March 2, 2026
PRESS RELEASE
Apple introduces the brand new iPad Air, powered by M4
With blazing efficiency, extra reminiscence, enhanced connectivity, and game-changing iPadOS 26 options, iPad Air is a implausible worth
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple immediately introduced the brand new iPad Air that includes M4 and extra reminiscence, giving customers an enormous leap in efficiency on the similar beginning worth. With a sooner CPU and GPU, iPad Air boosts duties like enhancing and gaming, and is a robust system for AI with a sooner Neural Engine, increased reminiscence bandwidth, and 50 % extra unified system reminiscence than the earlier technology. With M4, iPad Air is as much as 30 % sooner than iPad Air with M3,1 and as much as 2.3x sooner than iPad Air with M1.2 The brand new iPad Air additionally options the most recent in Apple silicon connectivity chips, N1 and C1X, delivering quick wi-fi and mobile connections — and assist for Wi-Fi 7 — that empower customers to work and be inventive wherever.3 Obtainable in two sizes and 4 beautiful finishes that customers love, the 11-inch iPad Air is tremendous transportable, and the 13-inch mannequin supplies a fair bigger show for many who need extra space to multitask. With game-changing iPadOS 26 capabilities, superior cameras, all-day battery life, a robust app ecosystem, and assist for equipment like Apple Pencil Professional and Magic Keyboard, iPad Air delivers a exceptional and versatile expertise for anybody who needs to do extra on iPad, from college students and creators, to enterprise customers and players.4
With the identical beginning worth of simply $599 for the 11-inch mannequin and $799 for the 13-inch mannequin, the brand new iPad Air is an unbelievable worth. And for schooling, the 11-inch iPad Air begins at $549, and the 13-inch mannequin begins at $749. Clients can pre-order iPad Air beginning Wednesday, March 4, with availability starting Wednesday, March 11.
“iPad Air provides customers extra methods than ever to be inventive and productive, providing highly effective efficiency and unbelievable versatility to assist them flip their concepts into actuality,” mentioned Bob Borchers, Apple’s vp of Worldwide Product Advertising and marketing. “With its blazing efficiency due to M4, unbelievable AI capabilities, and game-changing iPadOS 26 options, there’s by no means been a greater time to decide on or improve to iPad Air.”
Even Extra Efficiency with M4
M4 brings a major increase in efficiency to the brand new iPad Air, empowering customers to be productive and artistic wherever they’re — from aspiring creatives working with massive information to vacationers enhancing content material on the go. That includes an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, iPad Air is as much as 30 % sooner than iPad Air with M3 and as much as 2.3x sooner than iPad Air with M1.5 Customers will discover the blazing pace of M4 in every little thing they do — with Apple Creator Studio, compositing pictures in Pixelmator Professional or enhancing video in Remaining Lower Professional is faster than ever. With the 9-core GPU of M4, iPad Air helps second-generation hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing for unbelievable graphics efficiency. M4 delivers over 4x sooner 3D professional rendering with ray tracing efficiency in comparison with iPad Air with M1, providing extra correct lighting, reflections, and shadows for very practical gaming experiences.2
Subsequent-Degree Energy for AI
M4 can be highly effective for AI, with sooner reminiscence bandwidth and an extremely quick Neural Engine — benefiting everybody from school college students transcribing lecture notes, to creators storyboarding a brand new mission, to enterprise customers sharpening emails. With the brand new iPad Air, unified reminiscence jumps 50 %, to 12GB, and reminiscence bandwidth will increase to 120GB/s, serving to customers run AI fashions sooner. The 16-core Neural Engine is 3x sooner than that of M1 and is ideal for on a regular basis duties that use on-device AI, like looking for topics and texts in pictures, or leveraging highly effective AI options in apps like Goodnotes and Onform: Video Evaluation App.2 The Neural Engine additionally powers capabilities in Apple Creator Studio apps, like eradicating the background of video footage with Scene Elimination Masks in Remaining Lower Professional.
