Apple iPad Air Apple 11" iPad Air (M4, 512GB, Wi-Fi + 5G, Space Review

The iPad Air with the M4 chip delivers CPU performance in the 91st percentile, making it a beast for creative work. You get pro-level speed and 512GB of storage without the iPad Pro's price tag. The trade-off is a mediocre 48th percentile battery and a good-but-not-great screen.

The iPad Air with the M4 chip is a weirdly powerful tablet. We're talking CPU performance in the 91st percentile and GPU in the 90th, which is frankly overkill for most tablet stuff. It's got 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, putting it in the 80th and 88th percentiles respectively, so it's not just fast, it's also got room to breathe. The real story is that this is a pro-level chip in a more affordable body, and it shows. It scores an 87.1/100 for art and design work and 85.5/100 for business, making it a legit tool, not just a consumption device. Just don't expect it to be a great e-reader, as it only scores a 73.7 in that category.

Let's talk about that M4. A 10-core CPU landing in the 91st percentile means this thing chews through video exports, 3D modeling in apps like Shapr3D, and complex document workflows without breaking a sweat. The 9-core GPU sits in the 90th percentile, so mobile games and AR apps run at max settings with zero hiccups. It's paired with 12GB of unified memory, which is 50% more than the last-gen Air and crucial for keeping multiple pro apps and layers in memory. The connectivity is its other superpower, hitting the 94th percentile with Wi-Fi 7 and 5G. The screen is solid at the 78th percentile—it's a sharp 11" Liquid Retina display at 264 ppi and 500 nits, perfect for most tasks. The only real performance letdown is the battery, which sits at a middling 48th percentile. It'll get you through a day, but you won't be wowed.

At $1049, you're paying a premium, but you're getting near-Pro performance in a more accessible package. The M4 chip alone justifies a big chunk of that cost if you actually need the speed. Compared to stepping up to an 11" iPad Pro, you save several hundred dollars while only really sacrificing the 120Hz ProMotion display and a slightly better camera system. For most creative and business tasks, the Air's 78th percentile screen and killer internals are more than enough. The value is clear if your workflow demands power; if you're just streaming and browsing, it's serious overkill.

Stacked against its main rivals, the Air's position is interesting. The 11" iPad Pro (M5) will beat it on pure specs and that silky 120Hz screen, but for a couple hundred dollars more. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ offers a fantastic OLED screen and great speakers, but its processor can't touch the M4's 91st percentile CPU performance. The Microsoft Surface Pro (Copilot+ PC) is a full Windows laptop replacement, but it's heavier, more expensive, and its ARM chip is still proving itself. For pure tablet power per dollar, especially for Apple-centric creatives, the M4 Air hits a very sweet spot between the base iPad and the Pro.

Skip this iPad Air if your primary use is media consumption and light browsing. You're paying for a 91st percentile CPU you'll never fully use, and the 48th percentile battery life won't impress. Also, if you're a voracious ebook reader, its low 73.7/100 reading score means there are better, cheaper tablets for that single purpose. Look at a base model iPad or an Android alternative instead.

The M4 iPad Air is a data-driven powerhouse. Its CPU and GPU percentiles scream 'pro device,' and its connectivity is top-of-class. We can confidently recommend it to artists, designers, and mobile professionals who need serious performance in a tablet form factor but don't want to spring for the Pro. Just go in knowing the battery is just okay, and the screen, while good, isn't the absolute best. If those are your top priorities, look at the Galaxy Tab S10+ or save longer for the iPad Pro.