Apple iPad Air (M2, 2024) review: new junior iPad is no slouch

The iPad Air is no longer the cheap and underpowered relation to the iPad Pro range. This offering is very capable and with the M2 chip, 8GB of RAM and some good storage options it means you really do need to look at this device before dropping the dollar on the big brother M4 iPad Pro option. It supports the new Apple Pencil Pro with all the new features like haptics, hover, and barrel roll so it’s time to look at what options you have when buying an iPad for creativity.

With Geekbench score beating the M1 iPad Pro this could be an upgrade option from older power machines. Whilst the GPU falls a little short in some respects the overall offering makes for a very capable creative machine. For creatives wanting to use a range of 2D, 3D and editing the iPad Air used to struggle with underpowered chips and not enough RAM but now things have evolved and that is backed up by the Geekbench 6 scores.

Apple iPad Pro (M2, 2024): Key specifications

Design and performance

A fraction thicker than the new iPad Pro offering at 6.1mm as opposed to 5.1 on the big brother. It makes zero difference to anyone who uses a case. I always have my machines in a Folio case, a Magic Keyboard case or a Sketch Board Pro and the depth, although impressive engineering has reached a point where it makes little functional difference.

The screen is 2732x2048-pixel resolution at 264 PPI and does not have the newer Ultra Retina XDR display option seen on the new M4. This doesn't mean that it isn’t still a stunning screen with great black levels, good brightness and the truetone option. There is an anti-glare coating, but it isn't even close to the Nano-texture which is now an option on the iPad Pro.

Geekbench 6 shows how things have changed with these newer models. The GPU Metal score of the iPad Air isn’t too far beyond the older M1 iPad Pros and the Multi Core score beats it hands down.

One small tweak that I loved was the new magnets built in to help when using the new Folio cases. I always struggled to find a good position for my screen on the older Folio but this new one can slide up and down and give you a change of viewing angle. A tiny point but super helpful. Please note that you can’t use the latest Magic Keyboard with these iPad Air models. That's a Pro option only.

Apple iPad Air (M2, 2024) as a creative tool

I took a week with this model and stopped using my 2021 M1 16GB machine in the same way that I did for the new M4 iPad Pro review. I used the new Apple Pencil Pro for the entire week. This machine really surprised me in lots of ways.

For painting and drawing, I used Procreate, my go-to drawing app of choice. I also tested Clip Studio Paint, Ibis Paint and even Apple's own Freeform and Notes for some tests of the new Pencil. Not all apps are ready for the new Pencil Pro, so I had to use Apple native apps for things like Hover. The iPad Air coped well for all my tests with the only functional difference being the number of layers I can have in Procreate at higher screen resolutions. A 10,000x10,000-pixel document gives me only six maximum layers. That was not a huge issue as I never use docs that big, and both the M1 iPad Pro and the M4 iPad Pro only gave me 14 layers at that size. It’s more than capable for most jobs, though. There was zero lag, no brushes misbehaved and overall, apart from the reflection issue (after using the Nano-glass!) I found it seamless.

For digital sculpting on an iPad, I now recommend a minimum RAM of 6GB so the 8GB in the 13” Air is fine for getting into the millions of polygons. The compromise comes when you start to use GPU-related functions like post-processing and then we see some compromise as you add features like ambient occlusion, anti-aliasing, depth of field etc. I managed to sculpt everything I needed to, but I knew there was a performance drop and some lag once things started ramping up. If you plan to use your iPad for heavy rendering, then this isn’t the machine for you, and you need to get some raw GPU power by buying the Pro.

Video editing with Luma Fusion was a great experience and the only time I noticed an issue was in import and export speeds. There was a trivial difference from the older M1, but those functions felt slow compared to the 16GB iPad Pro M4. I would suggest that you need to try some of these creative processes before committing to this as your main mobile machine.

Price and availability

This review was done with the 13” iPad Air in Space Grey. There are three other options including Blue, Purple and Starlight. The base 13” model is from £799 and a fully loaded Wi-Fi only version, 1TB of storage and you are looking at £1428 with next day delivery in the UK. All the options that I specced up were available. Apple Care is another £99, so then you are stepping into the lower-end iPad Pro price range.

Should I buy the Apple iPad Air (M2, 2024)?

I really liked this model. I’ve never owned or even considered an iPad Air in the past as I always found them compromised for more professional 3D work, but this model has changed my mind. All these newer iPads are very capable for painting and drawing in most cases but this one handles the digital sculpting with ease. The M2 and 8GB or RAM make a massive difference and you really need to take time to see if you really need the extra oomph of an iPad Pro.

For non-artists, this is the sweet spot for you between cost and functionality. Powerful enough and not as eye-watering on the price front. Lots of bells and whistles including the features that come with the new iPad Pencil Pro. A better option than the iPad Pro for lots of people but it might still be lacking for heavy hitters.