With its tablet lineup split into four families, Apple has had a Swiss Army knife to offer users of all stripes for the last 15 years. The iPad Air line started in 2013 as a lighter alternative to the main iPad and has since become the star, with its mix of power, utility and budget.
Apple has just released the newest incarnation of the midrange powerhouse, featuring an upgraded Apple Silicon chip. While this is a promising development in itself, how does the mighty Air benefit from and utilize all this new power, and will it cause a shakeup in the balance of the tablet market?
Specifications
The big centre-stage upgrade on 2025’s iPad Air is the M3 Apple Silicon chip. This generation runs an eight-core CPU, nine-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine, enabling Apple Intelligence and cutting-edge graphical performance for the tablet market. This even allows for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a next-gen feature that, until now, has been too demanding for iPads other than the Pro line.
“The iPad Air line started in 2013 as a lighter alternative to the main iPad and has since become the star, with its mix of power, utility and budget.”
This puts the Air a step below the most recent iPad Pro (with an M4 chip and 10 cores each for CPU and GPU) but miles above its previous iteration and the current base iPad (with its A16 chip and half the processing power).
On the screen front, the new Air strays closer to its cousin, the base iPad. Both have a similar Liquid Retina LED-backlit display with a resolution of 2360×1640; in fact, it’s a match for the previous (M2) Air. The iPad Pro, meanwhile, offers an Ultra Retina XDR OLED display, reaching a slightly larger 2420×1668 resolution and a more versatile brightness range.
That being said, users can achieve much more with that display. This model is capable of better hardware-accelerated video playback and other features, such as the ray tracing upgrade. In other words, the display itself might be virtually the same, but the upgraded Apple Silicon chip can push it much further.
Ironically, the iPad Air is ever so slightly heavier than the current iPad Pro—comparing the two 11-inch display versions, the Air is 16 grams heavier. It measures 9.74 inches by 7.02 inches, is a quarter-inch thick and weighs a breezy 460 grams. (Double those last two figures, however, if you intend to cart it around in the Magic Keyboard folio.)
“Beneath that largely identical hood, the newest iPad Air is nipping at the heels of its bigger brother, the iPad Pro, thanks to the M3 chip.”
Most of the new iPad Air is practically identical to the previous generation: cameras, speakers, connectivity and storage options have all carried over. It’s still a great package in all these departments, but if you’re considering an upgrade from the previous generation, you won’t see much difference on the outside. This puts the Air a step below the most recent iPad Pro (with an M4 chip and 10 cores each for CPU and GPU) but miles ahead of its previous iteration and the current base iPad (with its A16 chip and half the processing power).
Application
Beneath that largely identical hood, the newest iPad Air is nipping at the heels of its bigger brother, the iPad Pro, thanks to the M3 chip. This level of Apple Silicon empowers it to take on bigger calculations, run console-quality games and fuel creativity with the smoothest experience yet. It also allows the Air to incorporate the company’s big new focus: Apple Intelligence.
First, we must address the (artificial) elephant in the room. Incorporating machine learning and AI tools has been the biggest trend in tech for a couple of years now, and it’s becoming difficult to find a new tablet or computer that doesn’t integrate them somehow. These systems come with a lot of baggage, from copyright concerns to environmental tolls, and I can’t say Intelligence has radically redefined my iPhone experience since its launch last fall.
There is some consolation in that Apple’s AI implementations are perhaps the least invasive in this field, since most of the computational work is done securely on-device, and the company aspires to counteract its environmental impact across its business. However, Intelligence leans on ChatGPT for tools such as Writing Tools and certain other tasks, which feels somewhat counterintuitive. So, it’s a double-edged sword.
Apple Intelligence does offer some interesting implementations on the new iPad Air. Like the iPhone, Photos can remove background objects automatically—either in a few seconds with its own calculations or with precision if you highlight certain areas manually. Notes can summon quick baseline prompts or suggestions to get planning started (using ChatGPT) or convert quick doodles into semi-realized illustrations using Image Playground as a plug-in.
These functions extend to popular third-party apps as well. Morpholio Board, a popular interior design and mood-boarding app, can remove backgrounds from images with a tap or even apply some 3D lighting and shadow effects. Meanwhile, Final Cut Pro can help users get started with generated templates suited to their projects—making it easier for casual users to achieve professional results or streamline work for professionals.
Your mileage may vary with the iPad Air’s Apple Intelligence integrations. It can perform some powerful tricks, but for many, this whole department still seems like a nest of snakes. That being said, the M3 chip isn’t only for machine learning functions.
“Situated in the middle of the lineup, the iPad Air retains the best cost-to-power ratio, thanks to the M3 Apple Silicon chip.”
As the first of its line to receive some advanced graphics handed down from the Pro, the 2025 iPad Air can handle 3D rendering tasks several times faster. Gaming on a tablet has become more feasible with this upgrade—provided the games you want to play are actually available on iOS. This library is growing slowly but steadily, and making this level of power accessible on midrange devices like the Air will benefit developers looking to bring their titles over.
Beyond gaming, bringing some of the iPad Pro’s power to the next tier of tablets is a significant advantage. No longer do you need to upgrade to the top-level iPad to access demanding applications. Uniform 3D, for example, functions beautifully on the new iPad Air, allowing users to create sophisticated 3D objects and models.
Experienced iOS users probably know what to expect in terms of accessory needs and compatibility for the new iPad Air. The Magic Keyboard is almost essential if you intend to do any typing beyond a family newsletter email or social media posts. However, it does add another $379 to the price tag.
At least it’s a quality product. The newest iteration features Apple’s floating cantilever design for adjusting the viewing angle, which is superior to the folding triangle approach used on some older versions. A 14-key function row and a large trackpad—capable of Multi-Touch gestures and haptic feedback—are nice touches, but the built-in USB-C port on the left side of the hinge seals the deal.
The Apple Pencil is more of a niche choice, and again, the average user may want to save the $200. But if you engage in sketching, handwriting or other fine operations on your iPad, it’s a savvy investment. (Now, if only Apple could perfect the magic of keeping it attached to the side of the tablet when it’s in a bag.)
Conclusion
Now, the (green) elephant in the room: what will all this power cost customers?
The 11-inch iPad Air model, which we tested, starts at $799 with the minimum 128GB of storage, Wi-Fi only, with no keyboard, pencil or AppleCare+. That’s significantly cheaper than the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $1,399 with 256GB of storage, and a world of difference from the A16 iPad at $499.
Situated in the middle of the lineup, the iPad Air retains the best cost-to-power ratio, thanks to the M3 Apple Silicon chip. Given the difference in power between the regular and Air models, the base iPad only seems advisable for the most basic users or children. On the other hand, beyond the chip, there isn’t a world of difference in hardware—for $300 more, you get significantly better processing in practically the same device.
The iPad Pro has the opposite problem or advantage, depending on your outlook; it has the better M4 chip and superior audio/visual performance, with deeper application potential, but comes at nearly double the price.
Ultimately, the new iPad Air is probably the safest, strongest choice for most iOS users, even though this model didn’t go too far out of its way to earn that title. The M3 chip has a lot of potential, but much of it is dedicated to Apple Intelligence features—a function many users don’t want or won’t use—and the rest of the tablet’s specs haven’t changed much to take full advantage of it. While the 2022 iteration felt like a turning point for the product line, the 2025 update feels more like a routine upgrade designed to push Apple Intelligence into more users’ hands.
