iPad Air My oldish iPad Air 11” with M1 is still a champ!

[Technerd108]

I see a lot of threads about iPads with newer chips and people always wanting more in the iPad. Not enough with M4 iPad Pro etc.

I don’t get it. Putting m series chips in an iPad was a brilliant move. My older iPad is still as fast as the day I bought it. It has been an amazing affordable tablet in the mid range.

At some point I might upgrade but I am waiting until it slows down or the battery life takes a nose dive and neither have happened yet. To be fair battery life on my model was never that great but it hasn’t significantly changed in years.

I get people still want MacOS on an iPad but I don’t. I like a tablet for tablet uses and don’t want to replace my laptop with a tablet. I have tried in the past with Surface pro devices with full windows and it never really worked either ergonomically or otherwise and there were too many compromises for me personally.

So I think Apple is right in its design. Jobs said the iPad would replace laptops and I don’t think that will happen until a keyboard becomes redundant and we aren’t there yet. When that day comes then it is possible that MacOS should run on an iPad and it will likely replace laptops.

For now tablets are an auxiliary device used with other devices and not meant to replace them. For me iPadOS has been fantastic and so has my basic iPad Air 5th gen. I feel like it will run well for the next 3 years at least and to me that is pretty awesome to get at least 6 years of functionality and performance out of a mid range tablet. I paid a just under $500 for mine.

How are people doing with their M1 iPads? I still prefer LCD over OLED and wish Apple would have made micro LED screens on iPad Pro models instead of OLED. I am going to keep my air until Apple won’t update it or I get rich and can just buy another model. For now if I was sticking to an air model I know m3 and m4 are a lot faster than m1 but I just don’t think it will make a difference for my use case.

 

[joeblow7777]

I have a 4th gen Air with an A14 chip and I still see no reason to upgrade.

 

[snipr125]

I have a 4th gen Air with an A14 chip and I still see no reason to upgrade.

Ive got the iPad Air 4th Gen + MKB as well and it handles pretty much anything I throw at it with no issues, but had to upgrade because the 64 GB storage was/is not enough, so got the iPP M4 + new MKB which is overkill but I love it iPad OS and all. For my usage iPad and Magic Keyboard is pretty much my daily 'laptop'.

 

[GMShadow]

Don't really see people complaining that the iPads don't have enough juice, just that people want 'more software' because in their mind the only reason to have an M chip is to run macOS and do Real Work™.

Both my M2 iPads are fine for what I need them for - I expect it'll be years before I even consider any sort of upgrade.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

My M-1 iPP is very fast, Stunning machine!

 

[rui no onna]

My M-1 iPP is very fast, Stunning machine!

Same. I’ve got both 11” and 12.9” M1. Got the 12.9” on launch day, the 11” later that year during Cyber Monday sales.

I don’t see any reason to upgrade just yet. Battery life’s not as good as new but still decent enough for my usage.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I can only agree, 2tb 11" IPP + cell with logitech case/keyboard. Brilliant device. A bit "overpowered" for my need but got a good deal on it.

 

[alecgold]

And the M1 is still a champ!

The only reason I updated is because the M1 ran so hot, it wouldn’t charge beyond 80%. Or even stop charging at all and drop to 20% over a few hours. But my use case is perhaps a bit 1%: having Nebo or Goodnotes on the iPad screen, translating notes in a 1000+ page journal. And on my 5k display a Teams session running for a few hours, together with large excels, some pdf’s and a word document.
The M4 has a better heat sink/ lower power usage.
And the display…. Ooooh, the display. No more gohsting.
But it is not like the M1 was long in the tooth.

 

[blkjedi954]

Same. I’ve got both 11” and 12.9” M1. Got the 12.9” on launch day, the 11” later that year during Cyber Monday sales.

I don’t see any reason to upgrade just yet. Battery life’s not as good as new but still decent enough for my usage.

Same. M1 - 256GB 11" w/cell & 2TB 12.9" w/cell.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I have a 4th gen Air with an A14 chip and I still see no reason to upgrade.

I just updated my 4th gen green iPad Air A14 with a new blue iPad Air 11" M3. To be honest, even though it's a much faster processor, for what I use mine for you can't tell a lot of difference. I'm sure if I was actually doing something more than web surfing, email and a few basic apps I would, but then again iOS on the iPad is pretty limited for processor intensive tasks anyhow. The main reason I updated is after 4 years of daily use I could tell the battery was starting to weaken a bit and I wanted the additional storage of 128 GB over 64 GB.

 

[StoneJack]

Same here ipad air 5 m1 256 no reasons to upgrade. For youtube and netflix it is even overkill now

 

[Phonzoxd]

other than the 128GB storage, and slightly degraded battery my M1 iPP does everything i need it to do at no loss to speed.

