iPad Air M4 review: Powerful, polished and surprisingly sensible

In March, Apple refreshed the iPad Air with the new M4 chip, bringing performance upgrades that are noticeable in everyday use. While there are no major changes to the design, display, or overall experience, the iPad Air continues to offer practicality with premium performance, and without a premium price tag.

I have been using the 11-inch Apple iPad Air with M3 chip for nearly a year now, relying on it heavily for professional work, entertainment, and creative tasks as well. In many ways, it has become my go-to device after my smartphone. Now, with Apple launching the latest-generation model, I got the opportunity to test the 13-inch Apple iPad Air M4, but initially, I was unsure about the larger display, which ultimately proved quite useful for productivity.

Therefore, without any further ado, let’s dive deep into how the iPad Air M4 performs, who should buy the device, and if it's really worth spending Rs 59,900.

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iPad Air M4 review: Design and display

The iPad Air M4 comes with a similar design to its predecessor, with the same aluminium build, Liquid Retina glass display, and the same 11-inch/ 13-inch sizes. The tablet measures 6.1mm in thickness and weighs 464 grams. It comes in four muted colours, which include Space Grey, Starlight, Blue, and Purple. 

Despite any design changes, the iPad Air M4 delivers the premium and classy design that many buyers would expect in the price segment. On the front, the iPad Air features a landscape-oriented camera setup with Apple’s Centre Stage support, but the absence of Face ID still feels like a noticeable compromise. It still offers the dated Touch ID feature on the power button to maintain privacy. 

In terms of display, we received the 13-inch variant, which offers a slightly different experience compared to the 11-inch model due to its larger screen. The iPad Air continues to deliver crisp visuals, vibrant colours, and decent contrast levels, but it still uses an IPS LCD panel instead of OLED technology, which offers comparatively lower brightness levels and less deep blacks.

While Apple upgraded the iPhone 17 to a ProMotion display, offering a 120Hz refresh rate, the iPad Air still offers a 60Hz display, which feels like another compromise. But, the question remains, which display size should you go for?

With experience of both display sizes of the iPad Air, I found the 11-inch model to be a more practical option for both entertainment and productivity. Its compact size makes it easier to carry and more comfortable for everyday use. On the other hand, the 13-inch model feels more like carrying a laptop, better suited for professional work rather than casual portability, at least in my experience. 

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I used the iPad Air without the Magic Keyboard, which limited my productivity. Therefore, if you want the 13-inch model for professional purposes, then make sure to have the Magic keyboard as well for full utilisation of its capabilities.

Lastly, the iPad features a quad speaker setup that delivers a rich and immersive audio experience. On the front, it is equipped with a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP rear camera, both offering decent image and video quality, suitable for video meetings, document scanning, etc.

iPad Air M4 review: Performance 

Under the hood, the iPad Air 2026 model comes with last year’s M4 chip, an upgrade from the M3 chip. The chip features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU built on a 3nm process, and it is paired with 12 GB RAM, up from last year’s 8GB RAM offering. In day-to-day use, such as browsing, media streaming, juggling between multiple apps, casual gaming, etc., you probably won’t notice much difference with the M3 iPad Air. In everyday use, the iPad maintained a top-notch performance without any lag.

You notice the extra memory when you push the iPad harder, like running AI features, which felt faster and fluid, juggling between multiple tabs on Safari tabs at once, running Netflix in the background, or making templates on Canva, the device did not sweat. Therefore, multitasking on the iPad Air M4 is a breeze and even similar to the M3 model.

In terms of gaming, a 13-inch device is not quite comfortable for playing games like BGMI or COD, but it also runs smoothly at higher graphics settings. But you may feel strain after about 30 minutes. Therefore, demanding tasks such as gaming, photo editing, and productivity apps remained consistently smooth.

iPad Air M4 combines power with reliability and flexibility, offering smooth performance across the board, including productivity, gaming, and creative work. This puts the tablet at a “sweet spot”, offering near-Pro performance without the Pro price tag. In addition to extended RAM and the powerful M4 chip, the iPad Air also secure the foundation for future upgrades.

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iPad Air M4 review: Software

The iPad Air M4 runs iPadOS 26 out of the box, consisting of all the latest features and Apple Intelligence upgrades. In terms of software, Apple surely knows how to make the user experience clean and seamless at all touch points, and the iPadOS is one of the biggest strengths of the device.

From a flexible windowing system that enable to resize apps and priority notifications, to effortless file management, the iPadOS 26 makes interaction quite smooth. In addition, the on-device Apple Intelligence features enhance everyday experiences with smarter writing tools, improved voice assistance, contextual suggestions, and more.

In addition, if you already have a complete Apple ecosystem, the productivity and continuity become effortless. However, it still does not offer a full desktop-like experience as features feel limited, and iPad’s window management is not as flexible. It also misses out on supporting multiple user accounts. 

iPad Air M4 review: Battery

Apple claims to offer up to 10 hours of battery life, and it lives up to the claims. The tablet easily lasts a day, even with heavy day-to-day tasks, making it a great fit for power users. 

The iPad Air M4 comes with a USB-C port that supports up to 20W charging, while it may not seem as fast, the charging time is decent. It takes about 2.5 hours, which is decent considering the massive size. However, a faster charging speed could have been appreciated. 

iPad Air M4 review: Verdict

The iPad Air M4 is a polished and reliable tablet, offering near-Pro level performance without forcing buyers to pay a premium price tag. The tablet is backed by an M4 chip, 12GB RAM, a user-friendly software, Apple Intelligence feature, and more, making it perfect for productivity and casual use. 

However, the iPad Air comes with a few familiar compromises that can not be ignored. It misses out on Face ID in favour of the older Touch ID, and the Liquid Retina display delivers crisp and vibrant visuals, but it stays capped at a 60Hz refresh rate on an IPS LCD panel. 

Additionally, choosing between the two sizes changes the experience entirely: the 11-inch model is for practical, everyday portability, whereas the expansive 13-inch model leans heavily into a laptop-like experience. 

Overall, the iPad Air M4 strikes a strong balance between productivity, entertainment, and casual use. While it may not offer every premium feature reserved for the iPad Pro, it delivers enough power to sustain a pro-level experience.