Apple on Monday was revealed a new iPad Air powered by the M4 chip;
The company says the device is designed to be faster, thanks to an updated neural engine and more memory, making it better for AI uses. This Air is said to be 30% faster than the M3 iPad Air and 2.3 times faster than the M1 version.
However, the new device still retails at the same price of $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch model. For education customers, the discount drops the price to $549 for the 11-inch iPad Air, while the 13-inch model starts at $749.
The iPad Air now has an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, making it a decent choice for gaming or image and photo editing. Meanwhile, the device’s integrated memory has increased by 50%, to 12GB, and memory bandwidth is now up to 120GB/s, which Apple says will help users run AI models faster than on older devices.
The 16-core Neural Engine is also said to be 3x faster than the M1, which helps run AI models on the device.
The refreshed Air offers support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 and is powered by the company’s new wireless and cellular connectivity chips, the N1 and C1X. The devices are still the same size as before, at 9.74 x 7.02 inches for the 11-inch model and 11.04 x 8.46 inches for the 13-inch model.
We have a 12 MP Center Stage front camera and a 12 MP Wide camera on the back. As always, you can use Apple accessories with the device, such as the Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil or Apple Pencil Pro.
The updated iPad Air will be available for pre-order on Wednesday, March 4, on Apple.com and through the Apple Store app in 35 countries and territories, including the U.S. Four finishes are available: blue, purple, star and space gray. Storage options are 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.
The new iPad is one of several announcements planned for this week in parallel the new iPhone 17e and expected upgrades to the MacBook line. The releases are timed to coincide with the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where Apple’s smartphone rivals like Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor and others are showing off their latest innovations and new hardware.
Apple does not participate in MWC or other trade shows, preferring to show off its products at its own events. This week, a number of new products are being launched with hands-on events in select cities.
