iPad A16 vs iPad Air M3: who's the real iPad Pro killer here?
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Intro
Now that's a surprise start to 2025 — Apple "silently" released new tablets. Now, we are not surprised by the iPad 11th gen (now called iPad A16), but the iPad Air M3 was a bit befuddling. The M2 model is already plenty overkill, so we are unsure why Apple felt the need to upgrade it — probably because it was financially and logistically better to stop making M2 chips and keep the production lines churning the newer ones.
Anyway, what are the core differences here? If you look at an iPad Air M3 11" against an iPad A16, they kind of sort of look the same. 11" screen vs 10.9" screen, the uniform bezel design, fingerprint scanners in the power button. And then, when you look at their accessories — the Air supports Apple Pencil and has a Magic Keyboard, the iPad 11th gen supports only the base Pencil (USB C) and a Magic Keyboard Folio.
But there are further differences in the screen quality and certainly performance expectations. Plus, the A16 is the only iPad in the lineup to not support Apple Intelligence. A bit of a surprise there, we felt like Apple was dedicated to bringing it to all of its products.
In any case, the iPad A16 is not a bad tablet by any means, while the iPad Air excels in almost every front. So, let's take a look at what we know and what we expect, while we wait for the units to go through their testing:
iPad Air M3 vs iPad A16 differences explained:
| iPad Air M3 | iPad A16 |
|---|---|
| Two size options — 11" and 13" | Standard, 10.9" screen |
| Laminated, anti-glare screen | Cheaper-looking display |
| SoC - Apple M3 desktop-class chip | SoC - Apple A16 Bionic, released in 2022 |
| 12 MP front and back cameras | 12 MP front and back cameras |
| 128 GB base storage | 128 GB base storage |
| Supports Pencil Pro, Magic Keyboard | Pencil USB C, Magic Keyboard Folio |
| USB C with USB 3 transfer speeds | USB C with old class USB 2 speeds (very slow) |
Table of Contents:
Design and Display Quality
We look alike, but we are not the same
The Air screen is better (Image credit - PhoneArena)
Buttons are the same (Image credit - PhoneArena)
The triple dot connectors for their respective keyboards are at different spots, since the iPad A16 uses a Magic Keyboard Folio while the iPad Air supports the superior (and more expensive) Magic Keyboard (for iPad Air). Also, the iPad Air has a magnetic charging strip to hold and charge an Apple Pencil Pro where the iPad A16 does not — the latter only supports the base level Apple Pencil USB-C.
Smart connector on iPad A16 frame (Image credit - PhoneArena)
The screens is where you will notice a real difference between these two. The Air has a laminated display, meaning its glass and touch digitizer are fused in a single layer. This results in the screen being much closer to the glass and providing a more premium viewing experience, while the iPad A16's display looks like it's "sunken into" the frame of the tablet. To top it off, the Air has a superior anti-reflective coating.
But no, neither of these have a 120 Hz refresh rate. Both the iPad Air M3 and iPad A16 have 60 Hz panels. Pros will appreciate that the iPad Air is tuned for P3 color space, whereas the iPad A16 is "only" tuned for sRGB. Consumers will find that both these screens have lovely and pretty accurate colors none the less.
iPad A16 vs iPad Air keyboard and stylus options
Deep tactile travel and solid feel on both (Image credit - PhoneArena)
As we previously touched upon, both of these have first party keyboard and stylus options. First, the keyboards:
The iPad A16 supports the Magic Keyboard Folio. It's a two-part accessory — a back panel that has a kickstand will magnetically latch onto the iPad and can stay there in perpetuity. The second part is the keyboard itself — you can sit the iPad on it and it will attach to the aforementioned back. Use it as a screen flap to carry the whole thing together, or leave the keyboard at the working desk when you want to walk around with a lighter iPad.