 

[lewjh]

I used my M1 ipad air a lot as an accompaniment to my work. I would take it to coffee shops and work on Microsoft 365 apps, use it for travel and I would use it for browsing and media consumption too. Recently the battery drained really quickly when I was out working so I upgraded to the M3. The additional storage on the base model is a bonus

 

[NastyMatt]

I don’t think I have ever wanted an iPad because of the chip it has, I need it to do what I need. My previous iPad was a 2020 and when the M4 came out it I wanted to upgrade was because it had a landscape camera, OLED screen and extended screen support. At no stage did I care if it was an M3 (as it was rumoured to be) or that it was an M4. This place (forum) is the only place I have ever heard anyone mention the chip - the usual conversation I have is “is that the new one” or “mine is a [YEAR] iPad” never has some one said “is that the M4”.

 

[snipr125]

Honestly, even the Ipad 10 would be fine for you and save even more money in the process.

 

[Astuces iOS]

I have the iPad Air m2, no reasons to upgrade to m3. When the iPad Air will get the m4… I don’t fell I will need to upgrade too… maybe m6 iPad Air…

 

[Pezimak]

I see a lot of threads about iPads with newer chips and people always wanting more in the iPad. Not enough with M4 iPad Pro etc.

I don’t get it. Putting m series chips in an iPad was a brilliant move. My older iPad is still as fast as the day I bought it. It has been an amazing affordable tablet in the mid range.

At some point I might upgrade but I am waiting until it slows down or the battery life takes a nose dive and neither have happened yet. To be fair battery life on my model was never that great but it hasn’t significantly changed in years.

I get people still want MacOS on an iPad but I don’t. I like a tablet for tablet uses and don’t want to replace my laptop with a tablet. I have tried in the past with Surface pro devices with full windows and it never really worked either ergonomically or otherwise and there were too many compromises for me personally.

So I think Apple is right in its design. Jobs said the iPad would replace laptops and I don’t think that will happen until a keyboard becomes redundant and we aren’t there yet. When that day comes then it is possible that MacOS should run on an iPad and it will likely replace laptops.

For now tablets are an auxiliary device used with other devices and not meant to replace them. For me iPadOS has been fantastic and so has my basic iPad Air 5th gen. I feel like it will run well for the next 3 years at least and to me that is pretty awesome to get at least 6 years of functionality and performance out of a mid range tablet. I paid a just under $500 for mine.

How are people doing with their M1 iPads? I still prefer LCD over OLED and wish Apple would have made micro LED screens on iPad Pro models instead of OLED. I am going to keep my air until Apple won’t update it or I get rich and can just buy another model. For now if I was sticking to an air model I know m3 and m4 are a lot faster than m1 but I just don’t think it will make a difference for my use case.

I think it’s safe to say your battery will die before it slows down lol. That is the beauty of the M series chips.

And FYI Apple did fit a mini LED screen to the 13” iPad Pro M2 variant. My eyes are fine so I am loving my M4 Pro 11”, the iPad Pro has always been my favourite Apple device. So far anyway. The OLED screen is why I upgraded from my M1 Pro, I have only had 3 iPads, the Pro 9.7”, the M1 11” and now my M4 and I don’t see myself upgrading again for quite some time.

 

[Technerd108]

I think it’s safe to say your battery will die before it slows down lol. That is the beauty of the M series chips.

And FYI Apple did fit a mini LED screen to the 13” iPad Pro M2 variant. My eyes are fine so I am loving my M4 Pro 11”, the iPad Pro has always been my favourite Apple device. So far anyway. The OLED screen is why I upgraded from my M1 Pro, I have only had 3 iPads, the Pro 9.7”, the M1 11” and now my M4 and I don’t see myself upgrading again for quite some time.

I don't hate OLED screens and I am not as sensitive to PWM as others on this forum. I just feel that micro LED would have fixed blooming issues with the mini Led and offered a superior color balance and white point with higher brightness than OLED allows. I think for Apple OLED is cheaper and is good enough. However there micro LED probably would have been the best screen tech you can get as long as they lowered the response time. Response time on the mini leds screens is pretty poor and causes noticeable tearing which sort of negates the 120 hz refresh rate. If they fixed the blooming and tearing micro led would have been superior to anything else on the market. It would have been exclusive to Apple at least for a while and would push the company forward in innovation.

I also would prefer micro led on the MacBook Pro's.

So for now my 5th gen air and M2 MBA are perfect for me. Everyone is different and might prefer OLED.

I agree the battery will probably need to be replaced before I feel a slowdown. Very happy with m series chips since they were first released!

 

[Technerd108]

It sounds like you're really happy with your iPad Air 5th Gen, and I totally get it. The M-series chips were a game-changer for iPads, offering long-lasting performance without slowing down over time. Like you, I don’t see the need for MacOS on an iPad—it’s a tablet first, and iPadOS works great for that purpose.


For most users, upgrading just for M3 or M4 won’t make a huge difference unless you’re doing pro-level tasks. Your Air should stay solid for years with updates. LCD vs. OLED is a personal preference, and I agree that micro-LED would’ve been a better choice for the Pro models.


If your iPad still runs smoothly and meets your needs, no rush to upgrade. Apple’s long software support makes sticking with an older model totally worth it!

I agree with all your points.

