Device hub · Tablets · Desk research
iPad Air (M4)
Air (M4) is the current $599 / $799 Liquid Retina iPad: M4, 12GB, N1/C1X, landscape stereo, USB 3, Touch ID.
Product images
Placeholder — OEM press not licensediPad Air (M4)
Credit: GadgetShowdown labeled placeholder (not an Apple asset). View official product image
Studio still only. Manufacturer press JPEGs are not hosted here. See the official product page for the real product photo.
Placeholder — OEM press not licensediPad Air (M4)
Credit: GadgetShowdown labeled placeholder (not an Apple asset). View official product image
Studio still only. Manufacturer press JPEGs are not hosted here. See the official product page for the real product photo.
In short
Air (M4) is the current $599 / $799 Liquid Retina iPad: M4, 12GB, N1/C1X, landscape stereo, USB 3, Touch ID. Buy it for Pencil Pro without paying for tandem OLED. Skip it if you need XDR / four speakers / Thunderbolt (Pro M5) or an 8.3-inch carry (mini).
Who it is for
- Buyers who want current Apple Pencil Pro + hover on an 11- or 13-inch slab without the Pro XDR / Thunderbolt ticket.
- M3 Air owners specifically shopping 12GB unified memory, N1 Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 6 / Thread, and optional C1X — not a new case size.
- Students and note-takers who will use Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (sold separately; Newsroom lists black and white) and Touch ID.
- Color-sensitive shoppers: Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Gray — Pro is silver / space black only.
Who should skip it
- Anyone who specifically wants tandem OLED, 1600-nit HDR peak, four speakers, Face ID, LiDAR, or Thunderbolt — that is iPad Pro (M5).
- Buyers who need a compact 8.3-inch tablet. Air is 10.86-inch / 12.9-inch-class (Apple rectangle footnotes), 464–617 g.
- People shopping leftover M3 Air as if it were current. This hub is the March 2026 Air.
- Android / Windows keyboard-first shoppers.
Key differentiators
- M4 (8-core CPU with 3 performance + 5 efficiency, 9-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 120GB/s, 12GB unified memory) in two Liquid Retina sizes at $599 / $799 US Wi-Fi launch — same starts as M3 Air.
- N1 wireless (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread) on every SKU; C1X on cellular models. M3 Air Support listed Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3.
- Same Pencil Pro + USB-C + hover path as Pro, with landscape stereo instead of four speakers.
- USB 3 (10Gb/s) and one external display up to 6K/60 Hz — not Thunderbolt.
Caveats
- Brightness (500 / 600 nits), battery hours, and Newsroom “up to 30% faster than M3 Air” lines are Apple claims. We have not lab-tested Air (M4).
- Apple Support names the OS family as iPadOS. Confirm the current shipping release on apple.com/ipados.
- Pencil and Magic Keyboard are sold separately. Support “In the Box” lists iPad Air, 1m USB-C cable, and a 20W adapter.
- Apple product photography is not hosted here.
Tablet-category specs
Same rows on every tablet page (iPad Pro / Air / mini, Galaxy Tab S, Pixel Tablet).
