iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) vs iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022)

Here we compared two tablets: the 10.9-inch Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) (with Apple A14 Bionic) that was released on September 15, 2020, against the Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022), which is powered by the same chip and came out 2 years and 1 month after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each tablet
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
  • 12% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1361K versus 1216K)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) and 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022) crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
4 / 64 GB
VS
4 / 64 GB
52.4
(Average)
Value Index
92.1
(Very good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 10.9 inches 10.9 inches
Resolution 1640 x 2360 pixels 1640 x 2360 pixels
Aspect ratio 3:2 3:2
PPI 264 ppi 264 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits 500 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 80.1% 79.3%
Display features - DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 99.3% 97.6%
PWM Not detected Not detected
Response time 36 ms 33 ms
Contrast 1305:1 953:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 247.6 mm (9.75 inches) 248.6 mm (9.79 inches)
Width 178.5 mm (7.03 inches) 179.5 mm (7.07 inches)
Thickness 6.1 mm (0.24 inches) 7 mm (0.28 inches)
Weight 458 g (16.16 oz) 477 g (16.83 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Metal Metal
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Silver, Gray, Blue, Green, Rose gold Silver, Blue, Pink
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Area 442 cm2 (68.5 inches2) 446 cm2 (69.2 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (87th and 88th place)
iPad Ranking (22nd and 23rd place)

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) and Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022)
SoC
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock 3000 MHz 3000 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 5 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics Apple GPU 4-core Apple GPU 4-core
GPU shading units 256 256
GPU clock 1278 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS ~654.3 GFLOPS ~654.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) and Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022)
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) 17192 16803
Single-core score 2095 2124
Multi-core score 5297 4871
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
CPU 448073 344641
GPU 335707 317647
Memory 133324 129624
UX 444710 424836
Total score 1361814 1216748
Samples [3 tests] [7 tests]
Stability 97% 85%
Graphics test 11 FPS 11 FPS
Section 1 14 FPS 13 FPS
Section 2 11 FPS 10 FPS
Section 3 9 FPS 8 FPS
Graphics score 2961 2767
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability 90% 86%
Graphics test 14 FPS 13 FPS
Graphics score 2483 2229
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-18 -> nickandrewpedrosa201178AnTuTu1347415
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-16 (hi)AnTuTu1375134
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-03 (Dr. Maddy)AnTuTu1361814
πŸ“˜ 2025-02-01 (AIR 4 hype)GeekBench GPU17192
πŸ“˜ 2025-02-01 (AIR 4 hype)GeekBench CPU2095 / 5297
Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022)
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-04 (Stelle)AnTuTu1288870
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-29 (Ad_545)AnTuTu1216748
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-22 (Ashutosh)AnTuTu1161773
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-19 -> Starjack36AnTuTu1208173
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-24 (denckk)AnTuTu1211908

Memory

Configuration
RAM
RAM size 4 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 2133 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64 GB 64 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iPadOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) iPadOS 16.1 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5)

Battery

Capacity 7606 mAh 7606 mAh
Max charge power 30 W 30 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time 2:10 hr 2:22 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:54 hr 07:43 hr
Watching video 10:27 hr 10:43 hr
Gaming 06:15 hr 05:34 hr
Standby 182 hr 178 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Lenses 1) Standard: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode - Bokeh mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Sensor size 1/3.0" (β‰ˆ 0.33 inch) -
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital

Selfie camera

Megapixels 7 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 3472 x 2063 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.4
Focal length 31 mm -
Sensor - CMOS
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No No
GPS GPS, GLONASS GPS, GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
eSIM support* No Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 18 18
5G support No Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test

Other

Category Flagship Mid-range
Announced September 2020 October 2022
Release date October 2020 October 2022
Launch price (MSRP) $599 $449
Successor - Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) - Apple iPad 11" (11th Gen, 2025)
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Keyboard weight 293 g 297 g
Bundled charger Yes, 20 W Yes, 20 W
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the gaming is more important to you, then choose the Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020). But if the connectivity is more of a priority – go for the Apple iPad 10.9" (10th Gen, 2022).

Cast your vote

So, which tablet would you choose?
51 (57.3%)
38 (42.7%)
Total votes: 89

User opinions

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