iPad Pro (2024) vs iPad Air (2024): Apple iPads compared

After a few years without any major updates, Apple has just launched new iPad Air and iPad Pro tablet models with improved performance, more sizes, lighter weights, more storage, optimised displays and revamped accessories.

We know there’s a lot of information to sift through whenever new tech comes out, and that’s why we’re here to let you know what’s worth your attention with these new models.

We were lucky enough to take an in-person look at the new iPads at an event in London too, and we've also just completed our initial reviews of both the iPad Air (2024) and iPad Pro (2024).

While the “Air” moniker may have once indicated that this model was the lightest iPad, we think it’s now best to view it as the standard model for most people who want something more advanced than the basic entry-level iPad, but don’t need the features of the iPad Pro.

In that way, it’s a lot like the MacBook Air of the iPad range. We’ve used an iPad Air as our main entertainment device for the last few years, and we also used it to plan holiday itineraries, write notes and edit photos.

Apple iPad Air (2024): The important details

The iPad Air's new version adds several previously exclusive features to the iPad Pro, making it a terrific option for most shoppers. Here are our key takeaways from the announcement:

• You can now buy the iPad Air in a bigger 13-inch size as well as the existing 11-inch form factor. The much bigger display is excellent for fitting more people on a big FaceTime call, watching movies in full-screen on streaming services, viewing photo albums and for split-screen multitasking. It’s 30% larger than the 11-inch one.
• It features an M2 processor, the same chip that’s available in the futuristic and immersive Apple Vision Pro headset and that’s in the last version of the iPad Pro. This is the brains of the tablet, and it’s 50% faster than the iPad Air with the M1 chip.
• The front-facing 12MP camera is now positioned on the landscape edge, which is a far better placement for video calls, compared to when it was placed at the top of the tablet when held in a portrait orientation.
• The new iPad Air supports the upgraded Apple Pencil Pro and the USB-C Apple Pencil, but it doesn’t support the same stylus as the old iPad Air, so some users may need to look at upgrading their pencil. It continues to support the Magic Keyboard cover, but not the new keyboard designed for the Pro.
• The 11-inch model maintains the same price but has an increased default storage size by going up to 128GB, which we think is great news for storing more files, photos and videos on the device. You can also buy it with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage on the slate.

Apple iPad Air (2024): Available colours

The new iPad Air comes in Blue, Purple, Starlight and Space Grey.

The 2022 version of the iPad Air also came in a Pink colour that isn’t available for this model.

For more information, read our Apple iPad Air (2024) review

Apple iPad Air (2024): UK price

• The new 11-inch iPad Air starts at £599, the same price as the 2022 version of the iPad Air.
• The new 13-inch iPad Air costs more for the larger screen – its price starts at £799, and at this price, you may want to consider the older 2022 Apple iPad Pro with the M2 processor, which you may now be able to find with a lower price tag.

There are several retailers where you can buy the new iPad right now:

• Buy the iPad Air from Apple
• Buy the iPad Air from Amazon
• Buy the iPad Air from John Lewis
• Buy the iPad Air from Sky
• Buy the iPad Air from Very
• Buy the iPad Air from Argos
• Buy the iPad Air from EE
• Buy the iPad Air from Vodafone
• Buy the iPad Air from Currys

For most users, the advanced features of the iPad Pro might be overkill for limited computing needs. That’s why we recommend the Pro-level optimisations of the iPad Air so much, it’s the best balance between the two.

But, if only the best will do, or you’re buying an iPad as a gift for someone who uses high-end design software, does photo or video editing, plays graphics-intensive games, or is an illustrator or 3D designer, we’d recommend looking closely at the refreshed iPad Pro.

Apple iPad Pro (2024): The important details

• The design is the most headline-grabbing feature of the upgraded iPad Pro, as it’s now thinner than ever – and Apple’s thinnest product yet – advertised as thinner than the minuscule iPod Nano. The 11-inch is only 5.3mm thin, while the 13-inch is thinner still at 5.1mm. We were highly impressed by how sleek this design is when we saw these.
• These are the first iPads ever that feature OLED display technology, which helps them to deliver deeper black levels and more vibrant colours with high brightness. Apple calls this the Ultra Retina XDR and it looks stunning. This upgrade makes this an excellent choice if you want to be impressed by cinema-worthy visuals.
• We think it’s worth noting that this is available with a nano-texture glass option for greatly reduced glare. But, this will cost more and is only available on higher storage sizes – it’s intended for photographers and videographers who’ll make the most use of this tech.
• This has the most upgraded M4 processor inside, for much faster performance that can outpace loads of laptops and tablets from most brands and even Apple itself. All you need to know is that for most users, M1 and M2 are more than enough, but M4 is much faster, more efficient and more capable for 3D object rendering, gaming and on-device AI (artificial intelligence) tasks.
• Like on the iPad Air, the front camera on the Pro is also now placed in the landscape orientation. It also has an upgraded rear camera for better document scanning that can remove shadows when you’re scanning paperwork and receipts.
• Like the Air, it also supports the impressive new Apple Pencil Pro. But it also supports a revamped Magic Keyboard – more on both of those below.

Apple iPad Pro (2024): Available colours

The new Apple iPad Pro models come in either Silver or Space Black. That means you can no longer get it in a “Space Grey” finish, although we’d guess that in practice, this is very similar to the Space Black.

