The new iPad Air M4 is here, and it's as we suspected

After much speculation, the new iPad Air has finally been announced. The new iPad Air features an M4 chip and more memory for the same starting price as the previous M3 iPad Air (that's $599 for the 11-inch or $799 for the 13-inch with Apple discounts available for students).

It has a faster CPU and GPU as well as things like higher memory bandwidth and other memory improvements which make it up to 30 per cent faster than the previous iPad Air (M3), and up to 2.3 times faster than the iPad Air with the M1 chip.

It feels like Apple is intent on beating itself at its own game, with faster and faster iPads, each one more nifty than the last. But the question is, does anyone really need an iPad that nippy? Is Apple just making it faster for the sake of speed, rather than user feedback? And is anyone still paying attention, or do we all have iPad fatigue at this point?

Follow along with this week's announcements at our Apple March Event live blog, where we'll give expert commentary and all the news as it happens.

With this release, the iPad Air inches closer to the iPad Pro in terms of performance. The latest iPad Pro has an M5 chip, and while more announcements are still to come, it doesn't seem that likely that the Pro is going to get an upgrade this time around.

Elsewhere, the new iPad Air also boasts super-speedy Apple silicon connectivity chips, N1 and C1X and support for WiFi 7. It's available in two sizes like the previous models – either the 11-inch or the 13-inch and it comes in four different colours – blue, purple, starlight, and space grey. These are the same as before, which is a shame. We always like to see shiny new colours.

Is this new iPad Air any good for creatives? Apple seems to think so, and while we haven't tried it yet, we're predicting that we'll agree too.

We praised the iPad Air M3 for creatives when we reviewed it last year, and with the addition of Apple Creator Studio, a subscription for apps such as Pixelmator Pro and Final Cut Pro, and this new blisteringly fast chip, we don't think creatives can really go wrong.

It has a 9-core GPU, meaning that its graphics performance looks to be stunning and it'll be great for 3D artists and gamers alike with its faster 3D pro rendering.

Apple also says it's good for AI, with faster memory bandwidth and a super-speedy Neural Engine. And for many creatives, this is also a good thing. It also has better sound quality compared to the M1 iPad Air.

The iPad Air M4 supports the Apple Pencil Pro or the Apple Pencil USB-C (see our which Apple Pencil should I buy post). The Apple Pencil Pro is ideal for creatives, and we think it's worth paying extra for it if you're going to be sketching a lot.

Is all of this really necessary? Well, the short answer is, no. Is it an exciting announcement? Also no, not really (sorry Apple). Will Apple fans love it anyway? Probably, yes.

Seeing as the cost is the same as last year's iPad Air model, you're now getting more for your money. Plus, older iPad Airs will now inevitably decrease in price, so it may be a good time to pick up a bargain.

You can pre-order the new iPad Air from Wednesday 4 March, with availability starting the week after (11 March).