Tim Cook's teaser last week regarding Apple's announcements for early this March has started to become a reality thanks to massive drop of the iPad Air. The iPad Air is now getting an M3 chip alongside a new Magic Keyboard update.
While it was unexpected that the company announced the iPad Air's new version, it is still a welcome addition to Apple's lineup as it leverages the latest improvements for the tablet with faster overall performance for users.
Apple Introduces the iPad Air with M3 Chip: Upgrades Now Here
The first round of announcements from Apple is already here, and while last week's teaser of an "Air" product being announced this week was thought to be for the MacBook Air only, it is not the case.
The iPad Air is also part of that equation and gets a much-appreciated upgrade from Apple, giving it the M3 chip.
According to Apple, the new iPad Air M3 features a massive performance upgrade for the lightweight tablet, focusing on being a power-efficient device that packs a punch while still banking on its portability.
The company has unveiled the two versions of the iPad Air, its 11-inch and 13-inch options, and both come with the iPadOS 18 at launch. In addition, the iPad Air with M3 chip also comes fast 5G wireless capabilities, advanced cameras, and support for both the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil.
New Magic Keyboard, Performance Boost for New iPad Air
The company also introduced a performance boost for the iPad Air M3, which boasts a faster performance of 20% compared to the iPad Air's M2 version, according to MacRumors. Through the M3, the iPad Air gets its first-ever advanced graphics architecture, which centers on hardware-accelerated ray tracing, improving productivity, and games.
Alongside this, it also comes with a new Magic Keyboard, which offers magnetically attaching features and the Smart Connector for power and data.
The 11-inch iPad Air M3 is priced at $599 while the 13-inch option starts at $799.
iPad Air's M-Series Upgrade Brings New Experiences
The usual release for new iPads comes around the month of May, but Apple went ahead of its typical schedule to reveal an "Air-themed" release for March 2025. That being said, the iPad Air is now getting the M3 chip from two years ago. It should be noted that Apple skipped this for the iPad Pro.
Last year's release of the M2-powered iPad Pro was a notable one, but unlike the flagship version, which was given the M4, it lacks in power and features. The good thing is it is part of the ones getting Apple Intelligence access. There was also another downgrade for the iPad Air M2 as it was the first Apple device that got a 9-core GPU instead of a 10-core, which is what other releases received.
Now, Apple is back with an upgrade for its lighter, thinner version of the iPad and is giving the iPad Air newfound power with the upgrade to the M3 chip. It remains to be seen what the company has in store for the MacBook Air M4.