M-series chips really are amazing along with the switch on MacOS to arm for MacBooks. It was the right move and we are all benefiting from that choice several years later.

I just think like m series chips developing micro led tech would have been another game changer in my personal opinion. I agree LCD vs OLED is highly subjective and personal. I don't mind OLED. I have a couple of Windows laptops with OLED screens and they are very nice. It is just the whites just don't ever look really white. They always have a tinge of red or green and after a while it starts to bother me. I also wish they could get a little brighter than 500nits. Even my 500 nit MBA LCD screen feels brighter than my Amoled screen with the same brightness??

Having M4 on an iPad is great for users who buy now because that means their iPads will also last insanely long. Sort of like having the fastest gaming Intel chip or AMD in a Chromebook vs a u series i5. You won't be able to tell a difference but I always prefer overpowered vs underpowered.

That is why I don't get why some people say it is a bad thing to have iPad OS with a really fast chip and want MacOS on it. No matter the OS the chip speed does make a difference, specially over time. Having MacOS on a iPad would be nice in some ways but not in others in my opinion and overall really not a good choice. What would be nice maybe just for the Pro models would be to have a Safari desktop version not a mobile OS version??

 

[Astuces iOS]

I don't hate OLED screens and I am not as sensitive to PWM as others on this forum. I just feel that micro LED would have fixed blooming issues with the mini Led and offered a superior color balance and white point with higher brightness than OLED allows. I think for Apple OLED is cheaper and is good enough. However there micro LED probably would have been the best screen tech you can get as long as they lowered the response time. Response time on the mini leds screens is pretty poor and causes noticeable tearing which sort of negates the 120 hz refresh rate. If they fixed the blooming and tearing micro led would have been superior to anything else on the market. It would have been exclusive to Apple at least for a while and would push the company forward in innovation.

I also would prefer micro led on the MacBook Pro's.

So for now my 5th gen air and M2 MBA are perfect for me. Everyone is different and might prefer OLED.

I agree the battery will probably need to be replaced before I feel a slowdown. Very happy with m series chips since they were first released!

Personally OLED or not… I don’t really care too much… same for promotion. I just care about the brightness but I won’t pay almost twice the price for the iPad Pro.

 

[Technerd108]

Personally OLED or not… I don’t really care too much… same for promotion. I just care about the brightness but I won’t pay almost twice the price for the iPad Pro.

I get it. And it is very hard to argue your point. I wanted promotion but like you I could not justify the cost difference. I do notice screen blur when I scroll on my iPad air but you get used to it. The LCD screen is still really beautiful overall and that is the most important point. If it had a bad LCD screen then I might have spent more.

 

[rui no onna]

The M-series chips were a game-changer for iPads, offering long-lasting performance without slowing down over time. Like you, I don’t see the need for MacOS on an iPad—it’s a tablet first, and iPadOS works great for that purpose.

Iirc, A10X -> A12X is a more significant upgrade performance-wise compared to the jump from A12X/Z -> M1.

Too bad it’s paired with a paltry 4GB RAM and Apple kinda drew a line in the sand between A-series and M-series chipset iPads.

 

[thefrost]

That's great to hear. The M1 iPad Air is still a very capable device. Keep enjoying it!

 

[baconcat_8964]

For Mac and iPad, equipped with M-serie chips, boarded the safe ship.

 

[MPclk2006]

I see a lot of threads about iPads with newer chips and people always wanting more in the iPad. Not enough with M4 iPad Pro etc.

I don’t get it. Putting m series chips in an iPad was a brilliant move. My older iPad is still as fast as the day I bought it. It has been an amazing affordable tablet in the mid range.

At some point I might upgrade but I am waiting until it slows down or the battery life takes a nose dive and neither have happened yet. To be fair battery life on my model was never that great but it hasn’t significantly changed in years.

I get people still want MacOS on an iPad but I don’t. I like a tablet for tablet uses and don’t want to replace my laptop with a tablet. I have tried in the past with Surface pro devices with full windows and it never really worked either ergonomically or otherwise and there were too many compromises for me personally.

So I think Apple is right in its design. Jobs said the iPad would replace laptops and I don’t think that will happen until a keyboard becomes redundant and we aren’t there yet. When that day comes then it is possible that MacOS should run on an iPad and it will likely replace laptops.

For now tablets are an auxiliary device used with other devices and not meant to replace them. For me iPadOS has been fantastic and so has my basic iPad Air 5th gen. I feel like it will run well for the next 3 years at least and to me that is pretty awesome to get at least 6 years of functionality and performance out of a mid range tablet. I paid a just under $500 for mine.

How are people doing with their M1 iPads? I still prefer LCD over OLED and wish Apple would have made micro LED screens on iPad Pro models instead of OLED. I am going to keep my air until Apple won’t update it or I get rich and can just buy another model. For now if I was sticking to an air model I know m3 and m4 are a lot faster than m1 but I just don’t think it will make a difference for my use case.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro 11inch and see no reason to upgrade. But I also use my new MacBook Pro a lot more.