Apple brings M3 chip to the iPad Air, and updates the entry-level iPad to an A16 chip

Apple is refreshing its iPad lineup with two new models. One is a new iPad Air with M3 that sells for $599 and up, and it comes less than a year after the iPad Air with an M2 chip.

While it's treated as something of an afterthought in Apple's press release, the company is also updating the entry-level iPad, and that update actually brings bigger changes in some ways. With a $349 starting price, the new 10.9 inch iPad still doesn't have all the features of its pricier siblings, but as the first major update since late 2022, the new model jumps from an Apple A14 processor to an A16 chip for a 30 percent speed boost. It also now comes with at least 128GB of storage – previous models started at 64GB.

iPad

There's no mention of Apple Intelligence features for the new entry-level iPad though, which seems like a strange omission for any product launch in 2025. But it's likely that this tablet doesn't meet the minimum system requirements for Apple Intelligence since it's using an older processor (and I wouldn't be surprised if it has less RAM than devices that do support Apple's new AI features).

iPad Air

As for the new iPad Air, it's available in 11 inch or 13 inch models and it's a tablet that very much does support Apple's AI tools for generating custom emojis, using ChatGPT's writing tools, and interacting with Siri using natural language.

The new iPad and iPad Air are available for pre-order today and both should be available starting March 12th.

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