When Apple unveiled its powerful new iPad Air 4 at its September product event we weren't actually given a release date, beyond a vague 'October' hint. That's quite unlike Apple, which tends to release products a week after unveiling them, but don't fret - the company has finally announced when we'll see the new tablet.

At the same time as putting iPhone 12 pre-orders live, the company also allowed you to pre-order the iPad Air 4. It'll then be out on general sale on October 23. It took the company a whole month to reveal the release date.

We already knew the price of the tablet, starting at $599 / £579 / AU$899, and it's between that of the iPad Pro 2020 and entry-level iPad 10.2 2020, so great for people who want a premium tablet but find the Pro a bit too pricey.

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The iPhone 12 may be the biggest tech product of this week with four new phones for Apple fans to choose from, but the iPad Air 4 may end up being the most disruptive gadget.

Good mid-ranged tablets are currently few and far between, and the iPad Air 4 might be the first slate from Apple that successfully fits in this niche, of products with top-end features yet a few corners cut.

That release date is near, and we'll make sure to test out the new tablet as soon as possible to see if it's really all that.

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