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 | Same |
- Biggest change: The M2 iPad Air introduced a larger 13-inch model, offering more screen real estate for productivity. The M3 iPad Air keeps the same sizes.
- Apple Pencil Pro support: The M3 iPad Air is the first Air model to support Apple Pencil Pro, adding squeeze gestures and haptic feedback.
Performance: M1 vs M2 vs M3 benchmarks
| Feature | M1 iPad Air (2022) | M2 iPad Air (2024) | M3 iPad Air (2025) |
| Chip | M1 (8-core CPU, 8-core GPU) | M2 (8-core CPU, 10-core GPU) | M3 (8-core CPU, 9-core GPU) |
| Geekbench CPU (Single-Core) | ~1,700 | ~1,900 | ~2,000+ |
| Geekbench CPU (Multi-Core) | ~7,200 | ~8,500 | ~9,000+ |
| GPU Performance | 8-core | 10-core (+25% faster) | 9-core (adds Ray Tracing, Dynamic Caching) |
| AI/ML Performance | Basic Neural Engine | Improved Neural Engine | 60% faster AI performance than M1 |
- M1 → M2 jump: The M2 iPad Air brought a moderate boost in CPU speed (~15%) and a bigger GPU boost (~25%), along with better efficiency.
- M2 → M3 jump: The M3 iPad Air focuses on GPU enhancements, adding ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching, which help in gaming and AI-based tasks.
- AI & ML Boost: Apple claims the M3 is up to 60% faster for AI-based tasks than the M1, making it more future-proof.
Storage & connectivity: M3 model finally starts at 128GB
| Feature | M1 iPad Air (2022) | M2 iPad Air (2024) | M3 iPad Air (2025) |
| Base Storage | 64GB | 64GB | 128GB ✅ |
| Max Storage | 256GB | 1TB | 1TB |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E |
| 5G Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- Biggest change: The M3 iPad Air finally ditches 64GB, starting at a more reasonable 128GB base storage.
- Wireless upgrade: M2 and M3 models support Wi-Fi 6E, while the M1 model is limited to Wi-Fi 6.
Battery life: No major improvements
| Feature | M1 iPad Air (2022) | M2 iPad Air (2024) | M3 iPad Air (2025) |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| USB-C Charging | Yes (USB-C 3.1 Gen 2) | Yes (USB-C 3.1 Gen 2) | Yes (USB-C 3.1 Gen 2) |
- No change here: Despite the more efficient M3 chip, Apple still rates all models at 10 hours of battery life.
Magic Keyboard and accessories
| Feature | M1 iPad Air (2022) | M2 iPad Air (2024) | M3 iPad Air (2025) |
| Magic Keyboard Support | Yes | Yes | New Magic Keyboard |
| Trackpad Size | Small | Small | Bigger trackpad ✅ |
| Function Row | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ 14-key function row |
- The M3 iPad Air gets a redesigned Magic Keyboard, featuring a larger trackpad and a function row with brightness/volume controls.
Who should buy the M3 iPad Air?
The 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?
- If you already own an M1 iPad Air, upgrading to the M3 model will give you significant speed and GPU improvements, plus access to Apple’s latest AI capabilities.
- If you already have an M2 iPad Air, the M3 doesn’t offer a game-changing leap—unless you specifically need ray tracing and AI optimizations.
- If you’re buying a new iPad Air, the M3 model is the obvious choice since it comes with no price increase over the M2.
Featured image credit: Sanjeev Mohindra/Unsplash
