Apple iPad Air 13″ (M4) vs Apple iPad Air (5th generation)

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iPad Air 13″ (M4) compared with iPad Air (5th generation)

	AppleiPad Air 13″ (M4)	AppleiPad Air (5th generation)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	March 2022
Display
Screen size
Screen size	12.9″	10.9″
Resolution
Resolution	2732 × 2048 (better)	2360 × 1640
Sharpness
Sharpness	265 pixels per inch (better)	264 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LCD	LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	600 nits (better)	500 nits
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display, LED-backlit IPS LCD; sold as 13-inch, 12.9 inches measured diagonally as a rectangle	Liquid Retina; LED-backlit IPS LCD; 10.86 inches measured diagonally as a rectangle
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	P3 wide colour; True Tone; fully laminated; anti-reflective coating with 1.8% reflectivity; oleophobic coating
Performance
Chip
Chip	M4	M1
Memory
Memory	12 GB (better)	8 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)	64 GB, 256 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 3 performance and 5 efficiency cores	8-core CPU with 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores; 8 GB RAM
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	8-core GPU; Media Engine with hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC video decode and encode
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Rear camera
Rear camera	12 MP	12 MP
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	None	None
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP	12 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	Wide; f/1.8 five-element lens; autofocus with Focus Pixels; digital zoom up to 5x; wide colour and Live Photos; Smart HDR 3; panorama up to 63 MP; auto image stabilisation; burst; geotagging; HEIF and JPEG
Front camera
Front camera	Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/2.0	Ultra Wide; 122° field of view; f/2.4; Centre Stage; Smart HDR 3; lens correction; Retina Flash; wide colour capture; auto image stabilisation; burst
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 4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps; 720p at 30 fps; slow-motion 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; extended dynamic range up to 30 fps; stabilised time-lapse; cinematic stabilisation; continuous autofocus; HEVC and H.264; front 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps
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	36.59 Wh (better)	28.6 Wh
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Stylus
Stylus	Supported, sold separately	Supported, sold separately
Keyboard made for it
Keyboard made for it	Yes	Yes
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 or video; nine hours cellular browsing
Charging
Charging	Via USB-C power adapter (not included) or computer	20W USB-C power adapter supplied; charging via adapter or computer
USB-C
USB-C	USB-C with charging, DisplayPort and USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); one external display up to 6K at 60Hz	USB-C with charging, DisplayPort and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; one external display up to 6K at 60 Hz; Smart Connector
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO (Apple N1 chip); Thread	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax); simultaneous dual band; HT80 with MIMO
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 6	Bluetooth 5.0
Mobile network
Mobile network	Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; eSIM only	5G (sub-6 GHz) and Gigabit LTE; nano-SIM and eSIM; cellular model weighs 462 g
Stylus support
Stylus support	Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C); Apple Pencil hover	Apple Pencil (2nd generation) and Apple Pencil (USB-C), sold separately
Keyboards
Keyboards	Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (black or white)	Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio, sold separately
Design
Weight
Weight	616 g	461 g (better)
Thickness
Thickness	6.1 mm	6.1 mm
Height × width
Height × width	280.6 × 214.9 mm	247.6 × 178.5 mm
Operating system
Operating system	iPadOS	iPadOS
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID in the top button	Touch ID in top button
Speakers
Speakers	Landscape stereo speakers	Landscape stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Dual microphones
Sensors
Sensors	Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor	Three-axis gyro; accelerometer; barometer; ambient light; compass; iBeacon; GPS and GNSS on cellular model
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 30% recycled content overall	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey	Space Grey, Starlight, Pink, Purple, Blue
Software at launch
Software at launch	iPadOS 26	iPadOS 15
In the box
In the box	iPad Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m)	iPad Air; USB-C charge cable (1 m); 20W USB-C power adapter