Apple iPad Air Apple 13" iPad Air (M4, 128GB, Wi-Fi + 5G, Blue) Review

The 13-inch Apple iPad Air with the M4 chip is a powerhouse creative tablet. It offers near-Pro performance and a large, beautiful display for several hundred dollars less than the iPad Pro. Just be ready to pay extra for storage and the essential keyboard and pencil accessories.

The new 13-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is Apple's latest attempt to blur the line between tablet and laptop. It's a big, powerful slate that starts at $949, and it's squarely aimed at anyone who wants a premium iPad experience without paying Pro prices. With a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, 12GB of RAM, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, it's built for creatives and professionals who need to get work done on the go. And yes, it's ready for Apple Intelligence, which is a big part of the pitch now.

The M4 chip is the star of the show here. In our database, its CPU performance lands in the 91st percentile, and the GPU hits the 90th. That means this thing is fast. For artists, it'll handle complex Procreate canvases without a stutter. For business users, it'll juggle video calls, spreadsheets, and Safari tabs with ease. The 12GB of RAM is a huge upgrade from previous Air models and puts it in the 80th percentile, which is great for multitasking. The only performance hiccup is the base 128GB of storage, which sits at a middling 55th percentile. If you plan on storing a lot of 4K video or large app libraries, you'll want to consider paying for more space.

At $949, the iPad Air M4 sits in a tricky spot. It's significantly more expensive than the base iPad, but it's also a few hundred dollars cheaper than the iPad Pro with an M5 chip. You're paying for that M4 power and the larger 13-inch screen. If your main question is 'should I get the Air or the Pro?', the answer usually comes down to the Pro's 120Hz ProMotion display and slightly better speakers. If you don't need those, the Air is the better value.

Let's talk competitors. The obvious one is the 11-inch iPad Pro M5. It's more expensive, but you get that silky-smooth 120Hz ProMotion display, a slightly more powerful chip, and better speakers. If display refresh rate matters to you for drawing or scrolling, the Pro is worth the upgrade. On the Android side, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ is a direct rival. It offers a fantastic OLED screen and a desktop-like Dex mode that many find more laptop-like than iPadOS. For Windows users, the Microsoft Surface Pro is the true 2-in-1 alternative, running full Windows 11. The iPad Air wins on raw app ecosystem and polish for creative tasks, but the Surface is better if you need full desktop software.

Skip the iPad Air M4 if you're on a tight budget or just want a simple media consumption device. The base iPad is a much better value for watching Netflix and reading. Also, if you need a true laptop replacement for heavy-duty, multi-window work or specific desktop software, a MacBook Air or a Windows 2-in-1 like the Surface Pro will serve you better. This is for people who specifically want a premium, large-screen iPad.

So, should you buy the 13-inch iPad Air M4? If you're an artist, designer, or mobile professional who lives in apps like Procreate, Affinity Designer, or Lumafusion, and you want a big screen without the Pro price tag, this is an easy yes. The M4 chip is overkill in the best way. But if you're just looking for a tablet to watch videos and browse the web, this is overkill in the wrong way. The cheaper base iPad or even a last-gen model will do just fine. Think of this as a tool for specific, demanding jobs.