iPad Air M4: New chip, more RAM, better wireless

Joining the iPhone 17e is an updated iPad: Apple brought the iPad Air line up to date with the M4 chip on Monday. The company states it should deliver up to 30 percent more performance compared to the previous model with the M3 processor. Externally, nothing changes: The iPad Air continues to be offered in an 11-inch and a 13-inch version with an IPS LCD without support for HDR content.

More RAM, Apple wireless chips

In addition to the M4, the central innovations include the RAM expanded from 8 to 12 GByte with a slightly increased memory bandwidth of now 120 GByte/s. Apple's in-house N1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip is also making its way into the iPad Air, thus supporting Wi-Fi 7 – a first for this model series.

Apple is equipping the cellular version of the tablet with the C1X, which already establishes the connection to the mobile network in the iPad Pro M5 and iPhone Air. According to Apple, the C1X also works more efficiently than the modem in the M3 iPad Air, consuming less power on the go. Like its predecessor and other current iPads, the iPad Air M4 is "eSIM-only" – meaning a traditional SIM card cannot be inserted.

Base storage remains tight

The 11" and 13" iPad Air M4 are again available in the color variants Blue, Violet, Starlight, and Space Gray. Apple continues to equip the base model with only 128 GByte of storage. The price for such a configured 11-inch model starts at 650 Euros from the manufacturer, with the cellular modem catapulting this to 820 Euros. The 13" iPad Air with 128 GByte storage will be available starting at 850 Euros. Sales begin on March 11th. Accessories such as Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard cost extra; there are no product innovations to report there.

(lbe)