iPad Pro 11" (6th Gen, 2025) vs iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026)
91
out of 100
VS
85
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship tablets: the 11-inch Apple iPad Pro 11" (6th Gen, 2025) (with Apple M5 (iPad)) that was released on October 16, 2025, against the Apple iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026), which is powered by Apple M4 (iPad) and came out 4 months 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
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Pro 11" (6th Gen, 2025)
- Higher display refresh rate β 120 Hz
- Delivers 93% higher peak brightness (977 against 506 nits)
- 32% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (4122K versus 3116K)
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- Supports higher wattage charging (30W versus 20W)
- Reverse charging feature
- 13% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 4193 and 3717 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026)
- Fingerprint scanner
Review
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
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | IPS LCD |
| Size | 11 inches | 11 inches |
| Resolution | 1668 x 2420 pixels | 1640 x 2360 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 |
| PPI | 267 ppi | 264 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (10-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1000 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1600 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 81.3% | 81.5% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.6% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 1 ms | 22 ms |
| Contrast | β Infinity | 1140:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 249.7 mm (9.83 inches) | 247.6 mm (9.75 inches) |
| Width | 177.5 mm (6.99 inches) | 178.5 mm (7.03 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.3 mm (0.21 inches) | 6.1 mm (0.24 inches) |
| Weight | 444 g (15.66 oz) | 464 g (16.37 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver | Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | Yes, in-button |
| Area | 443 cm2 (68.7 inches2) | 442 cm2 (68.5 inches2) |
| Repairability | Average (2.7/5) | Average (2.85/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Bad (E) Β· 42 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (7th and 22nd place)
iPad Ranking (2nd and 6th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Apple M5 (iPad) | Apple M4 (iPad) |
| Max clock | 4610 MHz | 4410 MHz |
| CPU cores | 10 (4 + 6) | 10 (4 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 2.95 GHz: - 4 cores at 4.61 GHz: |
- 6 cores at 2.85 GHz: - 4 cores at 4.41 GHz: |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple GPU 10-core | 9 core Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 1620 MHz | 1470 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~4147.2 GFLOPS | ~3763.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 75091 | 52952 |
| Single-core score | 4193 | 3717 |
| Multi-core score | 15913 | 13294 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 1791896 | 915032 |
| GPU | 1221223 | 1135331 |
| Memory | 446888 | 349968 |
| UX | 662397 | 715682 |
| Total score | 4122404 | 3116013 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [2 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 71% | - |
| Graphics test | 30 FPS | 23 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4104 | 3099 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | 66 FPS | 46 FPS |
| Section 1 | 88 FPS | 59 FPS |
| Section 2 | 63 FPS | 45 FPS |
| Section 3 | 46 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | 17310 | 12127 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPad Pro 11" (6th Gen, 2025)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-07-17 -> Libero | GeekBench GPU | 76909 |
| π 2026-07-17 -> Libero | GeekBench CPU | 4193 / 15913 |
Apple iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-08-03 (Astreeek) | AnTuTu | 2940000 |
| π 2026-04-26 (BG-M4-User) | GeekBench GPU | 52952 |
| π 2026-04-26 (BG-M4-User) | GeekBench CPU | 3717 / 13294 |
| π 2026-04-26 (BG-M4-User) | AnTuTu | 3116013 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 12 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iPadOS 26 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) | iPadOS 26.3 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) |
| OS size | 56 GB | 38 GB |
| OS updates | 5 years | 0 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 8160 mAh | 7606 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 20 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes | No |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (42% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 2:16 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Quad LED | 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 2) Depth |
1) Standard: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| 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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| 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 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | - |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | eSIM |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | October 2025 | March 2026 |
| Release date | October 2025 | March 2026 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $999 | $599 |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Face recognition sensor |
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Yes, 20 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These tablets have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Apple iPad Pro 11" (6th Gen, 2025).
Cast your vote
Total votes: 13