iPad Air M2 2024

It's important to know that this A2904 iPad Air M2 11-Inch, sold only in mainland China, has the same 5G band compatibility as its "Western" counterpart (A2903), supporting bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n70, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, and n79. However, it lacks support for FDD-LTE bands 11 and 21 and uses eSIM only, with no physical SIM slot.

The iPad Air M2 11-Inch (Wi-Fi+Cellular China) features a fully-laminated, antireflective 10.86" LED-backlit 2360x1640 "Liquid Retina" display (264 ppi, 500 nits) framed by a thin black bezel and housed in a slim aluminum case with rounded corners and flat sides. It is available in (light) Blue, (light) Purple, "Starlight," or "Space Gray."

All iPad Air M2 11" models are powered by a 3.49 GHz Apple M2 processor with 8 cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency), a 9-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, 8 GB of RAM, and 100 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Storage options are 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB.

Connectivity includes a USB-C port supporting USB 3 (up to 10 Gb/s), dual-band 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E) with 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.3, and a top-button "Touch ID" sensor. It has a single 12-megapixel "Wide" rear camera (4K video) and a landscape 12-megapixel "Ultra Wide" front camera (1080p video) with "Center Stage." It also has dual landscape stereo speakers and dual microphones.

Battery life is rated at 10 hours of Wi-Fi web surfing or video, and 9 hours on cellular data. It supports external keyboards, trackpads, and the new "Apple Pencil Pro."

Compared to its predecessor, this model has a similar display and rear camera but features a faster processor, more storage options, a landscape front camera, faster Wi-Fi, and support for the more advanced Apple Pencil Pro.

The 2024 11-inch iPad Air with the M2 chip, specifically for the mainland China market, was seen as a solid and powerful update. The M2 processor provided a notable performance increase over the M1, ensuring the tablet could handle demanding apps and multitasking with ease. The relocation of the front camera to the landscape edge was a major and long-awaited quality-of-life improvement. Support for the new Apple Pencil Pro was also a key feature for creative users. This model's cellular connectivity was optimized for China's networks. While not a revolutionary leap, its combination of enhanced power, increased storage options, and thoughtful design refinements made it a very compelling package for Chinese consumers seeking a high-performance tablet.