Apple's refreshed iPad Air, now powered by the M3 chip, promises enhanced performance, particularly for graphics-intensive tasks. But does this mid-range tablet offer enough compelling features to warrant an upgrade, or is it merely a minor iteration in a familiar shell?
"It feels like it was just yesterday that Apple launched the M2-powered iPad Air... Yet here we are, with a new iPad Air—this time with an M3 chip."
The M3 chip brings features like ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching to the iPad Air for the first time. This makes it an attractive option for creative professionals and gamers who want advanced capabilities without the hefty price tag of the iPad Pro.
Despite the new chip, the 7th-generation iPad Air retains the same chassis as its predecessor. Apple has not addressed key issues like its weight, thickness, battery life, and the absence of an OLED or mini LED display.
While the M3 chip offers a performance boost, the author questions whether it's noticeable in everyday use.
"As far as stats go, Apple claims CPU performance is up to 35 percent faster than the iPad Air with M1... I still have both the M1 and M2 versions and honestly, it was tough to spot a distinction in performance between all three."
The M3 chip features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, similar to the M2. While Apple claims significant performance improvements compared to older models, the author found it difficult to discern a major difference between the M1, M2, and M3 versions in real-world scenarios.
Despite the subtle performance gains, the M3-powered iPad Air handles multitasking with ease. The reviewer experienced no slowdowns while running numerous apps and browser tabs simultaneously.
The updated Magic Keyboard Case enhances the iPad Air's usability for productivity tasks. However, iPadOS continues to be a point of frustration for the reviewer.
The new Magic Keyboard Case offers a larger trackpad and a row of function keys. While it improves the typing experience, third-party options like the Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard Case provide better value and versatility.
$319 - Price of the 13-inch Magic Keyboard Case
Despite improvements like Stage Manager, iPadOS remains less intuitive and efficient than macOS for the reviewer's workflow.
"However, using the iPad Air to get work done continues to be a struggle with iPadOS... It continues to feel unintuitive for my workflow."
The iPad Air supports Apple Intelligence features, offering AI-powered tools for photo editing, text summarization, and writing assistance.
Apple Intelligence, available with iPadOS 18.1, provides features such as:
The iPad Air offers the same battery life as previous models, providing up to 10 hours of web browsing or video playback. However, the reviewer notes that the increased power of the M3 chip could have justified a longer battery life, especially for the larger model.
During testing, the iPad Air lasted for seven hours of continuous video streaming before reaching 14% battery life.
The iPad Air with M3 is a capable tablet that offers a performance boost and access to advanced graphics features. However, its familiar design, unchanged battery life, and the limitations of iPadOS raise questions about its value proposition.
A fully configured iPad Air with accessories can approach the cost of a MacBook Air, making it essential to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
$1,897 - Cost of the priciest iPad Air configuration with accessories.
"It feels like we're on the precipice of an even thinner, faster, and better model. Perhaps Apple just had to clear out all the older iPad Air models it had lying around first."