iPad Air review

The original iPad Air told us all we needed to know about Apple's changed approach to tablets – with a 43% thinner bezel and a 28% lighter body than the iPads that came before it, the Air champions the 'easier to live with' ideal.

Although the iPad Air's successor, the iPad Air 2, has now been out for a while it doesn't mean the original iPad Air isn't worth considering if you're after a tablet, especially since the price has dropped now that there's a newer Air on the block.

• Buy Apple iPad Air (16GB) at Amazon for $273.51

The original iPad Air took many of its design cues from the iPad mini 2. It's got the same smooth back design, thinner bezel and more attractive speakers at the bottom of the slate for more of a family likeness with the cut-down tablet from Apple's stables.

While the Air is a clear copy of that smaller device I'm not going to hold it against Apple, as the mini already had a stunning design, and the Air takes that design ethos and brings it to the big leagues. It's a design Apple stuck with for the iPad Air 2, for the most part, so it must be good.

It also has machined buttons that don't feel loose if you shake the device, adding to the premium feel.

On top of the improved design the Air also got Apple's A7 chip, bringing with it 64-bit processing power and heaps of battery-saving features to keep your tablet going even longer in day-to-day use. That's also been superseded, by the A8X chip in the Air 2 and the A9X in the iPad Pro, but you still get a decent slug of power here.

And the greatest thing about the iPad range in my eyes is the price – Apple originally started the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model at the same cost as its rivals, and while that outlay does spiral up as capacity and connectivity increase, for an Apple device to not charge an (unnecessary) premium is something I'm really happy to see.

Even better, since the arrival of the iPad Air 2 prices for the original iPad Air have fallen.

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