Apple has started its week of launches by debuting a new iPad Air, which is mostly just an upgrade to M4.
This week will be a busy one for Apple as it brings out a bunch of new products ahead of the March 4 Apple Experience. Its opening salvo includes one of the lesser-speculated product line updates, with the introduction of a new iPad Air.
Monday's update is not a massive one for Apple's mid-tier iPads. The headline change is the chip, with the M3 switched out for an M4, which was previously used on the iPad Pro before the fall 2025 upgrade to M5.
As well as the chip upgrade, Apple is also bumping up the unified memory from 8GB to 12GB. The memory bandwidth is also up, increased to 120GB/s.
More mid-range power
Apple claims the M4 upgrade adds up to 30% more speed to the iPad Air over its M3-based predecessor. It's also 2.3 times faster than the M1 iPad Air.
The nine-core GPU in the M4 with second-generation hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing is also a boost. Apple says it's four times faster than the M1 Air for 3D rendering and ray-tracing performance.
M4 iPad Air - Image Credit: Apple
The 16-core Neural Engine is, predictably, three times faster than the M1's version. The new N1 wireless chip designed by Apple, also incorporates Wi-FI 7 support, Bluetooth 6, and Thread.
Cellular is handled by Apple's new modem, the C1X. This too is an improvement according to Apple, with 50% faster cellular data performance and 30% less modem energy usage.
A big spec-bump update
The rest of the specification sheet shows it is a typical spec-bump release for Apple, with no other observable changes to the package.
There's still the 11-inch and 13-inch Liquid Retina displays with identical resolutions to the previous models. The resolutions of 2,360 by 1,640 for the 11-inch model and 2,732 by 2,048 for the 13-inch are the same, and so are the relative maximum brightnesses of 500 nits and 600 nits.
Apple didn't touch the chassis either, as the 9.74 by 7.02-inch 11-inch model and 11.04 by 8.46-inch 13-inch model have the same footprint and 0.24-inch thicknesses as last time. The 11-inch model is slightly heavier at 1.02 pound for the Wi-Fi model, 1.03 pounds for the cellular, but the 13-inch is static at 1.36 pounds.
The single, unchanged rear camera of the iPad Air
The Touch ID biometric security is still in the top button, and the battery still lasts up to ten hours.
The back still has a 12MP Wide camera capable of 4K video, while the front uses a 12MP Landscape Center Stage camera. Landscape stereo speakers and eSIM support round out the package.
The capacity range is still the same, with four options between 128GB and 1TB. So too are the colors: Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight.
The iPad Air with M4 starts from $599 for the 128GB 11-inch Wi-Fi model, $749 for cellular. The 13-inch version starts from $799 and $949, respectively.
Preorders start from March 4, with availability beginning March 11.
