Apple has dropped an iPad Air with an M4 chip and 12GB of RAM, and I keep coming back to the same question: What exactly is the iPad Pro for now?
On paper, the new Air looks like it skipped a generation. It moves from the M3 to the M4, bumps memory to 12GB, adds Wi-Fi 7 through Apple’s N1 wireless chip, and swaps in Apple’s own C1X modem on cellular models. That is a serious list of upgrades for a product that still starts at $599.
Meanwhile, the current iPad Pro is supposed to be the top of the line. It has that excellent OLED display and ProMotion, and it is undeniably the most refined iPad Apple has ever made. But performance used to be part of the Pro story. That gap just narrowed in a big way.
An M4 in an Air is not a small move. The chip brings faster CPU performance, a stronger GPU, and more memory bandwidth. For most people, that is more power than they will ever push inside iPadOS.
If you are editing photos, cutting video, or running demanding apps, the Air now looks like it can handle the same workloads as the Pro without blinking.
That creates an uncomfortable middle ground. The Pro keeps its OLED panel and 120Hz refresh rate, but the Air covers a lot of the performance territory for hundreds less.
Once you factor in storage upgrades and accessories, the pricing lines start to blur. It becomes harder to explain why someone should stretch for the Pro unless they truly care about the display.
Apple has always been careful about how its products overlap. This time, it feels more aggressive. The Air is no longer a step below in any meaningful performance sense. It feels like a Pro in all but name and screen technology.
If you are an Apple user who watches these lineup shifts closely, this will definitely make you pause for a second. The iPad Pro used to be the obvious answer for anyone who wanted the best. Now the iPad Air is asking some very pointed questions.
