Apple · Instant quote

Apple iPad Air 5

5th Generation. Apple M1 Processor. Released on 2022

Storage:

Cosmetic Condition:

Functionality:

Charger Included?

The Apple iPad Air (5th generation) — sold as the iPad Air 5 and often called the iPad Air M1 — was announced March 8 and released March 18, 2022, staying in Apple's lineup until the M2 iPad Air replaced it in May 2024. It was the generation that moved the Air line to Apple silicon, dropping in the 8-core M1 chip with a fixed 8GB of RAM — the reason this tablet still runs current iPadOS and qualifies for Apple Intelligence years after launch. It keeps the flat-edged 10.9-inch aluminum body, Touch ID in the top button, a USB-C port, and magnetic charging for the Apple Pencil (2nd generation), and it added 5G on cellular units. Apple sold it in five finishes: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue, in 64GB and 256GB only, under model numbers A2588, A2589, and A2591. If you are trying to sell this tablet online, our iPad trade-in service pays cash rather than store credit, ships free and insured, and charges no listing or seller fees. Pick your storage and condition in the tool above to see an instant offer for your exact iPad.

Find your exact model in under a minute

You do not need to know anything technical to do this. Pick up the iPad, unlock it, and open Settings → General → About. Two lines matter:

  • Model Name should read iPad Air (5th generation). If it says a different generation, you are on the wrong page — use our guide to finding your gadget's model to land on the right one.
  • Model Number starts out showing a long part number such as MM9C3LL/A. Tap it once and it flips to the short A-number you actually need. US retail units have part numbers that begin with M and end in LL/A.

If the iPad will not power on, the same A-number is printed in tiny gray text on the back, near the bottom, under the regulatory marks.

✅ Wi-Fi

  • Model number A2588
  • Model identifier iPad13,16 · EMC 4041
  • No SIM tray anywhere on the frame
  • No GPS — location comes from Wi-Fi only

✅ Wi-Fi + Cellular

  • Model number A2589 (China mainland: A2591)
  • Model identifier iPad13,17
  • Nano-SIM tray on the right edge, plus eSIM
  • Adds 5G (sub-6 GHz) and GPS/GNSS

❌ Not the iPad Air 4 (2020)

  • A-numbers A2316 / A2324 / A2325 / A2072
  • Runs the A14 Bionic, not the M1
  • No 5G, and no Blue finish
  • The outside is virtually identical — only the A-number and the chip tell them apart

❌ Not the iPad (10th generation)

  • A-numbers A2696 / A2757 / A2777
  • Also 10.9-inch, flat-edged, USB-C, Touch ID top button
  • Front camera sits on the long side edge, not the short top edge
  • No magnetic Apple Pencil strip on the side rail

❌ Not the M2 / M3 / M4 iPad Air

  • Those came in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes — the Air 5 was 10.9-inch only
  • Their front camera is on the long side edge
  • They offer 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB — the Air 5 stops at 256GB

❌ Not an iPad Pro

  • iPad Pro uses Face ID — no fingerprint button on top
  • Four speaker grilles instead of two
  • Smoother 120Hz ProMotion screen; the Air 5 runs at 60Hz

The three-second physical check: an iPad Air 5 has a fingerprint sensor built into the top power button, its front camera centered on the short top edge, a flat magnetic strip on the right long edge where an Apple Pencil sticks and charges, and exactly two speaker grilles. All four together point to this model.

Core hardware

Chip & memory

  • Apple M1 chip — 8-core CPU (4 performance + 4 efficiency cores)
  • 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
  • Hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC media engine
  • 8GB RAM — soldered and fixed. There is no upgrade option and never was; every Air 5 ever built has exactly 8GB

Storage

  • 64GB or 256GB — those are the only two capacities Apple sold
  • Both capacities were offered in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular
  • Not expandable. No microSD slot, no memory card reader, and the flash storage is soldered to the logic board
  • Storage is one of only two selectable factors in the quote tool above — get it right

Connectivity version

  • Wi-Fi — Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2×2 MIMO up to 1.2 Gbps, Bluetooth 5.0
  • Wi-Fi + Cellular — adds 5G NR, LTE, nano-SIM + eSIM, and GPS/GNSS
  • Sub-6 GHz 5G only. No mmWave on any Air 5
  • Cellular models are data only — no voice plan, though Wi-Fi calling and FaceTime work

Touch ID, Pencil & port

  • Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the top button
  • Works with Apple Pencil (2nd generation) and Apple Pencil (USB-C)
  • Single USB-C connector — USB 3 at up to 10Gb/s, charging, and DisplayPort out
  • This is not Thunderbolt. Only the iPad Pro of that era had Thunderbolt
  • Smart Connector on the back for keyboard folios

Display & audio

Display

10.9-inch Liquid Retina LED-backlit IPS panel at 2360 × 1640 (264 ppi), fully laminated with an antireflective coating rated at 1.8% reflectivity. Wide color (P3), True Tone, 500 nits brightness, and a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. Measured corner to corner as a rectangle the panel is 10.86 inches. Refresh rate is a standard 60Hz — there is no ProMotion, no mini-LED, and no HDR display panel on this model.

