Apple updates iPad Air with faster M3 processor

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad edited March 4

Apple has launched an update to the iPad Air, retaining the same design and updating the processor to the powerful M3.

A series of tablets in different colors, fanned out, with one displaying a blue abstract design on the screen.
Apple iPad Air - Image Credit: Apple



The new iPad Air, the seventh-generation model, has been introduced by Apple. The midway point between the iPad line and the iPad Pro, the iPad Air continues to provide some of the performance benefits of the Pro models at a more wallet-friendly price.



The big change is the switch to the M3 chip, with the changes including a 9-core GPU instead of an eight-core version, an 8-core CPU with a 35% improved clock speed over M1, and a better Neural Engine. There's also the Media Engine for ProRes and ProRes RAW encoding.

Tablet screen displaying an email draft titled 'Film Center upcoming events' with writing tools like 'Proofread' and 'Rewrite' options shown at the bottom.
Apple Intelligence is available for the new iPad Air



Other than the M3 chip usage, there's little else seemingly different in the M3 model over the previous M2. In every other regard, it's what's referred to as a spec-bump update.

It's still shipping in two sizes, with 11-inch and 13-inch variants available, with respective resolutions of 2,732 by 2,048 and 2,360 by 1,640. Brightness is still at 600 nits for the 13-inch, 500 nits for the 11-inch, along with Wide Color (P3) support, True Tone, and Apple Pencil Hover.

Size-wise, they are identical to the previous generation, down to the millimeter. Again, Touch ID is in use rather than Face ID, encased in the top button.

The front includes a landscape 12MP Center Stage camera, with a 12MP Wide camera around the back with a 5x digital zoom. 4K video at 60fps is still the maximum, along with 1080p 240fps slo-mo, while audio is handled by landscape stereo speakers and a pair of microphones.

The 11-inch starts from $599, and the 13-inch from $799, with preorders open now and availability from March 12.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,559member
    Wow congrats Apple, you've done it again!! Who would have thought Apple can pull off such a feat as delivering a spec-bump to an iPad that prompted Tim Cook himself to post a teaser on X, truly amazing! What's next, a spec-bump to a MacBook Air!? Just wow
    ForumPostjas99m4m40dstrauss54jibronnwilliamlondonpulseimagesappleinsiderusermacgui
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  • Reply 2 of 24
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,055member
    If this is the only part of the "Air" announcement then color me disappointed
    ForumPostjas99m4m40williamlondonpulseimagesmacguiblastdoor
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  • Reply 3 of 24
    m4m40m4m40 Posts: 36member
    linkman said:
    If this is the only part of the "Air" announcement then color me disappointed
    Why?? Do you not like a spec bump that introduces a two-year-old chip? /s
    williamlondonmacguiblastdoor
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  • Reply 4 of 24
    dstrauss54dstrauss54 Posts: 7member
    What the H is wrong with Apple these days? Did they lose their whole first shipment of M4 MacBook Air at sea? I guess they'll be announcing new amazing USB-C cables before the M4 MBA...
    edited March 4
    williamlondonpulseimagesmacguiblastdoorgrandact73
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  • Reply 5 of 24
    thttht Posts: 5,876member
    This draws the iPad Air ever closer to the iPad Pro. Hard for customers to opt for the iPad Pro imo. They have to really want the display (OLED, nanotexture), 16 GB RAM, and Face ID. More than ever, I think the iPad Pro should have larger display sizes, including different aspect ratios, such as a 11.5" 5:4 and a 13.7". Make the iPP models visibly different from the iPA models. 
    Wesley Hilliardpulseimagesentropysmacguiblastdoorwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 6 of 24
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,348member
    I thought the M3 was no longer being manufactured, it was just stop-gap version with significant limitations in manufacturing. 
    dstrauss54Alex1Npulseimagesappleinsideruserwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 7 of 24
    thttht Posts: 5,876member
    rob53 said:
    I thought the M3 was no longer being manufactured, it was just stop-gap version with significant limitations in manufacturing. 
    Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

    Really, it's 99% tracking, ads, lies, misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and trolling. And more and more, it's going to be AI slop. Your bog standard Internet article in terms of memory and CPU footprint is 99% ad and tracking load, 0.9% words and images providing article pad, and 0.09% is the 10 to 20 words that is the actual information, which more often then not is wrong.
    muthuk_vanalingamWesley HilliardAlex1Nblastdoorwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 8 of 24
    andycandyc Posts: 8member
    If you look on the landing page for Apple it has links for the new iPad plus other items including MacBook Pro.  But no picture links to MBA on that page   www.apple.com/uk
    williamlondonmacguiwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 9 of 24
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,957member
    I still think my M2 iPad Pro is a beast for what I use it for, but this update is a litttle puzzling because Apple probably didn’t do what a lot of people were assuming they would do. But you know what they say about assuming.

    For some reason I hear a fading echo of something in my head …… I think I can make it out now ……

          “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”

    The M4 iPad Pros can sleep soundly tonight.

    Alex1Nwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 10 of 24
    nubusnubus Posts: 764member
    rob53 said:
    I thought the M3 was no longer being manufactured, it was just stop-gap version with significant limitations in manufacturing. 
    iPad Air M3 is indeed unexpected and not really needed. Do iPad Air users need M3?
    C1 cellular didn't happen, there are no competitors, and the new keyboards are compatible with the M2. Why launch this?

