It’s worth noting that the iPad Air comes with support for Apple Intelligence, which is available with iPadOS 18.1 and newer (as do all M-series iPad models, along with the iPad Mini with the A17 Pro). It doesn’t transform the experience exponentially, but it’s nice to have access to artificial intelligence features that I’ve already been using on my iPhone and Mac—like the Clean Up Tool (which erases objects from the background in Apple Photos), Message Summaries (which summarizes the main points in texts), and Writing Tools (which can proofread your copy or change the tone of sentences) for emails, on the tablet.
Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
Battery life remains the same as previous versions. Apple claims up to 10 hours of browsing the web on Wi‐Fi or watching video (on both sizes). While using it to stream some episodes of my favorite shows in the background during the day, I reached seven hours before the iPad Air hit 14 percent. So it should get you through a full workday when it comes to basic tasks. But with the ability to now edit more heavy-duty content and play more graphics-intensive games, thanks to the M3, it would’ve made sense for Apple to increase the battery life by a few hours—especially on the larger model.
Depends What You’re Looking For
If you do want the iPad Air solely for the M3’s advanced graphics capabilities and the versatility that comes with a tablet, this is the most affordable way, as far as Apple’s iPad lineup goes. It starts from $599 for the base 11-inch model, and $749 for the 13-inch model tested here. Your only other option would be the iPad Pro with M4, which starts at $1,299 for the base 13-inch model—but you can find it on sale for as low as $1,099 at third-party retailers.
However, before adding the tablet to your cart, it’s important to break down all of the options, particularly if you want to use it for work. The priciest iPad Air configuration (13-inch, 1 TB of storage, and 5G connectivity) paired with the Magic Keyboard Case and Apple Pencil Pro will cost you $1,897. You can get a new M4-powered MacBook Air with 1TB of storage for $1,799—which packs the latest entry-level chip with all the same support for ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching as well.
If you don’t need the graphics boost and are simply looking to upgrade from an older iPad Air, or maybe want to buy your first, the M2-powered iPad Air is still a great choice—especially if it’s on sale (the 1 TB model is currently on sale at Walmart for $899). You’ll get the majority of the same features as with the M3 version, including support for Apple Intelligence. If you’re still set on the M3, you should try and wait until you can get the iPad Air at a discount. It delivers a great experience, but it doesn’t bring anything vital to the table that warrants paying full price.
If anything, it’s reminiscent of when Apple launched the 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 back in 2022, and the internet joked Apple had used leftover MacBook Pro models from 2020. The following year, the company debuted an all-new, fully redesigned version. 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.
