iPAD AIR REVIEW

The new iPad Air is a hugely slimmed down version of Apple's class leading tablet and it also packs the A7 processor.

iPad Air: Size and build

Launched alongside the new iPad Mini Retina, the iPad Air is much thinner and lighter than it's predecessor at it's noticeable the first time you pick up the iPad Air. It certainly lives up to its moniker. At 7.5mm thin, 169.5mm wide and 240mm long and weighting just 469g, it's positively lightweight compared to the 662g heft of the iPad 4 and iPad 3 that both came with a thickness of 9.4mm.

It also beats all it's competitors. It trumps, the newly announced, Nokia 2520 at 8.7mm, the Nexus 10 at 839mm thin and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 at 8.6mm thin. Colors have been updated too but don't expect an iPhone 5c rainbow, instead Apple introduced Space Grey and Champagne into the mix. In terms of external buttons and ports, it's business as usual. You'll find a lightning port, volume rocker, on/off button and a screen lock switch.

iPad Air: Features

It's go big or go home when it comes to the new features packed into the iPad Air. Alas, there's no Touch ID fingerprint scanning, as on the iPhone 5s so no biometrics on the big screen but there's still plenty to talk about.

When it comes to camera on tablets, Apple has always been a bit behind it's competitors but it's change on the new iPad. It's true the iPad has always had the same megapixel count as the Nexus 10 and beat the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 but picture quality was never great.

iPad Air vs iPad 4

Although it doesn't add megapixels, remaining at five, the picture quality is better . The front-facing video cam has also been updated to new HD FaceTime camera found on the new iPhone 5c and 5s. During our short play with the tablet the pictures were noticeably crisper than those taken on the iPad 3 and a world apart from those taken on an iPad 2. We're still unconvinced as to whether a tablet should be a picture taking device but if your tablets your snapper of choice then the new iPad Air will certainly do the job.

iPad Air: Screen

We've come to expect pin-sharp images on Apple's Retina screen and the iPad Air doesn't disappoint. It's the same size as the iPad 4 at 9.7 inch and the same resolution (2048x1536, 264ppi) but what Apple has managed to do, this time around, is place a Retina screen in a thinner bezel. iOS 7 icons pop out of the screen and on the bigger screen that parallax-effect even gave us a touch of motion sickness.

iPad Air: Performance

The chip has been upgraded from the A6X to the A7 with the same 64-bit architecture of the iPhone 5s. The iPhone 5s was blisteringly fast and it's the same story with the new iPad Air. Apps open in an instant, scrubbing through videos is a breeze and multitasking no-problem.. Of course, the 64-bit is a future proofing exercise but we can't wait to get our hands on some apps that make the most of the iPad's super-power.