Apple's latest iPad Air is here, and it's powered by the exceptional desktop-grade M3 chipset, but aside from that, can you guess how much else has changed?
No need for guessing here, as the answer is nada––zilch!
Apple takes the definition of "a truly minor generational refresh" very close to heart, which makes this new iPad Air with the M3 chip just slightly faster than its predecessor, but boasting no other improvements or revisions.
Apple has also refreshed the Magic Keyboard for the tablet a little, adding a dedicated function row, but that's about it, we promise.
Overall, users of the iPad Air M2 (2024) shouldn't feel compelled to upgrade, but those willing to get i
iPad Air M3 (2025) vs iPad Air M2 (2024) differences explained:
iPad Air M3 (2025)
iPad Air M2 (2024)
New M3 chipset inside
Powered by the M2 chip
New Magic Keyboard for iPad Air with function row and pass-through charging
Supports the older Magic Keyboard without function row
The new 11-inch iPad Air vs the old 13-inch iPad Air (Image by PhoneArena)
Let's cut to the chase: there are no visual or design changes between the "old" and "new" iPad Air models.
The familiar flat all-aluminum design with fairly thick bezels (especially when compared to the iPad Pro) is identical on both. Both the iPad Air M3 (2025) and the iPad Air M2 (2024) are available in two sizes, an 11-inch and a 13-inch.
Fairly thin, but we've seen thinner (Image by PhoneArena)
And, just like before, there are some slight differences in the aspect ratios between the two different sizes: the smaller variant is closer to a 16:11 ratio that's slightly more convenient when consuming media, but the larger model boasts a more squarish 4:3 aspect ratio, which is beneficial for productivity tasks.
Size-wise, we get no changes as well. The 11-inch flavor of the new tablet measures 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm, just as its predecessor, while the 13-inch version is 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1 mm. Weight-wise, you wouldn't notice a difference either.
The iPad Air is fairly thin for a modern device, but is thicker than the newer iPad Pro models, which is funny: the whole idea behind the iPad Air was to be a culmination of design that's more compact than the rest of the tablets. That's still true, but only when comparing it against the standard iPad, which was also refreshed recently.
In terms of colors, both tablets arrive in the same hues: Blue, Space Gray, Purple, and Starlight. A very dreamy and colorful selection that we do like.
Good displays, but still 60Hz and LCD (Image by PhoneArena)
Display-wise, no changes have arrived on the iPad Air M3 (2025).
No OLED or miniLED technology here, but the good ol' tried-and-tested IPS LCD tech. That's okay, the display looks lovely, although the contrast isn't as good as an OLED, and you can easily make out the backlight.
What's the bigger offender here is the 60Hz refresh rate, which isn't great at all. According to Apple, ProMotion is a "pro" feature, but even entry-level phones and tablets these days give you a smoother refresh rate of 120Hz or more. It would have made sense for an iPad Air released in 2025 to be outfitted with a ProMotion screen.
Oh, and unlike the base iPad, the iPad Air has a laminated screen. This means the display digitizer and the glass above are fused together, with no unpleasant gap between them.
Quality-wise, our display tests reveal some slight differences between the two iPad Air generations, but nothing too drastic. Peak brightness isn't very high, but the color accuracy is superb on either tablet here. Still, if it were miniLED…
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
Touch ID is the biometric method of choice on the new iPad Air M3, just like on the older model. That's fine, Face ID might be a tad more convenient as you don't have to reach out and touch the power button, but we have no bones to pick with Touch ID itself.
Touch ID is situated on the power button (Image by PhoneArena)
Keyboard and Stylus
Aside from the chipset, one of the new-fangled changes with the iPad Air is actually a minor functionality update of its Magic Keyboard accessory. It now comes with a function row, allowing you to quickly and conveniently change the brightness, volume, and Focus modes.
It's still made of a plastic and does not have the aluminum palm rest of the Magic Keyboard that's available for the iPad Pro. It's still the same floating keyboard that attaches magnetically to the tablet, mind you, allowing you for quick and easy height and angle modification.
Performance & Benchmarks
Big gains
The whole idea behind the new iPad Air is the updated chip inside. The Apple M3 comes with even better performance than the M2 chip on the older iPad Air. As a reminder, that's the same ARM-based desktop-grade chip that clicks and ticks in, say, the MacBook Air.
In particular, the M3 and the M2 both feature four performance and four efficiency cores, but the maximum CPU clock has jumped from 3.49GHz to 4.05GHz, which has boosted the overall performance.
