In addition to the iPhone 17e, Apple announced an updated iPad Air—also via press release. The company’s mid-level tablet gets a few minor upgrades, which should offer improved performance all around. Don’t worry, it kept the same price points of $600 for the 11-inch and $800 for the 13-inch models. And like the 17e, preorders for the new M4 iPad Air begin on March 4 and will go on sale on March 11.
The 2026 iPad Air is now powered by an M4 processor, which is the same chip as the 2024 MacBook Pro and 7th-gen iPad Pro tablets, as Apple claims a 30% boost in performance. The new Airs also get a boost from 8GB to 12GB of RAM, and utilize Apple’s N1 and C1X chips for improved connectivity across cellular, WI-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread protocols—with the latter granting the newest Airs Wi-Fi 7 support as well.
Other specs, like its 60Hz LCD screen with up to 500 nits of brightness, base storage of 128GB, dual stereo speakers, and cameras, remain the same as last year’s models. The upgrades don’t sound like much, but if you’re looking to do more on your iPad without spending iPad Pro money, this is a great time to buy an Air if you have an early generation or have never owned one before.