    Seems Apple cares so little about the iPad Air M3 that display photos stayed unchanged. 
    williamlondonblastdoorwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 11 of 24
    muthuk_vanalingammuthuk_vanalingam Posts: 1,425member
    tht said:
    This draws the iPad Air ever closer to the iPad Pro. Hard for customers to opt for the iPad Pro imo. They have to really want the display (OLED, nanotexture), 16 GB RAM, and Face ID. More than ever, I think the iPad Pro should have larger display sizes, including different aspect ratios, such as a 11.5" 5:4 and a 13.7". Make the iPP models visibly different from the iPA models. 
    Or Apple should provide better software features that can make use of the advanced hardware available in the iPad Pros.
    williamlondonAlex1Nwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 12 of 24
    lesterkrimbaughlesterkrimbaugh Posts: 74member
    Anybody know if Apple has addressed the GoFetch flaw in the latest versions of the M3 chips?
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 13 of 24
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,804member
    tht said:
    rob53 said:
    I thought the M3 was no longer being manufactured, it was just stop-gap version with significant limitations in manufacturing. 
    And more and more, it's going to be AI slop. 
    Yes, until some company realizes I will switch to them if they detect and block all AI content from their platform. But so far, no company wants my money.
    Alex1Nwatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 24
    Wesley Hilliardwesley hilliard Posts: 436member, administrator, moderator, editor
    tht said:
    This draws the iPad Air ever closer to the iPad Pro. Hard for customers to opt for the iPad Pro imo. They have to really want the display (OLED, nanotexture), 16 GB RAM, and Face ID. More than ever, I think the iPad Pro should have larger display sizes, including different aspect ratios, such as a 11.5" 5:4 and a 13.7". Make the iPP models visibly different from the iPA models. 
    I think iPad Pro are a very compelling purchase and those with money shouldn't consider iPad Air. The design, thinness, OLED, Face ID, and Thunderbolt are HUGE differentiators, not negligible specs.

    rob53 said:
    I thought the M3 was no longer being manufactured, it was just stop-gap version with significant limitations in manufacturing. 
    Yes, I believe this is still the case. M3 is absolutely on an undesirable manufacturing pipeline and production has likely been severely cut back or ended. However, that doesn't mean Apple didn't already make a boatload of M3 processors. Both things can be true.
    Alex1Nappleinsideruserronnblastdoorwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 15 of 24
    thttht Posts: 5,876member
    muthuk_vanalingam said:
    tht said:
    This draws the iPad Air ever closer to the iPad Pro. Hard for customers to opt for the iPad Pro imo. They have to really want the display (OLED, nanotexture), 16 GB RAM, and Face ID. More than ever, I think the iPad Pro should have larger display sizes, including different aspect ratios, such as a 11.5" 5:4 and a 13.7". Make the iPP models visibly different from the iPA models. 
    Or Apple should provide better software features that can make use of the advanced hardware available in the iPad Pros.
    For consumer products, software capability isn't enough, imo. People need to see the difference. The price difference between base model iPA and iPP models is $400 and $500. That's a lot. The thinness difference, LCD vs OLED, weight, ProMotion, etc, is not perceptible for most people. I think they are leaving iPad Pro sales on the table. Would be really interesting to see iPad Air versus iPad Pro numbers. Wouldn't be surprised if they tilted to iPA models with the advent of the iPA13.

    My proposed display sizes may not be enough. Maybe 5:4 12" and 14.4" models. 12" is probably the maximum to comfortably handhold a tablet. With 13" or larger, it's likely a tabletop machine.
    dewmewatto_cobra
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  • Reply 16 of 24
    pulseimagespulseimages Posts: 688member
    Disappointed the base iPad doesn’t have Apple Intelligence. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 17 of 24
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,687member
    Folks, this is the air. It’s a much cheaper tablet than the pro. What do you expect, a product with equal specs to a much more expensive model? This is a pretty good chip, with a good performance increase over the last model. Stop whining!
    ronnmacguiblastdoorpulseimageswatto_cobra
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  • Reply 18 of 24
    nubusnubus Posts: 764member
    melgross said:
    Folks, this is the air. It’s a much cheaper tablet than the pro. What do you expect, a product with equal specs to a much more expensive model? This is a pretty good chip, with a good performance increase over the last model. Stop whining!
    I would rather have 90 Hz refresh rate, FaceID, and/or spend $50-100 less than this M-series CPU. The Air doesn't have the cooling to benefit from M3. Apple is spending too much on processing power.
    muthuk_vanalingammacguipulseimagesronnwilliamlondonmelgrosswatto_cobra
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  • Reply 19 of 24
    SuntanIronMansuntanironman Posts: 106member
    Seems fine. I know people get very angry about products announcements in the comments section, but, you know… seems fine. But I’m also a happy owner of the new iPad Mini and I’ve been actually told that I’m an idiot for buying it. (Not joking, lol.) So I get it. People are quite… passionate about product announcements, lol. 
    pulseimagesronnwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 20 of 24
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,403member
    Speaking as someone with an IPP M4, I would get this IPA M3 and pocket the savings.
    muthuk_vanalingampulseimagesronnwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
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