Three months of using the iPad Air M4 as a main device make one thing clear: the biggest sacrifice is not raw speed, but the screen. For everyday use, the difference from the iPad Pro shows up most in visibility, unlocking convenience, and storage.
That matters because the iPad Air M4 still carries a level of power that makes it hard to dismiss. The gap between the two models is therefore less about whether the Air can perform well, and more about which premium features are truly missed once they are gone.
The screen remains the most noticeable downgrade
The display is the part most likely to be missed after moving down from the iPad Pro. The Pro uses a brighter Dual OLED panel, while the iPad Air still relies on an IPS LCD screen.
Indoors, the difference is not dramatic. The iPad Pro at around 50 percent brightness can be matched by the iPad Air at roughly 75 to 80 percent, but the gap becomes obvious under direct sunlight.
The refresh rate is another daily reminder. The iPad Pro supports 120Hz ProMotion, while the iPad Air stays at 60Hz, and that difference is easy to notice during routine navigation.
Even so, the move to 60Hz does not automatically ruin the drawing experience. With Apple Pencil Pro, latency on the iPad Air M4 is said to remain largely unaffected, because the feeling of lag is more often shaped by app optimization in tools such as Procreate or Clip Studio Paint.
Performance is not the weak point
If the screen is the biggest compromise, performance is not. The iPad Air M4 uses the same Apple M4 chip found in the iPad Pro, and that same chip also powers the current Mac mini and iMac lineup.
In practical use, that keeps the iPad Air M4 firmly in high-performance territory. Heavy video rendering in DaVinci Resolve and large-scale drawing projects with hundreds of layers in Procreate can still run without major issues.
The device is also viewed as having long-term stamina, with an estimate that it should remain fast enough for high-performance use for up to six years.
The lost convenience becomes obvious later
Another premium feature that stands out only after it is gone is Face ID. The iPad Pro allows quick unlocking through facial recognition, while the iPad Air uses Touch ID on the power button.
Touch ID is still fast in response. But for users who have grown used to Face ID, returning to fingerprint unlocking can feel more inconvenient than expected.
That kind of detail often matters more in daily routines than specifications on paper. Small conveniences can become surprisingly important once they are part of every interaction.
Storage is the most practical concern
Storage is the area that deserves the most attention before buying the iPad Air M4. The base 128GB model is considered very tight for video editing needs.
Even a casual video project can take up around 30 to 50GB, which means storage can disappear quickly if the tablet is used for heavier work. Apple does offer configurations up to 1TB, but the price increase is described as unreasonable.
That storage jump can add as much as Rp8 million just for memory. For drawing, note-taking, and general computing, the standard version is still acceptable, but professional video editors may find a MacBook or PC more appealing because of storage limits and iPadOS file management.
After three months of full-time use, the iPad Air M4 shows that the Pro label is not always necessary to get strong performance. For users who do not need OLED, 120Hz, or Face ID, it still looks like the more sensible choice for most people.