M4 iPad Air assessment: A worthy improve

The 11-inch Apple M1 iPad Air (fifth era) I used for the previous few years was an important system — quick, gentle, succesful and well-integrated into the Apple ecosystem. But after only a couple days with the 13-inch iPad Air powered by Apple’s M4 chip, I can say this trade-in for an improve isn’t simply incremental. It’s the type of shift that quietly adjustments the way in which I exploit a tool.

M4 iPad Air assessment (upgraded from M1 iPad Air)

This assessment focuses on what adjustments — and what doesn’t — once I moved from the 11-inch M1 iPad Air to the 13-inch M4 iPad Air, with 256GB of storage on each ends. I additionally grabbed an Apple Pencil USB-C to make use of instead of my no-longer-compatible Apple Pencil 2. That launched its personal set of trade-offs.

Desk of contents: M4 iPad Air assessment

Show dimension: Extra actual property, similar sharpness (however falls wanting Professional’s OLED)

Probably the most instantly placing factor about my starlight-colored 13-inch M4 iPad Air is the display. Transferring from my blue iPad Air with an 11-inch show to a 13-inch one isn’t merely a 2-inch acquire in diagonal measurement — it interprets to a dramatically bigger canvas. Apple makes use of a Liquid Retina show operating at 2732 x 2048 pixels. The soar in working house is viscerally apparent the primary time you open a doc, a webpage or a artistic app — of even while you first decide up the system. Aspect by aspect, the brand new machine appears a lot bigger than the outdated one. 

That mentioned, sharpness is actually equivalent to what I had with the M1 mannequin. Each are wonderful. Principally what I gained with the 13-inch isn’t pixel density however actual property. For studying, annotating PDFs, utilizing Cut up View or working with illustration apps like Procreate, the distinction is substantial. Pages of textual content really feel like precise pages somewhat than compressed summaries of themselves. Aspect-by-side apps change into genuinely usable somewhat than cramped compromises.

Would the 2024-and-newer iPad Professional‘s attractive Extremely Retina XDR OLED display be higher? Completely. However iPad Air’s continues to be very good.

The M4 iPad Air show helps True Tone and P3 huge shade, each of which had been current on the M1 mannequin as properly. Brightness is rated at 600 nits (100 greater than the M1), and in on a regular basis use it handles combined indoor lighting confidently. Direct daylight stays a problem, because it does on any pill that lacks very excessive brightness, ProMotion’s variable refresh charge and OLED distinction — options nonetheless reserved for the iPad Professional line.

M4 efficiency: Overkill in the absolute best approach

The M1 chip within the fifth-generation iPad Air was by no means a bottleneck for me in each day use. Looking, video, doc modifying, gentle picture processing — all of it ran with no hiccup. So the query with the M4 isn’t whether or not it fixes an issue, as a result of the M1 created no issues. The query is whether or not it creates headroom.

And the reply is sure, significantly so. The M4 contains a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU (within the higher-tier configurations) and brings Apple’s newest neural engine, enabling noticeably snappier efficiency in AI-assisted duties — autocorrect, Good Script within the Apple Notes app, and third-party apps that lean on Core ML. Apps launch instantly. Heavier apps like Lightroom don’t stutter or pause.

So to me the iPad Air M4 feels much less like a content-consumption system with productiveness options tacked on, and extra like a real workhorse that additionally occurs to be gentle sufficient to carry with one hand.

That mentioned, in case your use case is primarily studying, note-taking and streaming video, you gained’t a lot discover the M4 over the M1 in day-to-day duties. The efficiency benefit reveals itself on the edges — in sustained workloads, export occasions and the way the system handles 10 browser tabs and a video name concurrently, to call some examples. For these workflows, the distinction is actual and welcome.

Type issue: Bigger dimension earns its hold

One of many constant criticisms of earlier large-format iPad Airs has been portability. The 13-inch mannequin weighs round 1.36 kilos (617 grams) — noticeably greater than the 1.02 kilos (463 grams) of the 11-inch M1 mannequin. Within the hand, the distinction is obvious (particularly with a case on it; I grabbed a $32 Vikesi case within the Zugu Case fashion for mine). Prolonged one-handed studying classes are much less snug. Slipping it right into a bag requires somewhat extra intention and focus.

However after some use, the dimensions stopped feeling like a compromise and began feeling like a good selection. The mixture of the bigger display, the M4’s efficiency and the keyboard-as-a-productivity-platform idea locks in additional naturally at 13 inches. I can simply see how utilizing Magic Keyboard Folio or the Good Folio Keyboard at this dimension provides the iPad a laptop-like presence with out being a laptop computer. Stage Supervisor, Apple’s windowed multitasking mode, additionally advantages significantly from the extra display space. Home windows not really feel like they’re competing for a similar small patch of glass.

