M4 iPad Air reviews: Apple’s powerful, best-value model gets even better

Apple’s new M4 iPad Air arrives in users’ hands this Wednesday, and today the first reviews of the upgraded iPad have arrived. Here’s an overview of what reviewers are saying.

M4 iPad Air performance vs the M5 iPad Pro

Many reviews compare the M4 iPad Air’s performance not only to the M3 model—which it’s modestly better than—but also the much more expensive M5 iPad Pro.

Kyle Barr writes at Gizmodo:

There’s still a gulf between the iPad Air’s and iPad Pro’s performance, but that gap has significantly shrunk with this latest iteration. The M4 iPad Air is running just a few hundred points shy of the M5 iPad Pro in CPU benchmarks. In graphics tests, the M5 iPad Pro with the full 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU still manages to hold the edge with a score of 3,984 in the “Steel Nomad Light” benchmark compared to the M4 iPad Air’s 3,166. Performance is still a major reason to get the M5 iPad Pro, but if you want to spend significantly less, then the M4 iPad Air is a great choice for most creators out there.

Maria Diaz writes at ZDNET:

As a writer who also does photography, video, and some graphic design on the side, I’ve found that the iPad Air is the most affordable tablet that can comfortably handle my workload without a single stutter. It starts at $599, $400 less than the iPad Pro, yet its M4 processor, faster connectivity, and 12GB of unified memory seem almost too good to be true for the price.

Apple’s C1X chip for cellular

The switch to a C1X modem in the M4 iPad Air could prove a valuable upgrade for heavy cellular users.

David Pierce writes at The Verge:

Apple’s C1X in particular seems to be something of a revelation. I have long been a passionate believer in cell-enabled iPads, because there’s something about that constant connectedness that makes the iPad instantly more useful as an on-the-go way todo email, reading, or web browsing, things the iPad is meant for. They also make great hotspots, thanks to their enormous batteries. In my testing so far, the M4 Air is consistently the fastest cell-enabled device in my possession, and in bad service areas sometimes delivers speeds multiple times faster than recent iPhones, Pixels, and even other iPads.

The enticing alternative of MacBook Neo

Unsurprisingly, some reviews compared the new iPad Air to another notable $599 product from Apple: the MacBook Neo.

Mike Prospero writes at Tom’s Guide:

The question I suspect many will have is whether they should buy the iPad Air or spring for the Macbook Neo, which is $250 less when you factor in the cost of the Air’s keyboard. While the Air has a touchscreen and is more portable, its value proposition when compared to Apple’s laptops is now a lot more questionable if you’re looking for an inexpensive productivity device.

Yes, the iPad Air is the best Apple tablet for the masses, but it may have just been superseded by the Neo as the best cheap Apple product for getting stuff done.

M4 iPad Air: video reviews and wrap-up

TechRadar summarizes the new iPad well: “iPad Air has long been the ‘pro model for most people,’ and the 2026 refresh keeps that reputation intact.”

This isn’t a revolutionary update, but it does help keep the iPad Air a great middle-ground option between the base iPad and the iPad Pro.

Here are some video reviews worth checking out too:

Best iPad accessories