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Apple announced two iPad updates on March 4, 2025: an iPad Air with an M3 chip in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, and a lower-priced iPad with an A16 chip. Apple said the M3 Air is nearly twice as fast as the M1 Air, but that is the company’s comparison—not an independent benchmark. Apple promoted Apple Intelligence for the Air; its announcement did not explicitly confirm whether the A16 iPad supports the features.
What Apple announced
The March 4, 2025 announcement covered two tablet lines:
- iPad Air with M3: 11-inch and 13-inch models, with storage options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
- Updated iPad with A16: the lower-price model in the lineup.
Apple set March 4 as the preorder date and March 12, 2025 as the date customer availability began. The announcement’s U.S. launch prices were $599 for the 11-inch Air Wi-Fi, $799 for the 13-inch Air Wi-Fi, and $349 for the A16 iPad Wi-Fi. These are historical launch prices, not verified current offers.
What “nearly 2× faster” means
Apple described the M3 Air as nearly twice as fast as the iPad Air with M1. It also cited comparisons against both M1 and A14 Bionic, with results varying by task:
#1 Best Overall
- Apple M3 chip — delivers strong performance and power efficiency for apps, multitasking, and creative tasks.
- 11″ Liquid Retina display — bright, detailed visuals with wide P3 color and True Tone for immersive viewing.
- 128 GB storage — local space for apps, media, documents, and files.
- Wi‑Fi connectivity — fast wireless performance (Wi‑Fi 6E) for browsing, streaming, and downloads.
- USB-C Port (10 Gb/s)
| Apple’s comparison | Claim in Apple’s March 2025 announcement |
|---|---|
| M3 Air versus M1 Air | Nearly 2× faster overall; up to 35% faster in multithreaded CPU workflows; up to 40% faster graphics performance; up to 4× faster graphics-intensive rendering; and up to 60% faster Neural Engine performance for AI-based workloads. |
| M3 Air versus A14 Bionic Air | Up to 3.5× faster. |
These are Apple’s claims, with “up to” figures tied to the workloads Apple specified. The announcement is not an independent benchmark study, so the numbers should not be read as a guarantee that every app or everyday task will run at those multiples. Apple described the overall comparison and task-specific figures in its March 4, 2025 announcement.
How the M3 Air hardware differs by size
Both Air sizes use an 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 8GB of RAM, according to Apple Support. Their displays differ in resolution and brightness:
| Model | Display resolution | Listed brightness |
|---|---|---|
| 11-inch iPad Air (M3) | 2360 × 1640 pixels | 500 nits |
| 13-inch iPad Air (M3) | 2732 × 2048 pixels | 600 nits |
For official specifications, see Apple’s pages for the 11-inch iPad Air (M3) and 13-inch iPad Air (M3).
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- WHY IPAD AIR — iPad Air with the Apple M4 chip packs even more performance into a beautiful design, and it comes in two portable sizes. It features Apple Intelligence* along with a stunning Liquid Retina display, Touch ID, advanced cameras, and Wi-Fi 7.*
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The M4 chip delivers advanced graphics and incredible performance for smooth multitasking and complex AI tasks. And with all-day battery life, you can keep working and playing wherever you go.* Choose up to 1TB of storage for apps, music, movies, and more.*
- IPADOS + APPS — Run apps and get more done with the game-changing capabilities and intuitive design of iPadOS. The flexible windowing system lets you control, organize, and manage your workflows like never before.
- APPLE INTELLIGENCE — Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you create, communicate, and get things done effortlessly with groundbreaking privacy protections at every step.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display features advanced technologies like P3 wide color, True Tone, and ultralow reflectivity, which make everything look stunning.*
Apple Intelligence: what is established about each iPad
Apple described the M3 Air as “built for Apple Intelligence” and listed features including Clean Up in Photos, natural-language photo search, Image Wand in Notes, Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools, typing to Siri, a more conversational Siri, and ChatGPT integration in Siri and Writing Tools. Apple also said many models run on-device and described Private Cloud Compute for requests that require larger models.
The announcement’s A16 iPad section covers its chip, storage, performance, and iPadOS 18 features, but does not directly state whether that model is eligible for Apple Intelligence. That omission is not an explicit incompatibility statement. The evidence cited here supports describing Apple Intelligence as a promoted M3 Air capability, but not declaring the A16 iPad incompatible based on this announcement alone.
Keyboard and Pencil compatibility
Apple named different accessory options for the two product lines. Accessories are sold separately, and compatibility is model-specific:
Rank #3
- WHY IPAD — The 11-inch iPad is now more capable than ever with the superfast A16 chip, a stunning Liquid Retina display, advanced cameras, fast Wi-Fi, USB-C connector, and four gorgeous colors.* iPad delivers a powerful way to create, stay connected, and get things done.
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display is an amazing way to watch movies or draw your next masterpiece.* True Tone adjusts the display to the color temperature of the room to make viewing comfortable in any light.
- IPADOS + APPS — iPadOS makes iPad more productive, intuitive, and versatile. With iPadOS, run multiple apps at once, use Apple Pencil to write in any text field with Scribble, and edit and share photos.* iPad comes with essential apps like Safari, Messages, and Keynote, with over a million more apps designed specifically for iPad available on the App Store.
- FAST WI-FI CONNECTIVITY — Wi-Fi 6 gives you fast access to your files, uploads, and downloads, and lets you seamlessly stream your favorite shows.
- iPad Air M3: Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil Pro, and Apple Pencil (USB-C).
- A16 iPad: Magic Keyboard Folio, Apple Pencil (USB-C), and first-generation Apple Pencil.
Check the exact iPad generation and size against Apple’s compatibility information before buying a keyboard, Pencil, case, or screen protector. A product that fits another iPad Air or iPad generation may not fit this one.
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The announcement establishes launch pricing and Apple’s stated specifications, but not current street prices or independent comparative test results. The practical choice turns on the screen size, performance needs, accessory setup, connectivity, and the actual prices available when you shop:
Quick Recap
- Choose between the 11-inch and 13-inch M3 Air based on the display size you want; the 13-inch model also has the higher listed resolution and brightness.
- Consider the M3 Air if Apple’s stated M3 performance comparisons, its promoted Apple Intelligence features, or its listed accessory options matter to you.
- Consider the A16 iPad if you are comparing the lower-priced tier, but confirm the features you need rather than assuming Apple Intelligence eligibility from the announcement’s silence.
- Compare Wi-Fi and cellular configurations and current prices directly before deciding. The launch prices above apply to Wi-Fi models in the U.S. in March 2025.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
