New iPad Air, Same Lesson: Tablets Are Business Machines Now

17 March 2026

Apple has slipped out an updated iPad Air with the M4 chip (from £599, on sale since last week) — a speed bump rather than a spectacle, which suits the tablet's actual role in business life: dependable infrastructure.

The state of the tablet market for buyers

• The £329 basic iPad remains the default answer for tills, bookings, forms and portfolios.
• The new Air is the sweet spot for content work — its M4 edits 4K video and runs design apps with headroom for years.
• The M5 iPad Pro (from late 2025) is a laptop-class production machine for firms whose marketing runs on media.
• Android options — Samsung's Tab S-series and very capable budget models — undercut on price and suit Google-centric businesses; the app gap for business basics has largely closed.

Why this category quietly matters

A tablet is the most customer-facing computer most small firms own: it takes the payment, shows the portfolio, captures the signature, plays the showreel at the exhibition stand. It shapes how professional you appear at the exact moment money changes hands. Budget for a decent case, a stand, and — the perennially forgotten line item — a plan for updates and passcodes when staff change. Unsexy. Essential.