Apple's iPad Air gets a much-needed upgrade

At its latest hardware event, Apple revealed a new green/alpine green version of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, as well as a new iPhone SE and what it’s calling its "most powerful and versatile iPad Air ever."

The new iPad Air features Apple’s super-powerful M1 chip, 5G, and a new Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage, and more.

The new M1 chip brings a massive performance boost to the company’s hugely popular tablet. The 8-core CPU delivers up to 60 percent faster performance compared to the previous iPad Air, while the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance. 

"Whether it’s a college student taking elaborate notes, a content creator working on their latest project, or a gamer playing graphics-intensive titles, users love iPad Air for its amazing performance and versatility in such a portable design," said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With the breakthrough M1 chip, Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage, and ultra-fast 5G, iPad Air is now more powerful, more capable, and simply more fun than ever."

The new iPad Air is available to order beginning Friday, March 11, and will be in stores beginning Friday, March 18.

Wi-Fi models of iPad Air are priced from $599, while Wi-Fi + Cellular models models start at $749. It is available in 64GB and 256GB configurations, and comes in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue finishes.