Home Tablet comparison Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021) - Which is better?

Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) vs Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)

88 out 100
Apple iPad Air 11
VS
63 out 100
Apple iPad 10.2
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 11 with chipsetApple M3 (iPad), vs Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021), Manufactured in September, 2021with chipsetApple A13 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
  • Larger display: 11in
  • Lighter design: 460g vs 487g
  • Higher battery capacity: 8900mAh vs 8557mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 4.2
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
  • Higher pixel density: 265ppi

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB		 - 3/64 GB
- 3/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Performance
App & system performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Tablets:
iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
vs
iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 11 in 10.2 in
Resolution 1640x2360 pixels 1620x2160 pixels
Aspect ratio 3:2 4:3
Pixel density 264 ppi 265 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 500 nits 500 nits
HDR support No No
Screen-to-body ratio 81.5 % 73.8 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
486 nits
sRGB gamutn/a97.9 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a40000 Hz
Response timen/a27 ms
Contrastn/a1014:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 247.6 mm (9.75 in) 250.6 mm (9.87 in)
Width 178.5 mm (7.03 in) 174.1 mm (6.85 in)
Thickness 6.1 mm (0.24 in) 7.5 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 460 g (16.23 oz) 487 g (17.18 oz)
Area 442 cm² (68.51 in²) 436 cm² (67.58 in²)
Water resistance No No
Back panel Metal Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Gold
- Gray
- Blue
- Purple		 - Silver
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
81.5 %
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
73.8 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) and Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple M3 (iPad) Apple A13 Bionic
Max Frequency 4050 MHz 2650 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture 4/2.75 () - 4/1.6 (Thunder)
- 2/2.65 (Lightning)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 3 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
Graphics n/a Apple A13 GPU
GPU Cores n/a 256
GPU Frequency n/a 1230 MHz
FLOPS n/a 629.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
3037
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
1792
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
11776
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
4214
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)30371792
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)117764214
Geekbench Compute (GPU)46172n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)], [Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
2406667
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
901330
CPU638921232283
GPU995610267845
Memory371902157505
UX400234243697
NanoReview Score2406667901330
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
7261
Max Surface Temp.n/a39.7 °C
Stabilityn/a87 %
Graphics Testn/a43 fps
Graphics Scoren/a7261
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 3 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 6400 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB64 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iPadOS 18.3 iPadOS 15 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3)

Battery

Volume 8900 mAh 8557 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes (24% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 2:16 h 2:45 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels n/a
Flash No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) No
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 120 fps (720p)
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP Standard: 8 MP
Features Bokeh effect
Main lens
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/2.4
Focal lengthn/a31 mm
Pixel size1.22 μm1.12 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Matrix 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Sensor CMOS n/a
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
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 5.3 4.2
Bluetooth features LE n/a
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a1
SIM TypeeSIMNano
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
91.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced March, 2025 yr September, 2021 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr September, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 599 329
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 20 W Yes 20 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which tablet would you pick?
1 (33.33%)
2 (66.67%)
Total Votes: 3

User comments

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