Apple puts fast M3 chip inside the iPhone Air, updates iPad
In one move, Apple just upgraded arguably the world’s best general-purpose tablet, pimping out the iPad Air with a fleet and fast M3 processor.
That’s an upgrade that also makes for significant improvements in graphics performance on these already great machines. The company also announced a greatly improved iPad equipped with a better processor and more storage capacity.
Available from the same $599 starting price as before, the new Airs support Apple Intelligence, iOS 18 and have a host of other improvements. You’ll feel the speed and get great battery life from the upgraded device, which is available in both 11- and 13-inch models.
M3 also brings Apple’s advanced graphics architecture to iPad Air for the first time with support for dynamic caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing.
Speed and performance
When it comes to performance and battery life, Apple failed to make any comparison with the last M2 mode, but did tell us that the iPad Air with M3 chip is nearly 2x faster than the M1 iPad Air and 3.5 times faster than iPad Air with A14 Bionic.
The company also says the more powerful 8-core M3 CPU is up to 35 percent faster for multithreaded CPU workflows than iPad Air with M1, while the 9-core GPU promises up to 40 percent faster graphics performance in comparison to the same M1. For graphics-intensive rendering workflows, iPad Air with M3 offers up to 4x faster performance than iPad Air with M1, Apple says.
The faster Neural Engine in M3 means iPad Air users can enjoy even more AI capabilities in iPadOS. Compared to M1, the Neural Engine in M3 is up to 60 percent faster for AI-based workloads.
Other improvements over iPad models with A-series chips include support for Apple Intelligence, the choice of 11- and 13-inch sizes, and support for advanced accessories, including the new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro.
What Apple said
“iPad Air is so popular because of its unmatched combination of powerful performance, portability, and support for advanced accessories, all at an affordable price,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “For everyone from college students taking notes with Apple Pencil Pro, to travellers and content creators who need powerful productivity on the go, iPad Air with M3, Apple Intelligence, and the new Magic Keyboard take versatility and value to the next level.”
Apple today also updated iPad with double the starting storage and the A16 chip, bringing even more value to customers. The A16 chip provides a jump in performance for everyday tasks and experiences in iPadOS, while still providing all-day battery life. Compared to the previous generation, the updated iPad with A16 is nearly 30 percent faster and up to 6x faster than the best-selling Android tablet.6
The new iPad Air and iPad each feature at least 30 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The batteries contain 100 percent recycled cobalt and — in a first for iPad — over 95 percent recycled lithium.
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