M4 iPad Air gets 12GB of memory without a starting-price rise

Apple kept US prices at $599 and $799 for the two sizes.

Capvise MediaEvent 2 Mar 2026Published 15 Oct 20261 min read

Fourth-generation Apple iPad Air with an Apple Pencil, photographed on a dark tabletop. — Photo: Fourth-generation iPad Air photographed by ajay_suresh in 2021; earlier model than the reported M4 update. Credit: ajay_suresh; ipad-air-2020.jpg; CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP. · CC BY 2.0 · Resized for web delivery

More working memory

Apple’s 2 March iPad Air update paired the M4 chip with 12GB of unified memory, a 50% increase over the previous generation. Memory bandwidth rose to 120GB per second. The 11-inch version retained its $599 US starting price, with the 13-inch model starting at $799. Orders were scheduled to open on 4 March, ahead of 11 March availability.

The release also introduced Apple’s N1 wireless chip and, for cellular configurations, C1X connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 support is part of the upgrade. Apple’s claimed speed increases depend on workload; the clearer purchasing changes are memory, connectivity and the unchanged entry prices. Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard support continue, rather than requiring a newly announced accessory format.