N1 and C1X Come to iPad Air for Quicker Connectivity
iPad Air options N1, an Apple-designed wi-fi networking chip that allows Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread.3 N1 brings higher efficiency when linked to 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, and improves the general efficiency and reliability of options like Private Hotspot and AirDrop. Mobile fashions of iPad Air additionally characteristic C1X, a mobile modem designed by Apple that provides as much as 50 % sooner mobile information efficiency — and for energetic mobile customers, C1X gives as much as 30 % much less modem power utilization than iPad Air with M3.1 Mobile fashions of iPad Air enable customers to take pleasure in GPS capabilities, to allow them to navigate with much more confidence. Customers may also take pleasure in 5G mobile assist, serving to them keep linked for work or leisure all world wide.6 And with eSIM, customers can shortly and securely add a brand new plan, join and switch present mobile plans digitally, and keep in contact with household and pals no matter Wi-Fi availability — very best for enterprise vacationers, college students on campus, and anybody engaged on the go.
iPadOS 26 Supercharges the iPad Expertise
iPadOS 26 gives highly effective options that assist customers deal with inventive {and professional} duties with ease, pushing the capabilities of iPad even additional.
- The gorgeous new design is crafted with Liquid Glass, a translucent materials that displays and refracts its environment whereas reacting to customers’ enter, and dynamically reworking to convey better focus to the content material they care about most.
- A completely new, highly effective, and intuitive windowing system helps customers management, arrange, and change between apps, all whereas sustaining the simplicity of iPad. And with a brand new menu bar, customers can entry the instructions out there in an app with a easy swipe down from the highest of the show, or by shifting their cursor to the highest.
- Customers can handle, entry, and arrange information with a supercharged Recordsdata app that options an up to date Checklist view and new folder customization choices. With folders within the Dock, customers can conveniently entry downloads, paperwork, and extra from wherever. Moreover, they’ll set a default app for opening particular information or file varieties.
- The Preview app on iPad provides customers a devoted app for creating a fast sketch, in addition to viewing, enhancing, and marking up PDFs and pictures with Apple Pencil or by contact.
- Benefiting from Apple silicon, iPadOS 26 unlocks new capabilities for customers with management over their audio enter, the power to seize high-quality recordings with native seize, and Background Duties.
Superior Equipment for iPad Air
From sketching concepts to getting work executed, Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard unlock new ranges of creativity and productiveness on iPad Air.4 Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Professional supply customers two unbelievable choices. Apple Pencil (USB-C) is a superb worth for important duties like be aware taking and sketching, and Apple Pencil Professional delivers the last word expertise, enabling customers to benefit from capabilities resembling squeeze and barrel roll to convey their concepts to life in fully new methods. Apple Pencil Professional additionally helps Discover My, serving to customers find it if misplaced.
Magic Keyboard for iPad Air supplies a tremendous typing expertise and expands what customers can do, with a built-in trackpad very best for precision duties like choosing textual content, and a 14-key operate row that permits quick access to options like display brightness and quantity controls. It attaches magnetically, and the Good Connector instantly connects energy and information with out the necessity for Bluetooth; a machined aluminum hinge additionally features a USB-C connector for charging. Magic Keyboard for iPad Air has a magical floating design prospects love, and is available in black and white.
Ideally suited for iPad and iPad Air Upgraders
With game-changing enhancements over iPad and earlier iPad Air fashions, there’s by no means been a greater time to improve.
- Large efficiency beneficial properties: Upgraders will take pleasure in enhanced pace and responsiveness with 12GB of unified reminiscence and 120GB/s of reminiscence bandwidth, and can expertise much more seamless windowing in iPadOS 26. Customers coming from iPad Air with M1 will see as much as 2.3x sooner efficiency, with over 4x sooner 3D professional rendering with ray tracing efficiency.5
- Superior Middle Stage digital camera, mics, and audio system: Customers coming from iPad Air with M1 can even take pleasure in a entrance 12MP Middle Stage digital camera situated alongside the panorama edge, in addition to panorama stereo audio system. For upgraders coming from M1, the 13-inch mannequin delivers even higher sound high quality, which is nice for having fun with music and movies.
- Highly effective Apple Intelligence capabilities: Constructed seamlessly into iPadOS with groundbreaking privateness, Apple Intelligence supplies upgraders and new iPad customers with intuitive options that make their expertise much more useful and highly effective.7
- Much more worth: Customers coming from previous-generation iPad Air fashions will get sooner connectivity with N1 and C1X, and M1 upgraders can even get 128GB of beginning storage. iPad Air with M4 has the identical beginning worth at simply $599 for the 11-inch mannequin, and $799 for the 13-inch mannequin.
