Apple iPad Air M3 review: The sweet spot just got even sweeter

The iPad Air M3 ($599 to start) isn’t a revolutionary device, but its new features give it an edge over the iPad Air M2 released last year. Chief among these is the inclusion of an Apple M3 chip, which ups the performance by around 10% compared to the previous generation. The processor also allows the iPad Air to have many of the same Apple Intelligence features as the iPad Pro M4.

The iPad Air’s sturdy aluminum body is as lovely as ever, and its thin profile makes it easy to hold for long periods. The vibrant Liquid Retina display is as great as ever, as are the sharp 12MP cameras on the front and back.

With its 14-key function row and larger touchpad, the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air lets this tablet double as a laptop replacement. The M3 chip gives the iPad Air performance on par with the best MacBooks, though iPadOS 18 still isn’t as robust and intuitive as macOS Sequoia. But if you need a pseudo-laptop in a pinch, this peripheral serves its intended purpose.

Even if there aren’t major changes, the iPad Air M3 is still one of the best iPads and best tablets you can buy. That it retains the same $599 and $799 starting prices for the 11- and 13-inch models (respectively) is simply a bonus, especially if you’re upgrading from an older iPad Air or iPad Pro.

If you're already rocking M2, you don't need this upgrade. But the iPad Air M3 is unmistakably the iPad to get for most people. Find out why in my full review.

iPad Air M3 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The iPad Air M3 is the latest Air tablet, packing an M3 chip and Apple Intelligence features.
• Who is it for? For folks who want iPad Pro-level features at a lower cost.
• How much does it cost? The 11-inch iPad Air M3 should start at $599 on Apple's website, but you can pick one up for $40 less from Amazon! Meanwhile the 13-inch model starts at $749 at the big A — down from $799 from the source. Both start with 16GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. As for people in the UK, you can pick them up for £599 and £799 respectively.
• What do we like? We like the thin and portable design, excellent performance, vivid Liquid Retina display, and long-lasting battery life.
• What don’t we like? Peripherals like the Apple Pencil Pro and new Magic Keyboard are pricey.

iPad Air M3 review: Specs

iPad Air M3 UNBOXING! Big Upgrade?! - YouTube

Watch On

iPad Air M3 review: The ups

The iPad Air M3 retains the design and display of the previous two models, but it now packs an M3 chip, which gives it iPad Pro-level performance and a host of useful Apple Intelligence features.

Thin and light design

The new iPad Air keeps the same design as its predecessors. If you’re like me and have always admired the iPad Air’s thin and minimalist aluminum design, you won’t mind that Apple hasn’t changed it. It's as elegant and sturdy as ever.

Measuring 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches and weighing 1.05 pounds, this tablet still lives up to its “Air” moniker. It can easily slip into your backpack, where you might forget you have it since it’s so thin and light. You can also comfortably read your favorite novels or digital comics for hours, thanks to the design.

This tablet doesn’t have FaceID, which is a bummer. However, you can register multiple fingerprints on the power button, which makes it simple to log in when holding the slate in either landscape or portrait mode.

As before, the iPad Air comes in four colors: Blue, Purple, Starlight and Space Gray. I’m fond of Blue, but our review unit’s Space Gray is also quite nice.

Vivid display

The 11-inch iPad Air M4 features the same 2360 x 1640 Liquid Retina display as previous models. Though I’ve been spoiled by the iPad Air M4’s gorgeous OLED panel, I’m still a fan of the Air M3’s overall sharp and vibrant display.

When reading an issue of Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian series, I was impressed by how clear and vivid the artwork and lettering appeared on the display. A trailer for Severance season 2 also looked fantastic, with its solid contrasts and smooth motions. Whether it’s reading books or watching videos, the iPad Air’s display shows everything at its best.

Our lab tests confirm my personal experience. The iPad Air M3 offers the same color reproduction, color accuracy and brightness as the previous model. It’s also on par with a competitor like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9.

And though the iPad Pro M4 can get brighter (especially with HDR content), its color accuracy and reproduction are virtually identical to the iPad Air M3. In other words, the iPad Air’s viewing experience isn’t significantly different than the iPad Pro, at least with SDR content.

Fast M3 performance

The new iPad Air’s main upgrade is the Apple M3 chip, which features an 8-core CPU, a 9-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. The slate also packs 8GB of RAM.

The iPad Air M3 can adeptly handle multiple open programs. Although scrolling through pages feels slower than on the iPad Pro, the experience is noticeably faster than on the M2 iPad Air.

Though it wasn’t 60 frames per second, Resident Evil 4’s frame rate remained consistent and smooth to my eyes. M3 features like hardware-accelerated mesh shading, ray tracing and Dynamic Caching also helped this game look phenomenal.

As expected, the iPad Air M3 did well in our performance tests. On Geekbench 6, which tests overall CPU performance, the M3-driven iPad Air performed much better than its M2 counterpart and demolished Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9.