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 11-inch model 10.86-inch rectangle diagonal; 13-inch model 12.9-inch rectangle diagonal (Apple’s 13-inch Liquid Retina naming; rounded-corner footnote) | Apple Support 126471 / 126472Apple: actual viewable area is less. |
| Display type | Liquid Retina; LED-backlit IPS Multi-Touch | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Display resolution | 11-inch: 2360 × 1640 at 264 ppi; 13-inch: 2732 × 2048 at 264 ppi | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Peak brightness (OEM) | 11-inch 500 nits; 13-inch 600 nits | Apple Support 126471 / 126472Manufacturer nits. No 1600-nit HDR peak on this sheet. |
| Refresh rate | Not published | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Display features | Wide color (P3); True Tone; oleophobic coating; fully laminated; antireflective coating; Apple Pencil hover | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Sold size(s) | 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air (M4) | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-04 |
| Dimensions | 11-inch: 247.6 × 178.5 × 6.1 mm; 13-inch: 280.6 × 214.9 × 6.1 mm | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Weight | 11-inch Wi-Fi 464 g; 11-inch cellular 465 g; 13-inch Wi-Fi 616 g; 13-inch cellular 617 g | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Finishes | Blue; Purple; Starlight; Space Gray | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Chassis / enclosure | Aluminum enclosure; Apple Environment block: 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosure; 30% recycled content overall | Apple Support 126471 (Environment) |
| Chip / processor | Apple M4: 8-core CPU (3 performance + 5 efficiency), 9-core GPU, hardware-accelerated. | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Memory (RAM) | 12GB unified memory on all published storage SKUs | Apple Support 126471 / 126472; Newsroom 2026-03-04 |
| On-device storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB (no microSD) | Apple Support 126471 |
| Operating system | iPadOS (Apple Support names the OS family). Newsroom at launch highlighted iPadOS 26 windowing and Apple Intelligence | Apple Support 126471; Newsroom 2026-03-04Confirm current shipping iPadOS on apple.com/ipados. |
| Pencil / stylus | Supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), including hover. Neither Pencil is in the box. | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Keyboard / cover (OEM) | Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (sold separately). Newsroom: floating design, 14-key function row, USB-C on the hinge, black and white. Smart Connector on the chassis. | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-04 |
| Biometrics | Touch ID in the top button | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Speakers | Landscape stereo speakers | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Microphones | Dual microphones for calls, video recording, and audio recording | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Cellular | Wi-Fi models: none. Wi-Fi + Cellular: Apple C1X modem; 5G sub-6 with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; eSIM only. Models A3460 and A3462 band list on the 11-inch sheet. US launch +$150 vs Wi-Fi ($749 / $949). | Apple Support 126471; Newsroom 2026-03-04 |
| Wireless (Wi-Fi / Bluetooth) | Apple N1 wireless networking chip; Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) 2x2 MIMO; simultaneous dual band; Bluetooth 6; Thread | Apple Support 126471 / 126472Wi-Fi 7 available where supported, per Apple footnote. |
| Ports / expansion | USB-C with charging, DisplayPort, and USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); magnetic Pencil connector; Smart Connector | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Rear camera | 12MP Wide, ƒ/1.8; sapphire crystal lens cover; 4K video up to 60 fps | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Front camera | Landscape 12MP Center Stage, ƒ/2.0; 1080p video | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Battery (OEM) | 11-inch 28.93Wh; 13-inch 36.59Wh. Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi web or video; cellular models up to 9 hours web on cellular | Apple Support 126471 / 126472Apple test footnote: January–February 2026 preproduction 11- and 13-inch M4 Air units, 50% brightness. |
| Charging (OEM) | USB-C Charge Cable (1m) and 20W USB-C Power Adapter in the box. Charging via adapter or USB-C to computer. | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Durability / ingress | Not published | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Location / GNSS | All models: digital compass, Wi-Fi, iBeacon. Cellular models add GPS/GNSS | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| US MSRP (launch) | 11-inch Wi-Fi $599; 11-inch cellular $749; 13-inch Wi-Fi $799; 13-inch cellular $949 (US, Newsroom 2 March 2026). Education: $549 / $749 for 11- / 13-inch Wi-Fi. | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-02 |
| Price band | Mid-flagship tablet ($599–$949 US launch before Pencil/Keyboard) | Derived from Apple launch prices |
| Announced | 2 March 2026 (Newsroom press-release dateline). Pre-order from Wednesday 4 March 2026; stores from Wednesday 11 March 2026. | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-02 |
| Availability | Pre-order from Wednesday 4 March 2026; Apple said stores from Wednesday 11 March 2026. Current Air SKU on 19 September 2026. | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-02 |
iPad Air (M4) extras
Unique to this line or SKU. Other tablets keep the first table aligned and swap this extras list.
