Apple iPad Air (M3, 2025) Review: A Powerful Tablet That Feels Stale

M3 offers a spot of a show boost. Equipped with precocious graphics architecture. Supports the caller Magic Keyboard Case. Supports Apple Intelligence. 5G connectivity.

Still heavier and thicker than the iPad Pro. Still a basal LCD screen. Expensive with accessories. Battery beingness remains the same. No caller colour options. iPadOS continues to beryllium a symptom to use.

It feels like it was conscionable yesterday that Apple launched the M2-powered iPad Air. In fact, it's been 10 months, but that's inactive acold excessively soon for a caller mentation successful my book. Yet, present we are, with a caller iPad Air—this time, with an M3 chip. The tablet delivers a insignificant boost successful show compared to its predecessor, but it does travel with features similar ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching to powerfulness graphics-intensive tasks. This is simply a archetypal for the iPad Air, making it the astir affordable mode into these precocious capabilities for those who request it—like originative professionals oregon gamers—who don't privation to splurge connected the iPad Pro.

But that's it arsenic acold arsenic caller features spell for the seventh-generation iPad Air. Apple utilized the aforesaid chassis, truthful you'll person a prime betwixt the 11-inch and 13-inch show sizes. While it's a perfectly good tablet successful presumption of usability, Apple failed to code the large critiques from past year's model: its density, artillery life, and deficiency of an OLED (or adjacent mini LED) panel. All of these are factors that would've helped warrant a next-generation iPad Air truthful soon.

Reuse and Recycle

In my reappraisal of the M2-powered iPad Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends), I described the plan arsenic stale compared to the redesigned iPad Pro (6/10 WIRED Review). Now, seeing Apple recycle the aforesaid chassis arsenic past year's model, my feelings haven't changed. It's comical that the iPad Air is inactive a fewer grams heavier and astir a afloat milimeter thicker than the iPad Pro. The tablet feels lightweight and slim regardless, but it's not arsenic impressively bladed arsenic its much costly counterpart—especially erstwhile you adhd accessories to it. And, portion Apple didn't instrumentality distant colour options this clip (we mislaid the pinkish past twelvemonth and the greenish earlier that), it didn't adhd any, either. You'll person a prime betwixt blue, purple, starlight, and abstraction gray.

You besides person a prime betwixt an 11-inch show oregon a 13-inch display. Apple sent maine the latter, which I similar since the other surface real-estate makes it that overmuch much comfy to usage arsenic a secondary show and to ticker TV. It's somewhat brighter than the smaller model, with 2,732-by-2048 solution (264 ppi) and hits 600 nits of highest brightness successful Standard Dynamic Range. It gets plentifulness agleam for the astir part, but you'll person to summation it to afloat brightness successful nonstop sunlight. I had to bash this portion watching an occurrence of Keeping Up With the Kardashians successful beforehand of my chamber window. Otherwise, I typically support it astatine a small nether 50 percent brightness.

As with past year's tablet, I proceed to question wherefore Apple didn't nix the LCD sheet and regenerate it with mini LED (as seen connected the iPad Pro from 2021 and 2022), astatine slightest connected the larger model. This feels similar a no-brainer for aggregate reasonsin summation to the information that it would let for an adjacent brighter screen).

For starters, it goes manus successful manus with the M3 chip's graphics architecture. This iPad volition pull a batch much creatives who are successful the marketplace for a almighty tablet (and a ample screen). To afloat leverage the processor, it's intended to beryllium utilized with apps similar Adobe Photoshop oregon Final Cut Pro—where editing contented requires a definite attraction to colour accuracy.

It's a coagulated contender for gamers too, who would apt similar the vibrancy and higher refresh complaint that would travel with a mini LED panel. Plus, arsenic I pointed retired successful past year's reappraisal too, it would besides yet measurement up to different high-end tablets connected the marketplace that travel equipped with an OLED surface and a 120-Hz refresh complaint (the iPad Air has a 60-Hz refresh rate) and assistance warrant the other $200 outgo implicit the 11-inch model.

As Reliable As Ever

Now, let's dive into that M3 chip. It's not the astir caller spot successful the M-series lineup—Apple introduced it backmost successful 2023. It powers the MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023), 24-inch iMac (2023), and past year's MacBook Air (13-inch and 15-inch). Since then, Apple has released the M4 chip, which is recovered successful the latest mentation of the iPad Pro. But considering the frequence astatine which Apple releases caller chipsets, the M3 inactive qualifies arsenic a reasonably caller and almighty one, contempt being entry-level.

It has an 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU, which is the aforesaid arsenic the M2 chip. However, the M3 is built connected a 3-nanometer process (instead of a 5-nanometer process), which not lone enhances the chip's velocity and ratio but besides allows for features similar ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching.

With dynamic caching, the processor volition allocate representation for each task dynamically to dial it up oregon down arsenic needed, allowing for a much businesslike usage of resources. Ray tracing and mesh shading, connected the different hand, are utilized for graphics-intensive apps and games. For example, ray tracing tin let crippled developers to accurately exemplify lighting elements similar shadows and reflections; mesh shading helps scenes wrong games to look smoother, without skips.

As large arsenic this sound, you astir apt won't announcement overmuch of a quality compared to past year's exemplary successful presumption of basal usage. As acold arsenic stats go, Apple claims CPU show is up to 35 percent faster than the iPad Air with M1 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), with graphics that are 40 percent faster.

