iPad Air 2022 vs. iPad Air 2024 Buyer's Guide: 19 Differences Compared
Apple's new iPad Airs arrive almost a year and a half after the previous models, offering almost 20 changes and upgrades.
The 2022 iPad Air was a minor upgrade that added features such as the M1 chip and a 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera with Center Stage. The 2024 refresh is more substantial, headlining with a larger size option for the first time, bringing it in line with devices like the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, which are available in two sizes.
The 2022 iPad Air models have now been discontinued by Apple, but they may still be found refurbished and with third-party resellers for lower prices. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to buy the 2022 iPad Air or the new 2024 models.
The iPad Airs from 2022 and 2024 share most of their key features, so should you consider buying or sticking with the older model to save money? This breakdown also serves as a way to clearly see all the differences that the new iPad Air brings to the table.
| iPad Air (2022) |
iPad Air (2024) |
| 10.9-inch display |
11- or 13-inch display |
| M1 chip (5nm, N5) |
M2 chip (5nm enhanced, N5P) |
| 3.2GHz CPU clock speed |
3.49GHz CPU clock speed |
| 8-core GPU |
9-core GPU |
| 68.25GB/s memory bandwidth |
100GB/s memory bandwidth |
| Neural Engine |
40% faster Neural Engine |
| Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC |
Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW |
| Video decode engine |
Higher-bandwidth video decode engine |
|
ProRes encode and decode engine |
| Image signal processor (ISP) |
"New" image signal processor (ISP) |
| Smart HDR 3 |
Smart HDR 4 |
| 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera |
Landscape 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera |
| Wi-Fi 6 connectivity |
Wi-Fi 6E connectivity |
| Physical SIM card slot |
eSIM only |
|
Apple Pencil hover |
| Supports Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil (2nd generation) |
Supports Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro |
| Supports Magic Keyboard for iPad and Smart Keyboard Folio |
Supports Magic Keyboard for iPad |
| 64GB or 256GB storage |
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage |
| Available in Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue |
Available in Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, and Blue |
The most important part of the new iPad Air is the larger display size option, which provides a way for customers who don't need features like ProMotion and a LiDAR scanner to obtain a bigger screen that's better for productivity and content consumption at a lower price point. Beyond this larger new model, the M2 chip, Apple Pencil hover and Apple Pencil Pro support, and landscape front-facing camera are valuable improvements. That being said, it is certainly not essential to upgrade from the previous model to the new iPad Air. Unless you have an entry-level iPad or an iPad Air from before 2020, or explicitly want a 13-inch model, it is likely not worth upgrading.
Popular Stories
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec).
The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year.
The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year.
Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump.
First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