The iPad A16 supports the Magic Keyboard Folio. It's a two-part accessory — a back panel that has a kickstand will magnetically latch onto the iPad and can stay there in perpetuity. The second part is the keyboard itself — you can sit the iPad on it and it will attach to the aforementioned back. Use it as a screen flap to carry the whole thing together, or leave the keyboard at the working desk when you want to walk around with a lighter iPad.
The iPad Air M3 supports the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air. It's not really "new", it's a slightly remade and rebranded version of the original Magic Keyboard that launched with the iPad Pro (2020). The keys feel the same, the trackpad is just as small and feels the same, the rubber material is — you guessed it — the same. What's new is that it now has an added function key row and the camera cutout is smaller, since the iPad Air doesn't have the big square module that an iPad pro has.
One of these keyboards is fancier than the other (Image credit - PhoneArena)
While the keys and touchpad of both keyboard options feel the same (very, very good), the Magic Keyboard is the superior product here, as it "floats" your tablet, has easily adjustable angles, and makes it feel much more like a laptop. Plus, it has a USB-C connector on the side with pass-through charging for the iPad — essentially, it adds another port for your iPad Air.
The kickstand of the Folio — like any kickstand-based keyboard — feels finnicky, clunky, and annoying unless you are working on a perfect-hight desk.
As for the stylus experience, the iPad A16 supports the basic Apple Pencil USB-C, while the iPad Air M3 can be used with both the Pencil USB-C and Apple Pencil Pro. Here are the differences:
| Apple Pencil USB-C | Apple Pencil Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Tilt sensitivity | Yes | Yes |
| Pressure sensitivity | - | Yes |
| Magnetic attachment | Yes | Yes |
| Charges wirelessly while attached | - | Yes |
| Hover feature | Yes | Yes |
| Double-tap feature for context actions | - | Yes |
| Barrel roll for brushes | - | Yes |
| Squeeze to open tool menus | - | Yes |
| Haptic feedback | - | Yes |
| Supports FindMy Network | - | Yes |
So, the basic Apple Pencil USB-C can kind of get you in the ballpark and start you up with drawing. However, true pro features that make it feel like a "real" brush like pressure sensitivity and barrel rolling are locked behind the more expensive Pencil. And, in the case of comparing these tablets here — the more expensive iPad.
Performance and Software
Of course the M3 runs laps around the A16, but does it matter?
Sure you can play games (Image credit - PhoneArena)
The iPad Air now has an M3 chip inside, which is pretty intense. It's a desktop-class chip, with no exaggeration — these can be found in MacBook Pros and iMacs around the world. So, it goes without saying, it has plenty of power to run iPadOS at peak speeds. In fact, many will argue that iPadOS is holding the iPads back and is the reason why spending money on an iPad Pro or even an Air is not a good idea.
But still, Apple is making (small, slow) steps towards evolving the iPads into more pro-oriented machines. Now with Logic Pro for iPad and Final Cut Pro for iPad now finally being... well, reality.
The good news is that the new iPad A16 also supports Logic Pro and Final Cut (the iPad 10th gen lacked the power for Final Cut). So, what's the difference?
Well, the M3 and more RAM inside the iPad Air still allow it to run Stage Manager, which is Apple's version of desktop-like multi-tasking on a tablet. It can be a bit confusing and annoying for specific workflows, but the good news is that it can very easily be toggled on and off via the Control Center, so you can quickly swap from one mode of work to another.
The power also allows the iPad Air to run that Stage Manager environment on an external monitor, so you can have a two-screen setup with both displays working independently. The iPad A16 will simply mirror its screen if you hook up an external monitor.
All that said, we can actually dig into some benchmark results:
Performance Benchmarks:
It goes without saying that if you are using any pro apps, your exports and workflow will be faster on the iPad Air M3. And, for gaming, you will be able to boost graphics further on it.
Then, there's Apple Intelligence. This one's simple, really — the iPad A16 just doesn't have it, and that marks it as the only Apple product released this past year to not have AI. Is this... a benefit?
