iPad Air update rumored to get M3 upgrade, not M4

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in Future Apple Hardware

A prolific and generally accurate leaker is predicting that the next iPad Air will use the M3 chip, countering rumors of a jump up to the M4 chip.

Tablet screen displaying app icons on a pink and orange gradient background, including Home, Camera, App Store, Podcasts, News, and Settings.
The base of an iPad Air display



Apple is anticipated to launch an update to the iPad Air in the spring, with a refresh upgrading its Apple Silicon performance. If a leaker is to be believed, that jump may not be as big as rumors have claimed.

An image privately released on social media by Evan Blass, known as "evleaks," appears to be listings for the next iPad and iPad Air. While a lot of the information is blurred, the description of the iPad Air seems to refer to its next chip.

The listings include the name "iPad Air 13" (M3)", which refers to the 13-inch model. The use of M3 indicates the chip will move from the existing M2 model to the M3.

Evan Blass has a considerable history as a prominent leaker under his "evleaks" pseudonym. Though he has become less prominent, including an apparent retirement in 2014, he continues to be involved in the rumor and leaking scene.

What leaks Blass does discuss are relatively rare, but they're still reasonably accurate, such as his pre-WWDC 2023 discussions that saw the introduction of the Apple Vision Pro.

The image runs counter to expectations from rumors about the next iPad Air update. On January 7, a report forecast that the update to the iPad Air would be to the M4.

The expectation was that the iPad Pro range would move to the M5 sometime in the fall. The thinking was that the iPad Air's shift to M4 would portend the M5 arrival.

Anticipation of a jump from M2 to M4 in the iPad Air has precedent, as Apple did just that with the iPad Pro range. However, just because Apple did it once in the past doesn't mean it will do the same thing for other models.

Indeed, Apple has an interest in not giving the M4 to the iPad Air. Doing so would give little reason for consumers to buy the iPad Pro for performance reasons, until the Pro line moves to a newer generation.

Reports about iPad Pro sales claim that they have been underwhelming since the introduction of OLED, undercutting the high expectations of the change. It's bad enough that LG Display was said in January to be repurposing underused iPad Pro display production lines for iPhone displays.

With seemingly poor sales, it would be highly doubtful for Apple to undercut the benefits of the iPad Pro even more with a too-high iPad Air chip upgrade.

Rumor Score: Possible

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,332member
    I thought Apple wasn’t going to use any M3 chips anymore and the M3 wasn’t even going to be made. The M3 was a stopgap that was EOL’d practically after it was released. 
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 8
    thttht Posts: 5,814member
    rob53 said:
    I thought Apple wasn’t going to use any M3 chips anymore and the M3 wasn’t even going to be made. The M3 was a stopgap that was EOL’d practically after it was released. 
    99% of what you read and watch is bullshit. Please remember that. 

    Even the stories around the iPad mini using the A17 Pro, after it was announced, was filled with media bullshit, like they had a leftover A17 Pros from iPhones they could use. The narrative of Apple moving away from TSMC N3B as fast as possible had to be maintained rather than challenged. 

    Gurman provides a layer of bullshit himself. He has a set rumors which only take a couple of sentences. But for his article, he has to fill it several hundreds words of his speculative bullshit, and he needs to make it vague enough so as not to reveal his sources. 

    Other media outlets will then take his “story” and write their own “stories” for their sites with their own “take”. The turtles of misinformation are stacked pretty high by the time it gets to you. 
    muthuk_vanalingambonobobcanukstormblastdoordewmewatto_cobraentropysAlger
     6Likes 2Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 8
    nubusnubus Posts: 686member
    rob53 said:
    I thought Apple wasn’t going to use any M3 chips anymore and the M3 wasn’t even going to be made. The M3 was a stopgap that was EOL’d practically after it was released. 
    M3 production is indeed seen as expensive. The only reason for M3 would be to protect iPad Pro. Apple could move Air to A18 instead. This would make Pro the only iPad with an M-series chip, reduce the cost of Air (or the Bill of Materials), and let it use N3E. 
    williamlondon
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  • Reply 4 of 8
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,671member
    rob53 said:
    I thought Apple wasn’t going to use any M3 chips anymore and the M3 wasn’t even going to be made. The M3 was a stopgap that was EOL’d practically after it was released. 
    I suppose they could respinn m3 for N3E.
    Or maybe take an m4, kneecap it, and call it m3. 


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  • Reply 5 of 8
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,354member
    Honestly, I can’t tell the performance difference between my old IPP M2 and my IPP M4.
    I suppose the oled screen is nicer, but not that much nicer. The thin is good.
    edited January 21
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  • Reply 6 of 8
    N3B is an expensive process, I cannot get the point of using A17 Pros and M3s in their new products. A18 is way much smaller in area, same if not better performance, not to say N3E is cheaper. And rumors said that current-gen iPad Pro ditched M3s because they would overheat.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 8
    thttht Posts: 5,814member
    AbcdEft said:
    N3B is an expensive process, I cannot get the point of using A17 Pros and M3s in their new products. A18 is way much smaller in area, same if not better performance, not to say N3E is cheaper. And rumors said that current-gen iPad Pro ditched M3s because they would overheat.
    Well, perhaps N3B isn't an expensive process anymore. It's been about 18 months of it churning out tens to hundreds of millions of Apple silicon chips. Costs per chip have come down and M3 and A17 Pro chips are now affordable enough to put in iPad minis and iPad Airs. It is still producing M3 chips for the MBA, and could be in the $1000 model when the MBA is updated with the M4.

    The die areas of the chips are:

    A17 Pro: 104 mm2
    A18: 90 mm2
    A18 Pro: 105 mm2

    If the M3 goes into the iPad Air this year, what does that say about the rumor of the M3 being too hot for the 2024 iPad Pros?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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