Apple iPad Air Apple 13" iPad Air (M4, 256GB, Wi-Fi + 5G, Gray) Review

The 13-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is a creative powerhouse that blurs the line between tablet and laptop. Its standout feature is the pro-level M4 processor, which delivers performance in the 91st percentile. At just over $1,000, it's a premium device, but it offers exceptional value versus the iPad Pro. We recommend it for artists and on-the-go professionals, but casual users should look at cheaper options.

The new 13-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is a fascinating piece of tech. It's Apple's attempt to blur the line between 'pro' and 'prosumer' even further, packing a chip that was, until recently, exclusive to the iPad Pro line into a more affordable body. If you've been eyeing a Pro but couldn't justify the price, this is the device that's meant to make you stop and think.

This tablet is built for people who want to create, not just consume. Our scoring puts it at the top of the class for art and design (89.8/100), and it's a powerhouse for entertainment and business tasks too. With 12GB of RAM and that M4 chip, it's ready for serious photo editing, 3D modeling, and multitasking that would make a laptop sweat. The optional Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard support turn it into a legitimate creative studio or portable office.

What makes it interesting is the sheer amount of laptop-grade power in a 635-gram slate. It's not just about raw speed, though. It's about having that power available in a form factor you can sketch on, read on the couch with, or easily carry around all day. The promise of Apple Intelligence features is also a big part of the story here, and the M4's neural engine is built to handle it.

Let's talk about those numbers. The M4 chip puts the iPad Air's CPU performance in the 91st percentile versus all tablets in our database. That's not just good, it's 'rivaling mid-tier laptops' good. The 9-core GPU lands in the 90th percentile, which translates to buttery-smooth Procreate canvases, complex video timelines that don't stutter, and the ability to play any mobile game at max settings without breaking a sweat. This isn't incremental; it's a generational leap over the previous Air.

The real-world implication is simple: you won't be waiting on this device. Exporting a 4K video project, applying filters to a batch of high-res photos, or jumping between a dozen Safari tabs, a notes app, and a streaming service feels instantaneous. The 12GB of RAM (80th percentile) is the secret sauce here, ensuring those apps stay open and ready in the background. The only performance note is the battery, which sits around the 48th percentile. With this much power on tap, you trade some longevity for speed, but it still gets you through a full workday.

Here's the tricky part. At around $1,050, the iPad Air isn't cheap. You're paying a premium for that Apple silicon and build quality. However, when you look at the price-to-performance ratio within the Apple ecosystem, it's compelling. You're getting about 90% of the iPad Pro's core performance (the M4 chip) for significantly less money, especially if you don't need the Pro's mini-LED display or Thunderbolt port.

The pricing is remarkably consistent across vendors, hovering right at that $1047-$1049 mark. There are no deals to be had, but no nasty surprises either. You're buying into a platform where the accessories (keyboard, pencil) will add several hundred more dollars if you need them, so factor that into your total cost.

The most obvious competitor is the 11-inch iPad Pro with the M5 chip. The Pro gives you a slightly better processor, a sublime mini-LED or OLED screen with higher refresh rate, and Thunderbolt 4. But you pay a hefty premium for those extras. For most creators and professionals, the Air's screen and M4 are more than enough, making it the smarter buy.

On the Android side, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ is the direct rival. It offers a fantastic OLED screen and great software for multitasking. But its processor, while fast, doesn't match the raw, app-optimized power of the M4 for creative tasks like video editing or 3D design. The Surface Pro is a different beast entirely—a full Windows PC in tablet form. It's better for traditional office work and specific desktop software, but its tablet app ecosystem and battery life often can't compete with the iPad's polish.

You should skip the 13-inch iPad Air if your main goal is casual media consumption and reading. Our data flags reading as its weakest area (76.4/100), and that's because the 13-inch size and 635-gram weight make it less comfortable to hold for long periods on the couch compared to a smaller, lighter tablet or an e-reader. You're paying for performance you won't use.

Also, if you're on a tight budget and just need a tablet for kids, web browsing, and streaming, the standard iPad is a much better value. And finally, if your daily driver needs to be a full desktop operating system for legacy business software or advanced development work, you'll hit the limits of iPadOS. In that case, a Microsoft Surface Pro or a traditional laptop is still the right tool for the job.

If you're an artist, designer, student, or mobile professional who lives in creative apps like Procreate, Affinity, or LumaFusion, this iPad Air is arguably the best value in the Apple tablet lineup right now. The M4 chip is overkill in the best possible way, and pairing it with the Pencil Pro creates a dream setup. It's also a fantastic entertainment device for movies and games, thanks to that gorgeous screen.

However, if your primary use is web browsing, email, and reading e-books or comics, this is massive overkill. The larger size and weight make it less ideal as a casual couch tablet, and our scores reflect that. For those users, a standard iPad or a smaller, lighter model would be more comfortable and save you a lot of money. And if you need to run full desktop applications like Visual Studio or AutoCAD, you still need a laptop.