iPad Air (original, WiFi+Cellular, 2013)

When the iPad Air was released, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, commented:

“…the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous advancement this is. iPad Air with its 9.7-inch Retina display weighs just one pound and packs the incredible performance of iOS 7 running on a 64-bit desktop-class Apple A7 chip, and delivers all-day battery life in the lightest full-sized tablet in the world.”

Apple described the iPad Air as 20% thinner and 28% lighter than the iPad Generation 4 (the base iPad at the time).

The iPad Air had many available configurations with 2 colors (Space Gray and Silver), 2 wireless connectivity options (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+Cellular), and 4 storage capacities (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB). This model is Space Gray, has Wi-Fi+Cellular, and 16GB of storage.

The iPad Air is 9.4 inches (240 mm) wide x 6.6 inches (169.5 mm) tall, and 0.29 inch (7.5 mm) thick. It weighed 1.05 pounds (478 g). Its Retina Display was 9.7 inches with 2048 x 1536 resolution (at 264ppi).

Wireless technologies included Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, and this model allowed cellular service including LTE.

The front camera was a 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime HD Camera that could record 720p HD video. The back camera was a 5 Megapixel iSight Camera with features including autofocus, face detection, tap to focus, tap to control exposure, geotagging, and HDR.

Sources: Apple, (Newsroom, Tech Specs), EveryMac

iPad Magic Keyboard (iPad Pro 11-inch Generation 4 and iPad Air Generation 5, white, 2021)

Apple describes the iPad Magic Keyboard as:

“…an amazing companion for iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Air. It features an incredible typing experience, a trackpad that opens up new ways to work with iPadOS, a USB‑C port for pass-through charging, and front and back protection. The Magic Keyboard has a floating cantilever design, allowing you to attach iPad Pro and iPad Air magnetically and to smoothly adjust it to the perfect viewing angle for you.”

When it was originally released, Apple touted that the iPad Magic Keyboard provided “A Unique Floating Design, Backlit Keyboard and Trackpad Make for the Best Typing Experience Ever on iPad.”

This iPad Magic Keyboard (model A2261) attaches surprisingly firmly to the iPad with magnets and still allows you to adjust the angle without becoming unattached. Further, it “Folds into a case to provide front and back protection for traveling with iPad Pro and iPad Air.”

Other features listed by Apple include:

  • Comfortable backlit keys and a scissor mechanism with 1 mm travel for quiet, responsive typing.
  • Designed for Multi‑Touch gestures and the cursor in iPadOS.
  • Smooth angle adjustability delivers the perfect viewing angle.
  • USB-C port for charging iPad Pro and iPad Air, freeing up the port on the iPad for other accessories.

This particular Magic Keyboard is compatible with an impressive number of iPad models, including iPad Pro 11-inch (Generations 1–4) and the iPad Air (Generations 4–5).

Source: Apple (Product, Newsroom)

iPad Air (Generation 2, Wi-Fi, space gray, 2014)

The iPad Air 2 was the first iPad to use Touch ID. It was announced at an October 2014 Apple event titled, “Change Is in the Air.” This iPad was available in three colors: gold (gold aluminum back with a white glass front), silver (silver aluminum back with a white glass front), and space gray (dark gray aluminum back with a black glass front).

The 9.7-inch touchscreen Retina Display was 2048×1536 (at 264 ppi) and featured an antireflective coating. Internally, it used a three-core 1.5 GHz A8X processor, 2 GB of RAM, and was available with 16, 32, 64, or 128 GB of storage.

Its rear 8-megapixel iSight camera recorded video at 1080p (30 fps), and its front 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera recoded video at 720p.

Sources: Everymac, Apple

iPad Air (original, Wi-Fi, 32 GB, space gray, 2013)

The original iPad Air used a 9.7-inch Retina display. According to Apple’s press release at the time, the iPad Air was “20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than the fourth generation iPad, and with a narrower bezel the borders of iPad Air are dramatically thinner.”

The original iPad Air’s display was 2048×1536 (at 264 ppi). Internally, it used a dual-core 1.4 GHz A7 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and was available with 16, 32, 64, or 128 GB of internal storage. Wireless connectivity included 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Its rear 5-megapixel iSight camera recorded video at 1080p, and its front 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera recorded video at 720p.

The original iPad Air was available in silver (silver back with white front) and space gray (dark gray back with black front).

Sources: Everymac, Apple

Apple Pencil (original, 2015)

The original Apple Pencil was released along with the original iPad Pro in September 2015. The Apple Pencil can be used by the iPad Air (Generation 3), iPad mini (Generation 5), iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad (Generation 6 and 7), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (Generation 1 and 2), and iPad Pro 9.7-inch. It pairs to an iPad device using Bluetooth, and has a removable magnetically attached cap hiding a Lightning connector.

The original Apple Pencil somewhat awkwardly charges by plugging it into the lightning port of an Apple device; however, it also includes a female-to-female adapter that allows charging with a Lightning cable. While a full charge can last up to 12 hours, a 15-second charge provides about 30 minutes of use.

The Apple Pencil can be used for writing, drawing, or annotating in a wide variety of apps. Apple describes its features as having “pixel-perfect precision, tilt and pressure sensitivity, and imperceptible lag.”

Source: Wikipedia, Apple (description, specifications)