The 10.5-inch iPad Air (2019) is almost the 10.5-inch iPad Pro (2017), minus a few features and for a much lower price.

There sure are a lot of different iPads now. Last week's announcement of a new iPad Air and iPad mini means that Apple's tablet lineup includes five different screen sizes, each of which has its own storage or LTE options on top of that.

Fast processor; Excellent screen; Keyboard connector

First-gen Apple Pencil support only; Speakers only on one side; Touch ID isn't as convenient as Face ID

The iPad Air excels in entertaining but is also a reliable companion for professionals.

Excellent 10.5-inch screen; Fantastic performance; Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support; Great battery life; Helpful multitasking features

Dull design; Fast charging cable and adapter not included; No second-gen Apple Pencil support

Sandwiched neatly between the budget iPad and the pricey iPad Pro is the iPad Air, a strange set of tradeoffs and compromises that delivers most of...

Hundreds less than the iPad Pro; A12 chip is blazing fast; Fits existing iPad Pro 10.5-inch Smart Keyboard

No quad stereo speakers; No Face ID; No ProMotion display

Apple's new iPad Pros are high-end tablet marvels, with a new slim-bezel design, Face ID, crazy-fast A12X chip, and new wireless Apple Pencil. But when Apple introduced the overhauled third-generation models, it also blew up the price.

Hundreds less than the iPad Pro; A12 chip is blazing fast; Fits existing iPad Pro 10.5-inch Smart Keyboard

No quad stereo speakers; No Face ID; No ProMotion display

Think of the new $499 iPad Air less as Apple's midrange tablet and more as its low-cost laptop. The 2019 Air is light, smooth, fast, and runs a wide range of entertainment and office apps. It suffers from a bit of middle-child syndrome, though. It's neither as cheap as the entry-level iPad, which does basic tablet things just fine, nor is it as powerful for creative apps as the iPad Pro. When you pair it with a keyboard accessory, though, the iPad Air suddenly comes into its own as a basic laptop for people who don't need to mess with a more powerful OS. That's a big enough niche that the iPad Air will find its fans. Physical Design and Pencil The Air comes in gold, gray, or silver. A 64GB model costs $499 and a 256GB model costs $649. Adding 4G LTE cellular to either adds $130. The Apple Pencil costs $99, and Apple's keyboard case costs $159. Sticking with the 64GB model and the keyboard case, that gets you an "Apple laptop" for $658. The 11-inch iPad Pro and the MacBook Air, th...

The new iPad Air is a tablet that works best with a keyboard case as a pseduo-laptop for anyone who wants a basic PC with Apple's software elegance.

Fast performance; Slim, light design; Nice display; Works with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard case

Camera could be better; There are a lot of other iPad choices right now

For the past few years, there's been a giant void left in Apple's iPad lineup. On the low end, the base iPad model has retained the traditional form factor, with a spec bump here and there, and most recently gained Apple Pencil support.

Affordably priced; Solid performance and battery life; Smart Keyboard support

No Face ID; Needs more speakers

For the past few years, there's been a giant void left in Apple's iPad lineup. On the low end, the base iPad model has retained the traditional form factor, with a spec bump here and there, and most recently gained Apple Pencil support.

Affordably priced, Solid performance and battery life, Smart Keyboard support

No Face ID, Needs more speakers

After a long time spread in between, HTMLTagInstance html-tag-3a790980-7dc5-472a-88e2-bda5bf48ed2d Apple’s iPad Air 2 finally received a proper successor! Technically, the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-f3a7fe64-9531-4f90-b106-e6f91aa284d4 iPad Air (2019) arrives nearly 4.5 years after the iPad Air 2, which is a staggering amount of time in the world of tech. Until the arrival of the iPad Pro, the Air was largely considered the top of the line tablet in Apple’s stable, but if pricing dictates structure, the iPad Air (2019) is now classified as the mid-range offering – sitting in between the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-8c42c3c5-f4c3-4670-9c58-5290ff3efe78 iPad (2018) at $350 and the 11-inch version of the iPad Pro (2018) priced at $800. The $500 sticker price of the iPad Air (2019) seems appropriate for any mainstream tablet, but where does it rank in the greater scheme of things? In the box: iPad Air (2019)USB Lightning CableUSB Power AdapterQuick Start, Safety Guide, and Stickers Design /12426...

Best bang for the buck value in a tablet; Premium design; Outstanding processing performance; Better than average battery life;

Poor camera performance under low light; Only two storage options; Long time to recharge;

For the past few years, Apple's iPad lineup has had a large and obvious hole in it. At one end, there's the $329 iPad , an affordable way to do basic computing and run the many excellent apps out there.

Excellent display; Strong battery life; Snappy performance; Support for Apple's Smart Keyboard

Uses the goofy old Apple Pencil; A design that's getting rather tired; Only two speakers