In summary:
- Macworld analyzes Apple’s new iPad Air (2026), which features internal upgrades like the M4 chip, C1X modem, and 12GB RAM while maintaining identical design, colors, display, and pricing.
- The refresh appears minimal since older M1 iPad Air models from 2022 will run the new iPadOS 26 perfectly fine, questioning upgrade necessity.
- Recent iPad Air owners may not need this update, as Apple’s dominance in tablets means incremental improvements rather than revolutionary changes.
Kicking off a week of product announcements, the new iPad Air has arrived, but if you go see it at the Apple Store, you’d be hard-pressed to know if Apple actually switched out the old models. They have the same dimensions, same colors, and same displays, have the same prices, and the same tagline on Apple’s website.
What’s actually new is the CPU (M4 vs M3), modem (C1X), networking chip (N1), and RAM (12GB vs 8GB). Those are all fine upgrades, especially for the same prices, but if you own last year’s model or even 2024’s version, there’s probably no need to upgrade.
Apple’s press release highlights “blazing performance” and “game-changing iPadOS 26 features,” but it’s not like the iPad Air didn’t have that before. Quite frankly, an M1 iPad Air from 2022 will run iPadOS 26 perfectly fine.
Not that any of this is a bad thing. Apple has absolutely won the tablet war, and its hardware has no competitor. And now that iPadOS 26 has finally upgraded the interface to be more like the Mac, there’s not much to criticize. But some new colors would have been nice.
You can preorder the new iPad Air beginning Wednesday, March 4, at 9:15 a.m. ET.
Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4, 2026)
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M4, 2026)
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.