M4 iPad Air Review: 14 Things to Know Before You Buy

Apple gave the iPad Air a serious internal overhaul in 2026. On the outside, almost nothing changed. But pop the hood, and you get the M4 chip, 12GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 7, and a brand-new cellular modem. Before you pull out your card, here are 14 things you need to know about the M4 iPad Air.

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Table of Contents

1. The Design Stays the Same

Apple did not touch the chassis. The M4 iPad Air looks exactly like the M3 model, right down to the color options: Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Gray. You still get the landscape front camera, Touch ID in the top button, and that ultra-thin 6.1mm aluminum chassis that feels genuinely light in your hands. If you were hoping for a redesign, this is not it. But if the current shape works for you, nothing has gotten worse. Apple has not forced a change just for the sake of it.

2. The M4 Chip Is Overkill in the Best Way

The M4 chip is the same processor Apple put in the 2024 iPad Pro. It handles every iPad app without breaking a sweat. If you come from an M1 iPad Air, Apple claims you get up to 2.3x faster everyday performance and over 4x faster speeds on heavy tasks like video editing. It delivers about 30% more CPU performance than the M3. That is not just a spec sheet number. You will feel it when you run Logic Pro with multiple tracks, export a long video, or use an on-device AI model.

For most casual users, that power stays dormant. But when you need it, it is there. Coming from something older, like a 2019 or 2020 iPad, the jump feels like a completely new device.

3. The Display Is Good, But Not iPad Pro Good

Let’s be honest here. The M4 iPad Air uses a Liquid Retina LCD display with 600 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. The iPad Pro uses a tandem OLED with up to 1,600 nits peak brightness, ProMotion at 120Hz, and superior contrast.

The Air’s screen is still sharp and colorful, with an anti-reflective coating. This display can go toe-to-toe with many OLED screens in terms of quality. But it lacks the perfect blacks you find on the more expensive Pro screen. If you edit podcasts and need to see audio waveforms clearly as you scroll, or if you work outside often, the display difference will matter to you.

4. No ProMotion Means 60Hz Only

The 60Hz refresh rate is the most debated spec on this tablet. The iPad Air runs at 60Hz, while the iPad Pro runs at 120Hz with ProMotion. Scrolling and animations are noticeably smoother on the Pro.

However, tasks like drawing in Procreate, the pen lag difference between 60Hz and 120Hz is nearly impossible to detect in real time. Software optimization in Procreate matters far more than refresh rate for drawing performance. If you work in fast-scrolling apps or just love silky-smooth motion, the 60Hz screen will bother you. If you do not, it probably will not.

5. You Get 12GB of RAM at the Base Price

Here is the thing most people are sleeping on. The base $599 M4 iPad Air comes with 12GB of unified memory. The base M4 iPad Pro only ships with 8GB, and you have to buy a higher storage tier to get 16GB. That means the iPad Air actually has more RAM than the base M4 iPad Pro. For apps like Procreate running frame-by-frame animation, or GoodNotes with large planner files loaded in the background, that extra RAM makes a real difference. This RAM upgrade stands out as the best hardware change this year.

6. Wi-Fi 7 and the N1 Chip Change Connectivity

Apple packed the N1 wireless chip into the M4 iPad Air, bringing Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6 along with it. In real-world testing on a Wi-Fi 7 access point, speeds hit close to a gigabit in both directions. If you previously owned a Wi-Fi 6 iPad, you’ll notice a clear jump in signal quality in rooms farther from the router. If your home network already supports Wi-Fi 7, you’ll feel this improvement immediately. AirDrop also works faster and more reliably thanks to these new chips. This hardware ensures your tablet is ready for the next few years of internet technology.

7. The Cellular Model Gets Apple’s C1X Modem

If you buy the cellular version, you get Apple’s custom C1X modem. This chip delivers about 50% better cellular performance compared to previous iPad Air models. That covers both 5G sub-6GHz and Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO antenna arrays.

In side-by-side testing on Verizon, the M4 iPad Air actually pulled faster 5G speeds than the M5 iPad Pro. This upgrade makes the cellular model a fantastic option for remote workers. You can download large files quickly while sitting in a park or a coffee shop. You must use an eSIM to connect, as Apple removed the physical SIM card slot. If you travel frequently or rely on mobile data, this alone justifies the upgrade.

