In a surprising twist a month after its release, Apple has changed the configuration of the GPU in the new iPad Air. As reported by 9to5Mac, the technical specifications for the iPad Air now say that its M2 chip has a 9-core GPU, instead of the 10 cores stated during the product’s release at the “Let Loose” event in May.
Apple’s iPad Air press release and the iPad Air specifications page in the support section of Apple.com (different from the specs on the product page) still list a 10-core GPU as of this writing. During the iPad Air section of the “Let Loose” event video, Apple doesn’t actually state the M2’s number of CPU and GPU cores.
Apple has not officially commented on the change at the time of this writing. We reached out to Apple and will update this article if we receive a statement.
It’s not clear when the change was made on the iPad Air product page. The Internet Archive shows the 10-core GPU on the specs page recorded on May 21, but another snapshot wasn’t taken until June 1, which shows the 9-core GPU.
It’s also not clear if iPad Airs shipped between its release on May 15 and June 1 have a 9- or 10-core GPU. A quick check of five different iPad Air reviews all discuss graphics performance but do not specify the number of GPU cores in their tested iPad Air.
In its review of the M2 iPad Air, Macworld’s German sister site, Macwelt, recorded a Geekbench Metal Score of 41902. The 2023 M2 13-inch MacBook Air has two GPU scores we can look at to compare: 46001 for the 10-core GPU M2, and 38953 for the 8-core CPU M2. The iPad Air’s score falls in between the Air scores, so it seems likely that the Air always had a 9-core GPU and Apple posted the 10-core GPU specification in error.
Using these scores, the difference between the 9- and 10-core GPU is 10 percent. That’s a small difference that users aren’t going to notice in everyday use. Even with graphically demanding apps (games, for example), the difference will be difficult to see on an iPad.
The 9-core GPU is a change from previous iterations of the M2. The M2 used in the 2023 13-inch MacBook Air was available with either an 8- or 10-core GPU, while the 2023 15-inch MacBook Air, 2023 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the current base model Mac mini have a 10-core GPU.
Get more information about Apple’s newest tablet in our iPad Air superguide.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.