iPad Air (M2) vs iPad Professional (M4): Comparability Assessment

Apple has lastly up to date its higher-end iPad lineup, with new Air and Professional fashions. The upgrades embody new processors, show sizes, and colours, in addition to an ultra-thin chassis design for the premium fashions. However which one must you select to get the very best worth for cash?

Right here’s our comparability information to the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Professional (M4) fashions that launched in 2024. 

Design & construct high quality

The Air was given a design overhaul one era in the past within the iPad Air (2022), so it’s not shocking that a lot of the development seems acquainted on the newest mannequin. Clearly, essentially the most noticeable distinction is that the Air now is available in a selection of 11-inch and 13-inch variants. 

Specs are just about equivalent for each, with the bigger mannequin making use of the additional actual property to incorporate a 2x bass response within the stereo audio system, however that’s about it. 

Dimensions work out as follows:

• 11-inch iPad Air (M2): 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches (247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm); 1.02 kilos (462g)
• 13-inch iPad Air (M2): 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches (280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1mm); 1.36 kilos (617g)

There are new colour schemes, with the Air out there in House Grey, Starlight, Purple, or Blue. However maybe essentially the most helpful improve (at the very least by way of design) is that the FaceTime digicam has been repositioned on the longer fringe of the iPad, making a panorama orientation that makes way more sense than the earlier portrait one. The Air nonetheless doesn’t get Face ID, nonetheless, so the Contact ID sensor within the energy button might be the way you unlock the gadget and make funds. 

The baseline storage has lastly been upgraded to one thing wise, plus Apple has added increased capability choices too. Listed here are the completely different quantities out there:

On the iPad Professional (M4), in the meantime, the design advances are extra profound. Sure, it’s nonetheless an aluminum rectangle, however Apple’s engineers have labored arduous to make this not solely the thinnest iPad they’ve ever created, however the thinnest Apple product ever made! Sure, even slimmer than the iPod nano. Loopy. 

Listed here are the size for the 2 new iPad Professional fashions:

• 11-inch iPad Professional (M4): 9.83 x 6.99 x 0.21 inches (249.7 x 177.5 x 5.3 mm); 0.98 kilos (444g)
• 13-inch iPad Professional (M4): 11.09 x 8.48 x 0.20 inches (281.6 x 215.5 x 5.1 mm); 1.28 kilos (579g) 

So, for the primary time, the iPad Professionals are actually lighter than the iPad Airs. Perhaps Apple must rethink the names of its iPads going ahead? 

Whereas the iPad Air (M2) has twin stereo audio system, the Professional fashions double this with a four-speaker array. Additionally they make use of a panorama FaceTime digicam, however Apple bestows Face ID on its Professional fashions, making it even simpler to log in. 

Coloration schemes are less complicated on the Professionals, with solely House Black or Silver to select from, whereas storage choices come within the following flavors:

All Professional and Air fashions,  in compliance with EU legislation, include USB-C charging ports, though the Professional variations have upgraded Thunderbolt / USB 4 capabilities. Apple additionally introduced a brand new Apple Pencil Professional, which works with each the Air and Professional fashions; the brand new Air and Professional are additionally each appropriate with the Apple Pencil (USB-C). There’s a brand new Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Professional (M4), whereas the prevailing Magic Keyboard works with the iPad Air (M2) gadgets. 

Show 

Apple has been arduous at work on the brand new Extremely Retina XDR shows for the Professional fashions. They function a revolutionary new design that mixes two OLED panels layered as much as create one thing the corporate is looking a Tandem OLED show. This permits them to be brighter, with a full display screen brightness for SDR and HDR of 1,000 nits, and a most of 1,600 nits for HDR, whereas delivering the depths of colour and distinction for which OLED panels are famed. 

You can too go for a nano-texture glass in the event you purchase the 1TB or 2TB storage variants. This has microscopic etches within the panel that diffuse gentle, massively lowering the glare from surrounding gentle sources. Customary glass seems on all the opposite fashions. 

