A massive upgrade in speed… over the 2022 iPad Air
The M3 processor is clearly the 2025 iPad Air’s main claim to fame. | Image Credit — Apple
The Apple M3 chip, mind you, has never been used on a mobile device before, instead debuting inside a 14-inch MacBook Pro and a 24-inch iMac back in the fall of 2023 and then expanding to the MacBook Air lineup in the spring of 2024. That all but guarantees that you’re looking at a remarkable processor by (almost) any tablet standards, making it even harder for companies like Samsung or Lenovo to compete in the mid-range segment.
Granted, the M3 used on the 2025 iPad Air is unlikely to be quite as sophisticated as the variant powering some of those aforementioned computers, employing a 9-core rather than a full 10-core GPU and a presumably state-of-the-art 8-core CPU. Then you’ve got a Neural Engine advertised as “up to 60 percent faster for AI-based workloads” than the same component on the Apple M1-powered iPad Air, so I don’t think there’s any risk of being wrong if I assume that we’re dealing with the snappiest tablet… available at $599 and up right now.
Two screen sizes, one very familiar design, and a totally unchanged pricing structure
If you want 5G support, you’ll unsurprisingly have to pay at least $749 for a more compact tablet and $949 and up for a 13-incher with Apple M3 power. Pre-orders are already underway, with the earliest adopters only having to wait until next Wednesday, March 12 to take the upgraded iPad Air(s) for a spin.
A new and improved optional keyboard is one of the new iPad Air’s key selling points. | Image Credit — Apple
Apple also hopes that an “all-new” Magic Keyboard priced at $269 for the 11-inch model and $319 for the 13-inch iPad Air (M3) will help seal the deal. Believe it or not, this purportedly improved productivity-enhancing accessory is cheaper than its forerunners while somehow rocking a “larger” built-in trackpad and a new 14-key function row with easy access to screen brightness, volume controls, and more.
That’s the kind of subtle but undoubtedly important change you may wish the iPad Air (2025) itself would have gotten in more than one department, but alas, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Even the exact dimensions and weight numbers of the “new” 11 and 13-inch mid-rangers seem to have gone completely unchanged, not to mention the overall design language and key features like stereo speakers, battery capacity, screen resolution, and camera resolution.
If you’re looking for true innovation, you’ll have to look elsewhere. If you want amazing raw power at a reasonable price, look no further.
