The 2024 iPad Pro is the first Apple device with an M4 chip to boost performance. And the new mid-tier Apple tablet is the M2 iPad Air, which for the first time comes in two sizes. What’s the difference between these 2024 iPads and the higher-end ones worth the extra money? Here’s our detailed look at the M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air.
2022 iPad Air 5 The M1 blurred the line between mid-range and high-end iPads. $200 (or more) $799 down to the 11-inch iPad Pro.
Now the 2024 M2 iPad Air lineup (6th gen) offers more choice and power than the M1 iPad Air.
However, the new iPad Air models compete with the M4 iPad Pro devices — but they’re also more expensive this year with starting prices of $999 and $1,299 — putting the difference between an iPad Air and Pro $300-400.
M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air
performance
The big difference in performance between the new iPad Pro and Air is thanks to an upgrade to the M4 chip. Apple claims it has a 50% faster CPU, 4x faster GPU and increased memory bandwidth from 100GB/s to 120GB/s over the M2.
Along with the new GPU comes a media engine that offers hardware-accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW support – joining the Mac as a device capable of handling 8K video.
Other new features include the M4 Neural Engine, hardware-accelerated ray tracing and more, with 38 trillion operations per second.
Note: iPad Pro models with 128, 256 and 512 GB storage have 8GB RAM, 1TB and 2TB models have 16GB RAM.
| 11″ M4 iPad Pro | 11″ M2 iPad Air | 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| Chip | M4 | M2 | M4 | M2 |
| CPU | 9 or 10-core | 8-core | 9 or 10-core | 8-core |
| GPU | 10-core | 10-core | 10-core | 10-core |
| Hardware-accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW support | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC | – | ✅ | – | ✅ |
| Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Nerve machine | 16-Cor | 16-Cor | 16-Cor | 16-Cor |
| savings | 256 GB – 2 TB | 128 GB – 1 TB | 256 GB – 2 TB | 128 GB – 1 TB |
| RAM | 8 or 16 GB | 8 GB | 8 or 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 120GB/s | 100GB/s | 120GB/s | 100GB/s |
| Thunderbolt/USB 4 | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 only | – | ✅ | – | ✅ |
| Cellular | 5G (sub-6 GHz) | 5G (sub-6 GHz) | 5G (sub-6 GHz) | 5G (sub-6 GHz) |
Other upgrades with the Pro include Thunderbolt/USB 4 and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
One loss is mmWave connectivity for 5G with the 2024 iPad Pro models (the 2022 versions had it). It matches the 5G radio on the 2024 iPad Air.
display
The new M4 iPad Pro models surpass the iPad Air with a new “Ultra Retina XTR display.”
This is the first time that the M2 iPad Air devices use Tandem OLED, compared to the Liquid Retina display that uses LED.
Apple says the benefits of the new OLED display are brighter specular highlights, deeper true blacks, better details in shadows and low light, and more.
Both the smaller and larger iPad Pro feature a new OLED display and you can now upgrade the 1 or 2TB M4 iPad Pro with nano-textured display glass.
You get bright SDR content up to 1000 nits with M4 iPad Pro models (600 nits for M2 iPad Pro SDR content). That’s 2x the brightness of 500 nits for SDR with the iPad Air.
| 11″ M4 iPad Pro | 11″ M2 iPad Air | 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| display | 11″ OLED | 10.86″ LED | 13″ OLED | 12.9″ LED |
| Resolution | 2420 x 1668 | 2360 x 1640 | 2752 x 2064 | 2732 x 2048 |
| PPI (Pixels Per Inch) | 264 | 264 | 264 | 264 |
| Display brightness | 1000 nits SDR, 1000 nits peak full screen XDR, 1600 nits peak (HDR only) | 500 nits of brightness per SDR | 1000 nits SDR, 1000 nits peak full screen XDR, 1600 nits peak (HDR only) | 500 nits of brightness per SDR |
| True tone | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| P3 wide color | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Promotion (120Hz) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Anti-reflective and anti-fingerprint coating | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Fully laminated display | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nanostructured display glass | Optional on 1TB and 2TB models | ❌ | Optional on 1TB and 2TB models | ❌ |
| Liquid Retinal Display | – | ✅ | – | ✅ |
| Ultra Retina XTR Display | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Apple Pencil Hover | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Display features shared across all M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air models include P3 Wide Color, fully laminated displays, anti-reflective coating, Apple Pencil Hover and True Tone.
Design, dimensions, weight, colors
The M4 iPad Pro is “Apple’s thinnest product ever” at 5.1mm for the 13″ model and 5.3mm for the 11″ version.
Plus, the new M4 iPad Pro is lighter than ever, weighing in at less than 1 pound for the 11″ and 1.28 pounds for the 13″.
This is ironic since Apple’s iPad and the “Air” version of the Mac generally claim the title of thin and light.
| 11″ M4 iPad Pro | 11″ M2 iPad Air | 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| height | 9.83 inches (249.7 mm) | 9.74 inches (247.6 mm) | 11.09 inches (281.6 mm) | 11.04 inches (280.6 mm) |
| width | 6.99 inches (177.5 mm) | 7.02 inches (178.5 mm) | 8.48 inches (215.5 mm) | 8.46 inches (214.9 mm) |
| depth | 0.21 in (5.3 mm) | 0.24 in (6.1 mm) | 0.20 in (5.1 mm) | 0.24 in (6.1 mm) |
| Weight | 0.98 pounds (446 grams) | 1.02 pounds (462 grams) | 1.28 pounds (582 grams) | 1.36 pounds (618 grams) |
A Space Black finish is new this time around instead of Space Gray for the M4 iPad Pro, while Silver is the other option.
