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Apple iPad Air 4th Gen Wi-Fi (A2316) with Smart Keyboard Folio and Pencil review

Apple iPad Air 4th Gen Wi-Fi (A2316) with Smart Keyboard Folio and Pencil

CHOICE Expert Rating

72%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Very good screen quality
  • Very good sound quality
  • Silent operation
  • Excellent viewing angles
  • Very good screen luminance
Bad points

Bad Points

  • Keyboard case lacks function keys for changing settings such as brightness and volume
  • Smart keyboard keys feel shallow and have minimal response
  • Apple Pencil only held by a magnet to the long side of the tablet; a more secure attachment method would be preferred
  • Lacks a microSD card slot
  • Very short power cord
  • Keyboard is not backlit
  • No SD card slot

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
iPadOS

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
72%
Performance score
55%
Tablet use score
81%
Ease of use score
72%
Battery life score
71%
Display score
86%
Audio score
80%
Wi-Fi score
74%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
905
Storage read-speed (MBps)
1322
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
36
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
5:01
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:38
Expert tester comments
Apple's iPad Air offers stellar mobility, even with the attached Smart Keyboard Folio case with which we tested. It runs quickly, offers a very good screen and speakers, and feels very comfortable to use, especially as a tablet.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
D
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Not collected
Replace/upgrade RAM
Not collected
Slots for additional RAM
Not collected
Replace/upgrade storage
Not collected
Slot for additional storage
Not collected
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Not collected
Country of origin
China

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$1,597.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
10.9
Native screen resolution (pixels)
2360 x 1640
Processor (CPU) type
Apple A14 Bionic
CPU frequency (GHz)
3
RAM (GB)
4
Video graphics type
Apple A14 Bionic
Storage capacity (GB)
256
Available user space (GB)
242
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
6
Weight of laptop (kg)
0.8
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.1
Size (mm, H x D x W)
14 x 181 x 248

Features

Screen finish
Glossy
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
0
USB 3.0 ports
0
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
1
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
0

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