The refreshed iPad Air, as initially rumoured, has been introduced as Apple’s midrange tablet, focusing on faster processing, enhanced AI features, increased memory, and next-generation wireless capabilities. Available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, the new iPad Air M4 should appeal to students, creators, professionals, and casual users seeking powerful versatility at an accessible cost.
iPad Air M4: Performance and connectivity upgrades
The new iPad Air is driven by Apple’s M4 chip with an 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU featuring second-generation hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, and a 16-core Neural Engine up to three times faster than the M1’s.
Apple states that the M4 chip delivers up to 30 percent better performance than the older M3 iPad Air and up to 2.3 times faster than M1 models. The unified memory jumps to 12GB — a 50 percent increase —with 120GB/s bandwidth for seamless multitasking and creative apps.
Apple’s new N1 wireless chip enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support, while the C1X cellular modem provides up to 50 percent faster 5G speeds and 30 percent lower power use. The device runs iPadOS 26 featuring Liquid Glass design, advanced windowing, a menu bar, upgraded Files app, and enhanced Preview tools optimised for Apple Pencil.
iPad Air M4 features and design at a glance
The iPad Air retains its slim profile in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray finishes. Both models boast vibrant Liquid Retina displays, a 12MP Center Stage front camera on the landscape edge for superior video calls, and landscape stereo speakers (with enhanced audio on the 13-inch). It fully supports the Apple Pencil Pro (with squeeze, barrel roll, and Find My) and the latest Magic Keyboard with trackpad and function row.
Storage options on the iPad Air M4 begins at 128GB, scaling up to 1TB. Battery life is promised to last all-day, made possible by efficiency gains and iPadOS optimisations. Apple Intelligence brings on-device, privacy-focused tools for smarter photo searches and features in apps like Final Cut Pro and Goodnotes.
iPad Air M4 India price: How much it costs
Pricing for the iPad Air M4 in India remains competitive as usual, with the 11-inch Wi-Fi model starting at Rs 64,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular at higher configurations, while the 13-inch begins at Rs 84,900 for the base spec model with no Cellular connection.
The M4 iPad Air strengthens its position as a high-value option bridging entry-level and pro iPads in Apple’s lineup.