The iPad Air, of course, has access to all of the AI tricks — notification summaries, text editing and rephrasing, image generation that is also integrated into Notes, ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence. Unfortunately, the coveted "Smarter Siri" update was postponed.
For updates, you can expect at least 5 years of iPadOS updates for both of these — if not more. So, both of these iPads will be good on the security and features side until 2030.
Battery Life and Charging
All day to drain, an 8th of a day to charge (Image credit - PhoneArena)
Apple's favorite term is "All-day battery life" with pretty much any mobile device it launches — MacBooks, iPads, iPhones. And, we've learned to expect around a 10-hour battery endurance from the iPads. Some heavier usage might bring that down to 8 hours, some really frenetic gaming — down to 6 hours.
So, we weren't shocked when we saw the results with these new iPads. However, it's interesting to see how power-hungry the M3 is compared to the A16:
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
Our browsing test simulates you loading different pages and scrolling through them, while the video streaming test plays an infinite YouTube playlist. In both cases we get similar and expected results. When gaming, however, you can truly see the price of that M3 chip's power. 5 hours is a respectable amount of time, sure, but nowhere near the 7.5 hours of the A16. Though, the latter will have a lower-quality screen and worse in-game detail, so there's always a tradeoff.
Audio Quality
We have stereo speakers on both the iPad A16 and iPad Air M3. Well, there's a small caveat — they have two speakers in there them, oriented so they are stereo when the tablets are turned in landscape (unlike the iPad Pros, which have quad speakers). They sound very similar, but the iPad A16 is slightly more muffled and compressed, with less details in the mids and a less open feel to it. Not a huge difference, mind you.
Specs Comparison
To get the raw specs, we can view the full iPad Air M2 vs iPad 10th gen specs comparison page. But here are the highlights:
| Specs | iPad Air M3 | iPad A16 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9.75 x 7.03 x 0.24 inches (247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm) or 11.05 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches (280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1 mm) | 9.79 x 7.07 x 0.28 inches (248.6 x 179.5 x 7 mm) |
| Weight | 462 g or 617 g | 481 g |
| Screen | 11", LCD, 60 Hz, 2360 x 1640 or 13", LCD, 60 Hz, 2732 x 2048 | 10.9". LCD, 60 Hz, 2360 x 1640 |
| Processor | Apple M3 | Apple A16 Bionic |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 8 GB / 128 GB for $599 8 GB / 256 GB for $699 8 GB / 512 GB for $899 8 GB / 1 TB for $1,099 or 8 GB / 128 GB for $799 8 GB / 256 GB for $899 8 GB / 512 GB for $1,099 8 GB / 1 TB for $1,299 | 6 GB / 128 GB for $349 6 GB / 256 GB for $449 6 GB / 512 GB for $649 |
| Cameras | 12 MP main 12 MP front | 12 MP main 12 MP front |
| Battery Size | 7,606 mAh or 9705 mAh | 7,606 mAh |
Which one should you buy?
There's a lot of overlap (Image credit - PhoneArena)
The iPad A16 offers a very solid tablet experience for a starting price of $350. No wonder why the base iPad is popular — it's fairly inexpensive, but you get solid performance, a good OS that has most of the features of the big boys, it sounds good and the screen — while not excellent — is pretty good, too. Its Magic Keyboard Folio feels good to type on, but is cumbersome and limiting if you want to use it in true digital nomad style. The Apple Pencil is "kind of good", but the more precise features are locked behind the Pencil Pro, which the base iPad does not even support.
The iPad Air does upgrade on every one of these points. It supports the much-better Magic Keyboard, it supports the Apple Pencil Pro with more precise drawing and controls on the Pencil itself, it has a slightly better screen now with P3 calibration, it has slightly better speakers, more power, and multi-tasking and desktop features unlocked in iPadOS. So, if you want a simple, solid tablet, that can kind of also help you do some work — you can save money and get the iPad A16. If you want to unlock more Pro features and a slightly more premium feel — that's the Air.
Oh, also Apple Intelligence. If you care about that, the base iPad is off the table.
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