE versions cost $459 and $559 for the 32GB and 128GB devices, respectively. With pre-booking already started, the device will be available for purchase on Friday, September 18th.

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Images: Apple