Apple Unveils M3 iPad Air With New Magic Keyboard Accessory

Apple has just revealed refreshed 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models powered by its M3 chip from 2023. The company is also launching a redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory for iPad Airs with a larger trackpad.

Overall, these new iPad Airs are minor upgrades and they were announced via a simple press release. The new 11” and 13” models use the same designs as their predecessors, and they also still start at $599 and $799, respectively. As for the Apple M3 chip inside, it brings support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and a better media engine with hardware-accelerated 8K HEVC, 4K H.264, ProRes, and ProRes RAW support.

“iPad Air with M3 is nearly 2x faster compared to iPad Air with M1 and up to 3.5x faster than iPad Air with A14 Bionic. Users will feel the speed of M3 in everything they do, from creating engaging content faster than ever to playing demanding, graphics-intensive games,” Apple said today.

Of course, these M3 iPad Airs also support Apple Intelligence, just like the M1 and M2 versions. However, the newer M3 chip doesn’t bring any power efficiency improvements compared to the M2: Apple still promises up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching a video, and that drops to 9 hours when using a cellular network.

The all-new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air models starts at $269 for the 11-inch model and $319 for the 13-inch model. It still uses the same floating design as the previous version, with a machined aluminum hinge that also includes a USB-C connector for charging. There’s now a larger built-in trackpad and a 14-key function row providing quick access to screen brightness, volume controls, and other features.

Apple’s new M3 iPad Airs and Magic Keyboard can be pre-ordered starting today, and they will start shipping on March 12. The company also announced today a new entry-level iPad with an A16 Bionic chip, and you can check my separate post for more details.