Screen size
iPad 9.7 (2018)9.7"
iPad Air 11 (2026)Winner: 11.0"+12%
Quick verdict
iPad Air 11 (2026) leads the measured specs 13-4.
Measured wins
iPad 9.7 (2018)
4
spec wins
Ties
3
equal specs
iPad Air 11 (2026)
13
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
Technology
iPad 9.7 (2018)
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
iPad Air 11 (2026)
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPad 9.7 (2018)
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPad Air 11 (2026)
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
iPad 9.7 (2018)
HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPad Air 11 (2026)
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
CPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
Battery
Wired charging
Weight
Thickness
IP rating
Wi‑Fi
Bluetooth
USB
5G support
NFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
SD card
equal specsStereo speakers
equal specs1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41 - A1954
iPad Air 11 (2026)
LTE
Speed
iPad 9.7 (2018)
HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPad Air 11 (2026)
HSPA, LTE, 5G - cellular model only
5G bands
iPad 9.7 (2018)
-
iPad Air 11 (2026)
SA/NSA/Sub6
Announced
iPad 9.7 (2018)
2018, March 27. Released 2018, March 27
iPad Air 11 (2026)
2026, March 02
Status
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Discontinued
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Released Mar 11, 2026
Dimensions
iPad 9.7 (2018)
240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm (9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 in)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm (9.75 x 7.03 x 0.24 in)
Weight
iPad 9.7 (2018)
469 g (Wi-Fi) / 478 g (LTE) (1.05 lb)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
464 g (Wi-Fi) / 465 g (5G) (1.02 lb)
Build
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame
SIM
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Nano-SIM + eSIM
iPad Air 11 (2026)
eSIM (cellular model only)
Other
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Stylus support
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Stylus support
Type
iPad 9.7 (2018)
IPS LCD
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Liquid Retina IPS LCD, 500 nits (typ)
Size
iPad 9.7 (2018)
9.7 inches, 291.4 cm2 (~71.6% screen-to-body ratio)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
11.0 inches, 357.6 cm2 (~80.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPad 9.7 (2018)
1536 x 2048 pixels, 4:3 ratio (~264 ppi density)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
1640 x 2360 pixels (~264 ppi density)
Protection
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating
Other
iPad 9.7 (2018)
-
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Anti-reflective coating
OS
iPad 9.7 (2018)
iOS 11.3, upgradable to iPadOS 17.6.1
iPad Air 11 (2026)
iPadOS 26.3
Chipset
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Apple A10 Fusion (16 nm)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Apple M4
CPU
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Quad-core 2.34 GHz (2x Hurricane + 2x Zephyr)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Octa-core (4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores)
GPU
iPad 9.7 (2018)
PowerVR Series7XT Plus (six-core graphics)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Apple GPU (9-core graphics)
Card slot
iPad 9.7 (2018)
No
iPad Air 11 (2026)
No
Internal
iPad 9.7 (2018)
32GB 2GB RAM, 128GB 2GB RAM
iPad Air 11 (2026)
128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM
Single
iPad 9.7 (2018)
8 MP, f/2.4, 31mm (standard), 1.12µm, AF
iPad Air 11 (2026)
12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/3.0", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF
Features
iPad 9.7 (2018)
HDR
iPad Air 11 (2026)
HDR
Video
iPad 9.7 (2018)
1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps, HDR, stereo sound rec.
iPad Air 11 (2026)
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps; gyro-EIS
Single
iPad 9.7 (2018)
1.2 MP, f/2.2, 31mm (standard)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
12 MP, f/2.0, 122˚ (ultrawide)
Features
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Face detection, HDR, panorama
iPad Air 11 (2026)
HDR
Video
iPad 9.7 (2018)
720p@30fps
iPad Air 11 (2026)
1080p@25/30/60fps; gyro-EIS
Loudspeaker
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Yes
iPad Air 11 (2026)
No
WLAN
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7 dual-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPad 9.7 (2018)
4.2, A2DP, EDR, LE
iPad Air 11 (2026)
6.0, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPad 9.7 (2018)
GPS, GLONASS (Wi‑Fi + Cellular model only)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
GPS, GLONASS (5G model only)
NFC
iPad 9.7 (2018)
No
iPad Air 11 (2026)
No
Radio
iPad 9.7 (2018)
No
iPad Air 11 (2026)
No
USB
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPad Air 11 (2026)
USB Type-C 3.1 Gen2, DisplayPort, magnetic connector
Sensors
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Fingerprint (front-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, compass, barometer
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Fingerprint (top-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, compass, barometer
Type
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Li-Po 8827 mAh, non-removable (32.9 Wh)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Li-Po 7606 mAh (28.93 Wh)
Talk time
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Up to 10 h (multimedia)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
-
Colors
iPad 9.7 (2018)
Silver, Gold, Space Gray
iPad Air 11 (2026)
Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, Blue
Models
iPad 9.7 (2018)
A1893, A1954, iPad7,5, iPad7,6
iPad Air 11 (2026)
A3460, A3463
SAR
iPad 9.7 (2018)
1.18 W/kg (body)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
-
SAR EU
iPad 9.7 (2018)
0.99 W/kg (body)
iPad Air 11 (2026)
-
Price
iPad 9.7 (2018)
About 350 EUR
iPad Air 11 (2026)
About 650 EUR