Honestly, the tablet market is a bit of a mess right now. You’ve got the base model iPad that feels a little dated, and then you’ve got the Pro models that cost as much as a used car. Somewhere in the middle sits the Apple iPad Air M2 256GB, and I’m convinced it’s the only one most people should actually buy.
It’s weird.
Apple upgraded the Air with the M2 chip—the same silicon that was powering MacBooks not that long ago—and suddenly the line between "pro" and "casual" basically evaporated. If you’re looking at the 256GB version, you’ve likely realized that 64GB is a joke in 2026 and 128GB is just... fine. But 256GB? That’s where things get interesting for creators and students who don't want to live in iCloud purgatory.
The M2 Chip Isn't Just Marketing Fluff
When Apple dropped the M2 into the Air, they weren't just checking a box. This chip features an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. In real-world terms, that means you can edit 4K video in LumaFusion or DaVinci Resolve without the tablet breaking a sweat or turning into a space heater in your hands.
🔗 Read more: How do I enable cookies on MacBook Air: The fix for broken websites
I’ve seen people try to argue that the M2 is overkill for an iPad. They’re wrong.
The M2 includes a dedicated Media Engine. This handles hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC. If you’re a photographer using Adobe Lightroom, the speed at which you can scroll through RAW files is noticeably snappier than the previous M1 version. It’s about overhead. You aren't just buying speed for today; you're buying a device that won't feel like a brick three years from now when iPadOS 20 or 21 rolls around.
The 16-core Neural Engine is also doing a ton of heavy lifting behind the scenes. Think about stuff like "Lift Subject from Background" in Photos or the Live Text feature. It happens instantly. There’s no "thinking" bar. It just works.
Why 256GB is the Only Real Choice
Let’s talk about storage because Apple’s pricing ladder is designed to make you sweat. The Apple iPad Air M2 256GB sits in a very specific psychological and functional bracket.
If you get the base storage, you'll be constantly deleting apps. Genshin Impact alone can eat up 30GB. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile? Another huge chunk. By the time you add some Netflix downloads for a flight and a few Procreate files, a 128GB drive is screaming for mercy.
256GB is the "set it and forget it" tier.
- You can store about 50,000 high-res photos.
- It holds roughly 20-30 hours of 4K video footage for editing on the go.
- You can download entire seasons of shows in HDR without checking your settings every five minutes.
There's a specific type of anxiety that comes with seeing that "Storage Almost Full" notification. Paying the premium for the 256GB model is essentially paying for the privilege of never seeing that popup again. It's the difference between a device that feels like a tool and one that feels like a chore.
The Screen and the Landscape Camera
Finally. Apple finally did it.
They moved the front-facing camera to the long edge. This sounds like a tiny detail, but if you’ve ever tried to do a Zoom call on an older iPad while it’s in a keyboard case, you know the "sideways stare" struggle. With the camera on the landscape edge, you actually look like a normal human being during meetings.
The display itself is a 11-inch or 13-inch Liquid Retina panel. It’s got P3 wide color and True Tone.
🔗 Read more: Why Your List of Scam Phone Numbers Is Already Outdated
Is it OLED? No.
Does it have ProMotion 120Hz? Also no.
This is the one place where I have to be honest: if you are used to the 120Hz "ProMotion" smoothness of an iPhone Pro or an iPad Pro, you will notice the 60Hz screen on the Air. It’s not "laggy," but it doesn't have that buttery, liquid-like scroll. However, for 90% of people, this is a total non-issue. The 500 nits of brightness is plenty for a coffee shop, though you might struggle under direct noon sunlight at a park.
Real World Performance: Not Just Benchmarks
Benchmarks are mostly for nerds who like looking at graphs. What matters is how the Apple iPad Air M2 256GB feels when you're actually using it.
I’ve used this setup for multitasking with Stage Manager. While Stage Manager had a rocky start, on the M2 chip, it’s actually usable. You can hook this iPad up to an external 6K display like the Pro Display XDR, and it will actually drive the resolution. You can have four apps open on the iPad and another four on the monitor.
It feels like a computer. Sorta.
It’s still iPadOS, so you’re dealing with a mobile-first file system. But for someone like a freelance writer or a social media manager, this is a powerhouse. You can snap a photo on your iPhone, AirDrop it to the iPad, use the Apple Pencil Pro to mask out the background, and drop it into a Canva design in seconds.
👉 See also: Tea App Data Leak: What Really Happened on 4chan
Speaking of the Apple Pencil Pro—that’s a game changer here. The squeeze gesture and haptic feedback make the Air feel much more "Pro" than it has any right to be. The barrel roll feature (thanks to the gyroscope) lets artists change the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools just by rotating the Pencil. It’s intuitive in a way that’s hard to describe until you're actually sketching with it.
The "Price vs. Value" Trap
You might look at the price of the 256GB Air and think, "Hey, for a little more, I could get the Pro."
Stop.
That’s exactly what the Apple upsell wants you to do. The M4 iPad Pro is magnificent, sure. But do you actually need a Tandem OLED screen to write emails or watch YouTube? Do you need the M4’s raw power to edit photos for Instagram? Probably not.
The Air M2 is the "Goldilocks" zone. It has the landscape camera, it supports the latest Pencil Pro, and with 256GB, it has enough breathing room to stay relevant for five or six years. Buying the Pro for most people is like buying a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store. It's cool, but you aren't using the engine.
What You Should Actually Do Next
If you’re sitting on the fence, look at your current device. If you're coming from an iPad Air 4 or anything older, the jump to the M2 is massive. If you have an M1 Air, you can probably hold off unless you desperately need that landscape camera for work calls.
For those ready to pull the trigger:
- Check the Education Store. Even if you aren't a student, Apple's "Back to School" or education pricing often applies to teachers or anyone with a .edu email, saving you about $50-$100.
- Skip the Magic Keyboard (at first). It’s $300. That’s insane. Look at the Logitech Combo Touch first. It’s half the price, protects the edges, and the keyboard is detachable.
- Get the Apple Pencil Pro. If you're buying an M2 Air, the Pencil Pro is the main reason to go for this generation over a refurbished M1. The haptics alone make the writing experience feel significantly more "real."
- Audit your storage. Before you buy, check your current phone or tablet's storage. If you’re already using 100GB, don't even look at the 128GB model. Go straight for the 256GB.
The Apple iPad Air M2 256GB isn't the "best" iPad Apple makes, but it is the smartest one to buy. It’s the perfect intersection of "I want this to be fast" and "I don't want to spend two thousand dollars."