Apple Unveils iPad Air with Updated M4 Processor
Humberto SaabedraFolowing up, Apple has also announced a substantial update to the iPad Air, with a current M4 system on chip instead of last year’s M3. Apple is also including its in-house chips in the N1 and C1X, which will cover Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and cellular connectivity. Apple claims iPad Air is up to 30 percent faster than iPad Air with M3, and up to 2.3x faster than iPad Air with M1. With the M4, Apple officially enables iPadOS 26 on the Air with the following features:
- Liquid Glass, a translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings while reacting to users’ input, and dynamically transforming to bring greater focus to the content they care about most.
- An entirely new, powerful, and intuitive windowing system helps users control, organize, and switch between apps, all while maintaining the simplicity of iPad. And with a new menu bar, users can access the commands available in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving their cursor to the top.
- Users can manage, access, and organize files with a supercharged Files app that features an updated List view and new folder customization options. With folders in the Dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. Additionally, they can set a default app for opening specific files or file types.
- The Preview app on iPad gives users a dedicated app for creating a quick sketch, as well as viewing, editing, and marking up PDFs and images with Apple Pencil or by touch.
- Taking advantage of Apple silicon, iPadOS 26 unlocks new capabilities for users with control over their audio input, the ability to capture high-quality recordings with local capture, and Background Tasks.
This means the iPad Air will support the Wi-Fi 7 standard for the first time and now has 12GB of unified RAM standard, up from 8GB in the prior model. The rest of the iPad Air appears unchanged with the same display that the 2023 and 2024 models sported — either an 11- or 13-inch LCD that tops out at 500 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. Storage options also start at 128GB and go up to 1TB, with no change in base storage for either 11 or 13 inch model.
Pre-orders for the new iPad Air M4 open on Wednesday, March 4, and the tablet will be fully available on March 11. Pricing remains the same at $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch version.