Meanwhile, the M2 iPad Air is available in four color options: Space Grey, Starlight, Blue and Purple.
Attachment and accessories
The new iPad Pro and Air models work with the same Apple accessories. They come in the form of the new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro – or you can opt for the mid-range Apple Pencil with USB-C.
Other major I/O upgrades with the iPad Pro are Face ID and Thunderbolt connectivity.
| 11 and 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 11 and 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| Apple Pencil Pro support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Apple Pencil Gen 2 support | ❌ | ❌ |
| Apple Pencil USB-C | ✅ | ✅ |
| Magic Keyboard support | ✅ | ✅ |
| 5G | ✅ (Sub-6Ghz) | ✅ (Sub-6Ghz) |
| Wi-Fi 6E | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sim | eSIM only | eSIM and Nano SIM |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| USB-C | ✅ USB 4 | ✅ USB 3.1 Gen 2 |
| Thunderbolt | ✅ | ❌ |
| Facial recognition | ✅ | ❌ |
| Touch ID | ❌ | ✅ |
Beyond mmWave’s fallout for 5G, the M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air devices also have only one eSIM, no physical nano-SIM slot.
Battery life
The 2024 iPad Pro and Air models come with the same battery life as previous iPads:
- 10 hours of internet or video usage on Wi-Fi
- 9 hours of internet usage via cellular
Savings and cost
Storage has been updated with the M4 iPad Pro starting at 256GB and going up to 2TB models. And the nano-texture glass is another $100 upgrade.
Storage also increases for the M2 iPad Air, starting at 64GB and going up to 1TB.
| 11″ M4 iPad Pro | 11″ M2 iPad Air | 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| 128GB Wi-Fi | – | $599 | – | $799 |
| 128 GB + Cell | – | $749 | – | $949 |
| 256GB Wi-Fi | $999 | $699 | $1,299 | $899 |
| 256 GB + Cell | $1,199 | $849 | $1,499 | $1,049 |
| 512GB Wi-Fi | $1,199 | $899 | $1,499 | $1,099 |
| 512 GB + Cell | $1,399 | $1,049 | $1,699 | $1,249 |
| 1TB Wi-Fi | $1,599 | $1,099 | $1,899 | $1,299 |
| 1TB + cell | $1,799 | $1,249 | $2,099 | $1,449 |
| 2TB Wi-Fi | $1,999 | – | $2,299 | – |
| 2TB + cell | $2,199 | – | $2,499 | – |
Cameras, video and audio
On the M4 iPad Pro rear camera setup, you’ve got a 12MP wide lens, LiDAR scanner and Retina flash with True Tone.
Interestingly, the M4 iPad Pro ditches the M2 iPad Pro’s 10MP ultra-wide lens. That means the M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are very similar in terms of camera capabilities.
On the front, instead of the narrow bezel with the 2024 M4 iPad Pro models, you now get a 12MP ultra-wide lens with center stage support that focuses on a long landscape bezel.
| 11 and 13″ M4 iPad Pro | 11 and 13″ M2 iPad Air | |
| 12MP wide lens | ✅ | ✅ |
| 10MP ultra wide lens | ❌ | ❌ |
| Lidar | ✅ | ❌ |
| 4K video | ✅ | ✅ |
| ProRes video up to 4K 30 fps | ✅ | ❌ |
| Extended dynamic range | ✅ | ✅ |
| Slow-mo video | ✅ | ✅ |
| Rear camera flash | ✅ | ❌ |
| TrueDepth with Face ID | ✅ (Terrain Margin) | ❌ |
| Ultra wide 12MP front camera | ✅ (Terrain Margin) | ✅ (Terrain Margin) |
| 2x optical zoom out | ✅ | ✅ |
| Smart HDR 4 images | ✅ | ✅ |
| Central level automatic monitoring | ✅ | ✅ |
| 4-speaker audio | ✅ | ✅ |
| Stereo recording | ✅ | ✅ |
| Studio-quality mics | 4 | ❌ |
| Fixed mics | – | 2 |
M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air Result
Why buy the M4 iPad Pro?
Choose between M4 iPad Pro And M2 iPod Air, it’s only worth buying the new model if you have a pro or an avid pro with a workflow that would benefit from the M4 chip. Or maybe you’re just fine spending money on the latest and greatest from Apple 😁.
Upgrades include a new OLED display, a nano-texture option and higher brightness, more top storage, Thunderbolt, a more powerful chip and a slimmer design.
The M4 iPad Pro is available here Apple, AmazonSoon Best buyEven more.
Why buy M2 iPad Air?
When you get M4 iPad Pro key features M2 iPod Air And the processor difference is not a limiting factor for many users, Saves money Might be a good move. Or you can keep your current iPad.
Also, at the discount, The M1 iPod Air It’s a great choice for people with light to medium workloads or casual use. It is the modern M2 iPad Air/Pro and has many of the best features of the same design.
Thanks for reading our guide M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air
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