Apple has kicked off its big product launch week today, and one of the unveilings is a new iPad Air with M4 chip. Here are the details.
M4 iPad Air update focuses on trio of Apple silicon chips
Today Apple has announced a brand new iPad Air powered by the M4 chip.
The M4 is the biggest change in this new iPad Air, which carries many of the same features as the previous-generation M3 model launched last year.
“iPad Air gives users more ways than ever to be creative and productive, offering powerful performance and incredible versatility to help them turn their ideas into reality,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With its blazing performance thanks to M4, incredible AI capabilities, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, there’s never been a better time to choose or upgrade to iPad Air.”
The main new features Apple touts with this new iPad Air are all related to Apple silicon.
M4 is a nice upgrade for the main processor. Per Apple, it’s “up to 30 percent faster than iPad Air with M3 and up to 2.3x faster than iPad Air with M1.”
M4 also comes packed with 50% more unified memory than the M3 model. That means 12GB of memory to better power iPadOS 26’s new multitasking features.
For cellular users, iPad Air also makes the transition to Apple’s own in-house 5G modem with the C1X.
Apple first launched C1X last fall in the iPhone Air, and it later came to the M5 iPad Pro too.
One of the main benefits of C1X is found in the form of battery gains if you’re a heavy cellular user. Apple says C1X offers “30 percent less modem energy usage than iPad Air with M3.”
The N1 wireless chip completes the trio of Apple silicon advancements. It powers Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Apple also says N1 “brings better performance when connected to 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, and improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.”
Top comment by LeonardoM
To me it's crazy that iPad Air costs as little as an iPhone 17e.
There is so much more materials and power, it just lacks the cellular antenna.
The new M4 iPad Air is available in the same 11-inch and 13-inch sizes as before, and the same four colors: Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight.
Pricing still starts at $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch, with up-charges for cellular compatibility. The base storage remains 128GB.
Pre-orders start on Wednesday, March 4 at 6:15 a.m. PT. It will arrive in customers’ hands beginning one week later, on Wednesday, March 11.
Are you upgrading to an M4 iPad Air? Let us know in the comments.
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