Apple iPad Air Passes Decompression Testing

Apple’s new iPad Air, which is thinner and weighs one-third of a pound less than the previous-generation iPad, has passed rapid decompression testing conducted by Jeppesen. The company tested the iPad Air to 51,000 feet, similar to tests conducted on all previous iPad versions. “No anomalies were detected during testing of any of the iPad models,” according to Jeppesen, which makes the Mobile FliteDeck and FliteDeck VFR apps for the iPad. The new iPad Air is powered by Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip and a separate M7 motion coprocessor, which takes input from sensors such as the three-axis gyro and accelerometer. The M7 coprocessor could spur new aviation app capabilities, although none has been announced yet.