Ahead of Apple’s March 4 special experience, everyone’s favorite fruit company announced the imminent launch of the newest iPad Air. As expected, the iPad Air will be available for sale starting March 4.
The new iPad will be powered by M4 silicon and comes in 11- and 13-inch versions, with starting prices of $599 and $799, respectively. For education customers, prices will start at $549 and $749. Traditionally, the Air is Apple’s mid-range tablet, with the base version iPad being popular with budget shoppers and the M5 iPad Pro reserved for professionals and super users.
Here’s everything we know about the new Apple tablet so far.
Upgraded performance and specs
Credit: Apple
The 8 best tablets of 2026: I compared iPads, the Microsoft Surface Pro, and Amazon Fire
The previous-gen iPad Air launched in May 2024, and Apple says the new model gives users “a big jump in performance at the same starting price.”
With the launch of iPadOS 26 and Liquid Glass last year, the iPad has become more like a laptop, with distinct windows and multitasking capabilities.
Mashable Light Speed
To support those new features, the seventh-generation iPad Air has upgraded specs:
-
Processor: M4 silicon, 16-core Neural Engine, 8-core CPU
-
GPU: 9-core GPU
-
Memory: 12GB of unified memory (120GB/s of memory bandwidth)
-
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.
-
Colors: Blue, purple, starlight, and space gray
-
Camera: 12MP Center Stage camera
-
Sizes: 11- and 13-inch models
-
Wireless and cellular connectivity: N1 and C1X silicon
-
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, 5G cellular, and Thread
-
Accessories: Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil, Apple Pencil Pro
Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.
What’s new, what’s not

Credit: Apple
Users in need of a new laptop will definitely want to consider upgrading to the iPad Air, which is known for being incredibly thin and lightweight without sacrificing performance. However, at first glance, the improvements here seem pretty iterative, and it’s not clear why users with the existing M3 iPad Air would rush to upgrade.
The M4 processor and enhanced wireless/cellular connectivity will undoubtedly deliver performance upgrades. Apple promises the new iPad Air will be 30 percent faster than the M3 model, with “50 percent more unified system memory.”
The iPadOS 26 features described at length in the announcement press release are already available with the iPad Air and iPad Pro. Likewise, Apple didn’t announce that the new iPad Air would be thinner or lighter than previous versions, which are already remarkably thin.
When can you buy the M4 iPad Air?

Credit: Apple
Apple says customers will be able to start ordering the M4 iPad Air on March 4 at the Apple Store (and at Apple.com). Apple expects it to ship to customers on Wednesday, March 11.
We’ll be testing and reviewing the M4 iPad Air as soon as we can, so keep checking back for updates.
Source link
#Apple #iPad #Air #announced #Specs #price #release #date

![‘Ninja Scroll’ Is Slashing Back to Theaters in October
The 1993 samurai anime film Ninja Scroll is coming back with a limited theatrical run this fall. Per IGN, Iconic Events and AMC are teaming for a re-release on October 4, 5, and 7. (At time of writing, it’s exclusively locked to North America.) The remastered version will play its original 35mm negatives in 4K using a process that “repairs any damage and [performs] color correction to create an archival-quality digital master of the film.” Directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and created by Animate Film, Ninja Scroll tells the story of mercenary swordsman Kibagamei Jubei. Set in feudal Japan, Jubei is tasked with killing the Eight Devils of Kimon, supernatural ninjas aiming to take over the Tokugawa shogunate. Praised for its animation and action, the film was highly regarded when it came out and is considered a great contributor (alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell) to adult anime’s popularity in the West. (That’s at least true for the Wachowskis, who cited the film as a big influence on The Matrix, and later brought on Kawajiri to direct and write two segments of The Animatrix.) [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrfUIekIpEA[/embed] In the years since Ninja Scroll’s release, it’s become a bit of a franchise unto itself: it had a standalone sequel series in 2003 and a 12-issue miniseries in 2006 by J. Torres and Michael Chang Ting Yu.
Animation studio Madhouse announced a sequel in 2008 helmed by Kawajiri that stalled out, and that same year saw Warner Bros. announce a live-action movie that also didn’t go anywhere. (Oh, noooooo, that’s sooooooo sad.) Tickets for the Ninja Scroll re-release will go on sale in the coming weeks. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Ninja #Scroll #Slashing #Theaters #OctoberNinja Scroll,Yoshiaki Kawajiri ‘Ninja Scroll’ Is Slashing Back to Theaters in October
The 1993 samurai anime film Ninja Scroll is coming back with a limited theatrical run this fall. Per IGN, Iconic Events and AMC are teaming for a re-release on October 4, 5, and 7. (At time of writing, it’s exclusively locked to North America.) The remastered version will play its original 35mm negatives in 4K using a process that “repairs any damage and [performs] color correction to create an archival-quality digital master of the film.” Directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and created by Animate Film, Ninja Scroll tells the story of mercenary swordsman Kibagamei Jubei. Set in feudal Japan, Jubei is tasked with killing the Eight Devils of Kimon, supernatural ninjas aiming to take over the Tokugawa shogunate. Praised for its animation and action, the film was highly regarded when it came out and is considered a great contributor (alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell) to adult anime’s popularity in the West. (That’s at least true for the Wachowskis, who cited the film as a big influence on The Matrix, and later brought on Kawajiri to direct and write two segments of The Animatrix.) [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrfUIekIpEA[/embed] In the years since Ninja Scroll’s release, it’s become a bit of a franchise unto itself: it had a standalone sequel series in 2003 and a 12-issue miniseries in 2006 by J. Torres and Michael Chang Ting Yu.
Animation studio Madhouse announced a sequel in 2008 helmed by Kawajiri that stalled out, and that same year saw Warner Bros. announce a live-action movie that also didn’t go anywhere. (Oh, noooooo, that’s sooooooo sad.) Tickets for the Ninja Scroll re-release will go on sale in the coming weeks. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Ninja #Scroll #Slashing #Theaters #OctoberNinja Scroll,Yoshiaki Kawajiri](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/06/ninja-scroll-hed-1280x853.jpg)
Post Comment