The Apple week of new product announcements has commenced, and the tech giant is starting off with the iPhone 17e and a new iPad Air. The latter retains the same design from the last generation, with the same 11-inch and 13-inch size options. However, it does get a performance boost thanks to the M4 chip.
Featuring an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, the M4 iPad Air is said to be up to 30% faster than its predecessor. Compared to the M1-equipped model, the latest version is 2.3x faster. Other than that, the new iPad Air packs 12GB of RAM, up from the 8GB featured in the M3 iteration. Memory bandwidth also gets an increase, going from 100GB/s to 120GB/s.
Naturally, this increase means improvements in terms of AI performance as well. According to Apple, the device can run models faster. Moreover, the M4’s 16-core Neural Engine is three times faster than that of the M1. In addition to this, the tablet packs Apple’s N1 chip, enabling WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. For the cellular models, the C1X modem offers 50% higher wireless speeds at 30% less power.
That said, this is pretty much where the improvements end. As mentioned earlier, Apple did not make any changes to the design. The 2026 iPad Air still sports the Liquid Retina LCD display of its precursor. Aside from that, the 12MP cameras make a return, and so does the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Storage and colour options also remain unchanged.
The M4 iPad Air will be available for purchase starting 11 March 2026. However, pre-orders open tomorrow, 4 March 2026. On the subject of pricing, the 11-inch iPad Air starts at RM2,799 for the WiFi version, or RM3,499 for the cellular-enabled model. Meanwhile, the larger 13-inch tablet has a starting price of RM3,699 for the WiFi variant. As for the cellular option, it starts from RM4,399.
(Source: Apple press release)
