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Apple's iPad gets light as Air (pictures)

Even with only modest feature improvements over last year's model, the iPad Air's trim design and sharpened performance make it the best consumer tablet on the market.

Tim Stevens

Oct. 29, 2013 6:00 p.m. PT

Tim Stevens

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The iPad Air's 9.7-inch display is gorgeous. It has a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 2,048x1,536-pixel resolution.

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The display is equally sharp in portrait version.

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Here you can see the most recent members of the Apple iPad family. From left are the original iPad Mini, the iPad Air, and the fourth-generation iPad.

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At 9.4 inches tall by 6.6 inches wide by 0.29 inch deep, the iPad Air is smaller on all sides than the iPad 4. In fact, you might lose it under a pile of books.

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The iPad Air is 0.4 pound lighter than its predecessor. That makes for easy portability.

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Indeed, the iPad Air almost feels more like the iPad Mini while remaining just as sturdy and rigid as before.

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Seriously, you really have to hold it in your hand to feel just how "air"-like it is.

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Of course, you can prop it up using a Smart Cover for easy reading.

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Here's a Smart Cover from the side.

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Though you don't feel the paper in your hand, you get the full effect of reading a magazine on the iPad Air.