The iPad Air 5 is a great new tablet with hardware that rivals even Apple‘s most expensive tablets. Powered by an M1 processor, the fifth-generation iPad Air is just as fast as the latest iPad Pro and shares compatibility with Apple Pencil 2 and keyboard covers as well. That makes the iPad Air a great option at a more affordable price, suggesting there are other significant differences. LiDAR and a second rear camera distinguish the iPad Pro from the iPad Air 5, but what about the screen, and do they all get a 120-hertz display?

The iPad Pro is the very best tablet on the market, and it can also be used as a laptop replacement in some cases. By attaching the Magic Keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard and a mouse or trackpad, the on-screen keyboard is hidden from view and the entire screen becomes available for use. With the iPad Pro 12.9, the screen size is larger by area than the 13.3-inch MacBook display. While the iPad Air 5 is a bit smaller, it is just as fast and works with these accessories as well.

Related: iPad Air 5 Vs iPad Air 4: What’s New & Is It Worth Upgrading?

The iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch are the only Apple tablets with ProMotion displays that can refresh the screen at up to 120-hertz. More frequent updates make the on-screen movement appear smoother, particularly for computer-generated content that lacks the natural motion blur that produces videos that run at 30 frames per second look natural. The eye even accepts the 24-hertz rate of film as long as the camera doesn’t pan too quickly. Most mobile devices use a 60-hertz refresh rate, although 120-hertz is becoming more common on expensive devices. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t state the actual display refresh rate of the iPad Air 5 or any earlier models. However, some Apple developer documentation references 60-hertz as standard for most iPad models, and it’s generally accepted that an iPad refreshes its screen 60 times each second.

iPad Air Video At 120Hz

Apple iPad Air 5 Colors

While the display refresh rate of the fifth-generation iPad Air is 60-hertz, it can record slow-motion video at 120 frames per second, which is a very different technology. Incidentally, 240 FPS is also possible, and slow-motion video is captured at a reduced resolution of 1080p instead of the full 4K resolution of standard video. Regardless of the capture speed, playback is slower, which is what creates the time-stretching effect, and the actual content seen on the iPad Air 5’s screen can happen no faster than 60 times each second.

In the end, 60-hertz isn’t bad and may not even be noticeable since the maximum delay or lag would be less than two-hundredths of a second. This is not to say a 120-hertz screen refresh is irrelevant, which is an advantage of the iPad Pro models. Faster display updates are easy on the eyes, particularly when quickly scrolling through a long page of information scanning for a particular section. However, when reading at a more leisurely pace or watching a video, it’s hard to see the difference, and in almost every other way, the iPad Air 5 is a great option, nearly matching the iPad Pro at a lower price.