Less than a year after Apple refreshed its iPad Air tablet, the company has launched a new version with a faster M3 chip, alongside a new entry-level iPad with double the storage.
The M2 iPad Air came in May last year, marking a fairly speedy turnaround between Apple’s mid-range tablets. Apple claims the new M3 model is “up to 2x faster” than the M1 iPad Air thanks to stronger CPU and GPU performance.
You’ll notice a lack of direct comparison between the M3 and M2 versions, and it’s easy to speculate why. For starters, while the performance will be improved, the numbers wouldn’t make for as impressive reading.
Another, arguably more relevant, factor is that most of the market likely isn’t upgrading tablets every year. When you pay close to a thousand dollars, you want a multi-year device in return. So yes, there’s a bit of marketing magic involved but it’s a more practical real-world comparison.
Back to the M3 iPad Air, it’s very similar to last year’s tablet in nearly every way. Its screen, cameras, and wireless technology are all the same. You need to get the magnifying glass out to see what’s changed.
The big difference is support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, enabled by the M3 chip’s improved graphics. One of the main beneficiaries of ray tracing is gaming, which uses the technology to render more realistic-looking shadows and reflections.
Other than the tablet’s internal upgrades, Apple also introduced a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air. Replete with a 14-key function row and larger trackpad, the keyboard provides a more laptop-like interface.
Launching in Australia on 12 March, here’s how much the various M3 iPad Air models cost with 128GB of storage:
- 11-inch Wi-Fi: $999
- 11-inch Wi-Fi and cellular: $1,249
- 13-inch Wi-Fi: $1,349
- 13-inch Wi-Fi and cellular: $1,599
It’s also available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage sizes, while the new Magic Keyboard costs $449 for the 11-inch version, and $499 for the 13-inch size.
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