Last week Apple announced new devices, with the MacBook Air, Mac Studio and the iPad Air all getting an update.
And while the newest iPad Air may have little visually to distinguish it from last year’s offering, it takes another step closer to the iPad Pro, Apple’s powerful high-end tablet.
The biggest change for the iPad Air came with its fourth generation, when it took on the iPad Pro-lite design and ditched the home button. The latest version changes very little, not even the colour choices. The screen sizes remain the same at 11in and 13in, and the weight difference is negligible. Resolution and display technology is also on an equal footing with the 2024 iPad Air, at 600 nits maximum brightness.
The camera is also largely unchanged, with the 12-megapixel wide rear camera and the repositioned centre stage compatible camera on the front that eliminates the weird angle for zoom calls.
But that is where we are now, for both phones and tablets: no big redesigns year to year, just added features and an update on the specs. All in all, the iPad Air knows what it does well and it sticks to it.
Where the changes count are on the inside. The latest version of the iPad Air comes with the M3 chip inside, with an eight-core CPU and nine-core graphics unit, alongside the 16-core neural engine. It is an upgrade from the M2 chip from last year, but only just. At 30 per cent faster than the M2 family of chips, the M3 gives more in terms of raw power and efficiency, but if you have a 2024 iPad Air, it will serve you well for a few more years.
The lack of M4 chip also helps to distinguish between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro, a gap that, however, is narrowing all the time. If you want the power of the M4 you will need to pay the premium for the Pro model. Likewise if you want Face ID – an odd omission for the Air, which still relies on Touch ID for bypassing passwords – and better speakers.
But this year’s Air gets some good graphics and video upgrades, such as support for the ProRes video codec, which gives it an extra edge for those looking for a more high-powered video device.
That’s not all. The 2025 Air gets hardware-accelerated ray tracing and a better media engine too; the former means you get more realistic graphics for gaming, with light and reflections more accurately rendered.
Like its predecessor, it is also compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, which has some extra moves such as a gyro and the USB-C standard pencil. Apple has even kept the colours the same for this year, with the 11in version reviewed here coming with the muted purple case.
[ iPad Air 2024 review: A good middle-of-the-road choiceOpens in new window ]
This iPad is made for Apple Intelligence, which will officially hit Irish iPhones and iPads next month. Again, though, that is not exclusive to the 2025 Air, with last year’s Air and others also supporting Apple’s new AI tools. If you need a compelling reason to upgrade, that won’t be it.
Let’s be honest, though: Apple isn’t targeting last year’s Air customers. The yearly upgrade pattern has never really caught on for tablets, and even in smartphones the replacement cycle has long since lengthened to almost three years. Devices are lasting longer, and the software support has also been improved.
So who should get the new iPad Air? If you are happy with the power and performance of the Air, and feel the Pro is overkill, then the M3 model is a good upgrade for those with the A14 Bionic iPad Air, which was released in 2020. That will give you an overall speed boost of 3.5x over the five-year-old model.
Good
A new chip means more power and more efficiency, so you get decent battery life from the device. The advanced graphics capabilities mean that the Air is an even more worthy alternative to the iPad Pro, without the Pro price tag.
Bad
The incremental updates mean this new iPad Air doesn’t quite have the wow factor of other releases.
No new colours will also be disappointing – just the same blue, starlight, purple and space grey as last year – as is the ongoing lack of Face ID.
Everything else
Battery life is the same, despite the boost in power for the M3 chip. You’ll get around 10 hours of video playback or web access on the device, and it lasted a day of work when it was co-opted in as a laptop replacement (with the Magic Keyboard case, of course).
Speaking of the Magic Keyboard – which costs €329 – it has its own USB-C port for charging your iPad Air while it is connected, leaving your tablet’s connection free for other accessories.
Verdict
Apple has a formula that works, and works well. The iPad Air is no exception. But that may not be enough to keep winning over new customers.
