Apple’s iPad Air lineup has seen three major iterations in the past three years, with the M1 iPad Air launching in 2022, the M2 iPad Air arriving in 2024, and now the M3 iPad Air in 2025. While the design remains largely unchanged, each generation has brought significant internal upgrades. If you’re wondering how the latest M3 iPad Air stacks up against its predecessors, here’s a detailed comparison.
Apple unveils 2025 iPad Air with M3 chip: Specs, price and release date
Design and display: No major changes Feature M1 iPad Air (2022) M2 iPad Air (2024) M3 iPad Air (2025) Size Options 10.9-inch only 11-inch, 13-inch 11-inch, 13-inch Display Type Liquid Retina Liquid Retina Liquid Retina Resolution 2360 × 1640 Same Same Brightness 500 nits 500 nits 500 nits ProMotion (120Hz Refresh Rate) ❌ No ❌ No ❌ No Apple Pencil Support 2nd-gen 2nd-gen Apple Pencil Pro & USB-C Pencil Color Options Blue, Purple, Space Gray, Starlight Same SameThe M3 iPad Air is ideal for users who want the best performance in a mid-range iPad without jumping to the iPad Pro lineup. If you’re planning to use your iPad Air for graphics-intensive apps, AI-based workflows, or gaming, the M3’s ray tracing, dynamic caching, and faster GPU will provide noticeable improvements.
However, if your use case revolves around general productivity, streaming, and note-taking, an M2 iPad Air (or even an M1) will still hold up well.
Will there be an M4 iPad Air soon?There have been rumors that Apple might move to the M4 chip faster than expected, especially given the challenges with the M3’s manufacturing process. If that happens, we could see an M4 iPad Air in late 2025 or early 2026. However, for now, the M3 iPad Air remains the latest and most powerful version.
Final thoughts: M1, M2, or M3 iPad Air?Featured image credit: Sanjeev Mohindra/Unsplash
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