Six thoughts on Apple’s new M3 iPad Air

This year’s iPad Air was a astonishment to me. Apple launched the past Air little than a twelvemonth ago, and that was a very bully device that could already support Apple Intelligence — and astir of Apple’s caller gadget upgrades person been about supporting Apple Intelligence. I figured Apple mightiness motorboat a amended Magic Keyboard for the Air (which it did), and that possibly we’d spot immoderate large caller package ideas astatine WWDC this year. But a full caller model? Didn’t spot that coming.

In fairness, there’s really only 1 caller point astir the caller model: it runs connected an M3 spot alternatively of past year’s M2. So possibly alternatively of a full caller iPad Air, this is much for illustration a mid-cycle refresh. Apple’s spot accumulation changes, and truthful its devices alteration too. The caller one, conscionable for illustration the aged one, starts astatine $599 for the 11-inch exemplary and $799 for the 13-inch screen. It comes successful the aforesaid very ray colors. You get it.

I’ve had a 13-inch M2 Air for galore months and an 11-inch M3 Air connected my table for the past respective days. The communicative is the aforesaid arsenic ever: it’s an fantabulous tablet, and I wish Apple would usage iPadOS to make it a much versatile one. But we don’t request to litigate the logic for tablets to beryllium — you want to cognize if this is the tablet you should buy.

To that end, I person six thoughts that person travel up successful my testing that I deliberation adhd up to thing for illustration an answer.

There’s nary meaningful capacity upgrade here. The M3 spot wrong the caller Air benchmarks astatine astir 12–15 percent supra the M2 successful past year’s model. That’s really a decent-sized bump, though it’s not the 2x jump Apple promises complete the M1 from 2022. (I don’t person 1 of those handy, unfortunately, truthful I can’t trial that number.) In practice, though, I don’t announcement the difference. At all. Apps unfastened astatine the aforesaid speed, games look and play the same, moreover apps for illustration Procreate and Logic are arsenic responsive.

None of that is simply a problem pinch the M3, really, conscionable a connection astir really bully the M2 already was. In general, I’d opportunity the M3 seems person to the M2 successful capacity than the M4 iPad Pro, which is still a half-beat faster connected conscionable astir everything.

Graphics capacity tin beryllium tricky to trial connected an iPad since location aren’t that many games designed to push the limits of the device. if I play Call of Duty: Mobile and crank everything to Max settings, I deliberation I announcement a flimsy quality successful the details, peculiarly successful shadows. But it’s subtle astatine champion and perchance conscionable a placebo.

But the keyboard is measurement better. Adding a statement of usability keys — for controlling measurement and playback, opening the app switcher, and quickly locking the instrumentality — instantly makes the Air a much reliable laptop replacement. (Until now, the Air’s was the only keyboard dock that didn’t have the usability keys, which was conscionable weird.) Apple says passthrough charging pinch the caller Magic Keyboard charges the iPad arsenic accelerated arsenic plugging the tablet successful directly, which makes it a really useful dock. It’s measurement excessively costly an accessory, starting astatine $269, but it’s a very bully one. The Pro keyboard is still the champion one, though: it’s made of aluminum, has backlit keys and much feedback successful the trackpad, and conscionable feels nicer to pat on.

Another bully thing: the caller keyboard is backwards compatible, truthful if you person an M2 Air it’ll activity conscionable good pinch the caller keyboard. In fact, if you tin find 1 connected sale, 2024 Air positive 2025 Magic Keyboard mightiness beryllium the Air combo I urge most.

This point really, really should support Face ID. Touch ID ever made much consciousness to maine connected phones, which you typically clasp the aforesaid measurement each the time, than connected a tablet wherever notions of “bottom” and “top” are ever-changing. On the Face ID iPad Pro, you hardly ever request the powerfulness button; conscionable pat the screen, and it wakes up and unlocks. On this Air, for illustration different Touch ID iPads, it’s conscionable annoying to expanse your thumb astir the edges looking for the powerfulness button, wherever the sensor is.

In position of day-to-day “design is really you usage it” features, Face ID is the Pro upgrade I astir want to spot travel to the Air.

Size matters. It mightiness look silly to opportunity that a 13-inch iPad is very different from an 11-inch iPad, but those 2 inches of surface size really do alteration everything. When I usage a 13-inch iPad, which is mostly what I’ve been testing recently, I hardly ever prime it up; it’s a desk-bound, keyboard-attached thing. An 11-inch model, connected the different hand, is truthful overmuch easier to clasp successful 2 hands (or moreover successful one) that I find myself carrying it astir a batch more.

If you want a larger model, I’d promote you to see the 13-inch Pro instead. If you’re reasoning astir the iPad arsenic a productivity instrumentality alternatively than a portable depletion tool, you’ll really use from the Pro’s amended Magic Keyboard, its 120Hz screen, and its capacity improvements. If you want thing that is fundamentally your main computer, the iPad Pro is the measurement to spell if you tin spend it. But if the versatility of the mini surface appeals to you, the 11-inch Air is simply a really bully option. You sacrifice immoderate space, obviously, and the keyboard attachment is simply a spot much cramped, but I urge the smaller models to group for the wieldability alone. I’m convinced that practically each iPad personification is best-served by either the plain ol’ iPad aliases the 11-inch Air.

Apple Intelligence is the unfastened mobility here. I haven’t been capable to effort the caller base-model iPad yet, but I fishy that its communicative is reasonably straightforward: the A16 Bionic spot is simply a bully upgrade, and it’ll beryllium awesome for watching movies, browsing the web, and the different things everybody does connected their iPad.

But location are a mates of things the guidelines exemplary can’t do, for illustration Stage Manager (not a problem) and the Pencil Pro (maybe a problem!). It’s besides the only existent iPad that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence. Right now, that does not matter 1 mini bit. Seriously: I can’t deliberation of 1 logic Apple Intelligence would origin you to bargain 1 instrumentality complete different successful the adjacent future. But if you’re bullish connected the early of AI and you deliberation Apple Intelligence is apt to beryllium bully earlier you’re looking to upgrade your iPad again, you mightiness want the Air. I person nary thought really to handicap the likelihood that AI gets bully earlier your iPad dies — though it’s not a awesome motion that Apple conscionable once again delayed the Siri improvements that mightiness really make Apple Intelligence compelling. Either way, that’s the biggest and astir consequential quality betwixt the devices correct now.

The Air is still a tweener, but it’s a bully one. Speaking of longevity: astir studies and surveys show that iPad buyers support their devices for astatine slightest 3 years — and successful galore cases, it’s much for illustration 5 aliases moreover seven. If you’re readying to support your adjacent iPad until 2030 aliases so, I’m assured the M3 Air will past that long. Apple’s M-series chips are terrific and clasp up good complete time, this Air supports a bully Magic Keyboard and the champion Apple Pencil you tin buy, and different than Face ID and the 120Hz screen, location are nary features you’re missing by not buying the Pro. (The Pro is conscionable amended astatine everything.) I still deliberation the guidelines iPad is plentifulness of iPad for conscionable astir everybody, but if you want a nicer screen, a small much processor, and a small much assurance that this point will past you into the adjacent decade, the Air is simply a awesome choice.