In our CPU-centric benchmark tests, the new iPad Air performs better than its predecessor in both the single- and multi-core tests. You might not be able to tell that in real life, as the two tablets feel equally fast.
What would you do with so much power on a 60Hz iOS tablet? Well, you can use a slew of desktop-grade apps aimed at professionals, like Logic for iPad, Final Cut Pro 2, DaVinci Resolve, and others.
Storage-wise, Apple hasn't changed a thing, so we get the same storage configurations on the iPad Air M3 as on the older M2-powered flavor: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage variants. Prices have remained unchanged.
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Software
Both the iPad Air M3 (2025) and the iPad Air M2 (2024) come with iPadOS 18, the latest flavor of the tablet-centric offshoot of iOS 18.
Some signature features of iPadOS 18 are the customizable Control Center and home screen icons, changes to core apps like Photos, and the ability to hide and lock apps with Touch ID.
Both the old and new iPad Air support Apple Intelligence. However, to say that Apple Intelligence has been off to the rockiest start possible would be a pretty massive understatement.
Sure, features like Genmoji and Image Playground are here, but the real star of the show, the most anticipated new feature––a revamped and more capable Siri that's able to execute complex cross-app actions––has been delayed undefinitely.
Apple tends to support its tablets between six and eight years, so a similar update situation can be anticipated for both the iPad Air M3 and iPad Air M2.
Audio Quality
Both slates come with dual speakers. However, they only output stereo sound when held in landscape mode, when the speakers are pointing left and right, respectively.
The sound quality between the two is identical and pretty good. You get nice and full bass, detailed mids, and well-performing high frequencies, making listening to music or just about any other type of media a pretty enjoyable experience.
There's no 3,5mm audio jack on neither the iPad Air M3, nor the iPad Air M2.
Another feature that's missing on both tablets is haptic feedback. Not that you necessarily need haptics on a tablet, but other competitors at least give you the option.
Battery and Charging
Decent-sized batteries inside (Image by PhoneArena)
Both sizes of the new iPad Air M3 (2025) feature batteries that are just as big as the one on the previous generation.
This means that we get a 28.93Wh battery on the 11-inch tablet, while the 13-inch version gets a36.59Wh. If you prefer a more common specification, the smaller tablet gets a 7,606mAh battery, while the larger one––a 9,705mAh one.
We have the 11-inch flavor of the new iPad Air, but the 13-inch version of the older one. As we can see from our in-house battery benchmarks, the 11-inch Air achieves 9 hours and a half in our dedicated web browsing test, a little below seven hours in our video test, and a little over five hours in the gaming test. The larger model naturally performs better, especially in the web browsing and 3D gaming tests.
No updates to the charging speeds: the iPad Air with M3 chip still charges at up to 20W, which isn't great and takes a little more than two hours to fully juice up either tablet.
USB-C reporting for duty (Image by PhoneArena)
Neither the iPad Air M3 nor the iPad Air M2 come with wireless charging.
Camera
A proper FaceTime machine
A simple but capable camera system (Image by PhoneArena)
The iPad Air M3, just like the older model, boasts a 12MP rear and a 12MP front camera. Both cameras support the useful Center Stage feature, which intelligently follows your face around the frame and keeps it centered at all time. We like this one, it's one of the more versatile features here that is priceless during video calls.
Video Quality
The camera on the iPad Air is a very dependable one. It delivers great image quality in good lighting conditions, but as the latter deteriorates, you might get some noise and artifacts. Still, we are more than content with how video looks here, it's absolutely adequate for just about any video call you might use it for.
Photo Quality
If your iPhone is not around and you have to use the iPad to take a picture, it will do just fine. It's got decent exposure, okay details, and the familiar warm iPhone-esque colors.
Which one should you buy?
The Air is absolutely sufficient (Image by PhoneArena)
Just like a regular, base iPad, an iPad Air is more than enough for most people's needs, but also offers a significant amount of extra performance thanks to the desktop-grade chip, making it way more future-proof.
At the same time, iPad Air models are also a more sensible purchase than an iPad Pro, which is certainly a better device, but also commands a significantly higher premium.
That said, which iPad Air should you get?
Well, if you're jumping into the Apple tablet ecosystem right now, you should absolutely get the latest one, the new iPad Air M3. It doesn't really make sense to get the older one, which is about to be officially discontinued anyway.
On the other hand, if you have the iPad Air M2, you shouldn't feel forced to upgrade––the extra performance is nice, but will by no means affect your overall experience.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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