Apple is kicking off its latest product push with a refreshed iPad Air, and the update is exactly what you’d expect from Apple’s mid-cycle playbook: same tablet, faster silicon.
The new iPad Air swaps last year’s M3 for an M4 chip, and Apple is also standardizing 12GB of memory across the lineup. In other words, this is an “internals-first” refresh aimed at keeping the Air comfortably ahead of most people’s needs—especially as iPadOS leans harder into multitasking and AI-adjacent features.
Apple Pencil Pro
Apple’s higher-end stylus option for drawing and note-taking, with gestures and haptics designed for quicker tool switching in supported apps.
Check Price on AmazonApple’s new connectivity stack reaches iPad Air
The more interesting change is networking. Apple is bringing its in-house connectivity silicon to iPad Air, including the N1 wireless chip for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread, plus the C1X cellular modem on Wi-Fi + Cellular models.
That’s what enables Wi-Fi 7 support on iPad Air for the first time, along with Apple’s broader push to own more of the radios and efficiency story across its devices.
What didn’t change (and that’s the point)
On the outside, this is still the iPad Air you know. You get the same two sizes—11-inch and 13-inch—with Liquid Retina LCD panels and the familiar accessory ecosystem.
Brightness remains split by size: the 11-inch model is rated up to 500 nits, while the 13-inch goes up to 600 nits. Storage still starts at 128GB and tops out at 1TB, and the speaker/camera setup appears unchanged as well.
iPadOS 26 is the real backdrop
The iPad Air M4 ships running iPadOS 26, which arrived last fall and made iPad feel more like it finally wants to be a computer—at least some of the time.
The headline is multitasking: more flexible windowing, better background behavior, and a workflow that makes more sense on the larger 13-inch model. You can argue about the aesthetics, but functionally, iPadOS is no longer treating “doing two things at once” like a special privilege.
Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Air
A trackpad keyboard case that turns iPad Air into a more laptop-like setup, using Apple’s Smart Connector and USB-C pass-through charging.
Check Price on AmazonPrice and release timing
Pre-orders open Wednesday, March 4, and the iPad Air M4 goes on sale March 11. Pricing is unchanged: $599 starting for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch.
It’s a predictable update, but that’s the appeal. If you were already shopping iPad Air, you’re basically getting a faster chip, more memory, and Wi-Fi 7 for the same sticker price.
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