There may be in fact ProMotion (or 120Hz refresh charge in human-speak), which stays a Professional-only function. 

Whereas the Professionals take the headlines for his or her spectacular new shows, the Liquid Retina panels on the iPad Air (M2) fashions are not any slouches, and for the primary time you get to decide on between an 11-inch (truly 10.86-inch) or 13-inch (truly 12.9-inch) measurement. The entire new iPads provide P3 Vast Coloration (P3), True Tone, and resolutions that ship 264 ppi (pixels per inch), as you may see beneath:

• 11-inch iPad Air (M2): 2360 x 1640
• 13-inch iPad Air (M2): 2732 x 2048
• 11-inch iPad Professional (M4): 2420 x 1668
• 13-inch iPad Professional (M4): 2752 x 2064

The brightness of the Airs does lag behind their dearer siblings, nonetheless, topping out at 500 nits. Excellent news is that each one assist the Apple Pencil Hover function, which was beforehand solely out there on the iPad Professional.

Processor 

It’s all change on the processor entrance, with each platforms getting strong upgrades. The Airs go from the M1 to the M2 chipset, whereas the Professionals soar additional, swapping the earlier M2 for the brand-new M4. 

The M1 was already highly effective sufficient for many issues, so transferring to the M2 on the Air is nice information for anybody that desires a quick iPad for gaming and a few artistic work, and one that may keep speedy for years to return. It’s full of an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine to deal with AI and machine studying options. It’s so highly effective that it was the driving power of the previous-gen iPad Professional fashions. 

This 12 months’s Professionals, although, are fitted with some frankly crackers processing energy. Apple claims the brand new M4 is without doubt one of the major explanation why the brand new iPad Professionals might be made so skinny and make the most of the Tandem OLED show.

Constructed on a 3-nanometer structure, it options improved pace and power administration, all powered by a CPU with 4 efficiency cores, six effectivity cores, and next-generation machine studying accelerators. Apple says that the brand new M4 delivers 1.5x sooner CPU efficiency than the M2. 

The GPU has additionally been levelled up, with 10 cores and numerous efficiency enhancements that may render apps as much as 4x sooner than the M2. All whereas delivering the identical efficiency as that chip, however utilizing solely 1 / 4 of the ability draw. 

In all honesty, the M2 within the Air is greater than sufficient for folks utilizing the iPad as an on a regular basis gadget, whereas the M4 is actually Professional-level {hardware} that ought to fulfill even essentially the most demanding iPad artistic. 

Cameras

We’ve to confess, we’re not followers of individuals utilizing iPads to take photos, nevertheless it occurs and we simply must cope with it. There are usually not that many distinct variations between the optics out there on the Air and Professional fashions, with the latter benefitting from some small further capabilities. 

All include a 12Mp Vast digicam (f/1.8) providing a 5x digital zoom and Good HDR 4. The Professionals get Adaptive True Tone flash as a bonus. Throughout the board you may seize video as much as 4K @ 60fps, slo-mo at 240fps, and time-lapse with stabilisation. The Professionals once more have some benefit, with ProRes video, audio zoom and stereo recording. Once more, for most individuals this received’t be a difficulty in any respect, because it’s primarily for filmmakers. 

The front-facing digicam is once more commonplace throughout the platforms, with a 12Mp panorama Extremely Vast (f/2.4) that helps 2x zoom out, Centre Stage, Retina flash, Good HDR 4 for photographs, Cinematic video stabilisation, and high out at 1080p @ 60fps. The place the Professionals cameras differ is the inclusion of TrueDepth for Face ID, Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting, plus you should use Animoji and Memoji.

Connectivity

There’s little to separate the Airs and Professionals by way of connectivity. All of them assist Wi-Fi 6e, 5G (assuming you pay further for mobile connectivity), MIMO, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit LTE and GPS. Bodily connections are by the USB-C port on the Airs or the Thunderbolt / USB 4 on the Professionals, whereas all have Good Connectors for the Apple Magic Keyboards. 

