Apple’s iPad Air M4 gets a serious speed boost, just don’t expect a Pro-level screen

Apple just turned its “middle child” tablet into a performance problem for the iPad Pro.

The next iPad Air, powered by Apple’s M4 chip and bumped to 12GB of RAM, is being pitched as up to 30% faster than the M3 model. Early benchmark leaks suggest the gains are real, especially for people who edit video, juggle heavy apps, or want a tablet that won’t feel dated in a couple of iPadOS updates. But Apple is still drawing a bright line between Air and Pro where you’ll notice it most: the display.

M4 performance narrows the gap with the iPad Pro

The headline upgrade is the M4 processor, the same chip Apple introduced in the 2024 iPad Pro. Apple claims performance gains of up to 30% over the M3, and early Geekbench numbers broadly back up the direction, if not the marketing peak.

In leaked results, the iPad Air M4 shows roughly a 17% jump in single-core performance and about an 8% bump in multi-core compared with the iPad Air M3. That’s not a night-and-day revolution, but it’s enough to change how the tablet feels when you’re stacking tasks: exporting video, applying heavy filters, working with bigger timelines, or bouncing between apps without constant reloads.

For context, the 2024 iPad Pro with M4 has posted Geekbench scores around 3,700 single-core and 14,523 multi-core. The Air won’t necessarily match the Pro across the board, but the message is clear: Apple is putting a higher-end engine into a more affordable body.

For everyday iPad Air buyers, web browsing, email, streaming, note-taking, last year’s M3 was already fast. The M4’s real value may show up over time, as iPadOS and apps get heavier and older hardware starts to feel the strain.

12GB of RAM is the upgrade that actually changes daily life

The sneakily biggest improvement may not be the chip at all, it’s memory. Apple is moving the iPad Air from 8GB to 12GB of RAM, a 50% jump.

On an iPad, RAM is what keeps multitasking from turning into a whack-a-mole of apps refreshing in the background. If your typical session looks like 15 Safari tabs, a giant PDF, a video call, a photo editor, and a messaging app, all in rotation, more RAM means fewer interruptions and a smoother workflow.

Apple will frame it as “headroom,” and that’s the right idea. Most people don’t replace iPads every year. If you keep a tablet for four or five years, extra RAM often matters more than a small CPU bump. It’s also the kind of spec that quietly eats into the iPad Pro’s traditional “power user” advantage, so Apple keeps other Pro perks firmly locked away.

The catch: the iPad Air is still stuck at 60Hz

Here’s where Apple makes sure the iPad Pro still feels like the iPad Pro. The iPad Air M4 keeps a Liquid Retina (IPS LCD) display running at 60Hz, no ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate.

On paper, the screen specs remain solid. The 11-inch model is listed at 2,360 x 1,640 resolution with 500 nits of brightness. The 13-inch version goes to 2,732 x 2,048 with 600 nits. Sharp, bright, and perfectly fine for most people.

But 60Hz is the kind of limitation you feel constantly. Scroll-heavy reading, drawing with Apple Pencil, and video editing all look and feel smoother at 120Hz. Apple’s iPad Pro also moved to an OLED display (with HDR and deeper blacks) on the 13-inch model, exactly the kind of “wow” upgrade you notice every time you turn the screen on.

The irony is hard to miss: Apple is giving the Air Pro-class horsepower, then pairing it with a screen that still screams “midrange” the moment you start swiping.

Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 arrive, if your network can keep up

Apple is also modernizing connectivity, adding Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 via an Apple N1 wireless chip. In theory, Wi‑Fi 7 can deliver dramatically higher peak speeds than Wi‑Fi 6E, plus better performance in crowded environments.

In real life, most households won’t see magic overnight, because your internet plan, your router, and your home network setup are usually the bottlenecks. The more practical benefit is stability and lower latency, especially in apartments or offices packed with devices. If you live on video calls, move big files to the cloud, or work in busy conference rooms, Wi‑Fi 7 could mean fewer headaches.

Still, faster wireless alone probably isn’t enough to justify upgrading from a recent iPad Air if your current setup already feels smooth.

Battery life stays flat, and Apple keeps the Pro perks for the Pro

Despite the new chip, Apple isn’t promising better battery life. The iPad Air M4 is still rated for up to 10 hours of web browsing over Wi‑Fi or video playback, and up to 9 hours on cellular.

That’s not surprising. More efficient chips can get canceled out by heavier workloads, especially if people use the extra power for more demanding editing, rendering, or gaming. Apple appears to be sticking with a conservative, consistent claim rather than promising a leap most users won’t actually see.

And the rest of the product strategy stays familiar: Touch ID instead of Face ID, no OLED, no 120Hz, and fewer high-end extras. The iPad Air is getting faster and more capable, but Apple still wants the iPad Pro to be the “no compromises” option.

Price positioning: closer to Pro power, still below Pro money

The French pricing cited for the iPad Air M4 starts around €799, roughly $870 at current exchange rates. The iPad Pro M4 is listed at about €1,219, or around $1,330.

That gap is the whole point of the Air: deliver most of the speed people want at a price that doesn’t immediately push shoppers into laptop territory. But if you care most about the screen, smooth scrolling, OLED contrast, HDR punch, the iPad Pro remains the model Apple is steering you toward, especially when sales narrow the difference.