An incremental upgrade, but a welcome one – thanks to the M1

>From £569 FROM Apple, apple.com/uk FEATURES 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone, M1 chip, 64 or 256GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi+Cellular option, USB-C port, 12MP Wide camera (rear), 12MP Ultra Wide camera (front)

The fifth-gen iPad Air retains all the things you loved about the previous generation, including its flat-sided design, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display and Apple Pencil support.

Everything feels slightly slicker, quicker and smoother on the M1-powered Air, than on the A14 Bionic version

When the fourth-gen iPad Air arrived in 2020, it marked a remarkable shift in design and ambition for Apple’s mid-tier tablet. Its all-screen, f lat-sided design not only aped the premium iPad Pro, but it came packed with features, while also replacing the previous model’s Lightning port with USB-C and shifting Touch ID from the now-removed Home button to the Power button. It was a remarkable makeover – and one we were happy to give five stars and an Editor’s Choice award to. Now its successor, the new fifth-gen iPad Air on test here, shifts the dial in small but significant ways.