As it usually happens when new Apple products are about to hit the shelves, early Geekbench benchmark results are already making the rounds. Here’s how two results credited to the M4 iPad Air turned out.

As spotted by MacRumors, two Geekbench test results surfaced earlier today purporting to be for the new M4 iPad Air.

Both list an iPad model identifier iPad16,11 (which corresponds to the 13” Wi-Fi + Cellular model), with the first test scoring 3,438 in single-core and 12,885 in multi-core CPU tests, while the second test recorded scores of 3,714 and 12,296, respectively.

For reference, Geekbench scores for the 13″ M3 iPad Air are 3,048 single-core and 11,667 multi-core, suggesting the new device will see gains between 13% and 22% in single-core, and 5% and 10% in multi-core CPU performance.

That said, one interesting aspect of the M4 iPad Air is the fact that Apple changed the chip’s core count compared to earlier M4 chips.

The iPad Air’s M4 chip features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, while the M4 chip in the iPad Pro had up to a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.

On Geekbench, the 13” Wi-Fi + Cellular M4 iPad Pro scored 3,704 in single-core and 13,805 in multi-core CPU performance tests, suggesting that the new M4 chip of the iPad Air is between on par and 7% slower in single-core, and roughly 7% to 11% slower in multi-core performance.

Of course, it is always worth keeping in mind that Geekbench scores, particularly for unreleased devices, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Once the devices hit the shelves on March 11, more benchmark results will surface, alongside reviews and hands-on testing that should offer a clearer picture of how the new model compares with existing ones in real-world use.

Still, if you’d like to take a closer look at the two tests that popped up earlier today, you’ll find them here and here.

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