Intro
It’s been a while since we’ve seen new iPads — 2023 was the Great iPad Drought! The last time Apple updated any of its tablets was in 2022. That all changed today — we now have new iPad Airs and Pros to gawk at, pre-order, and look forward to!
- 11-inch and 13-inch options for both models
- 120 Hz refresh rate only on Pro line
- OLED screens only on Pro line
- USB C with USB 3 speeds on Air, Thunderbolt speeds (4x) on iPad Pro
- Two speakers (landscape stereo) vs four speakers (stereo)
- LiDAR camera to remain a Pro feature
- We have a bigger, 13-inch iPad Air (2024)!
- Big iPad Pro also grows to 13 inches
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Old, meet new
However, the Air does have an 11-inch and 13-inch model, and does support the new Apple Pencil Pro (or an older gen Apple Pencil, if you so wish). It’s also a lovely deisgn, 0.24 in (6.1 mm) thick for both models, weighing 1.02 lbs (462 g) and 1.36 lbs (617 g) for the 11-inch and 13-inch variants respectively.
The iPad Pro looks familiar, but has in fact been redesigned. The new Pro slates are now ultra-thin, at 0.21 in (5.3 mm) and 0.2 in (5.1 mm) for the 11″ and 13″ model respectively. They are also quite light at 0.98 pounds (444 grams) and 1.28 pounds (579 grams).
OK, so the iPad Air gets to look a bit more “old style” — that’s not a big deal. The good news is that it will be compatible with the old Magic Keyboard accessories, which were originally released for the 2020, 2021, 2022 iPad Pros. Then again, the new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro M4 sure looks nice — bigger touchpad with haptic feedback, aluminum arm rest, function key row — pretty desirable upgrades.
At least, both the Air and Pro will fit and pair with the new Apple Pencil Pro — an upgraded stylus that now has a squeeze control, haptic feedback, and a gyroscope for barrel rolls and angle brushing.
The iPads have had USB C ports for a while now, so no change expected there. But, as before, we have Thunderbolt file transfer speeds (40 Gbps) exclusive to the iPad Pro M4 line, and the iPad Air M2 has USB 3 (10 Gbps).
Display Differences
The iPad Air M2 (2024) sticks to good old 60 Hz LCD (ahem, Liquid Retina) and has a 500 nit max brightness (600 nits for the 13-inch model).
Aside from those very core specs, the displays do share premium features — like a laminated construction, where the glass and the touch panel are fused together for an overall thinner build. And they have a special anti-glare coating that has been on the premium iPads for years now — pretty effective. The specs page also lists oleophobic coating — we do wish this one is upgraded in some way as well. Ever since the Apple Pencil has been introduced, the oleophobic coating on iPads was changed to something… far less effective. And that goes for all units that support some version of the Pencil.
The 1 TB and 2 TB iPad Pro M4 models can also be upgraded to nano-textuded glass for glare reduction. That’s a $100 extra, but if you’re already buying a 1 TB or 2 TB model… we imagine it won’t bother you too much.
Speaking of the Apple Pencil, the iPad Air M2 (2024) will now get the Pencil Hover feature — just going over the screen with the tip of the stylus will act as a cursor. This was introduced with the iPad Pro (2022) and was exclusive to that model until now.
Performance and Software
#M2
![iPad Air M2 (2024) vs iPad Pro M4 (2024): expectations](https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/reviews/259216-image/ipad-pro-m4-chip.jpg)
Maybe it’s a branch of the M3, just branded like a new generation for better marketing purposes? Too early to know. But it’s a second-gen 3 nm processor, and Apple states it’s 50% faster than M2. Its GPU now supports Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading, Ray Tracing and is 4 times faster than the one in the M2. Pretty impressive numbers.
Does this mean that the iPad Air M2, or — indeed — the iPad Pro (2022) are now… bad? Nah, not nearly. M-class processors have insane headroom, especially when it comes to mobile applications. Sure, the new M4 is fancy and capable, but we want to see real life application where it delivers enhanced battery life or truly breathtaking performance. We’ll judge it then.
Where the Air line differs is its base storage tier. It has now been upgraded to 128 GB at tier 1 — and that’s for the same $599 price as before. Not incredible, but you can live with 128 GB if you do some housekeeping. The iPad Pro’s minimum storage is now 256 GB, but the starting price for the M4 model has now jumped to $999.As mentioned above, there will be differences in USB transfer speeds, too. Thunderbolt ports seems to be exclusive to the Pro line, and the iPad Air (2024) models still only have USB 3.
Camera
Are tablets cameras?
The iPad Air and iPad Pro lines typically have a 12 MP selfie camera with the ultra-wide lens that enables Center Stage (the camera follows your face automatically), and a 12 MP main camera in the back, which is pretty usable.
