Spot the Difference (If You Can)

Apple has refreshed the iPad Air with its baseline M3 chip. While the company’s tablets are known to deliver a balance between usability and affordability, the M3 iPad Air offers a performance boost for power users. But how different is it from its predecessor, the M2 iPad Air? Let’s find out.

Apple Didn’t Change the iPad Air’s Design (At All)

Until now, people have joked about Apple repurposing the same products with barely any upgrades to the design or internal components. Most recently, the iPhone 16e was called out for bringing back the giant Face ID notch from the vanilla iPhone 14 to a member of the iPhone 16 family. Even the new M4 MacBook Air models or iPads look exactly like their predecessors.

I hate to admit it, but that’s true for the M3 iPad Air. The device looks and feels the same as the M2 iPad Air released in 2024 (which was similar to the M1 iPad Air from 2022). Everything from the 11-inch and 13-inch screen sizes (with symmetrical bezels) to the dimensions, weight, and even the colors is identical on the two devices.

Moreover, there’s no visual cue that separates the M3 iPad Air from the M2 iPad Air.

Both iPads Offer the Same Liquid Retina Displays

It doesn’t matter which iPad you get; both offer a Liquid Retina IPS (LED-backlit) screen with a resolution of 2360×1640 for the 11-inch variant and 2732×2048 pixels for the 13-inch variant.

Other similarities include a fully laminated panel with an anti-reflective coating, Wide (P3) color gamut support, and Apple’s True Tone technology.

Like the last generation, the 11-inch variant maxes out at 500 nits of peak brightness, while the one with a larger screen (13-inch) can shine as bright as 600 nits. Both iPad Air iterations also support Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C).

In other words, the Cupertino giant has used the same displays on both iPads, so you need not worry about missing something even if you go with the M2 iPad Air.

The 2025 iPad Air Gets M3 Silicon

In the past, we’ve seen the M3 chipset on the 2024 MacBook Air in the following configurations: an eight-core CPU with an eight-core GPU or an eight-core CPU with a 10-core GPU. However, Apple seems to have used a third iteration of the chipset on the new iPad Air.

The 2025 iPad Air features Apple’s M3 which comprises of an eight-core CPU (with four performance and four efficiency cores), a nine-core GPU that provides hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing for improved graphics, and a 16-core Neural Engine that is faster than the one on the M2. Moreover, we’re looking at around 15% improvement in performance.

With 8GB of RAM (100GB/s memory bandwidth), the M3 chip has plenty of room to accommodate demanding apps for video editing, graphic designing, or 3D modeling. And yes, the chip also unlocks all the GenAI features currently available as part of Apple Intelligence in iPadOS 18 (and the ones slated to arrive in the future).

Yes, the M3 chip provides more power, but that doesn’t mean that the M2 is outdated in 2025 by any means. The chipset also features an eight-core CPU, nine-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 8GB of RAM, which falls right up the alley for most iPad users. In fact, the M2 iPad Air also supports Apple Intelligence features.

The M3 chip (built using TSMC’s 3nm fabrication technology) will operate a bit more smoothly and efficiently than the M2 chipset (built on TSMC’s 5nm process).

For content creators and editors, M3’s media engine supports 8K HEVC, 4K H.264, ProRes, and ProRes RAW formats, along with AV1 decode.

M3 iPad Air Gets a New Magic Keyboard

With the iPad, the company has also released a new Magic Keyboard that features a larger trackpad, a 14-key function row, a machine aluminum hinge, and a USB-C connector for pass-through charging. So, if you wish to carry the iPad as a replacement for your laptop, the accessory can come in handy.

However, like other iPad accessories, it isn’t the most affordable one on the market. The 11-inch Magic Keyboard costs $269, while the 13-inch Magic Keyboard costs $319.

Both iPads Support Apple Pencil Pro and USB-C Versions

Whether you get the latest iPad Air or the nine-month-old model, you can choose between the Apple Pencil Pro or the Apple Pencil (USB-C). While the former provides advanced features like wireless pairing and charging, pressure sensitivity, squeeze/barrel roll gestures, haptic feedback, and support for Find My network, the latter offers all the essential features.

If you ask me, the Apple Pencil Pro offers a better experience with magnetic charging and a double-tap gesture.

Cameras, Battery Life, and Connectivity

Usually, these departments get a separate subheading in my comparisons, but since there’s not much to write, I’ve squeezed all the information into one segment. Like its predecessor, the 2025 iPad Air packs a 12MP (f/1.8) rear-facing camera that can record 4K videos at up to 60 fps. However, the 12MP (f/2.0) Center Stage camera is limited to 1080p videos at 60 fps.

The M3 chip consumes less energy than the M2 chip because it provides the same computational power. However, the increase in the peak performance offsets the efficiency, and as a result, the M3 iPad Air promises the same usage hours as the M2 iPad Air.

All the 2025 and 2022 iPad Air variants offer up to 10 hours of web surfing via Wi-Fi or up to nine hours with cellular data. Although Apple doesn’t mention the charging rate, I’m pretty sure it remains the same (up to 100% in over two hours with a supported 30W adapter).

Regarding connectivity, the iPads support Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS, and 5G (sub-6 GHz on cellular models). There’s a USB-C port for charging and transferring data.

Apple Didn’t Increase the Price (And It Shouldn’t Have Either)

The M3 iPad Air (Wi-Fi) is available from $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch baseline variants. For those who want cellular connectivity, the price starts from $749 for the 11-inch and $949 for the 13-inch models. Interested buyers can pre-order their unit on the company’s official website, while the device will hit stores starting March 12, 2025.

Although the M2 iPad Air also had a similar price tag on arrival, it currently sells at a discount. If you want the baseline M2 iPad Air (128GB, Wi-Fi), you can purchase it from Best Buy at $499 for the 11-inch and $699 for the 13-inch variants. The same holds for cellular models as well.

If you’re confused between the two iPads, I suggest you go with the M2 iPad Air and save $100, especially if you’re upgrading from the 2020 iPad Air or older. Except for the M3 chip, the 2025 iPad Air has nothing the 2024 iPad Air doesn’t. It even supports Apple Intelligence and will continue to support the latest iPadOS versions for at least four to five years.

Whether you’re getting the M2 iPad Air for attending classes, creating presentations, browsing the internet, going through your emails, or streaming content via OTT apps, it should provide a similar experience to the new M3 iPad Air.

Apple iPad Air (M3)

2025’s iPad Air upgrade features an M3 chip, is compatible with a new keyboard folio case, and has support for Apple Intelligence. It’s almost identical to the previous model in terms of look and feel.