Apple’s next iPad Air may arrive next week with M4 power: What to expect

Apple iPad Air

• New iPad Air to get M4 chip, boosting speed and efficiency
• No major design changes; OLED remains exclusive to iPad Pro
• Improved Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and faster charging expected

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Apple is expected to refresh its iPad Air lineup ahead of its March 4 “Experience” media event, with the update likely to focus on performance and connectivity rather than a dramatic redesign.

Familiar Design, No OLED Yet

There are no major design changes rumoured for the upcoming iPad Air. Apple is expected to retain the existing 11-inch and 13-inch size options. The tablet will remain thicker and heavier than the iPad Pro and will continue using a standard LED display instead of OLED.

OLED technology and ProMotion support are expected to remain exclusive to the iPad Pro for now. The iPad Air will likely continue to feature a 60Hz panel, USB-C connectivity, a Touch ID button integrated into the top edge and the same front and rear camera setup.

There is a possibility of a new colour option, although minor refresh cycles do not always bring cosmetic tweaks. Accessory support is expected to remain unchanged, including compatibility with the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro.

M4 Chip to Bring Performance Gains

The biggest upgrade is set to be the move from the M3 to the M4 chip. Apple typically equips the iPad Air with an M-series processor that trails the iPad Pro by one generation. Since the iPad Pro was updated with the M5 in October 2025, the iPad Air is now in line to receive the M4.

Both the M3 and M4 are built on a 3-nanometre process, but the M4 benefits from refinements that improve speed and efficiency. It offers up to 10 CPU cores instead of eight, a faster Neural Engine and increased memory bandwidth. Apple claims the M4 CPU is up to 30 per cent faster than the M3, while the GPU can deliver up to 21 per cent better performance.

The current iPad Air already supports Apple Intelligence, and that will continue. RAM is expected to remain at 8GB, which meets the minimum requirement for Apple’s AI features, though there is no confirmation of higher memory tiers trickling down from the iPad Pro.

Faster Charging and Improved Connectivity

The iPad Pro gained faster charging with its latest update, and similar improvements could reach the iPad Air.

On the connectivity front, the new model is likely to adopt Apple’s in-house N1 networking chip, first introduced in the iPhone 17 lineup. The N1 supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, offering faster speeds and better efficiency compared to the current Wi-Fi 6E support on the iPad Air.

Cellular variants are also expected to use Apple’s C1X modem, an upgraded version of its first in-house modem. While it does not support mmWave 5G, it delivers sub-6GHz 5G performance comparable to Qualcomm solutions and is more power efficient.

Pricing and Availability

There are no indications of a price increase. The 11-inch iPad Air is expected to continue starting just under Rs 60,000 with the 13-inch model at Rs 79,999.

The refreshed iPad Air could launch as early as next week, just ahead of Apple’s March 4 event, making it one of the first hardware updates of the year.