iPad Air M4 review: Is the actual power worth the money?

Located in the intersection segment between popular standard models and high-end Pro series, iPad Air M4 appears as a perfect compromise solution, shortening the performance gap with super devices. This is a remarkable choice for those who are looking for a powerful technology tool, flexible multitasking and long-term performance durability for many years to come.

Overview of the actual iPad Air M4 experience

According to the technical team from Minh Tuan Mobile, iPad Air M4 shows a spectacular transformation in its ability to meet daily tasks. The device operates smoothly with almost instant response to every touch or swipe or application switch. Good hardware optimization helps the device handle multitasking smoothly from basic to complex, proving its position as a near-high-end device.

The most valuable strength on the device

The selling point that helps iPad Air M4 shine is the balance between price and hardware performance. Thanks to powerful configuration, the performance gap between the iPad Air and iPad Pro lines has been narrowed, allowing common users such as students or content creators to access peak processing power at a reasonable cost.

Besides, the outstanding portability, significantly lighter weight than a laptop and the friendliness of the iPadOS 27 operating system are all obvious plus points, helping to improve working and studying performance anywhere.

Weaknesses that users need to consider carefully

Despite its powerful configuration, iPad Air M4 still has certain barriers that users need to pay attention to. The first regret lies in the screen when Apple still retains the traditional 60Hz refresh rate, instead of upgrading to ProMotion 120Hz to match the M4 chip inside.

In addition, although the latest iPadOS 27 operating system has significantly improved window management operations, limitations in file management, compatibility with external hard drives and the lack of some specialized computer software make this device unable to completely replace a laptop or workstation, especially in specific heavy tasks.

Evaluating the iPad Air M4 design and screen

In terms of appearance, the design language of iPad Air M4 is inherited and deeply optimized instead of major disruption. Apple has focused on refining hardware perfection to bring a device that both ensures trendy aesthetics and optimizes the user’s continuous visual experience for many hours.

Experience realistic grip and weight

When actually held, the iPad Air M4 feels solid thanks to the body made from solid aluminum, the edges are square-cut and the back is rough, minimizing fingerprints and slipping. The device has an ultra-thin and light weight of 464g, clearly optimized compared to a MacBook for users to put in a backpack or take with them out.

When held with two hands to play games or watch movies, the device feels very balanced in weight distribution. However, with the need to read documents or take notes for long periods of time, users should place the device on a table or combine it with a leather case with a stand to avoid hand fatigue.

Display quality under outdoor light

The Liquid Retina screen on the 11-inch version has a sharp resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels and a pixel density of 264 ppi. Thanks to that, the displayed color ranges become clear, have stable contrast and provide users with a more comprehensive viewing angle.

Not to mention, thanks to being equipped with high-end anti-reflective coating and full glass pressing technology, iPad Air M4 is suitable for use in outdoor sunlight or in environments with complex light sources. Maximum brightness reaches 500 nit and True Tone automatically adjusts color temperature according to the environment, helping users not to strain their eyes when browsing the web or editing images for long periods of time or in low-light places.

The power of M4 chip performance on the Air line

The appearance of the Apple M4 processor is the most important leap forward, turning the iPad Air line into a true configuration “super product”. The chip possesses an 8-core CPU structure (including 3 high-performance cores and 5 power-saving cores), a 9-core GPU that supports hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing, comes with a 16-core AI Neural Engine processing chip, 120GB/s memory bandwidth and up to 12GB of RAM for excellent processing speed.

Realistic measurement benchmarks

In performance tests, the numbers achieved by iPad Air M4 make the technology world impressed. Through the Geekbench 6 scoring application, the device recorded 3,747 single-core points and reached 12,978 multi-core points, much higher than when placed on the scale with the iPad Air M3 series. These analytical data are clear evidence that the device possesses the top central processing and graphics capabilities in the tablet market, and is capable of running all tasks smoothly for many years.

Graphics processing and video rendering capabilities

With a new generation 9-core GPU structure, the ability to process graphics and render videos on iPad Air M4 is fast and smooth. For content creation tasks such as video editing, editing short clips for social networking platforms or handling complex image layer effects, the device responds almost immediately without experiencing lag.

In addition, dragging and dropping the timeline bar, applying specialized color filters or exporting high-resolution video files are all optimized, helping users save a lot of working time compared to older generations of chips.

