Apple iPad 9.7-inch (2018) vs Apple iPad Air (2019) Specs Comparison

Design

Dimensions
9.4 x 6.6 x 0.29 inches 238.8 x 167.6 x 7.4 mm	9.8 x 6.8 x 0.24 inches 248.9 x 172.7 x 6.1 mm
Weight
16.86 oz (478.0 g)	16.37 oz (464.0 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum	Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch)	Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Right: Volume control	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver	Gold, Gray, Silver

Display

Size
9.7-inch	10.5-inch
Resolution
2048x1536px, 4:3 ratio, 264 PPI	2224x1668px, 4:3 ratio, 265 PPI
Technology
IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
72.80 %	79.41 %
Peak brightness
	500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor	Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Apple A10 Fusion APL1W24 (16 nm)	Apple A12 Bionic APL1W81 (7 nm)
Processor
Quad-core 2340 MHz Hurricane and Zephy	Octa-core 2490 MHz Vortex and Tempest
GPU
PowerVR 7XT GT7600 Plus	Apple 4-core GPU
RAM
2GB	3GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
128GB	256GB
OS
iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x)	iPadOS (13.x)

Battery

Capacity
8827 mAh	8134 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer	Li - Ion

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4	8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps) Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing	1920x1080 (Full HD) (120 fps) Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
1.2 MP (HDR), Video capture: 1280x720 (HD)	7 MP (HDR), Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2	5.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO
USB
Lightning	Lightning
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Barometer
Other
UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop	UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers	Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
	Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 21(1500 Upper), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)	Bands 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)	Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
Dual SIM
	Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM, eSIM

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 559	$ 779
In The Box
iPad Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter	Lightning to USB cable, USB power adapter

Availability

Officially announced
Mar 27, 2018	Mar 18, 2019

Alternative variants

with 32 GB storage

Internal storage	32GB
MSRP	$ 459

with 64 GB storage

Internal storage	64GB
MSRP	$ 629

Wi-Fi only

Internal storage	32GB
Weight	16.54 oz (469.0 g)
MSRP	$ 329

Wi-Fi only with 64 GB storage

Internal storage	64GB
Weight	16.08 oz (456.0 g)
MSRP	$ 499

Wi-Fi only

Weight	16.54 oz (469.0 g)
MSRP	$ 429

Wi-Fi only

Weight	16.08 oz (456.0 g)
MSRP	$ 649

Links

Full specifications
Apple iPad 9.7-inch (2018) Specs	Apple iPad Air (2019) Specs
PhoneArena Review
Apple iPad 9.7-inch (2018) Review	Apple iPad Air (2019) Review
User Reviews
	Apple iPad Air (2019) User Reviews