I’ve been using the new 11-inch iPad Air (2024) for a few days, and just one feature decision has annoyed me to the point where I’m wondering why it exists.
In Apple’s current iPad lineup, the iPad Pro (2024) is definitely the professional’s choice, while the classic iPad is the bargain hunter’s. The iPad Air sits awkwardly between them. While it seems to offer all the power and capabilities you could want without paying the high price of the iPad Pro, it doesn’t have the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate display – and that’s a serious inconvenience.
Does this missing feature ruin the iPad Air M2, like it almost did with the M1-powered iPad Air (2022)?
My problem with the iPad Air screen
What is the screen situation like for those who are not used to looking at iPad technical sheets? The iPad Air M2 (2024) has a 60Hz refresh rate Liquid Retina IPS display, just like the cheaper classic iPad, and both have the same 2,360 x 1,640 pixel resolution. To get a 120Hz display, a technology Apple calls ProMotion, you have to splurge on the iPad Pro with its Ultra Retina XDR display, and that has the potential to be a very expensive piece of equipment.
It’s a very similar situation to the iPhone, where you need the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to get a 120Hz ProMotion display, because the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus both have a 60Hz display. But I can more easily accept this decision because Apple doesn’t have an intermediate model in its iPhone 15 lineup like it does with the iPad, and that makes the buying decision much simpler.
This isn’t a new problem either, since the iPad Air M1 released in 2023 also had the 60Hz Liquid Retina IPS display. At the time, in my eyes, the tablet’s large screen exacerbated the drawbacks of a 60Hz refresh rate screen, and that almost ruined the M1 iPad for me. Scrolling and animations were less fluid, lowering the experience compared to a ProMotion-equipped iPad model. Has anything changed with the iPad Air M2, or is it still a tablet hampered by a smaller screen?
60Hz versus 120Hz
I have been using iPad Air with M2 processor for a few days now, and it has replaced the functions of my iPad Pro 2020 and iPad Air M1, which means it is used for video, web browsing and the use of applications. like Reddit, Amazon and Autotrader, as well as reading books through the Kindle app. Something very encouraging happened when I started using the tablet, as in some circumstances the screen seemed a little smoother than I expected. Not much, but enough that I could see something was different.
Was this all in my head? To find out, I fired up the M1 iPad Air and my 2020 iPad Pro for a direct side-by-side comparison. The whole time I was doing this, I remembered that when I reviewed the iPhone 15 Plus, I also noticed that the screen was a bit smoother than expected, improving the less user-friendly experience I had. had with the iPhone 14 Plus. . Like the two iPhone models, the two iPad Air models have the same screens, but different processors.
I’ve spent way too much time swiping, opening apps, and scrolling through web pages and menus on the three different iPad models I own, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the iPad Air M2 is sometimes more fluid, but it could also all be in my head. It’s such a small change, if any, and perhaps only noticeable when you put all the tablets side by side. I had a lot of trouble showing it, even on video. Don’t be surprised if it’s unnoticeable until you see it in person.
Has anything really improved?
Specifically, I think the iPad Air M2 makes the animations between opening and closing the app less obvious than on the iPad Air M1 and also a bit smoother when scrolling through text. It might not seem like much, but I found it less distracting and less visually demanding. However, there are no changes elsewhere and, unfortunately, both appear to have the same level of blur when scrolling through menus, between home screens and in the App Library.
The iPad Air 2020 feels smoother no matter what you do on the screen. But you may not see any difference regardless of the tablet because the effect of 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate is not always visible to everyone. However, I can definitely see it, and while I welcome even the slightest improvement in system fluidity, I’m extremely annoyed by having to look closely at these tablets in the first place. For the price, the iPad Air should really have the 120Hz ProMotion display as standard.
Remember, the iPad Air M2 starts at $600 and the iPad starts at $450, but to get the ProMotion display you’ll need to pay at least $1,000 for the iPad Pro. That’s a big price increase, and it comes with a lot of features that many people may not need. I certainly consider the new iPad Pro M4 to be way too good for my needs, but the iPad Air would be perfect if it only had the ProMotion display.
What Apple should have done
Apple has been very tight with upgrades to the iPad Air M2 over its predecessor, with the chip being virtually the only one of any importance, but the iPad Pro has a wide range of improvements and additional features , including the new M4 processor, Face ID. , four speakers, a 2TB storage model and the option of glare-reducing nano-texture glass. It is this last element which should have made the difference between the screen of the Pro and the Air.
Instead of charging extra for nano-textured glass – it’s an extra $100 – it should have been standardized on the Pro and iPad Air given the 120Hz ProMotion display. This would give the iPad Air a reason to exist and would help convince people to spend more compared to the much cheaper 10th generation iPad. The small difference I spotted between the smoothness of the iPad Air M1 and that of the iPad Air M2 (which is not driven by the screen hardware) is not enough to warrant any type upgrade.
I see enough of a difference between the 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rates that I want the better screen on my iPad, but since I don’t need the Pro’s M4 processor (I’m not sure anyone does needed) and other spec updates, it’s very frustrating having to pay for the Pro to get it. I really like the iPad Air M2 so far, but every time I look at it I’m reminded that it doesn’t have the functionality I really want. And to get it, I would have to pay at least $400 extra. In my opinion, this is poor product planning and not a great way to encourage sales of new iPads or, more importantly, iPad upgrades.
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