I inactive person some the M1 and M2 versions and honestly, it was pugnacious to spot a favoritism successful show betwixt each three. The M3 felt a bit snappier than the M1, but you'll apt lone spot a noticeable alteration if you're coming from an older A-series chip.

As acold the M3 specifically, you tin beryllium remainder assured that show feels speedy and swift. Throughout the workday, I ever person astatine slightest 10 tabs unfastened crossed aggregate Chrome windows and further apps similar iMessage, Slack, YouTube, Spotify, Gmail, and Telegram open. I ne'er felt similar the iPad Air struggled to grip immoderate of it.

I chiefly utilized the tablet to get enactment done utilizing the updated Magic Keyboard Case. Apple gave it a akin attraction arsenic the latest mentation for the iPad Pro. You won’t get the aluminum thenar rest, but it does travel with a larger built-in trackpad and a enactment of relation keys for surface brightness, measurement control, Do Not Disturb, and more. It’s somewhat much affordable now, too—the 13-inch mentation present costs $319, which is $30 little than the archetypal mentation (it's compatible with the first-gen lawsuit too, if you already ain it). If you request them, the iPad Air packs enactment for the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) arsenic well.

The caller keyboard lawsuit delivers a coagulated experience, particularly for getting enactment done. But I similar third-party keyboard cases similar the Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard Case ($230). It's not arsenic expensive, but it besides comes with a detachable keyboard and kickstand, which is simply a batch amended if you're readying to usage your iPad for enactment and to ticker TV. It's besides not arsenic apical heavy, truthful it's easier to spot connected your lap.

However, utilizing the iPad Air to get enactment done continues to beryllium a conflict with iPadOS—a ailment I person with every iPad review. It continues to consciousness unintuitive for my workflow. If not for Stage Manager, which allows maine to radical aggregate apps (instead of utilizing the dreaded divided surface mode), I wouldn't person had the patience to benignant up the bulk of this reappraisal connected the iPad Air—I consciousness similar I'm moving astatine a glacial gait compared to erstwhile I'm utilizing my MacBook Air. But portion it whitethorn not play nicely with Condé Nast’s proprietary contented absorption system, the Air volition bash a comparatively bully occupation with tasks similar connection processing, answering emails, taking Zoom calls, and photograph oregon video editing.

It's worthy noting that the iPad Air comes with enactment for Apple Intelligence, which is disposable with iPadOS 18.1 and newer (as bash each M-series iPad models, on with the iPad Mini with the A17 Pro). It doesn't alteration the acquisition exponentially, but it's bully to person entree to artificial quality features that I've already been utilizing connected my iPhone and Mac—like the Clean Up Tool (which erases objects from the inheritance successful Apple Photos), Message Summaries (which summarizes the main points successful texts), and Writing Tools (which tin proofread your transcript oregon alteration the code of sentences) for emails, connected the tablet.

Battery beingness remains the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile versions. Apple claims up to 10 hours of browsing the web connected Wi‐Fi oregon watching video (on some sizes). While utilizing it to watercourse immoderate episodes of my favourite shows successful the inheritance during the day, I reached 7 hours earlier the iPad Air deed 14 percent. So it should get you done a afloat workday erstwhile it comes to basal tasks. But with the quality to present edit much heavy-duty contented and play much graphics-intensive games, acknowledgment to the M3, it would've made consciousness for Apple to summation the artillery beingness by a fewer hours—especially connected the larger model.

Depends On What You're Looking For

If you bash privation the iPad Air solely for the M3's precocious graphics capabilities and the versatility that comes with a tablet, this is the astir affordable mode successful arsenic acold arsenic Apple's iPad lineup goes. Your lone different enactment would beryllium the iPad Pro with M4, which starts astatine $1,299 for the basal 13-inch model—but you tin find it connected merchantability for arsenic debased arsenic $1,099 astatine third-party retailers.

However, earlier adding the tablet to your cart, it's important to interruption down all of the options. The priciest iPad Air configuration (13-inch, 1 TB of storage, and 5G connectivity) paired with the Magic Keyboard Case and Apple Pencil Pro volition outgo you $1,897. You tin get a caller M4-powered MacBook Air with 1TB of retention for $1,799—which packs the latest entry-level spot with each the aforesaid enactment ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching arsenic well.

If you don't request the graphics boost and are simply looking to upgrade from an older iPad Air oregon to bargain your archetypal iPad, the M2-powered iPad Air is inactive a large choice—especially if it's connected merchantability (the 1 TB exemplary is presently connected merchantability astatine Walmart for $899). You'll get the bulk of the aforesaid features arsenic with the M3 version, including enactment for Apple Intelligence. If you're inactive acceptable connected the M3, you should effort and hold until you tin get the iPad Air astatine a discount. It delivers a large experience, but it doesn't bring thing captious to the array that warrants paying afloat price.

If anything, it's reminiscent of erstwhile Apple launched the 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 backmost successful 2022, and the net joked it utilized leftover MacBook Pro models from 2020. The pursuing year, the institution debuted an all-new, afloat redesigned version. It feels similar we're connected the precipice of an adjacent thinner, faster, and amended model. Perhaps Apple conscionable had to wide retired each the other iPad Air models it had lying astir first.