The same story repeats here, though, the iPad Pro now has a new adaptive True Tone flash on the back, which is supposedly better for balancing out colors when you are taking photos of documents specifically.
The iPad Pro M4 also has the LiDAR sensor on the back for better accuracy in AR applications — something that hasn’t really gone mainstream, but Apple hasn’t decided to axe it yet. The same can not be said about the ultra-wide camera — iPad Pros used to have ultra-wide snappers, the 2024 models do not.
Audio Quality
In our experience, the Air’s dual speakers are only slightly worse than the Pro. They sound a bit boxier, with a slight mid hump, and compress a bit more at higher volumes, where the quad speakers of the iPad Pros find it easier to push air and sound a bit more spatious. The difference is there but is not huge, so the speaker setup will not be a make or break here.
Battery Life and Charging
iPads last
- iPad Air M2 11″ – 28.93‐watt‐hour ~ 7,670 mAh
- iPad Air M2 13″ – 36.59‐watt‐hour ~ 9,700 mAh
- iPad Pro M4 11″ – 31.29-watt-hour ~ 8,300 mAh
- iPad Pro M4 13″ – 38.99-watt-hour ~ 10,340 mAh
Specs Comparison
The iPad Air usually trucks a step behind the iPad Pro. So, it wasn’t a surprise that the new Airs get the M2 chip. The surprise was the M4 chip in the Pros!
iPad Air M2 11″ | iPad Air M2 13″ | iPad Pro M4 11″ | iPad Pro M4 13″ | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Size, weight | 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 in (247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm) 1.02 lbs (462g) |
11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 in (280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1 mm) 1.36 lbs (618 g) |
9.83 x 6.99 x 0.21 inches (249.7 x 177.5 x 5.3 mm) 0.98 lbs (446 g) |
11.05 x 8.46 x 0.25 inches (280.6mm x 214.9mm x 6.4 mm) 1.28 lbs (582 g) |
Screen | 11″ LCD 60 Hz |
13″ LCD 60 Hz |
11″ OLED 120 Hz ProMotion |
13″ OLED 120 Hz ProMotion |
Processor | Apple M2 5 nm |
Apple M2 5 nm |
Apple M4 3 nm |
Apple M4 3 nm |
RAM, Storage, Price | 8 GB / 128 GB – $599 8 GB / 256 GB – $699 8 GB / 512 GB – $899 8 GB / 1 TB – $1,099 |
8 GB / 128 GB – $799 8 GB / 256 GB – $899 8 GB / 512 GB – $1,099 8 GB / 1 TB – $1,299 |
8 GB / 256 GB – $999 8 GB / 512 GB – $1,199 16 GB / 1 TB – $1,599 16 GB / 2 TB – $1,999 |
8 GB / 256 GB – $1,299 8 GB / 512 GB – $1,499 16 GB / 1 TB – $1,899 16 GB / 2 TB – $2,299 |
Cameras | 12 MP main
12 MP front ultra-wide with Center Stage |
12 MP main
12 MP front ultra-wide with Center Stage |
12 MP main LiDAR 12 MP front ultra-wide with Center Stage |
12 MP main LiDAR 12 MP front ultra-wide with Center Stage |
Battery | ~7,670 mAh | ~9,700 mAh | ~8,300 mAh | ~10,340 mAh |
Charging | USB-C 20 W wired |
USB-C 20 W wired |
USB-C 20 W wired |
USB-C 20 W wired |
So, the iPad Air M2 (2024) is coming in as an iPad Pro (2022) replacement, more or less. You will still miss the 120 Hz display and, if you ask us, once it launches — it will be better to hunt down an iPad Pro 11 (2022) at clearance prices rather than going for a new iPad Air.
Summary
In fact, we kind of think now’s the best time to buy an iPad Pro (2022). Retailers will begin clearing them out, and stock will last for a couple of months — keep an eye out for discounts! That’ll be a better tablet than the current iPad Air M2, and just a slight downgrade from the iPad Pro M4 (2024).
Yup, right now, at this very moment, your best options are either to go all out and find an old iPad Pro while they are around, or go all out, buy the newest iPad Pro, and enjoy that OLED goodness. A few months from now — that’s when the iPad Air M2 will be a viable choice. The old Pros will simply be gone.
👇Follow more 👇
👉 bdphone.com
👉 ultraactivation.com
👉 trainingreferral.com
👉 shaplafood.com
👉 bangladeshi.help
👉 www.forexdhaka.com
👉 uncommunication.com
👉 ultra-sim.com
👉 forexdhaka.com
👉 ultrafxfund.com