Apple's full-sized iPad may have a brand new name, but the company's fifth iteration is all about refinement. The iPad Air is thinner, lighter and smaller than the previous model, but still manages to retain the same 9.7in screen and ten hour battery life.

Stunningly thin and light; Excellent performance; Great battery life

Increased price; Speakers easily muffled; Reflective screen

perfect

Apple's iPad Air is the most comfortable to use 10in tablet on the market. While the cameras remain average, the iPad Air also boasts some improvement in speed and battery life, and remains a market leader when it comes to the 9.7in Retina display.

Great design and display; free iWork apps; improved performance and battery life

Cameras are still poor; not many 64-bit optimised apps

Apple has done it again: the iPad Air is a tablet better than the last iPad. Simply put the iPad Air is the best iPad the company has ever made. It's light, it's thin, it's fast, it's amazing.

Thinner; lighter; faster; iLife and iWork apps are great; truly desirable tablet

Same camera as iPad 4; no 802.11 ac; can't realise 64-bit speed yet

Just as the original MacBook Air redefined laptop design, Apple is hoping to do the same thing for tablets with the iPad Air. This 1-pound slate attempts to combine a big-screen experience with a design so compact you can easily use it with one hand.

Our hands-on impressions of Apple's next-generation iPad Air tablet computer

Slimmer, lighter, and faster than last year's model , Apple's iPad Air ($499-$929) is the best tablet for the most people. It's a full-fledged computer that's now so thin and light that you won't even notice it's in your bag.

Impressively slim and light; Fast; Very good camera; Top-notch app selection; LTE version works with every U.S; carrier

Expensive; Pages and Numbers, while free, don't measure up to Microsoft Office for productivity

The iPad Air is probably the best 10-inch tablet we've ever used, but if you want one tablet, we recommend holding out for the iPad Mini with Retina.

Thin and light; looks great; Powerful 64-bit processor; New Wi-Fi antennas are fast; iOS 7 runs best on Air; Battery life is a solid 10 hours

Speakers are a step down from iPad 4; Camera quality has not improved; Not as comfortable as iPad Mini

The Good - Stunning, thin, light design - Cutting-edge processor and graphics performance - iOS 7 a beautiful and powerful complement to hardware - Outstanding built-in and free iWork, iLife apps - Retina display remains superb The Bad - Relatively high up-front price - No Wi-Fi 802.11ac support -...

- Stunning; thin; light design - Cutting-edge processor and graphics performance - iOS 7 a beautiful and powerful complement to hardware - Outstanding built-in and free iWork; iLife apps - Retina display remains superb

- Relatively high up-front price - No Wi-Fi 802.11ac support - No Touch ID sensor

Although every Apple product goes through a well-established four-stage life cycle - introduction, growth, maturity and decline - the same is also true of its product families, which begin by building awareness (introduction), begin to increase in sales through advertising (growth), rocket upwards...

A comprehensively superior replacement for 2012's third- and fourth-generation iPads; packing almost twice as much horsepower and noteworthy extra battery life into a considerably narrower and lighter body.

Industrial design is new to full-sized iPad but highly familiar given last year's iPod touch and iPad mini releases, feeling lighter than past 9.7" iPads but heavier than iPad minis, and still not comfortable for truly extended hand-holding; stands are required yet sold separately.