Audio

Two stereo speakers, one on each short edge, which separate correctly when the iPad is held in landscape. Dual microphones handle calls, video, and voice recording. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack — wired headphones need a USB-C adapter or USB-C buds. Playback supports Dolby Atmos and spatial audio.

Cameras

Rear camera

Single 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture, five-element lens, autofocus with Focus Pixels, Smart HDR 3, up to 5× digital zoom, and 63MP panorama. Records 4K video at 24/25/30/60 fps and 1080p slo-mo at 120 or 240 fps. No LiDAR, no ultra-wide, and no True Tone flash on the back.

Front camera

12MP Ultra Wide front camera with a 122° field of view, ƒ/2.4 aperture, Smart HDR 3, and 1080p video at up to 60 fps. Supports Center Stage, which pans and crops automatically to keep you in frame on video calls. The lens sits on the short top edge in portrait orientation.

Ports, controls & what is missing

The Air 5 is a single-port tablet, so the list below is short on purpose. The right-hand column matters just as much when you are pricing your device, because people routinely assume this generation has features it never shipped with.

Ports & physical controls
  • 1× USB-C connector (charging, USB 3 up to 10Gb/s, native DisplayPort output, one external display up to 6K at 60Hz)
  • 1× Top button with Touch ID fingerprint sensor
  • 2× Volume buttons on the top-right corner of the frame
  • 1× Smart Connector on the back for keyboard accessories
  • 1× Magnetic connector on the right edge for Apple Pencil (2nd gen)
  • 1× Nano-SIM tray, right edge (Wi-Fi + Cellular models only)
Not on this model
  • No 3.5mm headphone jack
  • No Thunderbolt — the USB-C port is USB 3 only
  • No microSD or any expandable storage
  • No Face ID — authentication is Touch ID only
  • No ProMotion 120Hz and no mini-LED
  • No mmWave 5G, even on cellular units
  • No Home button and no physical mute switch

Apple M1 8GB RAM (fixed) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0 USB-C 10Gb/s 5G sub-6 GHz nano-SIM + eSIM Touch ID Apple Pencil 2 Center Stage Apple Intelligence capable

Battery, build & more

Battery & charging

Built-in 28.6 watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, rated by Apple for up to 10 hours of web browsing or video on Wi-Fi, or 9 hours over a cellular data network. Charges over USB-C from the bundled 20W adapter or from a computer. The battery is glued in and is not user-replaceable.

Sensors

Touch ID, three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor, and a digital compass. Cellular models add GPS/GNSS. Apple Pay works through Touch ID inside apps and on the web.

Finishes

Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue, in 100% recycled aluminum. Blue and Purple were new to this generation, which is a quick way to rule out an iPad Air 4 if you still have the original color.

Weight

Wi-Fi: 1.02 lb (461 g). Wi-Fi + Cellular: 1.02 lb (462 g).

Dimensions

9.74" × 7.02" × 0.24" (247.6 × 178.5 × 6.1 mm) — dimensionally identical to the iPad Air 4.

In the box & software

Shipped with the iPad Air, a 1-meter USB-C charge cable, and a 20W USB-C power adapter. Launched on iPadOS 15.4 and remains supported on current iPadOS releases, including Apple Intelligence features.