Device temperature when playing heavy games

When playing games with blockbuster graphics and demanding hardware like Genshin Impact, iPad Air M4 still maintains stable frame rates. However, because the device has an impressive thinness and uses a passive heat dissipation system through an aluminum shell, the phenomenon of temperature increase in the back area will appear when subjected to continuous heavy load for a long time.

Intensive pressure testing with Wild Life Extreme Stress Test shows that performance stability reaches 76.7%, meaning that when the device heats up after a long period of continuous performance pressure. At the same time, the graphics power will automatically adjust to a decrease of about 20% to 30% to ensure the safety of internal components.

iPad Air M4 battery life through independent testing

Apple has optimized the power-saving cores on the iPad Air’s M4 chip, providing a balanced battery life that meets daily mixed work and study needs.

Battery drains when watching videos continuously

Through a practical test with many mixed tasks such as surfing the web, watching YouTube videos, editing documents and running some background applications, iPad Air M4 achieved a total screen display time of about 7 hours and 8 minutes. This is a very stable number for a large-screen and high-performance tablet.

However, because the M4 chip consumes a lot of energy when activating the entire graphics core, when users switch to playing heavy games, the battery percentage will drop significantly faster. Specifically, the game Genshin Impact will consume about 24% of the battery capacity after nearly 1 hour of screen light, and the game League of Legends: Wild Rift will consume about 20% of the battery for more than 50 minutes of continuous experience.

Actual device full charge time

To recharge the device’s large capacity battery, iPad Air M4 supports fast charging technology through the standard USB Type-C connection port. The actual time to fully charge the device from when the battery runs out until it reaches 100% capacity will range from more than 2 hours depending on the capacity of the charger used by the user.

Equipping a charger with optimal capacity will help significantly shorten waiting time, helping users quickly continue their daily work or entertainment activities.

Experience accessories combined with iPad Air M4

A powerful iPad only truly turns into a versatile work tool when it is placed in a synchronized accessory ecosystem. Apple has given this year’s Air line compatibility with the highest-end accessories, helping to flexibly transform the tablet into an electronic drawing board or a compact laptop.

Interoperability with Apple Pencil Pro

For users who love painting, designing or often have to quickly jot down ideas, the combination of iPad Air M4 and Apple Pencil Pro brings an extremely realistic and intuitive writing and drawing experience. Thanks to extremely low hardware latency and sensitive pressure detection technology, drawings on the Liquid Retina screen are reproduced as smoothly and accurately as if you were interacting on traditional paper.

New smart features on Apple Pencil Pro help users easily switch writing tools and stroke thickness with just a light squeeze on the pen body, optimizing the creative workflow.

Performance on Magic Keyboard

When attached to the Magic Keyboard, iPad Air M4 immediately completely changes its appearance to become a true office working device. The keyboard system provides a very smooth typing feeling, deep enough key travel and good bounce to help speed up text editing, writing content or responding to emails quickly.

The integrated Trackpad supports the extremely smooth multi-touch swipe gestures of the iPadOS 26 operating system, helping users easily select text, drag and drop data or navigate between applications without having to constantly raise their hand to touch the touch screen, providing office performance not inferior to a laptop.

You should choose the 11 inch or 13 inch version of iPad Air M4

Both iPad Air M4 versions share the same configuration power from the M4 chip, so the main difference will come from the display space and actual mobility of the device.

11 inch version for compactness

If you are someone who puts flexibility, frequent travel, and a neat device first, the 11-inch version will be the ideal choice. With an actual display size of about 10.86 inches, this version is extremely compact and light, making it easy to hold with one hand to read books, take notes, or put in a bag or backpack to carry every day.

13 inch version for large space

On the contrary, if your work requires processing many complex spreadsheets, opening multiple windows in parallel or simply a large screen for drawing or watching clear movies, the 13-inch version is the perfect answer. The device’s large screen provides a clear view, displaying more content on one page. When combined with the Magic Keyboard. The device brings a working experience close to that of a traditional laptop.

>>> See details: How to choose the most optimal configuration for iPad Air m4

Privilege to buy genuine iPad at good prices at Minh Tuan Mobile

Minh Tuan Mobile’s official authorized dealer system gives you the privilege of buying genuine iPads at the best prices on the market. Here, all iPad Air M4 versions from 11 inches to 13 inches, with a full range of color options and memory capacity, have preferential prices, along with many attractive promotions:

For detailed prices of iPad models, please contact hotline 1800 3355 for dedicated advice.