iPad Air (M4): Specs, Features, Price

Apple has kicked disconnected the week with the announcement of a caller iPad Air, present powered by the M4 chip. This is simply a reasonably humble update, moving the instrumentality from the erstwhile M3 to the M4, but different keeping the aforesaid hardware and design. The institution besides announced a caller price-friendly smartphone, the iPhone 17e.

It inactive comes successful 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, and different looks identical to the erstwhile generation. The lone different important alteration is the power to Apple's N1 networking chip, which rolled retired successful the iPhone 17 and iPad Pro past fall. This is Apple's home-brewed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 standards, not to notation Thread enactment for astute location control. It besides has Apple's customized C1X modem connected the cellular models, meaning sub-6 5G enactment that's much vigor businesslike than the modem wrong the erstwhile iPad Air.

The lone different large upgrade is simply a bump from 8 GB of unified representation to 12 GB. This is simply a invited change, arsenic Apple hasn't accrued the terms of the basal configurations. It besides comes astatine a clip during a representation shortage crisis, but contempt this, the M4 iPad Air inactive starts astatine $599 for the 11-inch exemplary and $799 for the 13-inch. Storage options commencement astatine 128 GB and max retired astatine 1 TB.

In Apple's property release, the institution highlights changes for buyers coming from older models similar the M1 iPad Air, which came retired successful 2022, specified arsenic the 12-megapixel Center Stage camera. It's located on the scenery borderline alternatively of astatine the top, which is simply a overmuch much earthy spot for a webcam for video calls. It besides features amended scenery stereo speakers for that aforesaid purpose. That was each determination connected past year's exemplary arsenic well, though.

The M4 spot isn't the latest Apple silicon, arsenic it's inactive 1 procreation down what's disposable successful the M5 iPad Pro and 14-inch MacBook Pro. However, with M4, the iPad Air is up to 30 percent faster than the iPad Air with M3. Apple highlights a 2.3x summation successful show implicit the M1 and says it has “4x faster 3D pro rendering," on with features similar ray tracing.

You tin presumption pricing and configurations close now, but preorders for the caller iPad Air commencement astatine 6:15 a.m. PT (9:15 americium ET) connected March 4 and vessel connected March 11.

We expected an update to the basal iPad arsenic well, but for now, lone the iPad Air is getting refreshed. That could alteration passim the people of the week, though, arsenic Apple is expected to marque much merchandise announcements this week—including MacBooks—ahead of its “Special Apple Experience” connected March 4 successful New York City.

This is simply a processing story.