Frequently asked questions

01 How do I confirm I actually have an iPad Air 5?
Open Settings → General → About. The Model Name line should read "iPad Air (5th generation)." Then find the Model Number line — it first displays a long part number like MM9C3LL/A, so tap it once and it switches to the short A-number. You are looking for A2588 (Wi-Fi) or A2589 / A2591 (Wi-Fi + Cellular). Same screen also confirms your storage under Capacity, which is the number you need for the quote tool above. If the iPad will not turn on, the A-number is printed in small gray text on the back near the bottom. Step-by-step help with photos is on our guide to finding your gadget's model.
02 My iPad looks exactly like this one — how do I know it is not an Air 4 or a regular iPad?
This is the single most common mix-up on this page, and it costs people money in both directions. Three tablets share a nearly identical 10.9-inch flat-edged body:

iPad Air 4 (2020) — A2316, A2324, A2325, A2072. Physically the same size and shape, same Touch ID top button, same magnetic Pencil strip. The exterior gives you nothing. The tells are the A-number and the chip: the Air 4 runs an A14 Bionic while the Air 5 runs the M1. The Air 4 also never came in Blue.

iPad (10th generation, 2022) — A2696, A2757, A2777. Also 10.9 inches, also USB-C, also Touch ID in the top button. Two visual tells settle it instantly: the 10th-gen iPad's front camera is on the long side edge, and it has no magnetic strip on the side rail, so an Apple Pencil will not stick to it.

iPad Air M2, M3, or M4 — these came in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes and offer capacities above 256GB. If your About screen shows 128GB, 512GB, or 1TB, you do not have an Air 5.

Entering the wrong model means the offer you accept will not match the device we receive, and we have to requote it. Two minutes on the About screen avoids that entirely.
03 Will you buy an iPad Air 5 with a cracked screen, a bad battery, or a replaced part?
Yes. We buy tablets across the whole condition range — flawless, scuffed, dented corners, cracked or delaminated glass, a battery that drains in two hours, a port that will not charge reliably, or a unit that will not power on at all. Set the cosmetic grade and functionality honestly in the tool above and tick any of the issue boxes that apply; the offer adjusts to match, and an accurate self-assessment means the number you see is the number you get paid. If your iPad was previously repaired or refurbished, use the Refurbished device checkbox, since aftermarket screens and batteries change what the unit is worth.

One hard exception: a tablet still signed in to an Apple Account with Find My active carries Activation Lock, which makes it unusable to anyone else and gives it no resale value. See FAQ 05 for how to clear that before you ship. If your device is in unusual shape or you are not sure how to grade it, send us photos through custom quote or contact us and we will grade it for you.
04 What actually drives the trade-in value of an iPad Air 5?
Storage and condition do most of the work. A 256GB unit pays meaningfully more than a 64GB one, and cosmetic grade moves the number more on this model than sellers expect, because the M1 keeps demand high and buyers are comparing cosmetically clean units against each other.

Here is what many people do not realize: 64GB is genuinely tight on a 2022 iPad, so the 256GB version has held a wider price gap than the original $150 difference at retail would suggest. Second, including the original 20W charger and USB-C cable affects your offer — there is a Charger Included question in the tool above, and a surprising number of people box the tablet alone and leave money in a drawer. Third, an Air 5 that is still supported by Apple Intelligence is worth more today than a same-age tablet on an older chip, which is why this generation has aged better than the Air 4 sitting next to it.

Note that our quote tool prices on storage and condition, not connectivity. If you have a Wi-Fi + Cellular (A2589) unit, quote it normally and then tell us through custom quote so we can review it.

This is the part worth knowing if you have only ever considered marketplaces: our iPad trade-in service pays cash, not store credit locked to one retailer. Shipping is free and insured, there are no listing fees or seller commissions, you never meet a stranger in a parking lot, and your quoted offer stays valid for 30 days. See how it works, and for a fuller comparison read our guides on selling a used iPad for maximum profit, where to sell an iPad for cash, and how Apple trade-in works online. Selling several devices at once? We also handle bulk buybacks, corporate buybacks, and school device buybacks.
05 How do I wipe it, and when do I get paid?
Before you ship: back up first, either to iCloud or to a computer. Then go to Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPad → Erase All Content and Settings and enter your passcode and Apple Account password when prompted. That one action signs you out of iCloud, switches off Find My, and clears Activation Lock, which is the step that actually matters — a locked iPad cannot be resold and has no value. Leave the tablet on the "Hello" setup screen; do not set it up again. If yours is a cellular model, pop the nano-SIM out of the right-edge tray and keep it, and remove any eSIM plan while you are in Settings. Also unpair your Apple Pencil and any keyboard folio under Settings → Bluetooth. Our iPad preparation guide walks through each screen, and every device we receive also goes through certified sanitation described on our data erasure protocols page.

Shipping and payment: once you accept your offer we email a free, fully insured prepaid label — packing guidance is on our shipping instructions page. When the iPad arrives, our team verifies the cosmetic and functional grade you selected, and payment is approved within two business days. You can be paid by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, or ACH transfer, or by mailed paper check. Your offer is good for 30 days from checkout.