Specs Appeal: Comparing M4 iPad Air with last year's M3 iPad Air

The new iPad Air launched this week. You might be wondering how it differs from last year's M3 iPad Air. Read on to learn the differences.

Apple's "big week ahead" kicked off with the launch of the new iPad Air and the budget successor, iPhone 17e. A quick look at the iPad Air's tech specs sheet will make you realize it's more of an incremental update over the M3-powered iPad Air released a year ago.

Still, there are several differences worth considering when comparing the M4 iPad Air with the M3 iPad Air. Let's check them out:

iPad Air M4 vs iPad Air M3: What's the difference?

Specifications	M4 iPad Air	M3 iPad Air
SoC	Apple M4 Chip 8-core CPU with 3 performance cores and 5 efficiency cores 9-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine	Apple M3 chip 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 9-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine
RAM	12GB Unified Memory 120GB/s memory bandwidth	8GB Unified Memory 100GB/s memory bandwidth
Wireless	Apple N1 chip Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO Bluetooth 6 Thread networking	Broadcom wireless chip Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO Bluetooth 5.3
Cellular	Apple C1X cellular modem 5G (sub‑6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO eSIM	Qualcomm cellular modem 5G (sub‑6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO eSIM
Weight	iPad Air 11-inch Wi-Fi (464g/1.02 pounds) iPad Air 11-inch Cell (465g/1.03 pounds)	iPad Air 11-inch Wi-Fi (460g/1.01 pounds) iPad Air 11-inch Cell (460g/1.01 pounds)

The iPad Air M4 in one line is that Apple has given users a "jump in performance at the same starting price." It can deliver improved performance in gaming and video editing thanks to a faster CPU, GPU, and neural engine, as well as memory upgrades. On a side note, Apple now bundles all of its creative apps into a single subscription called Apple Creator Studio, which includes AI features among other perks.

The M4 iPad Air is up to 30% faster than the M3 iPad Air and up to 2.3x faster than the M1 iPad Air. Its 16-core Neural Engine is 3x faster than the one on M1. Another highlight is the RAM fitted inside the iPad Air, which is 50% extra than last year (and faster). Compared to M1, Apple claims the new iPad Air delivers about 4x 3D pro rendering with ray tracing, offering more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows for realistic gaming experiences.

Regarding its home-baked connectivity chips, Apple said that its N1 wireless chip delivers better performance when connected to 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, and improves AirDrop and personal hotspot. One thing that differentiates the M3 and M4 models is support for Thread networking, which allows the M4 iPad Air to talk directly to smart home devices.

Meanwhile, the cellular version of the M4 iPad Air can benefit from up to 50% faster cellular data performance. Apple claims C1X offers up to 30 percent lower modem energy consumption than the iPad Air M3 for active cellular users. For reference, the C1X modem debuted last year on the iPhone Air.

iPad Air M4 vs iPad Air M3: What stays the same?

Specifications	M4 iPad Air	M3 iPad Air
Display	Liquid Retina (IPS Panel) 11-inch: 2360 x 1640 (264ppi, 500 nits) 13-inch: 2732 x 2048 (264ppi, 600 nits)	Liquid Retina (IPS Panel) 11-inch: 2360 x 1640 (264ppi, 500 nits) 13-inch: 2732 x 2048 (264ppi, 600 nits)
Storage	128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB	128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB
Battery	10 hours of web surfing over Wi-Fi (All Models) 11-inch iPad Air: 28.93Wh LiPo 13-inch iPad Air: 36.59Wh LiPo	10 hours of web surfing over Wi-Fi (All Models) 11-inch iPad Air: 28.93Wh LiPo 13-inch iPad Air: 36.59Wh LiPo
Rear Camera	12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture Up to 4K60 video recording	12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture Up to 4K60 video recording
Front Camera	Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera ƒ/2.0 aperture, up to 1080p60 video	Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera ƒ/2.0 aperture, up to 1080p60 video
Speakers/Mic	Stereo Speakers (Landscape) Dual microphones	Stereo Speakers (Landscape) Dual microphones
Weight	iPad Air 13-inch Wi-Fi (616g/1.36 pounds) iPad Air 13-inch Cell (617g/1.36 pounds)	iPad Air 13-inch Wi-Fi (616g/1.36 pounds) iPad Air 13-inch Cell (617g/1.36 pounds)
Colors	Blue, Purple, Space, Starlight, Space Gray	Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Gray
Port(s)	USB-C with USB3 (10Gb/s) DisplayPort Supports 6K external display at 60Hz	USB-C with USB3 (10Gb/s) DisplayPort support Supports 6K external display at 60Hz
Box Content	USB‑C Charge Cable (1 meter) 20W USB‑C Power Adapter	USB‑C Charge Cable (1 meter) 20W USB‑C Power Adapter
Pricing	11-inch starts at $599 13-inch starts at $749	11-inch starts at $599 13-inch starts at $749

It's evident that Apple focused on a gradual upgrade for the iPad Air this year. Both the M3 and M4 iPad Air models look virtually the same, with matching dimensions and the same button placements. However, the 11-inch iPad Air M4 is slightly heavier than its predecessor.

The iPad Air is one of the rare Apple devices to ship with a power adapter. It feels somewhat surprising when the company even wants to remove the charging brick from the MacBook Pro retail box.

Despite the performance upgrades and Apple's reluctance to increase the battery capacity, it managed to retain the backup on the 2026 iPad Air. Apple has kept prices the same, but it makes more sense for M1 or M2 users to upgrade than for M3 users to get the much-needed performance upgrade for Apple Intelligence and other workloads.

What are your thoughts on the new iPad Air? Tell us in the comments.