Apple’s intent is to primarily base the difference on the silicon they run, which also defines pricing as it is. The refreshed iPad Air line now runs the M3 chip, whereas the iPad Pro refresh introduced the M4 chips, a few months prior. This means Apple will keep two generations of chips active, which particularly makes sense in terms of perceived value. Here’s a snapshot. The 11-inch iPad Air costs ₹ 59,900 onwards while the larger 13-inch iPad Air is priced ₹79,900 onwards (in comparison, iPad Pro prices start ₹99,900 onwards).
As we have seen with the iPhone 16 series and then the MacBook Air refresh with the M4, the iPad Air refresh too bucks generational inflation — these are the same price points, as last year’s M2 refresh. A similar design continues, as does the accessory ecosystem to include an updated Magic Keyboard ( ₹26,900 onwards; adding the function key row, is rather useful) and the Apple Pencil ( ₹7,900 or more, depending on Pencil option), if you need either or both of those.
All things considered, the iPad Air is as close to a sweet spot as possible. Whether it applies to you or not, is as subjective as it gets.
Whether or not you consider the transition from an M2 to an M3 chip as a meaningful upgrade depends on whether you already own an iPad Air with the M2 chip. In all likelihood, you don’t need to make an immediate splash the cash gesture. However, for anyone with a previous generation iPad Air or iPad, this is a big step forward. Everything’s faster, snappier and more welcoming to an intent for heavier workloads, such as video editing.
If your workflows and apps allow you to replicate your MacBook or Windows laptop on the iPad Air (the iPadOS specifics being key here; its dotted by subjectivity), you’ll realise the amount of power the M3 can deliver. One could always argue that the M3 isn’t the M4, but this iPad Air is future-proofed enough to be in good stead for at least half a decade.
There can of course be an argument that 128GB is now too low a spec for any iPad beyond the entry-spec iPad. In particular, the iPad Air, which will inevitably be seen as a ‘lighter’ take on the Pro collective. You could always weave in the Touch ID and Face ID authentication preferences too, making a case for the inclusion of the latter. But for Apple, it is a tightrope to walk with features, distinction and the bearing on price — choosing one authentication method to unlock your iPad Air instead of the other, isn’t really a drawback.
As perhaps even the continuity of the Liquid Retina display, which for all intents and purposes, is an LCD screen. Mind you, it has an arsenal of add-ons (P3 wide colour and True Tone adjustments) as well as just the right level of calibration, to be one of the best LCD screens ever in a tablet. But for the price tag that the iPad Air line still commands, an upgrade to an OLED screen might now feel like an essential, and no longer a good-to-have. It may have given more meaning, as a generational upgrade.
What most certainly has, is the M3 which theoretically brings around double the overall performance levels compared with an M1 from a couple of years ago; that differential is pared down when compared with last year’s M2, but it is faster nonetheless. For many an app or multitasking scenario, you may not realise much difference in overall — in my experience, Procreate, Pixelmator’s Photomater and Adobe Lightroom, feel similarly responsive — that’s more a testament to how good an iPad Air with the M2 chip is.
The thing is, all things considered, the iPad Air with the M3 refresh, continues a legacy of perfectly walking a tightrope. A balancing act, a close-to-perfect perfect choice between the entry spec iPad and the more expensive iPad Pro. It does almost everything an iPad Pro can do, which adds weight to its argument. It again gives us perspective — Android tablets have a long way to go.
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