The 2020 Apple iPad Air will cost you at least R12,500, Apple’s best is a bit more wallet-destroying

In an unexpected but welcome reveal, Apple graced us with a brand new iPad this year at the first of its year-end events in September. It wasn’t your typical lineup of iPads — this time we got a glimpse at the new iPad Air. And we’re here for it. And we’re here for the local pricing for the device, which was revealed earlier today. 

Revealed as the headliner of the night, the iPad Air comes in an array of colours from Rose Gold to the new Green and Sky Blue hues. It has lost a few curves, features a bright and shiny 10.9in Liquid Retina (2,360 x 1,640) display as well as the age-old TouchID. But this time it fits snugly in the power button on the outer edge of the tablet.

It’s in the Air

It’s all run by Apple’s new A14 Bionic architecture which features 11.8 billion transistors in a six-core processor sizing in at 5nm. You’ll also get access to Apple’s enabling machine-learning and Neural Engine functions here, which should make this device smarter and more powerful than ever. 

You’ll also say goodbye to good ole Lightning — this time your tablet uses a USB-C port for charging and peripherals. Pair that, somewhat mundane addition with stereo audio, support for the Apple Pencil and Magic keyboard and the new iOS 14 and you’re set with a powerful little machine. 

Which brings us to local pricing for the 2020 iteration of the iPad Air. The iPad Air (WiFi-only) starts at R12,500 for 64GB and R15,500 for the 258GB. The WiFi + Cellular version will cost from R13,500 (WiFi-only) for the 64GB and R18,200 for the 258GB from iStore.