Apple updates iPad Air to M4

Continuing its cavalcade of product announcements, Apple also rolled out an updated iPad Air on Monday, upping the tablet’s processor to the M4 and increasing its RAM and memory bandwidth.

Don’t expect the iPad Air to look much different to its predecessor: not only does it feature the same dimensions1, but it comes in the same Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight colors as the M3 model and the M2 before it. Battery life is unchanged as well, with up to 10 hours. The new models remain compatible with all the accessories of the previous versions, including the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), and the 11-inch and 13-inch Magic Keyboards.

All the major improvements are under the hood. In addition to the M4 processor’s 30-percent performance improvement, there’s now 12GB of unified RAM—up from 8GB of memory in the M3 Air—and memory bandwidth of 120GB/s, compared to the 100GB/s offered by the earlier model. The M4 also unlocks hardware acceleration for 8K in more formats, including H.264, ProRes, and ProRes RAW.

There are some improvements on the connectivity side as well. The M4 Air also gets Apple’s own N1 wireless chip, adding support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 and better performance for 5GHz Wi-Fi networks. And cellular models will use Apple’s C1X, the same chip inside the new 17e, which Apple says offers more energy efficient performance.

As with the iPhone 17e, Apple is continuing to tout its environmental friendly construction. The new iPad Air is made with 30-percent recycled content, including 100 percent recycled aluminum for the exterior, and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery.

The new iPad Air will be available for pre-order on Wednesday, March 4, and will arrive on Wednesday, March 11. The 11-inch model starts at the same $599 price point, with the 13-inch beginning at $799.

Except for weight, in which the 11-inch M4 model has an extra 4 grams—or 5 grams in the cellular version. The 13-inch is the same across the board. Scandal! ↩