After the launch of the new iPhone 17eApple also presented the updated version of the iPad Air. Thin 11 and 13 inch tablet, with snappy performance, more memory, improved connectivity and the cutting-edge features of iPadOS 26. Below are main features, news and prices.
New M4 processor
The 2026 version of iPad Air uses the powerful new M4 processor. With an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, iPad Air 2026 is up to 30% faster than the model with M3 chip and 2.3 times faster than iPad Air with M1. The M4 chip is over 4x faster at professional 3D rendering with ray tracing than iPad Air with M1, allowing you to create more realistic gaming experiences. The 16-core Neural Engine is 3 times faster than that of the M1 chip and is perfect for everyday tasks that use on-device AI, such as searching for subjects and text in photos.
Furthermore, with 12GB of unified memory (8GB in the previous model) and 120 GBps of memory bandwidth, iPad Air is even faster and more responsive.
No changes to the design, cameras and 11″ or 13″ displays, and support for Apple Pencil (USB-C), Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard for iPad Air is obviously maintained.
Faster connectivity
iPad Air 2026 has the N1 chip, a new wireless networking chip designed by Apple that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread technologies (the previous model used WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3). N1 improves performance on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, as well as increasing the reliability and overall performance of features like personal hotspot and AirDrop. iPad Air models with cellular connectivity also feature C1X, a new Apple-designed cellular modem that delivers up to 50 percent faster cellular data performance, and for heavy cellular users, C1X offers up to 30 percent less modem power consumption than iPad Air with M3.
iPadOS 26
iPadOS 26 offers powerful new features:
- The new design made with Liquid Glass, a translucent material that reflects and refracts the images underneath.
- A new powerful and intuitive window management system helps you control and organize open apps and switch between them. And thanks to a new menu bar, the user can access available commands in an app by simply swiping down from the top of the display, or moving the cursor up.
- The user can access, manage and organize files with the enhanced Files app.
- With the dedicated Preview app on iPad the user can make quick drawings and view, edit and annotate PDFs and images using Apple Pencil or their finger.
Prices and availability
The 11″ and 13″ iPad Air with M4 will be available in blue, purple, galaxy and space gray, with capacities of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.
Available at the same starting price as last year’s model, equal to €669 for the 11″ version and €869 for the 13″ variant, iPad Air will be available for pre-order starting Wednesday 4 March and will be available from Wednesday 11 March.
Razr fold: Motorola’s first book-folding smartphone