Apple refreshed the iPad Air in May 2024 with the M4 chip, bringing it to the same silicon as the iPad Pro. The previous M2 Air from 2022 remains a strong device — the M4 Air is $599, the M2 can be found refurbished around $399-449. The gap between them is real but targeted: the M4 adds a landscape front camera, the M4 chip with 10-core GPU, and Apple Intelligence compatibility. For many users, the M2 is still more than enough.

Specs Comparison

The Landscape Camera Change

The biggest practical change from M2 to M4 Air is the front camera's position. The M2 Air placed the front camera on the portrait edge — fine when using the iPad upright, but awkward for video calls in landscape orientation (the common use with a keyboard). The M4 Air moves the camera to the landscape edge, so the camera now faces you when the iPad is in its natural keyboard position.

For anyone who uses iPad for video calls — FaceTime, Zoom, Teams — from a keyboard case or stand, this is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement. The camera appears in the correct position, not looking at your ear from the side. It sounds minor until you've sat through a year of off-axis video calls.

The M4's front camera is also upgraded to a 12MP ultra-wide with Center Stage. The M2 Air had a 12MP ultra-wide as well, so megapixels are the same, but the M4's Center Stage implementation is slightly improved.

Performance: M4 vs M2

The M4 chip in the iPad Air 11" has an 8-core CPU (4 performance + 4 efficiency), 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine with 38 TOPS. The M2 has an 8-core CPU (4+4), 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine at 15.8 TOPS. GPU core count is identical; the performance gain comes from process node improvements (3nm M4 vs 5nm M2) and architectural refinements.

Geekbench 6 single-core: M4 ~3,800 vs M2 ~2,600. Real-world: both feel fast for email, browsing, streaming, and productivity. The M4 gap matters in video export, ML tasks, and apps that push sustained workloads. In 15-minute iPad sessions checking email and reading, you will not feel the difference.

Both ship with 8GB RAM in their base configurations, enabling Apple Intelligence. The M4 Air's higher Neural Engine TOPS (38 vs 15.8) gives it a future-proofing advantage for increasingly capable AI features.

Display and Design

Both M4 and M2 Air use the same 11" Liquid Retina IPS LCD panel at 2360×1640, 264 ppi, 500 nits typical brightness with True Tone and P3 wide color. Unlike the iPad Pro, neither Air generation uses OLED or mini-LED. The display is identical for practical purposes.

Physical dimensions are nearly identical — M4 is 247.6×178.5×6.1mm and weighs 462g; M2 was 247.6×178.5×6.1mm and 461g. Apple didn't redesign the chassis. You cannot tell them apart by holding them.

Both support USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2 on M4 vs USB 3.2 Gen 1 on M2 — effectively 10Gbps vs 5Gbps for file transfers). Both support Apple Pencil Pro and the Magic Keyboard Folio.

Value Analysis

The M4 iPad Air 11" starts at $599 (128GB). Refurbished M2 iPad Air 11" models from Apple sell for $399-449. That's a $150-200 gap for the same display, essentially the same chassis, and a meaningfully faster chip plus landscape camera.

For new buyers: at $150-200 more, the M4 is worth it. The landscape camera improvement alone is worth $100 to any video-call-heavy user, and the M4 chip future-proofs the device better.

For M2 Air owners: the upgrade calculus is less obvious. If you sit at a desk and video call frequently, the landscape camera is a genuine daily quality-of-life improvement. If you use your iPad for media consumption, note-taking, and casual browsing, the M2 will serve you just as well for another 3-4 years.

Best For

• Apple iPad Air 11" M4 New buyers who want the best current Air, and video-call-heavy users who need the landscape camera
• Apple iPad Air 11" M2 M2 Air owners who are satisfied, and budget buyers who find a good refurb deal

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