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  "path": "/article/3075309/the-new-ipad-air-is-basically-the-old-ipad-air.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-02T15:42:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.macworld.com",
  "tags": [
    "iPad",
    "Macworld",
    "a week of product announcements",
    "new iPad Air",
    "M1 iPad Air from 2022",
    "won the tablet war",
    "@macworld.com",
    "♬ original sound – Macworld – Macworld",
    "$599 at Apple",
    "$799 at Apple"
  ],
  "textContent": "Macworld\n\nKicking off a week of product announcements, the new iPad Air has arrived, but if you go see it at the Apple Store, you’d be hard-pressed to know if Apple actually switched out the old models. They have the same dimensions, same colors, and same displays, have the same prices, and the same tagline on Apple’s website.\n\nWhat’s actually new is the CPU (M4 vs M3), modem (C1X), networking chip (N1), and RAM (12GB vs 8GB). Those are all fine upgrades, especially for the same prices, but if you own last year’s model or even 2024’s version, there’s probably no need to upgrade.\n\nApple’s press release highlights “blazing performance” and “game-changing iPadOS 26 features,” but it’s not like the iPad Air didn’t have that before. Quite frankly, an M1 iPad Air from 2022 will run iPadOS 26 perfectly fine.\n\nNot that any of this is a bad thing. Apple has absolutely won the tablet war, and its hardware has no competitor. And now that iPadOS 26 has finally upgraded the interface to be more like the Mac, there’s not much to criticize. But some new colors would have been nice.\n\nYou can preorder the new iPad Air beginning Wednesday, March 4, at 9:15 a.m. ET.\n\n> @macworld.com\n>\n> No competition #ipad\n>\n> ♬ original sound – Macworld – Macworld\n\n##  Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4, 2026)\n\nPrice When Reviewed:  $599\n\nBest Prices Today:  $599 at Apple\n\n##  iPad Air 13-inch (M4, 2026)\n\nPrice When Reviewed:  $799 (138GB)\n\nBest Prices Today:  $799 at Apple",
  "title": "The new iPad Air is basically the old iPad Air"
}