The iPad Air now comes with an M2 chip, but how does it stand out versus the M1 Air, originally introduced in 2022? We break it all down.
The M1 iPad Air remained the best iPad Air model for two years until Apple announced the M2 iPad Air in May 2024. The latest model brings several new features and upgrades. For instance, it comes with the speedy M2 chip and offers a larger 13-inch display option.
The last-gen model rocks an 11-inch display and is powered by the M1 chip, with the display specs on the two iPads largely the same, but the 13-inch M2 iPad Air offers some significant advantages.
Both iPad Airs are nowhere close to the latest iPad Pro, which comes loaded with an M4 chip and an OLED panel, but they are a solid option for the masses.
M1 iPad Air vs M2 iPad Air: Price
- M1 iPad Air 11-inch – $599
- M2 iPad Air 11-inch – $599
- M2 iPad Air 13-inch – $799
You get the new M2 iPad Air for the same base price as the M1 iPad Air— $599. That’s good, but what’s better is that you get twice the storage with the M2 iPad Air for the same price. The base M1 iPad Air comes with 64GB storage while the M2 iPad Air has 128GB of storage.
The 13-inch M2 iPad Air starts at $799. Both new iPad Air models offer four storage options— 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The M1 models are only available with 64GB and 128GB storage, so if you’re looking to cram apps and media on your device, the M2 Air is a clear winner for value.
M1 iPad Air vs M2 iPad Air: Design & display
The design remains the same on both iPads, and the 11-inch models also share the dimensions and weight. They are 6.1mm thin and weigh just over a pound (1.02 Lb, 462g). The 13-inch model keeps the same thickness but weighs 1.36 pounds (617g). The iPad Pro models are now thinner and lighter than the iPad Air lineup, in a somewhat confounding move from Apple.
Display specs also remain largely the same on both iPads. The 11-inch iPad Air M1 and M2 feature an LCD panel with 2360 x 1640 resolution, 500 nits brightness, and 60Hz refresh rate. The 13-inch iPad Air gets a 2732 x 2048 LCD with 600 nits brightness and 60Hz refresh rate.
The new M2 iPad Airs also supports the Apple Pencil Hover feature, which is missing on the M1 iPad Air.
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M1 iPad Air vs M2 iPad Air: Specs & performance
| Specs | M2 iPad Air | M1 iPad Air |
| Display | 11-inch, 13-inch LCD | 11-inch LCD |
| Rear Camera | 12 MP (main) | 12 MP (main) |
| Storage Space | Up to 1TB | Up to 256GB |
| RAM | Up to 8 GB | Up to 8 GB |
| Processor | Apple M2 | Apple M1 |
| Apple Pencil Pro support | Yes | No |
The new iPad Air brings an M2 chip, whether you go for the 11-inch model or the 13-inch model. The 2022 model packs the M1 chip. The M2 is superior, delivering up to a 15% faster CPU, 25% faster GPU, 40% faster Neural Engine, and a 2x boost in memory bandwidth from 50GB/s to 100GB/s, according to Apple.
This gives the M2 iPad Air an advantage in terms of performance, whether you’re looking at video editing, gaming, or any other high-performance task.
In Geekbench 6, the M1-powered iPad Air scored 2,256 on the single-core benchmark test and 8,087 on the multi-core test. Benchmark scores for the M2 iPad Air aren’t available yet. The 11-inch iPad Pro with the M2 chip scored 2,540 on the single-core test, a 12% improvement over the M1. On the multi-core test, it scored 9,633, representing a 19% performance boost.
The M1 iPad Air gets a 12-megapixel Wide camera on the rear with an f/1.8 aperture and a 5x digital zoom. It can record 4K video at up to 60fps. The M2 iPad Air gets the same camera, with the exception of Smart HDR4 support for photos. On the front, both generations feature a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with an f/2.4 aperture. Still, the M2 models will offer better camera performance thanks to the new chip.
Apple has launched the newer iPad Airs with both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular connectivity. However, unlike the iPad Air M1, there’s no SIM card slot. The new iPads rely on eSim while the iPad Air M1 can use a physical card or an eSIM, which could be seen as an advantage.
The M2 iPad Air offers Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E tech. That’s a big upgrade over the M1 iPad Air’s Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6. The 11-inch model gets a slightly larger 28.93-watt-hour battery, up from the 28.6-watt-hour in the M1 version. The 13-inch M2 iPad Air gets a more substantial battery bump to 36.59 watt-hours, meaning that the M2 Air will likely last longer than its older M1 counterpart.
M1 iPad Air vs M2 iPad Air: Which one should you get?
The M2 iPad Air is a better choice considering you get double the storage for the same price as the M1 iPad Air. Plus, it has support for accessories like the newer Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard. The M2 chip inside the iPad will ensure you get lag-free performance and can handle even the most demanding tasks.
However, the iPad Air M1 is often heavily discounted at retail websites. So, if you don’t need the absolute latest features and want to save some money, the older iPad Air might be the way to go if you’re on a budget.