The iPad Air M3 delivered almost identical scores in the 3DMark gaming benchmark test but was slightly faster in the Adobe Premiere Rush test. The Galaxy Tab S9 trailed behind both Apple tablets in these tests.

Good battery life

Apple claims the iPad Air M3 has up to 10 hours of battery life over Wi-Fi with web surfing and video streaming. While the tablet didn’t last that long in our testing, it came pretty close.

In our testing, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with a device’s display set to 150 nits of brightness, the iPad Air M3 lasted for 9 hours and 41 minutes—which is about 20 minutes short of Apple’s claims. That’s almost 30 minutes longer than the Galaxy Tab S9, but almost two hours behind the iPad Air M2.

We only had time to run a single battery test on the iPad Air M3, so it’s possible it will turn in better results after we run the test a couple of times more. We’ll update this review when that’s completed.

Great cameras

The iPad Air has a 12MP camera on both the front and back, and both deliver sharp and clear images. If you like snapping photos or want to look your best during video calls, you won’t be disappointed with this tablet’s clickers.

With the front camera on the wider edge, it’s easy to position yourself during calls — especially when you have the M3 Air docked in the Magic Keyboard.

As you can see from the image above, the front camera does an excellent job of capturing my skin tone, the wrinkles on my sweater, and the background furniture.

The back camera is also quite capable, as demonstrated by these photos I snapped in my building’s communal lounge. Though I still say it’s easier to snap photos on one of the best iPhones, the iPad Air’s back camera can get the job done.

Apple Intelligence

The iPad Air M3 packs a slew of Apple Intelligence features out of the box. From a smarter Siri to tools that can touch up photos, improve your writing, or generate images, Apple’s AI features shine on the iPad Air M3.

As I wrote last year, Writing Tools is my favorite Apple Intelligence feature. It can proofread, rewrite and change the tone of what you’ve written. For example, you can make your writing sound friendly, professional or concise. If you don’t like the changes made, you can hit revert.

Image Playground is another Apple Intelligence feature I enjoy using on iPad Air. While it can’t create photorealistic images, it does well at generating simple pictures. You can either type out prompts or speak them out loud to Siri. Though I still prefer OpenAI’s Dall-E 3 for image generation, it’s nice having such a tool built into Apple Intelligence.

Speaking with the new Siri is somewhat hit or miss. Apple’s digital assistant can handle basic things like telling you the weather or a restaurant’s location. However, it can sometimes struggle when you ask for personal recommendations, like what you should have for dinner.

There are other Apple Intelligence features you can try, such as removing things from photos or adding AI-generated images to your video projects. That’s beyond the scope of my expertise, but suffice it to say that Apple Intelligence is impressive on iPad Air M3.

iPad Air M3 review: The downs

On its own, the iPad Air M3 is a fantastic device containing everything you’d want from a premium tablet. However, its peripherals, some of which are necessary for specific tasks, don’t come cheap.

Awesome but expensive peripherals

To make the most of your shiny new iPad Air, you’ll need peripherals like the Apple Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro.

The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air now has a 14-key function row for accessing features like volume and screen brightness. It also has a larger touchpad that feels more MacBook-like. The peripheral also has passthrough USB-C charging.

The typing experience isn’t half bad, even if you have big hands like I do. The snappy keys have nice travel distance, and the responsive touchpad also feels good to use. This is a great peripheral if you need to use the iPad Air as a laptop replacement.

If you want to draw or write on the iPad Air, you’ll need either the Apple Pencil USB-C or Apple Pencil Pro. The latter is likely the one you’ll want since it has extra features like barrel roll, haptic feedback and squeeze—which all help make the stylus more intuitive to use.

The biggest downside of these otherwise fantastic peripherals is their respective prices.

The Magic Keyboard costs $269 for the 11-inch iPad Air and $319 for the 13-inch model—which brings the price up to $868 and $1,118 (respectively). If you’re going to spend that much to turn the iPad Air into a laptop replacement, you’re better off with the new MacBook Air M4, which starts at $999.

As for the Apple Pencil, you could opt for the more affordable $79 entry-level model. However, it lacks the aforementioned features of the $129 Apple Pencil Pro and doesn’t charge wirelessly when magnetically attached to the iPad Air.

iPad Air M3 review: Verdict

The iPad Air M3 might not be a revolutionary tablet, but it’s still a fantastic device for most people.

The M3-driven performance doesn’t disappoint, and it's a delight to watch videos or read books on its bright and colorful display. Toss in handy and fun Apple Intelligence features, reliable battery life and the overall thin and light design, and you have another winning Apple slate.

My only real complaint isn’t with the iPad Air itself, but with its pricey peripherals. Sure, you don’t technically need the Magic Keyboard or Apple Pencil Pro. But they’re vital tools, especially if you’re an artist. If price isn’t a concern, however, then the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro are well worth the investment.

Complaints aside, the iPad Air M3 is one of the best tablets you can buy and the one I’d now recommend to anyone interested in an Apple slate.