For more information, read our Apple iPad Pro (2024) review

Apple iPad Pro (2024) UK price

• The new 11-inch iPad Pro (2024) starts at £999 and costs £1,199 if you want the model with cellular connectivity.
• The new 13-inch iPad Pro (2024) starts at £1,299. This goes up to £1,499 for the one that can connect to cellular networks. It’s worth noting that these cellular models appear to no longer have a SIM card tray, with Apple advertising eSIM support only and mentioning incompatibility with physical SIM cards.

We’ve rounded up the UK retailers where you can buy the new iPad Pro below:

• Buy the iPad Pro from Apple
• Buy the iPad Pro from Amazon
• Buy the iPad Pro from John Lewis
• Buy the iPad Pro from Sky
• Buy the iPad Pro from Very
• Buy the iPad Pro from Argos
• Buy the iPad Pro from EE
• Buy the iPad Pro from Vodafone
• Buy the iPad Pro from Currys

As you've inevitably gathered, Apple has added new accessories to use with its new iPad Air and iPad Pro too.

The new Magic Keyboard

Apple has also unveiled a new keyboard to go along with its upgraded iPad Pro. From our perspective, the keyboard attachment is an essential companion that helps the iPad feel a bit more like a laptop and is ideal for productivity, students and notetakers.

The new keyboard cover is slimmer and lighter, with a larger trackpad, aluminium wrist rest and a proper function row of keys that makes it much more useful. While we’ve seen it, we’re excited to try this out for ourselves, as the powerful keyboard together with an iPad can end up being more affordable than a laptop, and just as capable depending on what you need the computer for.

The new keyboard for the iPad Pro starts at £299, and the version of the keyboard for the 13-inch iPad Pro is £349. No matter where you buy from, it’s important to check for a British English layout.

While understandable given the changed designs, it is a shame that older Magic Keyboards will not be compatible with the new iPad Pros. This is important to note if you’re upgrading and already have this accessory.

The new Apple Pencil Pro

Artists, notetakers and brainstormers are delighted that Apple has added several features to a brand-new version of its stylus, now called the Apple Pencil Pro.

This one has haptic feedback so it vibrates subtly to give you a physical response in use, it has squeeze controls so that you can bring up a palette of pencil controls right on the screen near where you’re drawing or writing, and it responds to “barrel roll” so you can roll the pencil for different effects, just as you would with a real pen or pencil.

The Apple Pencil lineup does still seem a bit more confusing than it needs to be, but the simplest way we can explain it is that there are two pencils (a simple one and an advanced one) for each iPad available:

• The entry-level iPad (10th generation) supports the original Apple Pencil (1st generation) or Apple Pencil (USB-C)
• The iPad mini supports either the Apple Pencil (USB-C) or Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
• The new iPad Air supports the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the new Apple Pencil Pro
• Just like the Air, the new iPad Pro supports the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the new Apple Pencil Pro

The newer models, though, don’t work with the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) as it won’t support the newly designed magnetic pairing and charging mechanism for these iPads.

Over the years, Apple has released just under 40 different iPad variations, and that list grows to far more if you start to factor in all the different configurations and customisations you can apply to the tablets.

To make this is as simple as possible, the most up-to-date current range of iPads is:

• iPad (10th generation)
• iPad mini (6th generation)
• iPad Air (6th generation)
• iPad Pro (7th generation)

If you’re factoring in the different screen sizes, though, this list gets more tangled. There have been seven generations of the larger 12.9-inch or 13-inch iPad Pro, but multiple different sizes of a smaller iPad Pro (whether 9.7-inch, 10.9-inch, or 11-inch). While the newest iPad Air is the 6th generation, you could also technically look at this as the first-generation 13-inch iPad Air, as the mid-range tablet has never been offered at this size before.

To make buying your next iPad as simple as possible, we’ve highlighted only the most essential specifications from the current range of models to help you pick the one that suits your needs:

iPad (10th generation) – the all-around iPad for beginners

• Launch date: October 2022
• Screen sizes: 10.9-inch only
• Processor: A14 Bionic
• Storage: 64GB or 256GB
• Apple Pencil support: Apple Pencil (1st Gen) via an adapter, and Apple Pencil (USB-C)
• Charging port: USB-C
• Colours: Silver, Blue, Pink, Yellow

Apple 2022 10.9-inch iPad

£380 at Amazon

£349 at JD Williams UK£499 at scan.co.uk

iPad mini (6th generation) – the smallest iPad

• Launch date: September 2021
• Screen sizes: 8.3-inch only
• Processor: A15 Bionic
• Storage: 64GB or 256GB
• Apple Pencil support: Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
• Charging port: USB-C
• Colours: Space Gray, Pink, Purple, Starlight

Apple 2021 iPad mini (6th gen)

Now 18% Off

£367 at Amazon

£600 at box.co.uk£499 at jacamo.co.uk

iPad Air (6th generation) – the mid-range iPad

• Launch date: May 2024
• Screen sizes: 11-inch and 13-inch
• Processor: Apple M2
• Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB
• Apple Pencil support: Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Apple Pencil Pro
• Charging port: USB-C
• Colours: Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey

Apple 2024 iPad Air (M2)

£646 at Amazon

iPad Pro (7th generation) – the iPad for professionals

• Launch date: May 2024
• Screen sizes: 11-inch and 13-inch
• Processor: Apple M4
• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
• Apple Pencil support: Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Apple Pencil Pro
• Charging port: USB-C
• Colours: Silver, Space Black

Apple 2024 iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)

£1,150 at Amazon

Simon Cocks

Technology Editor

Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.

You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.