Portability hasn’t been eradicated, both. The 13-inch iPad Air is considerably thinner and lighter than any 13-inch laptop computer. And it matches comfortably in a backpack sleeve designed for a MacBook. At that dimension some folks should surrender single-handed studying comfort. However they acquire a tool that bridges the hole between pill and laptop extra convincingly than its smaller sibling.

Apple Pencil USB-C: Purposeful, however a downgrade in key methods

Switching from the Apple Pencil 2 to the Apple Pencil USB-C ($79) was the a part of this improve that required essentially the most adjustment — and never fully in a optimistic path. Apple Pencil 2 is a wonderful stylus. It prices magnetically by attaching to the aspect of the iPad, pairs robotically and feels balanced and premium within the hand. The Apple Pencil USB-C trades fairly a little bit of that magnificence for a lower cost level and broader compatibility.

Probably the most notable omission is wi-fi charging. USB-C Pencil prices through a USB-C cable, which suggests shifting again the end-piece, plugging in and ready. It really works, however in comparison with the easy side-attachment of the Pencil 2, it seems like a step again in expertise. Pencil 2 additionally helps double-tap gesture switching between instruments. The USB-C model doesn’t, in its base type. A few of these gestures have been partially reintroduced for suitable apps, but it surely’s not as seamless.

In precise drawing and writing efficiency, Apple Pencil USB-C is superb. Stress sensitivity and palm rejection are each dependable, latency is low and for note-taking and sketching the expertise is actually indistinguishable from Pencil 2. When you primarily use a stylus for writing somewhat than detailed illustration, the USB-C mannequin is genuinely enough. The difficulty is that Apple prices a premium value for an adjunct that feels prefer it’s designed round price discount somewhat than person expertise enchancment. And your solely different alternative with this iPad is Apple Pencil Professional at $129. 

Battery life and charging

Battery life on 13-inch M4 iPad Air is rated at as much as 10 hours of net looking or video playback — the identical score Apple has used for iPad Air fashions for a number of generations. In observe, heavy use with display brightness at 70% and Energetic operating within the background will get you thru a full workday comfortably with a small buffer. And lightweight use — just like the studying, notes and looking I do more often than not — can stretch properly past that estimate.

The M1 mannequin provided comparable stamina in day-to-day use, so battery life isn’t a significant differentiator right here. What has improved barely is how shortly the iPad feels able to work after being idle. The M4’s effectivity cores deal with background duties with much less total draw, which suggests standby time is superb. You may decide this system up after a day of not utilizing it and discover the battery largely the place you left it.

Charging stays through USB-C, and the included 20W adapter is sufficient however not quick. Prime ups with my Ugreen 150W multiport charger noticeably accelerates charging classes.

Software program and ecosystem

iPadOS 26 and later runs easily on the M4 {hardware}. The system feels snappier total, although that’s partly the chip and partly the newest OS refinements.

For customers already invested within the Apple ecosystem, the handoff to iPhone, AirDrop, Sidecar to a Mac and Common Clipboard all proceed to work as anticipated. Nothing new right here, however nothing regressed, both.

M4 iPad Air assessment verdict: Must you improve?

When you’re coming from the 11-inch M1 iPad Air like I did, the choice largely comes down to 1 query: Would you like extra display? The M4 chip is genuinely higher and future-proofs the system for a number of years of iPadOS updates, particularly as Apple Intelligence will get greater and higher, demanding extra assets. However the M1 will proceed to deal with present duties with out criticism for the foreseeable future. So the show improve — each in dimension and by way of what it permits for productiveness — is the actual argument for shifting up. When you’re going from 11-inch M1 to 11-inch M4 — with precisely the identical display — it’s greatest in case your duties really want that further processing oomph.

A swap to Apple Pencil USB-C is value reconsidering in case you rely closely in your stylus. Pencil Professional is out there for this system and affords a considerably higher expertise, together with the barrel roll characteristic and squeeze gestures. If price range permits, the Pencil Professional is the pairing this iPad deserves.

In the end, 13-inch iPad Air M4 is essentially the most succesful mid-range pill Apple has ever made. And within the context of the broader market, it has no apparent peer. It doesn’t change a Mac for advanced skilled work, and it doesn’t match iPad Professional’s show finesse. However for a lot of use instances like schooling, artistic work, productiveness and. leisure, it covers the bottom impressively.