Apple brings the M3 chip to its iPad Air
The iPad continues to straddle that awkward place between laptop and smartphone, with Apple updating its iPad Air with an M3 processor and Apple Intelligence.
The iPad is an exceptional piece of hardware, but the arrival of the latest iPad Air update just reinforces that its a device straddling two categories: laptops and phones.
The big update for the iPad Air is an update to the M3 processor we first saw back in the 2023 MacBook Pros and later dropped into the 2024 MacBook Air.
It's a powerful processor that was running Apple's top of the line laptop less than two years ago. Now it's in both the 11-inch and the 13-inch screen sizes, which were previously running Apple's M1 chipset.
The newer processor means you get a significant performance boost, with the M3 performing at about twice the speed as the M1.
Plus, of course, it supports Apple Intelligence, which is the real advantage here. According to Apple, the Neural Engine in M3 is up to 60 per cent faster for AI-based workloads. I'm still not sold on what that would actually do to help the average person in their day to day iPad computing, but that's a "me" problem.
Also launching alongside the iPad Air update is a new Magic Keyboard, which effectively turns the tablet into a quasi-laptop. It attaches magnetically and features a track pad and sounds like a good buy - until you realise that it's almost half the price of the iPad itself.
It costs $449 for the 11-inch version and $499 for the 13-inch version.
Base-level iPad also gets a boost
In perhaps the most surprising bit of info from this update, Apple has boosted the base-level iPad as well. It now comes with double the starting storage at 128GB, and has had an update to the A16 processor.
That decision is the interesting one, as the A16 doesn't support Apple Intelligence.
Given that Apple pushed its entry-level iPhone to include the A18 for Apple Intelligence, it's a shock to see the company launch a product that doesn't support the technology.
It's still a significant boost over the A13 Bionic that was previously inside the iPad, but I also expect it means this newer version will date much faster, given the industry's massive focus on squeezing AI into everything.
Pricing and availability
The new iPad Air with M3 is available for pre-order starting today, March 5th, with delivery from March 12th.
| Product + Capacity | 11-inch | 13-inch |
|---|---|---|
| iPad Air M3 128GB (Wi-Fi) | $999 | $1,349 |
| iPad Air M3 256GB (Wi-Fi) | $1,199 | $1,549 |
| iPad Air M3 512GB (Wi-Fi) | $1,549 | $1,899 |
| iPad Air M3 1TB (Wi-Fi) | $1,899 | $2,249 |
| iPad Air M3 128GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,249 | $1,599 |
| iPad Air M3 256GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,449 | $1,799 |
| iPad Air M3 512GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,799 | $2,499 |
| iPad Air M3 1TB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,899 | $2,499 |
| iPad A16 128GB (Wi-Fi) | $599 | N/A |
| iPad A16 256GB (Wi-Fi) | $799 | N/A |
| iPad A16 512GB (Wi-Fi) | $1,149 | N/A |
| iPad A16 128GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $849 | N/A |
| iPad A16 256GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,049 | N/A |
| iPad A16 512GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | $1,399 | N/A |
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