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Apple N1 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread on one Apple wireless chip — first Air generation with N1 | Apple Support 126471; Newsroom 2026-03-04 |
| Apple C1X modem | Cellular SKUs only. Newsroom: up to 50% faster cellular data and up to 30% less modem energy than iPad Air with M3 | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-04Manufacturer performance claim. |
| 12GB unified memory | Newsroom: 50 percent more unified system memory than the previous Air generation (M3 Support listed 8GB) | Apple Newsroom 2026-03-04; Support 126471 |
| Touch ID | Top-button Touch ID; Apple Pay in apps and on the web | Apple Support 126471 |
| Magic Keyboard for iPad Air | Sold separately. Newsroom: function row, aluminum hinge with USB-C, black and white. | Apple Newsroom, 2026-03-04 |
| In the box | iPad Air; USB-C Charge Cable (1m); 20W USB-C Power Adapter | Apple Support 126471 / 126472 |
| Apple Intelligence | Support lists Apple Intelligence as built in, with region/language limits (support.apple.com/121115) | Apple Support 126471 |
Overview
iPad Air with M4 is the March 2026 Air. Apple’s framing is the same $599 / $799 mid-slab with more memory and N1/C1X radios. It is not a mini and it is not a Pro. Case sizes stay 6.1 mm; weights move a few grams versus M3 (11-inch 464/465 g vs M3’s 460 g).
We have not used this iPad. Newsroom “up to 30% faster than M3 Air” and “up to 2.3× vs M1 Air” stay labeled as Apple claims.
Display, chip, and speakers
Air’s first-table story is still IPS + landscape stereo. Support does not give Air a ProMotion row. Brightness is 500 nits (11-inch) / 600 nits (13-inch).
M4 on Air is 8-core CPU (3P + 5E) / 9-core GPU / 16-core Neural Engine / 12GB / 120GB/s. That 12GB floor is why this hub is not a clone of /tablets/ipad-air-m3/. Storage is 128GB–1TB. No microSD.
Pencil, keyboard, cellular
Same Pencil Pro + USB-C + hover sentence as Pro. Keyboard is Magic Keyboard for iPad Air. Cellular is C1X 5G eSIM at +$150 US launch.
Wireless is N1: Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 6 + Thread. Do not copy M3 Air’s Wi-Fi 6E row onto this page.
Battery
| Mode (Apple) | Air (M4) |
|---|---|
| Pack | 28.93Wh (11-inch) / 36.59Wh (13-inch) |
| Wi-Fi web or video | Up to 10 hours |
| Cellular web | Up to 9 hours |
| In-box charge | 20W USB-C adapter + 1m cable |
Sources
- Apple Newsroom — Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4 — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple — iPad Air product page — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple Support — iPad Air 11-inch (M4) tech specs — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple Support — iPad Air 13-inch (M4) tech specs — accessed 2026-09-19
Frequently asked questions
Is Air (M3) still current?
No. M4 Air is the current Support/product Air on 19 September 2026. Keep /tablets/ipad-air-m3/ as the previous Air — do not overwrite that slug.
How is Air (M4) different from iPad Pro (M5)?
Air is IPS Liquid Retina (500/600 nits), M4 with 12GB, landscape stereo, USB 3, Touch ID, N1/C1X. Pro (M5) is tandem OLED XDR (1000/1600 nits), M5 with 12/16GB by storage, four speakers, Thunderbolt, Face ID, LiDAR. Both support Pencil Pro + hover.
Does Air (M4) have ProMotion?
The M4 Air Support display block does not list ProMotion or a 120Hz range. We keep the tablets-v1 display_refresh key and write “not published.”
Does it have Wi-Fi 7?
Yes — via Apple N1, plus Bluetooth 6 and Thread. Cellular SKUs add C1X. That radio set is the 2026 Air story versus M3 Air’s Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3.
Official product page: iPad Air (M4). Tech specs: iPad Air (M4) specs.