Apple iPad 9th Generation (2021) vs Apple iPad Air 5th Gen (2022)

A13 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture

Neural Engine

Apple M1 chip

8-core CPU

8-core graphics

Apple Neural Engine

8GB RAM

64GB | 256GB

64GB | 256GB

iOS 15

iOS 15

UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71

Quad-band

Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO

802.11ax Wi-Fi 6; simultaneous dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO

Nano-SIM

(supports Apple SIM7)

eSim

Nano‑SIM (supports Apple SIM)

eSIM

n77 C-band

Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79

850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz

Bluetooth 5.0 technology

Built-in accessibility features supporting vision, mobility, hearing, and cognitive disabilities help you get the most out of your iPad. Features include: VoiceOver, Zoom, Magnifier, Spoken Content, Voice Control, Switch Control, AssistiveTouch, Siri and Dictation, Type to Siri, Real-Time Text, Audio Descriptions, Subtitles and Closed Captioning, Live Captions (beta).

VoiceOver, Voice Control, Zoom, Magnifier, RTT support, Siri and Dictation, Type to Siri, Switch Control, Closed Captions, AssistiveTouch, Spoken Content

Safari

Touch ID, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Barometer, Ambient light

Yes

Apple Music®

AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Apple Music

Via lockscreen