8. Storage Options Remain Disappointing

Here is where things get a little frustrating. The base M4 iPad Air ships with just 128GB of storage. The base-model iPad, at about half the price, also starts at 128GB. For a device with this much power, that storage feels stingy. Buyers deserve at least 256GB on a machine with this much raw power.

For a device this capable, 128GB fills up fast, especially if you shoot 4K video, run Logic Pro sessions, or store large Procreate files. Apple charges an extra $100 to step up to 256GB, which is strongly recommended as the minimum storage option. The iPhone 17e now ships with 256GB as standard, which makes the Air’s 128GB base feel even stingier by comparison.

You cannot change the storage after you buy the device. So you should consider your future needs before you make a choice.

9. No Face ID, Just Touch ID

The M4 iPad Air uses Touch ID built into the top button, not Face ID. This is a small but real trade-off. With Face ID, the iPad Pro unlocks the moment you look at it. Touch ID requires you to remember which finger you registered, and it takes a beat longer to unlock. But it remains a very secure way to protect your personal data. It keeps the device’s cost lower than the Pro model’s. Not a deal-breaker, but worth knowing before you buy.

10. Battery Life Holds Steady

Apple promises about 10 hours of battery life while browsing the web or watching videos. This matches the battery performance of previous iPad Air models. You get exactly the same battery life as you would on the more expensive iPad Pro. The 11-inch model packs a 28.93-watt-hour battery, while the 13-inch model features a 36.59-watt-hour battery. The M4 chip runs hot when you push it with long rendering tasks. You will still easily get through a full day of normal work or classes without needing a charger.

11. The Apple Pencil Pro Works Here (The Basic iPad Doesn’t)

The M4 iPad Air supports Apple Pencil Pro with hover detection, squeeze gestures, barrel roll, and haptic feedback. The base iPad only works with the USB-C Apple Pencil, which you charge with a cable. That is a noticeably worse experience. The Apple Pencil Pro charges and pairs magnetically on the side of the iPad. If you draw, annotate, or do any kind of digital planning, Apple Pencil Pro support is a strong reason to pick the Air over the entry-level tablet.

12. The Magic Keyboard Got Better

The updated Magic Keyboard for iPad Air now includes a 14-key function row with media controls, screen brightness, and volume buttons. It attaches magnetically, features a large trackpad, and includes a USB-C pass-through port, allowing you to charge your iPad while the keyboard is connected.

That said, it does have a few drawbacks. The keyboard lacks the premium aluminum finish found on the iPad Pro version, and the absence of backlit keys makes typing in the dark a bit frustrating.

13. Apple Intelligence Runs Better Here

Apple built Apple Intelligence right into iPadOS 26. Writing tools, photo cleanup, image generation in Notes, and on-device Siri all live on this tablet.

For example, the M4 chip handles local processing tasks incredibly well. It breezes through audio transcription using on-device language models. You can process two-hour podcast episodes directly on the tablet without any freezing.

The 12GB of RAM gives these features more room to breathe. AI tasks are notoriously memory-hungry, and Apple likely bumped up RAM across its lineup partly to enable these features to run well. If you plan to use any of those tools regularly, you will notice the difference compared to an older, lower-RAM device.

14. iPadOS 26 Makes It Feel Like a New Platform

The M4 iPad Air ships with iPadOS 26, which brings a windowing system that makes connecting an external display feel much closer to a laptop. The trackpad gestures got smarter, app management got better, and all Apple Intelligence features run on the M4’s Neural Engine. For students and creators seeking a laptop replacement, iPadOS 26 closes much of the gap.

The Bottom Line

The M4 iPad Air is a legitimately capable tablet at a fair price. It punches hard with a Pro-level chip, 12GB of RAM, and Wi-Fi 7. The only trade-offs are 128GB storage and a 60Hz refresh rate.

If you own an M2 or M3 iPad Air, skip this one. The improvements do not justify the cost. If you own an M1 iPad Air or an older model, the M4 is a meaningful jump.

If you are choosing between the M4 iPad Air and the iPad Pro right now, ask yourself one question: Does the display matter? If ProMotion and OLED are not a priority for your work, the Air saves you real money and handles every task the Pro handles.