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M4 iPad Air Reviews: Faster Chip, Familiar Design

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The first reviews of the iPad Air with the M4 chip have been shared by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching this Wednesday.

iPad-Air-M4-Chip-1.jpg

The new iPad Air features the M4 chip, 12GB of memory, the N1 wireless chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity, and Apple's C1X modem on cellular models. Everything else remains unchanged compared to last year's M3 model.


Many of the reviews noted the small, iterative nature of the M4 iPad Air over last year's M3 model, with many features like the design, 60Hz Liquid Retina display, and Touch ID button lingering unchanged since 2020. Tom's Guide said:

I wouldn't go so far to say that the Air's design has calcified, but if you go back several generations, you'll see little has changed from year to year. The M4 Air has the same design as the Air Apple released back in 2020. To be sure, it's a great look — thin, light, and a nice slim bezel all the way around.
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The main upgrade is the move to the M4 chip, which reviewers agreed is noticeably faster than last year's M3 model, even if it doesn't dramatically change what can be achieved with the device.

Now powered by an M4 chip, the iPad Air is modestly faster than last year's iPad Air M3. On our benchmark tests, it scored appreciably faster, both in single- and multicore, as well as in frame rate tests. The most notable difference you'll see is if you go back a couple of generations; the M4 iPad scored nearly two times higher than the M1 Air on our Geekbench test.
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Mashable highlighted the new chip's better optimization for AI tasks:

I tried to test its AI capabilities using apps like Final Cut Pro's auto-captions, Voice Memo's transcription features, and CollaNote's AI image generation. Even with WiFi and cellular data turned off, these processes happened almost instantly, and without any big mistakes.

In CollaNote, the popular note-taking app, you can use the Magic Pen to circle a doodle and turn it into an actual graphic. Record a note or interview with Voice Memos, and you'll get an accurate transcription at the push of a button. In Pixelmator, you can upscale images and remove backgrounds from photos practically instantly.

I also feel like I'm barely scratching the surface of what you can do with the iPad Air's Neural Engine, particularly when it comes to utilizing Apple Shortcuts and open-source models.
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Gizmodo noted that while the new iPad Air benefits from the M4 chip, it still falls short of the version of the M4 used in other devices like the MacBook Air:

The iPad Air isn't powered by the same M4 chip in the M4 MacBook Air. The tablet chip is a binned version, meaning it contains fewer cores than the maxed-out 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. Apple configured the M4 iPad Air version with an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU. In practice, you won't see quite the same performance as you would on the M4 MacBook Air. It's also slower for more graphically demanding tasks, like 3D modeling.

What may be helping the M4 iPad Air get a leg up is the upgrade to 12GB of unified memory. That's 4GB more than the M3 iPad Air. This will necessarily increase speeds for when you have multiple apps open at once. It will also boost overall performance.
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Reviewers also looked at the new connectivity chips in the device, noting solid performance with no perceptible drawbacks to moving to Apple's custom hardware. Engadget writes:

The other main change is Apple's in-house networking chips are on board here. The N1 covers Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, while the C1X handles cellular connectivity if you buy a 5G-capable model. Again, this doesn't change the experience of using the iPad Air in any major way, but having the newest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth protocols on board is good for future usage, regardless of who built the chip. In my testing, the C1X on Verizon's 5G network was extremely fast around the suburbs of Boston and didn't seem any slower (or any faster) than other devices I have running on the same carrier. That's fine, as other Apple devices I've tried with the C1X (like the iPad Pro) are solid and reliable, which is the most important thing.
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Video Reviews




Article Link: M4 iPad Air Reviews: Faster Chip, Familiar Design
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/m4-ipad-air/
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“I wouldn't go so far to say that the Air's design has calcified, but if you go back several generations, you'll see little has changed from year to year. The M4 Air has the same design as the Air Apple released back in 2020. To be sure, it's a great look — thin, light, and a nice slim bezel all the way around.”

