On March 21, MacRumors reported that some iPad Air 5 users complained on social media Reddit that the quality seemed to be deteriorating, and the device's aluminum casing was significantly thinner than the previous generation of iPad Air 4, which was light and fluttering to pick up, and could bend the tablet with a little force. The post contained a large number of complaints from users of the new iPad Air and expressed concerns about the quality of the tablet.
Many netizens have expressed empathy for this problem, which means that the iPad Air 5 "cutting corners" is not an isolated case, and some of them have also published videos. In the video, when they tap the panel's display, they make a creaking sound, and the interior is like a hollow. However, this situation was not mentioned in earlier media reviews, and whether it is really cutting corners may have to wait for dismantling to understand.
The incident of Apple devices being bent is not unusual, as long as the iPhone, iPad and other products with aluminum shells are easy to be bent, especially the iPad Pro 2018. Apple's official response to this is that the integrated backplane process of the iPad Pro is very advanced, the appearance is better, and the assembly is easier. Since the iPad Air adopted a production process similar to that of the iPad Pro, the characteristics of easy bending have been inherited.
The weight of the iPad Air 4 is 458 grams, while the latest model is 461 grams, Xiao Lei guessed that the internal component layout of the iPad Air 5 may have been changed, and Apple had to cut the thickness of the aluminum shell to control the overall weight of the tablet. However, in addition to the chip and front lens, the iPad Air 5 is basically no obvious difference from the previous generation, and the reduction of the aluminum shell is more like saving costs and improving profit considerations.
Moreover, Apple has begun to promote products such as iPads in the past two years, using shell materials that are 100% recyclable aluminum, and if the thickness of the shell is reduced for "environmental protection", it is even more difficult to say.
Behind the cost savings on the shell, the sacrifice is the structural strength of the iPad Air 5. The thickness of the plate is only 6.1 mm, and it is also a one-piece molded back cover, if the middle frame part is not strong enough, it is easily affected by external forces and squeezed and deformed.
Previously, the iPad Pro was exposed to the general structural strength, easy to be bent by external forces, Xiao Lei in order to protect the tablet will not be squeezed by the crowd in the subway deformation, had to add an additional protective cover. At present, Apple is unlikely to find a way to "cure" the problem of iPad being bent, and it is best to buy a protective case or consider other tablet products.