Right here’s a breakdown of how the iPad Air M2 fashions evaluate:

Right here’s a breakdown of how the iPad Professional M4 fashions evaluate:

Worth and Availability 

There are a number of value factors out there, relying on storage allocation, mobile connectivity or the scale of the show. Listed here are all of the variations, with the gadgets receiving 15 Might launch dates. Under every listing you’ll discover a price-comparison widget displaying the very best offers in your space.

11-inch iPad Air M2:

• 128GB, Wi-Fi: $599 / £599 / A$999
• 256GB, Wi-Fi: $699/ £699 / A$1,179
• 512GB, Wi-Fi: $899/ £899 / A$1,529
• 1TB, Wi-Fi: $1,099/ £1,099 / A$1,879
• 128GB, Mobile: $749 / £749 / A$1,249
• 256GB, Mobile: $849/ £849 / A$1,429
• 512GB, Mobile: $1,049/ £1,049 / A$1,779
• 1TB, Mobile: $1,249/ £1,249 / A$2,129

$584.99

$599

13-inch iPad Air M2:  

• 128GB, Wi-Fi: $799 / £799 / A$1,299
• 256GB, Wi-Fi: $899/ £899 / A$1,479
• 512GB, Wi-Fi: $1,099/ £1,099 / A$1,829
• 1TB, Wi-Fi: $1,299/ £1,299 / A$2,179
• 128GB, Mobile: $949 / £949 / A$1,549
• 256GB, Mobile: $1,049/ £1,049 / A$1,729
• 512GB, Mobile: $1,249/ £1,249 / A$2,079
• 1TB, Mobile: $1,449/ £1,449 / A$2,429

$799

11-inch iPad Professional (M4):

• 256GB, Wi-Fi: $999 / £999 / A$1,699
• 512GB, Wi-Fi: $1,199 / £1,199 / A$2,049
• 1TB, Wi-Fi: $1,599 / £1,599 / A$2,749
• 2TB, Wi-Fi: $1,999 / £1,999 / A$3,449
• 256GB, Mobile: $1,199 / £1,199 / A$2,049 
• 512GB, Mobile: $1,399 / £1,399 / A$2,399
• 1TB, Mobile: $1,799 / £1,799 / A$3,099
• 2TB, Mobile: $2,199 / £2,199 / A$3,799

$999

13-inch iPad Professional (M4):

• 256GB, Wi-Fi: $1,299 / £1,299 / A$2,199
• 512GB, Wi-Fi: $1,499 / £1,499 / A$2,549
• 1TB, Wi-Fi: $1,899 / £1,899 / A$3,249
• 2TB, Wi-Fi: $2,299 / £2,299 / A$3,949
• 256GB, Mobile: $1,499 / £1,499 / A$2,549 
• 512GB, Mobile: $1,699 / £1,699 / A$2,899
• 1TB, Mobile: $2,099 / £2,099 / A$3,599
• 2TB, Mobile: $2,499 / £2,499 / A$4,299

$1299

Ought to I purchase the iPad Air M2 or iPad Professional M4?

Apple retains factor fairly easy with the brand new Airs and Professionals. There are subsequent to no variations specs-wise between the 11-inch and 13-inch fashions on both platform, so when you’ve selected whether or not it’s an Air or Professional mannequin you need, the one different issue is a desire of measurement. 

If you need an on a regular basis iPad that’s actually quick, can take something you throw at it, plus making you protected within the data that you just received’t must improve any time quickly, then the Air is a superb selection. 

Those that need the easiest by way of pace and show will discover the Professional fashions arduous to withstand. They’re nice, however you’ll have to ask your self if you really want that a lot energy? In that case, then the Professionals ship it in abundance.

To see what different choices can be found, make sure you learn our information to the finest iPads earlier than making your choice.