Apple Upgrades iPad Air With M4 Chip; Entry iPad Remains Unchanged
Apple released a new iPad Air with the M4 chip, faster networking and improved cameras, while the base iPad still uses the older A16 chip and lacks Apple Intelligence support.
Overview
Apple announced the new iPad Air on March 2 and said preorders begin March 4 with in-store availability on March 11, the device now using the M4 chip.
The M4 iPad Air offers an 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, 12GB unified memory and Wi‑Fi 7 support, according to company releases and reviews.
Critics and reviewers noted the regular entry-level iPad still uses the A16 chip from 2022 and cannot access Apple Intelligence, making the Air the middle option for upgrades.
The iPad Air starts at $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch, with education prices of $549 and $749 respectively, and storage options from 128GB to 1TB.
Preorders open March 4 with availability March 11, and the update shifts buyers toward higher-priced Air or Pro models amid debate over the base iPad's value.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the iPad Air update as incremental and underwhelming by using evaluative language ("mild update," "only disappointment"), emphasizing storage/pricing and accessory incompatibility, and omitting Apple’s rationale or user-benefit perspectives. These editorial choices push a value-for-money critique rather than a neutral feature summary.
FAQ
The M4 iPad Air has an 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 12GB unified memory, and Wi-Fi 7 support.
The M4 outperforms the A16 with 2.3x better floating-point computations, 134% higher memory bandwidth (120 vs 51.2 GB/s), 9 cores vs 6, higher clock speed (4400 vs 3460 MHz), and 38 TOPS NPU vs 17 TOPS.
The 11-inch starts at $599 and 13-inch at $799, with education prices of $549 and $749. Preorders begin March 4, availability March 11.
The base iPad uses the 2022 A16 chip, which lacks the required power for Apple Intelligence features, unlike the M4 iPad Air.
Storage options range from 128GB to 1TB.
