Apple quietly unveiled iPad Air with M3 chip and AI features

Tim Cook hinted earlier this week that "something is in the air". And here it is — Apple announced the new iPad Air in its Press Release, unveiling the tablet with the M3 processor. This is a quick redesign of the Air line, as the previous version appeared less than a year ago.

The Verge writes about it.

Everything we know about the 2025 iPad Air update

According to Apple, the novelty actually received only an "upgrade" of technical characteristics compared to last year’s model. The tablet now runs on the M3 chip and supports Apple Intelligence. Although this is not Apple’s most advanced processor (the latest is the M4), the manufacturer claims that performance has doubled compared to the Air on the M1 and A14 Bionic. At the same time, the company does not mention last year’s version in its comparisons, which is somewhat surprising.

The new iPad Air comes in four colors and offers two screen sizes — 11 and 13 inches. The price starts at USD 599 for the smaller model and USD 799 for the larger one. The Magic Keyboard has also been updated — it now has an additional row of function keys and a larger trackpad, which was previously only found in the "pro" versions. The price of the accessory is USD 269 for the 11-inch version and USD 319 for the 13-inch version.

Tim Cook announced the presentation on the social networking site X on Monday, March 3, confirming rumours of "something in the air." Bloomberg wrote a few days ago that Apple is looking to capitalise on the growing interest in tablets — last year’s iPad Pro and iPad Air performed well in the market, and Apple devices are usually among the first to receive the company’s new technologies.

Apple has no real competition in the tablet market, so the iPad series continues to improve. However, the company still faces an old question: What is the iPad really for? The new Air is just another technical update, but it’s not always clear how much it affects the experience of using the tablet.

It’s a little surprising that the company didn’t install the latest M4 in the device, but for those who are upgrading from a much older model, it will still be a significant step forward.

As a reminder, the release of iPhone 16 Pro was a minor update for Apple compared to last year’s model. Some details about the iPhone 17 Pro appear on the web, which may force users to wait for the release of this particular novelty.

We also wrote that iPhone and iPad users can now add Google Gemini widgets to the lock screen. Thanks to them, they will be able to start a conversation with a chatbot immediately without unlocking the device.