That’s from Toms Guide. Maybe the reviewer should think about what they wrote. Perhaps Apple has already achieved the ideal design for a tablet and changing anything (beyond internal features) would only be change for the sake of change. And Lord knows there’s already enough of that at Apple - especially on the software side.
 
yuvaldv1 said:
The Air and the Mini desperately need some kind of actual upgrade.
We've only had chip upgrades with these models for a few years at this point.

Hoping the next Air will finally get an OLED/ProMotion display.
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It's likely that a significant portion of the $400 price difference between the Air and the Pro is the OLED display in the Pro -- probably about $200 per device. So putting in an OLED display with ProMotion would likely add $200 to the Air price. Is that worth it?

Apple could reduce the cost by using a lower quality OLED (e.g., no tandem OLED screen like in the Pro). Even so, a lower quality OLED screen would easily add $100 to the Air cost, unless Apple would put one in and not maintain its margins. That's possible, but Apple is structured as a company that maintains margins. Apple doesn't give much away for free.
 
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yuvaldv1 said:
The Air and the Mini desperately need some kind of actual upgrade.
We've only had chip upgrades with these models for a few years at this point.

Hoping the next Air will finally get an OLED/ProMotion display.
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Definitely. But they’re probably waiting until they bring a foldable “iPad Ultra” to market to bring some of those features to the cheaper iPads.
 
Advised a family member who was going to order an M4 Air to instead buy a refurb M2 Air from Apple. Knowing how they use the iPad and it being £200 cheaper makes it a no-brainer in my book.
 
This is a spec bump to keep it relevant before a major redesign. iPad mini will be first and then the Air.
 
we now need to be asking, at which point can we install MacOS on iPad instead of iPadOS.

it has to happen now, after the Neo.

I cant understand how macOS couldn't support traditional iPad use mode and a more laptop friendly mode.
 
I remember getting the Air 2 back 10+ years ago when "Air" actually meant something. Now it's not even the thinnest, not a good deal compared to the base iPad, and you might as well spend a little more on the Pro. What's the point of the Air? 13" is $799 for 128gb, yet Costco sells the 13" M4 Pro 256gb with cellular for $100 more.
 
I’m moving our household from gen 9 iPads with A13 chips to the new Air 11” with M4. The 7 year upgrade difference will be massive in my case.
 
Palliser said:
I’m moving our household from gen 9 iPads with A13 chips to the new Air 11” with M4. The 7 year upgrade difference will be massive in my case.
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So would moving them to last years, which I'd say buy at a cheaper price than the newer one because you won't be able to tell a difference between them.
 
Personally I'm grabbing this specifically because it'll be the most powerful iPad they put out with a non-OLED display. I love my OLED TV but Apple's implementation with flickery PWM gives me migraines.
 
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The iPad Air was doomed from birth to be the nearly forsaken middle child in the iPad line. It's not the flashiest and doesn't have the top line specs. It is affordable, not as much as the low end iPad. I wonder if the same fate awaits the MacBook Air now that the Neo has been unveiled.
 
DMG35 said:
So would moving them to last years, which I'd say buy at a cheaper price than the newer one because you won't be able to tell a difference between them.
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For sure but given how long I keep these the extra isn’t too much of a factor in the grand scheme of things but I hear ya.
 
Any chance the AirPad could get FaceID any time soon? And while we’re at it, ProMotion?

I understand these are pro features, but anything is possible, now that the base iPhone has ProMotion… 🙂
 
mlayer said:
The iPad Air was doomed from birth to be the nearly forsaken middle child in the iPad line. It's not the flashiest and doesn't have the top line specs. It is affordable, not as much as the low end iPad. I wonder if the same fate awaits the MacBook Air now that the Neo has been unveiled.
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They will continue to update the Neo if it sells well and as they do that and the MacBook Air will slowly become more expensive along with the MacBook Pro making the Neo seem like a better value.
 
It's more than just faster chip. Going to 12 GB of RAM means more apps can be open and/or Apple Intelligence works way better.
 
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