M2 iPad Air vs M1 iPad Air

Apple has launched the 2024 iPad Air with an upgraded M2 chip, a bigger 13-inch model becoming a member of the 11-inch mannequin, Apple Pencil Professional compatibility, and extra. Be a part of alongside for every thing that’s new and improved for the M2 iPad Air vs M1 iPad Air.

The 2022 iPad Air 5 with M1 blurred the road between the mid and high-end iPads, giving an incentive to purchase the Air that began at $200 (or extra) beneath the $799 11-inch iPad Professional. 

And now the 2024 M2 iPad Air lineup (sixth gen) has arrived which presents much more selection and energy than the M1 iPad Air. Let’s dig in 😁.

M2 iPad Air vs M1 iPad Air

Efficiency

The principle efficiency improve comes from the M2 chip within the new iPad Air. That delivers as much as a 15% sooner CPU, 25% sooner GPU, 40% sooner Neural Engine, and a 2x increase in reminiscence bandwidth from 50GB/s to 100GB/s.

Factoring in all of these efficiency enhancements, Apple says the M2 iPad Air is “almost” 50% sooner than the M1 iPad Air.

	M2 iPad Air	M1 iPad Air
Chip	M2	M1
CPU cores	8	8
GPU cores	10	8
Neural cores	16	16
Storage	128GB – 1TB	64 or 256GB
RAM	8GB	8GB
Reminiscence bandwidth	100GB/s	50GB/s
Mobile	5G (no mmWave)	5G (no mmWave)

Show

With the M2 iPad Air display, you’re getting an 11″ or 13″ Liquid Retina show with True Tone and P3 broad coloration. Each shows are totally laminated and have Apple’s anti-reflective coating.

Technically the shows measure 10.86 and 12.9 inches.

General specs are the identical between the M2 iPad Air shows and the M1 iPad Air – besides the brand new fashions characteristic Apple Pencil Hover help and the 13″ iPad Air is barely brighter.

	13″ M2 iPad Air	11″ M2 iPad Air	10.9″ M1 iPad Air
Show	13″ (12.9)	11″ (10.86)	10.9″ (10.86)
Decision	2732 x 2048	2360 x 1640	2360 x 1640
PPI (pixels per inch)	264	264	264
Show brightness	600 nits	500 nits	500 nits
True Tone	✅	✅	✅
P3 broad coloration	✅	✅	✅
LED-backlit	✅	✅	✅
ProMotion (120Hz)	❌	❌	❌
Anti-reflective coating	✅	✅	✅
Liquid Retina Show	✅	✅	✅
Apple Pencil Hover	✅	✅	❌

One characteristic you miss out on with the brand new iPad Air vs iPad Professional is ProMotion (refresh as much as 120Hz).

Connectivity and equipment

The 2024 M2 iPad Air works with all the identical trendy Apple equipment. That features the brand new Apple Pencil Professional, Magic Keyboard, and Good Folio.

Just like the M1 iPad Air, the M2 iPad Air makes use of Contact ID versus the iPad Professional that makes use of Face ID.

	M2 iPad Air	M1 iPad Air
Apple Pencil Professional	✅	❌
Apple Pencil USB-C	✅	✅
Apple Pencil 2	❌	✅
Magic Keyboard help	✅	✅
5G	✅ (no mmWave)	✅ (no mmWave)
WiFi 6	–	✅
WiFi 6E	✅	❌
Bluetooth	5.3	5.0
USB-C	✅ 3.1 Gen 2	✅ 3.1 Gen 2
Thunderbolt	❌	❌
Contact ID	✅	✅
Face ID	❌	❌

Two different enhancements are WiFi 6E help and Bluetooth 5.3.

Splash of coloration

If the colour of your subsequent pill is necessary, you’ve obtained 4 choices with the iPad Air. It is available in area grey, starlight, purple, and blue.

For these counting, that’s one much less possibility than the M1 iPad Air which was made in pink alongside the above colorways.

In the meantime, the iPad Professional solely is available in area black and silver.

iPad Professional vs iPad Air battery life

Each the brand new M2 iPad Air fashions have the identical battery life as one another and the M1 iPad Air:

• 10 hours of internet or video use on WiFi
• 9 hours of internet use with mobile

Storage and value

The 11″ M2 iPad Air is similar value because the M1 at launch however with double the storage. Or with the 256GB fashions, it’s $50 much less.

The M2 iPad Air fashions provide storage as much as 1TB as a substitute of topping out at 256GB, so naturally, pricing on the upper finish is above what the M1 iPad Air fashions maxed out at.

	13″ M2 iPad Air	11″ M2 iPad Air	10.9″ M1 iPad Air
64GB WiFi	–	–	$599
64GB + cell	–	–	$749
128GB WiFi	$799	$599	–
128GB + cell	$949	$749	–
256GB WiFi	$899	$699	$749
256GB + cell	$1,049	$849	$899
512GB WiFi	$1,099	$899	–
512GB + cell	$1,249	$1,049	–
1TB WiFi	$1,299	$1,099	–
1TB + cell	$1,449	$1,249	–

Dimensions and weight

The 11″ M2 iPad Air is equivalent in dimension and weight to the M1 model. However right here’s how the brand new 11 and 13″ fashions examine in weight and dimensions:

Satirically, the brand new iPad Professional fashions are thinner and lighter than the corresponding M2 iPad Air gadgets. Nonetheless, the 2024 iPad Air fashions are nonetheless very transportable and light-weight.

Cameras

You get the identical rear single digital camera with the M2 iPad Air because the M1 iPad Air. That’s a 12MP broad lens with 4K video recording, Good HDR 4, and extra.

The principle change with the M2 iPad Air is switching to a landscape-oriented 12MP extremely broad entrance digital camera.

One bonus with the 13″ M2 iPad Air is the stereo audio system provide 2x bass in comparison with the smaller M2 iPad Air and M1 iPad Air.

	M2 iPad Air	M1 iPad Air
12MP broad lens	✅	✅
Good HDR 4	✅	❌
Good HDR 3	–	✅
4K video	✅	✅
Prolonged dynamic vary	✅	✅
Slo-mo video	✅	✅
Extremely broad 12MP entrance digital camera	✅ (panorama)	✅ (portrait)
Heart Stage auto-tracking	✅	✅
Cinematic video stabilization	✅	✅
2x zoom out	✅	✅
Panorama stereo audio system	✅	✅
2 microphones	✅	✅

M2 iPad Air vs M1 iPad Air conclusion

Why purchase the M2 iPad Air?

For those who’re tempted by the bigger 13″ show, elevated storage dimension, or sooner efficiency of the M2, the brand new iPad might be a superb match.

The M2 iPad Professional is on the market at Apple and shortly at Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and extra.

Why purchase M1 iPad Air? (Or preserve what you could have)

Contemplating every thing you’re getting, the M1 iPad Air is a good selection for folks with gentle to medium workflows or informal use. Typically out there at a reduction, it’s obtained most of the nice options of the fashionable M2 iPad Air/Professional and the identical design.

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