Apple just dropped a new iPad Air with an M3 chip, and yes, it has Apple Intelligence.
The M3 iPad Air is twice as fast as the M1 iPad Air, which was released in 2022, according to the announcement. The M3 chip also gives the iPad Air faster graphics performance and the same dynamic caching support that comes in other M3 models, which boosts performance and response time.
The M3 iPad Air comes with iPadOS 18, which supports Apple Intelligence features, including Writing Tools with ChatGPT integration, type to Siri, Image Playground, and Genmoji creation. Apple Intelligence for iPad also has photo and graphics editing tools like the Clean Up tool in Photos and Image Wand in the Notes app that works with the Apple Pencil.
In addition to the M3 iPad Air, Apple also unveiled a new Magic Keyboard that has a larger trackpad, a new 14-key function row, a USB-C port for charging, and connects to the iPad without Bluetooth with Apple's Smart Connector feature.
The product drop was teased by Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday with an X post that said "there's something in the air." Many Apple insiders believed the MacBook Air with an M4 chip would be announced before the new iPad Air, although the iPad Air was also predicted to be coming soon. And hey, the week's not over, so we might still see the M4 MacBook Air in a few days.
Apple also updated the iPad 11 with an A16 chip which starts at 128GB of storage, double the amount of the iPad 10's starting storage.
New iPad Air sizes, prices, release date
The new generation of iPad Air comes in 11-inch and 13-inch versions and in metallic blue, pink, yellow, and silver colorways. The 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air with WiFi only start at $599 and $799 respectively and come with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB data options. For WiFi plus cellular, the 11-inch and 13-inch bump up to $799 and $949.
The new Magic Keyboard starts at $269 for the 11-inch model and $319 for the 13-inch model.
The updated A16 iPad starts at $349 for WiFi and $499 for WiFi and cellular.
Pre-orders start today, with availability on March 12.
Check out our sibling sites CNET, PCMag, and ZDNET for more analysis.
