iPad Air 11-inch (M4) vs iPad Pro 11-inch (M5)

The price Apple charged in the US on launch day for the Wi-Fi model with the lowest storage, before tax.

This is not what the iPad costs today. Cellular models, more storage, Apple Pencil and keyboards all cost extra. Older models drop in price over time, so check the used and refurbished links for current prices.

Apple's name for the screen. Retina means sharp enough that you cannot see the individual dots at a normal distance. Liquid Retina is Apple's name for its rounded-corner LCD screens. Liquid Retina XDR uses mini-LED lighting. Ultra Retina XDR uses OLED.

The name tells you which screen family you get. The XDR screens are much brighter for HDR video and photos, and show deeper blacks than Retina and Liquid Retina screens.

LCD screens use one light behind the whole screen. Mini-LED screens use thousands of tiny lights behind the screen, each lighting one small area. OLED screens have pixels that each make their own light and can switch off completely.

Mini-LED and OLED both show deeper blacks and much brighter highlights than LCD, which you notice most in films and dark photos. OLED gives true black with no glow around bright objects on a dark background.

Matters most if: You watch a lot of video or edit photos on the iPad.

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Hz (hertz) means times per second. A standard iPad screen redraws 60 times per second (60 Hz). ProMotion goes up to 120 times per second (120 Hz) and slows down when nothing moves, to save battery.

Scrolling, swiping and animations look noticeably smoother, and lines drawn with Apple Pencil follow the tip more closely.

Matters most if: You draw or take handwritten notes, or scroll through long pages.

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Apple offers a version of the screen with nano-texture glass: the surface is etched with a pattern far too small to see, which scatters reflected light.

Glare from windows and lights is reduced much more than with a coating alone, with the picture still clear. It costs extra, is offered only with the larger storage options, and the glass should be cleaned with the special cloth Apple includes.

Matters most if: You often use the iPad near windows, outdoors, or under bright office lights.

How you unlock the iPad. Touch ID reads your fingerprint, either in the Home button or in the top button. Face ID recognizes your face. Passcode only means typing a code every time.

Face ID works just by looking at the iPad, in any orientation on newer models. Touch ID in the top button works the same way as in the Home button, but sits on the edge. Touch ID and Face ID also confirm App Store purchases and fill in passwords.

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How Apple describes the iPad's speakers on its spec page. Built-in speaker means one speaker. Stereo speakers means separate left and right sound. Landscape stereo speakers are placed so left and right work when the iPad is held sideways. Four speaker audio uses a speaker in each corner. Apple's wording varies between models. We show it exactly as Apple lists it.

With four speaker audio, the iPad plays sound from left and right in whichever way you hold it. With landscape stereo speakers, left and right work when you watch a film sideways. With plain stereo speakers, both usually sit along the bottom edge, so held sideways the sound comes from one side. A single speaker plays everything from one spot.

Matters most if: You watch films or play games without headphones.

Weight in grams for the Wi-Fi model. 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces. Cellular models are a few grams heavier.

A difference of 50 to 100 grams is noticeable when you hold the iPad up in one hand to read for a long time. A keyboard case often weighs about as much as the iPad itself.

How thick the iPad is, in millimeters. 1 mm is about 0.04 inch.

A difference under 1 mm is hard to notice in the hand, and a case adds more than that. Thinner iPads feel lighter to hold and slide more easily into a bag.

LiDAR is a small sensor that measures distance by sending out invisible light and timing how long it takes to bounce back.

Augmented reality apps place objects in the room more accurately, the Measure app works better, and apps can scan a room into a 3D model. The camera also focuses faster in dim light.

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How fast files move over a cable. Mb/s is megabits per second, Gb/s is gigabits per second (1 Gb/s = 1,000 Mb/s). USB 3 at 10 Gb/s is about 20 times faster than USB 2 at 480 Mb/s. Thunderbolt goes up to 40 Gb/s.

Only matters when you copy large files, like photo libraries or long videos, to or from a drive or computer with a cable, or connect a large external display. A video that takes several minutes to copy at USB 2 speed takes seconds over Thunderbolt. "Not published by Apple" means Apple's spec page for that model does not state a speed.

Matters most if: You edit photos or video, or connect external drives.

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The chip is the iPad's brain. It runs every app, processes photos and video, and handles the AI features.

A newer chip makes the iPad faster, keeps it fast for more years, and decides which new features it can get. Apple Intelligence, for example, needs an M1 chip or later, or the A17 Pro.

Storage is where your apps, photos, videos, books and downloads are kept. 1 TB (terabyte) is about 1,000 GB.

iPads have no memory card slot, so you cannot add storage inside later. Models with USB-C can use external drives in the Files app. Downloaded films and games fill storage fastest.