iPad Air and the Setting
Apple 2030 is the corporate’s bold plan to be carbon impartial throughout its whole footprint by the top of this decade by decreasing product emissions from their three greatest sources: supplies, electrical energy, and transportation. iPad Air is made with 30 % recycled content material,8 together with one hundred pc recycled aluminum within the enclosure and one hundred pc recycled cobalt within the battery. It’s manufactured with 40 % renewable electrical energy, like wind and photo voltaic, throughout the availability chain. iPad Air is designed to be sturdy and repairable, and in addition gives industry-leading software program assist, whereas assembly Apple’s excessive requirements for power effectivity and secure chemistry. The paper packaging is one hundred pc fiber-based and may be simply recycled.9
Pricing and Availability
- Clients can pre-order the brand new iPad Air with M4 beginning Wednesday, March 4, at apple.com and within the Apple Retailer app in 35 nations and areas, together with the U.S. It can start arriving to prospects, and will probably be in Apple Retailer places and Apple Approved Resellers, beginning Wednesday, March 11.
- The 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air with M4 will probably be out there in blue, purple, starlight, and house grey, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.
- The 11-inch iPad Air begins at $599 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi mannequin, and $749 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Mobile mannequin. The 13-inch iPad Air begins at $799 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi mannequin, and $949 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Mobile mannequin.
- With schooling financial savings, the 11-inch iPad Air begins at $549 (U.S.), and the 13-inch iPad Air begins at $749 (U.S.).
- Magic Keyboard, out there in black and white, is suitable with the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air. The 11-inch Magic Keyboard is obtainable for $269 (U.S.), and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is obtainable for $319 (U.S.). With schooling financial savings, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is obtainable for $249 (U.S.), and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is obtainable for $299 (U.S.).
- Apple Pencil Professional and Apple Pencil (USB-C) are suitable with the brand new iPad Air. Apple Pencil Professional is obtainable for $129 (U.S.), and $119 (U.S.) with schooling financial savings. Apple Pencil (USB-C) is obtainable for $79 (U.S.), and $69 (U.S.) with schooling financial savings.
- AppleCare delivers distinctive service and assist, with versatile choices for Apple customers. Clients can select AppleCare+ to cowl their new iPad, or within the U.S., AppleCare One to guard a number of merchandise in a single easy plan. Each plans embrace protection for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss safety on eligible merchandise, battery substitute service, and 24/7 assist from Apple Consultants. For extra data, go to apple.com/applecare.
- Apple gives nice methods to save lots of on the most recent iPad. Clients can commerce of their present iPad and get credit score towards a brand new one by visiting the Apple Retailer on-line, the Apple Retailer app, or an Apple Retailer location. To see what their system is value, and for phrases and situations, prospects can go to apple.com/store/trade-in.
- Clients within the U.S. who store at Apple utilizing Apple Card pays month-to-month at 0 % APR after they select to take a look at with Apple Card Month-to-month Installments, they usually’ll get 3 % Day by day Money again — all up entrance. Extra data — together with particulars on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card phrases — is obtainable at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized private know-how with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. At present, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Apple’s six software program platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — present seamless experiences throughout all Apple gadgets and empower individuals with breakthrough providers together with the App Retailer, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV. Apple’s greater than 150,000 workers are devoted to creating one of the best merchandise on earth and to leaving the world higher than we discovered it.
- Outcomes are in comparison with 13-inch iPad Air (M3) items with 8-core CPU and 8GB of unified reminiscence.
- Outcomes are in comparison with iPad Air (fifth technology) items with 8-core CPU and 8GB of unified reminiscence.
- Wi-Fi 7 is obtainable in nations and areas the place supported.
- Equipment offered individually.
- Testing was performed by Apple in January and February 2026. See apple.com/ipad-air for extra data.
- Knowledge plan is required. 5G is obtainable in choose markets and thru choose carriers. Speeds fluctuate based mostly on website situations and service. For particulars on 5G assist, contact service and see apple.com/ipad/mobile.
- Apple Intelligence is obtainable in beta with assist for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese language (simplified), Chinese language (conventional), Japanese, and Korean. Some options is probably not out there in all areas or languages. For characteristic and language availability and system necessities, see assist.apple.com/en-us/121115.
- Product recycled or renewable content material is the mass of licensed recycled materials relative to the general mass of the system, not together with packaging or in-box equipment.
- Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from Apple’s calculations.
Press Contacts
Skylar Eisenhart
Apple
Tara Courtney
Apple
Apple Media Helpline