Apple's New M4 iPad Air Looks More Like The Pro Than Ever - But Does It Matter?

A year ago, Apple unveiled the M3 iPad Air. Nearly a year to the day later, Apple is bringing even more power to its thinnest tablet by swapping out the M3 chip for the M4. Just by looking at it, you probably won't be able to spot any differences between this iPad Air and the previous model, and not just because it offers the same design and colors, but because Apple is even using some of the same imagery from the M3 model on the product page.

Still, Apple wants customers to see the "fantastic value" that improved performance, more memory, and upgraded connectivity can bring to this tablet. In many ways, the M4 iPad Air measures up close to the latest M5 iPad Pro, but at a more affordable price.

"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 VP 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."

When Apple released the M4 iPad Pro in 2024, it introduced a redesign, a new display, and improved accessories. Now that the iPad Air is gaining access to this powerful processor, Apple decided to focus on an internal revamp instead, as, from the outside, the M4 iPad Air is nearly indistinguishable from the previous two models.

Thanks to the M4 processor, Apple says the new iPad Air is up to 30% faster than the previous model. This tablet also adopted several of the new internal specs from the M5 iPad Pro, including Wi-Fi 7 support and Apple's own connectivity chips, like the N1 wireless networking chip and C1X modem. These additions make Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work even better between Apple's devices and expand the number of products that can hide their location from carriers, which is a feature that was recently added as part of the iOS 26.3 update.

Disappointingly, the iPad Air still starts with 128GB of storage, while the iPad Pro comes with at least 256GB. That said, while most companies are increasing the price of their devices due to the ongoing RAM shortage, Apple announced the new iPad models will come with 12GB of memory — 50% more than the previous model — as well as 120GB/s of memory bandwidth. All of these improvements will make the iPad Air M4 feel snappier, more capable of performing demanding tasks, and more ready to take advantage of iPadOS 26's new multitasking capabilities.

While Apple continues to release some of the most popular and powerful tablets on the market, it has been updating its lineup so frequently that it's hard for customers to justify upgrading on a regular basis. In a press release, Apple touts how much better the M4 iPad Air is compared to the M1 model, but it's worth noting that the M1 iPad Air is still an incredibly capable tablet. After all, the 2022 model continues to offer many of the same features the 2026 version has, and all of these tablets are able to run the same iPadOS 26 software.

With a redesign still expected at a later date, Apple's strategy is to make sure customers can get the best hardware it has to offer whenever they are ready to upgrade. The 11-inch model starts at $599, while the 13-inch version continues to start at $799. This tablet also supports the same accessories as the iPad Pro, such as the Magic Keyboard ($269), the Apple Pencil Pro ($129), and the USB-C Apple Pencil ($79). Customers will be able to pre-order the iPad Air starting this Wednesday, March 4, with the official launch coming on March 11.