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                        iPad Air Gets M4 and More Memory

   Adam Engst

   In its second announcement for the day (see '[1]New iPhone 17e Adds
   MagSafe to Apple's Budget iPhone,' 2 March 2026), Apple has released an
   updated [2]iPad Air. The addition of the M4 chip to Apple's mid-range
   tablet lineup delivers performance improvements while maintaining the
   same starting prices: $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the
   13-inch version. It will be available for pre-order at 6:15 AM on 4
   March 2026, with availability a week later on 11 March 2026.

   The M4 chip features an 8-core CPU (3 performance cores and 5
   efficiency cores) and a 9-core GPU, up from the 8-core GPU in the
   previous M3 model. Apple claims the new iPad Air is up to 30% faster
   than the M3 version and up to 2.3x faster than M1 models.

   Perhaps more significant than raw CPU and GPU performance is the
   increase in unified memory. The iPad Air now comes with 12 GB of
   RAM'50% more than the previous generation's 8 GB'and memory bandwidth
   has increased to 120 GB/s from 100 GB/s. Apple promotes these
   improvements as benefiting AI workloads and apps like Final Cut Pro and
   Pixelmator Pro.

   Connectivity receives an upgrade with the addition of Apple's N1 and
   C1X chips. The N1 wireless networking chip enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth
   6, and Thread. Apple says it provides better performance on 5 GHz Wi-Fi
   networks and improves the performance and reliability of Personal
   Hotspot and AirDrop. The C1X cellular modem in Wi-Fi + Cellular models
   offers up to 50% faster cellular data performance while using up to 30%
   less energy than the M3 model's modem.

   Starting storage remains at 128 GB, with options for 256 GB, 512 GB,
   and 1 TB. The iPad Air continues to be available in two sizes'11-inch
   and 13-inch'and four colors: blue, purple, starlight, and space gray.

   Although the new iPad Air doesn't introduce any design changes or new
   features, the cumulative improvements make it a meaningful update to
   what has become the flagship of the iPad line. The M5-based iPad Pro
   models are significantly more expensive at $999 and $1299, so users
   aren't likely to spend an extra $400 or $500 unless they need the
   maximum performance. On the low end, the plain iPad has long been more
   of a budget model that makes significant compromises to maintain its
   $349 price point. We'll see if the next update to the plain iPad makes
   it more competitive with the iPad Air.

   Although Apple has started [3]encouraging upgradesfrom an older
   M1-based iPad Air, it doesn't feel like a slam dunk to me, as it would
   if you were coming from a pre-M1 iPad. The M4 iPad Air's marquee
   improvements include performance and the 12-megapixel Center Stage
   camera on the landscape edge, which debuted with the M2 iPad Air. So,
   unless your M1 iPad Air feels slow, or you're annoyed by the portrait
   edge camera position for video calls, it may still not be worth
   upgrading.

References

   Visible links
   1. https://tidbits.com/2026/03/02/new-iphone-17e-adds-magsafe-to-apples-budget-iphone/
   2. https://www.apple.com/ipad-air/
   3. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-the-new-ipad-air-powered-by-m4/#:~:text=on%20iPad%C2%A0Air.-,Ideal%20for%20iPad%20and,better%20time%20to%20upgrade.,-Big%20performance%20gains

   Hidden links:
   4. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/03/M4-iPad-Air.jpg

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