Apple iPad Air 11″ (M4) vs Apple iPad Air (1st generation)

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iPad Air 11″ (M4) compared with iPad Air (1st generation)

	AppleiPad Air 11″ (M4)	AppleiPad Air (1st generation)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	November 2013
Display
Screen size
Screen size	10.86″	9.7″
Resolution
Resolution	2360 × 1640 (better)	2048 × 1536
Sharpness
Sharpness	265 pixels per inch (better)	264 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LCD	LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display, LED-backlit IPS LCD; sold as 11-inch, 10.86 inches measured diagonally as a rectangle	Retina; LED-backlit IPS LCD
Pixel density
Pixel density	264 ppi	264 ppi
Display features
Display features	Wide colour (P3); True Tone; fully laminated; anti-reflective coating; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating; no ProMotion	Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Performance
Chip
Chip	M4	A7
Memory
Memory	12 GB (better)	1 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)	16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 3 performance and 5 efficiency cores	64-bit A7; M7 motion coprocessor; 1 GB RAM confirmed by iFixit
GPU
GPU	9-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, AV1 decode; 120GB/s memory bandwidth	–
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Cameras
Rear camera
Rear camera	12 MP (better)	5 MP
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	None	None
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP (better)	1.2 MP
Rear camera
Rear camera	12MP Wide, ƒ/1.8, five-element lens, autofocus with Focus Pixels, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4	iSight; f/2.4 five-element lens; autofocus; backside illumination; hybrid IR filter; HDR; face detection
Front camera
Front camera	Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/2.0	FaceTime HD; backside illumination; face detection
Video recording
Video recording	4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; cinematic video stabilisation (4K, 1080p and 720p)	Rear 1080p with video stabilisation, face detection and 3x video zoom; front 720p
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 10 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	28.93 Wh	32.4 Wh (better)
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Stylus
Stylus	Supported, sold separately	Not supported
Keyboard made for it
Keyboard made for it	Yes	No
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 10 hours surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video; up to 9 hours surfing the web on mobile data	Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi browsing, video or music; nine hours cellular browsing
Charging
Charging	Via USB-C power adapter (not included) or computer	Power adapter or USB computer charging
USB-C
USB-C	USB-C with charging, DisplayPort and USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); one external display up to 6K at 60Hz	Lightning; 3.5 mm headphone jack; optional adapters support 1080p external video
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO (Apple N1 chip); Thread	Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n with MIMO
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 6	Bluetooth 4.0
Mobile network
Mobile network	Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; eSIM only	LTE, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, GSM/EDGE and CDMA EV-DO; nano-SIM; cellular model weighs 478 g
Stylus support
Stylus support	Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C); Apple Pencil hover	No Apple Pencil support
Keyboards
Keyboards	Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (black or white)	No Smart Connector
Design
Weight
Weight	464 g (better)	469 g
Thickness
Thickness	6.1 mm (better)	7.5 mm
Height × width
Height × width	247.6 × 178.5 mm	240 × 169.5 mm
Operating system
Operating system	iPadOS	iOS
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID in the top button	No Touch ID
Speakers
Speakers	Landscape stereo speakers	Stereo speakers (Notebookcheck)
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Dual microphones
Sensors
Sensors	Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor	Three-axis gyro; accelerometer; ambient light; compass; assisted GPS and GLONASS on cellular model (Notebookcheck)
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 30% recycled content overall	Aluminium enclosure (Notebookcheck)
Colours
Colours	Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey	Silver, Space Grey
Software at launch
Software at launch	iPadOS 26	iOS 7
In the box
In the box	iPad Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m)	iPad Air; Lightning to USB cable; USB power adapter