Apple debuts faster iPad Air, low-end model in new product wave
The device update represents a faster turnaround than usual, coming only 10 months after the last version
APPLE rolled out a new iPad Air along with a redesigned keyboard accessory and an upgraded low-end tablet, enhancing devices that helped lift holiday sales despite an iPhone slump.
The new iPad Air models come in the same 11-inch and 13-inch size options, priced at US$599 and US$799, with a move from the M2 chip to the M3 being the main upgrade. The device is now twice as fast as the M1 edition from a few years ago, the company said in an online announcement. Orders are already open, with shipments and in-store availability beginning Mar 12.
The M3 chip – like the M2 brought to the iPad Air last May – has a total of nine graphics cores in the GPU, or graphics processing unit, and eight main processing cores in the CPU, or central processing unit. The key upgrade in the chip is a technology called ray tracing, which makes games look more realistic.
As with last year’s model, Apple is promoting the iPad Air as supporting Apple Intelligence. The company said AI tasks run 60 per cent faster on this year’s edition versus the M1 version from 2022. The rest of the iPad Air’s specifications – including its 12-megapixel front and back cameras, battery life and form factor – remain the same.
Still, the iPad Air update represents a faster turnaround than usual, coming only 10 months after the last version. The company is looking to keep up the momentum for the line, which saw revenue grow 15 per cent over the holidays. Apple uses its chips to differentiate its hardware and has shown a willingness in recent years to upgrade its devices more rapidly.
The M3 iPad Air comes in the same colours as last year: blue, purple, starlight and space grey. As with the previous generation, there are also storage options ranging from 128 gigabytes to a terabyte and a 5G connection add-on for an additional US$200 per unit. A 13-inch model with the highest storage capacity and cellular connectivity costs US$1,449.
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While the iPad Air does not get any major new features or exterior changes, the company has introduced a new lower-end Magic Keyboard that mimics some of the features of the revamped iPad Pro keyboard accessory that debuted last year. The new iPad Air keyboard has a larger trackpad, a metal hinge and a row of function keys. It costs US$269 or US$319 extra depending on screen size.
Apple also updated its low-end, US$349 iPad with an 11-inch screen to include the A16 chip. That’s an upgrade from the prior model with an A14 processor. Its performance is 30 per cent faster than the previous generation, according to the company.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that the new iPad Air was imminent and that the company was planning to also introduce a new keyboard and low-end iPad. The iPad Pro was not updated on Tuesday, but a new model is in the works for later with an M5 chip, Bloomberg News has reported. It will not arrive until the end of this year or early 2026.
The iPad upgrades are the first new Apple products to be announced this week, coming ahead of an expected MacBook Air update. That laptop will move from the M3 chip to the M4 chip, Bloomberg News has reported. These devices follow the iPhone 16e going on sale last week. BLOOMBERG
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