Apple’s new iPad Air keeps the same starting price but adds the M4 chip, more memory, new connectivity chips, and iPadOS 26 features like a new windowing system and Preview for PDFs.
TLDR:
- New iPad Air uses the M4 chip and starts at the same price: $599 (11-inch) and $799 (13-inch).
- Apple says iPad Air with M4 is up to 30% faster than iPad Air with M3 and up to 2.3x faster than iPad Air with M1.
- Unified memory increases to 12GB and memory bandwidth to 120GB/s.
- New connectivity chips: N1 (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread) and C1X modem on cellular models.
- Pre-orders start Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Availability begins Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Apple’s iPad Air gets M4 and more memory
Apple has announced a new iPad Air powered by the M4 chip. The company says this model delivers a noticeable jump in speed while keeping the same starting price. The iPad Air still comes in two sizes: an 11-inch option for portability and a 13-inch option for users who want more room to multitask.
Apple says the M4-powered iPad Air is up to 30% faster than the iPad Air with M3, and up to 2.3x faster than the iPad Air with M1. The upgrade is aimed at people who do heavy work on iPad, like photo editing, video editing, or gaming.
Better graphics for games and 3D work
The new iPad Air includes an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU. Apple says the GPU supports second-generation hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which can improve lighting, reflections, and shadows in supported games and apps. Apple also claims the new iPad Air can deliver over 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing performance compared to iPad Air with M1.
More power for on-device AI tasks
Apple is also pushing the iPad Air as a stronger device for AI workloads. Unified memory increases by 50% to 12GB, and memory bandwidth increases to 120GB/s. Apple says the 16-core Neural Engine is 3x faster than the one in M1, which can help with everyday on-device AI tasks like searching for text and subjects in photos or using AI features inside apps.
New chips bring Wi-Fi 7 and faster cellular
For the first time, iPad Air includes Apple-designed connectivity chips called N1 and C1X. Apple says N1 enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, and improves performance on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks along with features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.
Cellular models also include the C1X modem. Apple claims it can deliver up to 50% faster cellular data performance and reduce modem energy usage by up to 30% compared to iPad Air with M3. Cellular models also support GPS and 5G, and they use eSIM for easier plan activation and transfers.
iPadOS 26 adds major changes, including Preview
Apple says iPadOS 26 brings “game-changing” upgrades to the iPad experience. Highlights include a new design with Liquid Glass, a new windowing system for managing apps, a menu bar for quick access to app commands, an improved Files app, and a Preview app for viewing and marking up PDFs and images.
Price, colors, storage, and release date
The iPad Air with M4 comes in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray. Storage options include 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
- 11-inch iPad Air: $599 (Wi-Fi), $749 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- 13-inch iPad Air: $799 (Wi-Fi), $949 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- Education pricing: $549 (11-inch) and $749 (13-inch)
Pre-orders begin Wednesday, March 4, and availability begins Wednesday, March 11.
Accessories
Apple says the new iPad Air supports Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Magic Keyboard for iPad Air. Magic Keyboard includes a built-in trackpad and a 14-key function row, and it connects through the Smart Connector.
- Magic Keyboard: $269 (11-inch) and $319 (13-inch)
- Apple Pencil Pro: $129
- Apple Pencil (USB-C): $79
