Don’t Buy a New IPad Air
When Tim Cook posted ” There’s Something in AIR ” on X this week, it seemed to imply that the company would soon be abandoning the long-awaited M4 MacBook Air. After all, this is the only major Mac (besides the Mac Studio) that Apple hasn’t updated with an M4 chip, so it makes sense that the company would update the line. However, as it turns out, Apple had a different plan for consumers. If you want a new MacBook Air, you’ll still have to settle for the M3 chip. However, if you’re in the market for a new iPad Air, you’re in luck.
On Tuesday, Apple announced two all-new iPads : the iPad Air, which now features an M3 chip, and the base iPad, which now features an A16 chip. As with any new devices, both of these new iPads have advantages that previous models didn’t have, and so it might seem like a logical choice for those looking for a new Apple tablet. If you were looking at a new iPad Air, the M3 would be the best, right? The thing is, I don’t think so.
There’s nothing new about the iPad Air M3.
Objectively, yes: the new iPad Air is the best Apple has ever created. It’s powered by Apple’s M3 chip, which Apple says is nearly twice as fast as the M1 iPad Air (note that they’re skipping the M2 iPad Air here). This M3 chip enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a first for iPad Air, so lighting effects in games and graphically intensive apps should look better.
The thing is, the M3 chip is the only thing new about this iPad Air. Everything else is exactly the same as the iPad Air M2: you have the choice between an 11-inch and a 13-inch device in the same four color options; the displays are the same whether you use the M2 or M3; the front and rear cameras are exactly the same; both use USB-C and Touch ID in the top button (these iPads don’t have Face ID); both devices are compatible with Apple Intelligence ( if you care at all ); both have the same battery life; and both support the same Apple Pencils . If someone put both iPads side by side, you’d never know which one was which.
In fact, if you were to use these iPads side by side for a week , you probably wouldn’t be able to tell which one is which. While the M3 chip is faster than the M2 chip, in real-world use it likely won’t be, given that the chips here have the same number of CPU and GPU cores. On the other hand, the M3 chip in the MacBook Air has two additional GPU cores compared to the MacBook Air M2. So the performance difference between the two iPads will be smaller—that is, unnoticeable—to the vast majority of people using an iPad.
So yes, the iPad Air M3 is the best you can buy. But that’s because it’s a slight improvement over the already great tablet that Apple released last year, which was actually only a slight improvement over the tablet that came before it. The only new iPad Air announcement Apple made on Tuesday was an updated Magic Keyboard , but even that is compatible with older iPad Air models.
You should buy an old iPad
I love my iPad. I use it every day to check the news, send messages to friends and surf the web. There was no reason why I needed an M1 chip to do these tasks when I bought the tablet in 2021, and frankly there was virtually no reason why I needed that M1 chip in 2025. Anything I do on an iPad, my 2014 iPad Air can probably handle it (albeit very slowly).
This is a problem with the entire iPad line. Apple creates these tablets with incredible hardware, a fantastic combination of high-quality screens and powerful processors – and yet they all run the same advanced version of iOS. iPadOS, for the most part, simply can’t push the M-series chips to their limits. Of course, there are professional apps and demanding games available on the App Store that your iPad can handle. But in fact, iPadOS can’t even handle my iPad Pro M1 – even when I have multiple windows open at the same time using Stage Manager .
The thing is, you probably won’t need the M3 chip in the latest iPad Air. Hell, you probably don’t need an M2 chip. But if you’re looking for a new iPad Air in March 2025, I highly recommend looking for the latest one.
Now that Apple has moved to a new iPad Air model (at the same $599 price point, no less), the M2 version is likely to get some decent discounts at various retailers. The new iPad Air isn’t out until March 12th, so you may have to give it some time, but expect stores like Amazon and Best Buy to drop the price of the older model while selling the new one at full price. Even today, you can get a 256GB iPad Air M2 for $649 on Amazon , which doubles the storage capacity of the base Air model for an extra $50.
Consider an iPad
Let me rephrase: Consider the entry-level iPad, which Apple confusingly calls the “iPad.”
Apart from the M3 iPad Air, Apple also launched the 11th generation iPad. Like the Air, this new iPad isn’t all that different from the 10th generation iPad. There are actually two big changes and one small one: the new iPad’s screen is 0.1 inches larger (quite small); the base model doubles storage from a tricky 64GB to a useful 128GB (no price change); and the new one uses the A16 chip found in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15, which should provide a decent performance boost over the A14 in the 10th generation iPad.
The rest is about the same: decent bright display; battery life from nine to 10 hours; USB-C charging; identical front and rear cameras; same support for Apple Pencil. The new iPad leaves a couple of things behind: it ditches the nano-SIM slot in favor of relying entirely on eSIM, and it also loses True Tone support in its Retina flash feature. But it supports Smart HDR 4 compared to the 10th generation iPad’s Smart HDR 3.
But let’s get to the point: the 11th generation iPad represents the best iPad for most people, as long as you can live without some of the perks that the iPad Air (or even the iPad Pro) offers. You won’t get the best quality display in Apple’s lineup or the fastest processor. But that A16 chip will be more than enough to power iPadOS for years to come.
The same buying principle I discussed with the iPad Air applies here: Stores will likely cut prices on the 10th-gen iPad once Apple starts selling the 11th-gen. I’d encourage anyone who needs an iPad for basic iPad tasks to try this route, but I also think the 11th generation iPad is a pretty good deal on its own. Even with the tariffs , Apple didn’t raise the price of the iPad while doubling storage to 128GB. That means you’re getting an all-around great Apple tablet for $349, which is $250 less than the iPad Air. You can use those savings to buy a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, or just pocket the rest and enjoy your iPad.
At the end of the day, none of Apple’s iPads are a bad buy, but while each tier offers additional perks and features that you may or may not like, the overall “iPad experience” is the same. The question is, how many perks and features can you cut out and still enjoy the overall experience as much as a more expensive model? For the vast majority of people, I’d say the answer is the 11th generation iPad. But if possible, head to your local Apple Store or tech store to try them out for yourself.