Apple launches M4-powered iPad Air series

Besides the all-new iPhone 17e, Apple on Monday (March 2) launched the next-generation iPad Air with the M4 chipset.

The new iPad Air M4 retains the design language of the iPad Air M3. It features unibody structure with sturdy aerospace-grade aluminium enclosure and a lone main camera on the back.

The device comes in four colour options-- blue, purple, starlight, and space grey. It is available in two sizes-- 11-inch and 13-inch-- with an LED backlit Multi‑Touch display, IPS technology, 2360x1640-pixel resolution and pixel density of 264 pixels per inch (ppi).

Inside, it boasts of Apple M4. It features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, which is said to be 30 per cent faster than iPad Air with M3 and up to 2.3x faster than iPad Air with M1.

With the 9-core GPU of M4, iPad Air supports second-generation hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which promises incredible graphics performance. M4 delivers over 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing performance compared to iPad Air with M1, offering more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows for extremely realistic gaming experiences.

It has a faster Neural Engine, higher memory bandwidth, and 50 per cent more unified system memory than the previous generation.

The new iPad Air also features the latest in Apple silicon connectivity chips, N1 and C1X, to deliver fast wireless and cellular connections — and support for Wi-Fi 7.

iPad Air M4.

With a faster CPU and GPU, iPad Air can easily handle heavy-duty tasks such as editing with Apple Creator Studio, compositing photos in Pixelmator Pro or editing video in Final Cut Pro. It also powers Apple Intelligence, Visual Intelligence features and more.

The new iPad Air features a 12MP Center Stage camera on the front and a 12MP Wide rear camera with an ƒ/1.8 aperture on the back.

It runs on iPadOS 26. Besides the visually appealing Liquid Glass user interface, it comes with a new menu bar, and users can also manage, access, and organise files with the Files app that features an updated List view and new folder customisation options. With folders in the Dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere on the iPad.

Like the iPhone 17e, iPad Air M4 is also one of the most eco-friendly devices in the industry. It is made with 30 per cent recycled content, including 100 per cent recycled aluminium in the enclosure and 100 per cent recycled cobalt in the battery.

Also, the iPad is manufactured with 40 per cent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. The paper packaging is 100 per cent fibre-based and can be easily recycled.

Apple iPad Air M4.

In addition to the Magic Keyboard, it supports Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro.

The 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air M4 series' price starts at Rs 64900 and Rs 84,900, respectively. They are available in both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi+ 5G versions as well.

With the education plan, students and teachers with a valid school/College ID can buy the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air M4 for as low as Rs 59,900 and Rs 79,900, respectively. Customers can pre-order the iPad Air starting March 4, and it is slated to hit stores on March 11.

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