Apple Unveils iPad Air with M3 Chip and New Magic Keyboard

Apple has introduced the latest iPad Air, now powered by the M3 chip, bringing significant performance improvements and enhanced portability. The new iPad Air is available in two sizes, 11-inch and 13-inch, with a starting price of $599 and $799, respectively. Customers can pre-order today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 12.

Apple states that the M3 chip delivers nearly twice the speed of the previous M1 model and up to 3.5 times faster performance than the iPad Air with A14 Bionic. The M3 includes an 8-core CPU, a 9-core GPU, and support for dynamic caching, mesh shading, and ray tracing. These advancements enable faster content creation and improved graphics for gaming and professional applications.

“The powerful M3 chip offers a number of improvements over M1 and previous-generation models,” Apple stated. “Featuring a more powerful 8-core CPU, M3 is up to 35 percent faster for multithreaded CPU workflows than iPad Air with M1.” Additionally, the Neural Engine in M3 is up to 60 percent faster than its M1 counterpart, enhancing AI-based workloads.

The new iPad Air supports Apple Intelligence, Apple’s personal intelligence system. Users can utilize the Clean Up tool in Photos to remove unwanted elements, and Image Wand in the Notes app allows for AI-enhanced visualizations of rough sketches. Apple Intelligence also introduces Image Playground for creative content generation, Genmoji for personalized emojis, and Writing Tools for refined text editing.

Apple states that Siri has been enhanced with improved contextual awareness and the ability to maintain the flow of conversation. Additionally, ChatGPT is now integrated into Siri and Writing Tools, providing access without requiring an OpenAI account.

Alongside the iPad Air, Apple has released an all-new Magic Keyboard designed specifically for the device. The keyboard features a larger trackpad, a 14-key function row for quick access to system controls, and a magnetic attachment with Smart Connector support. The 11-inch Magic Keyboard is priced at $269, while the 13-inch version is available for $319.

The iPad Air is also compatible with Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), offering users additional input options for creative and productivity tasks.

The iPad Air is available in four colors—blue, purple, starlight, and space gray—with storage configurations ranging from 128GB to 1TB. Pricing starts at $599 for the 11-inch Wi-Fi model and $799 for the 13-inch Wi-Fi model, while Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at $749 and $949, respectively. Educational pricing is also available, starting at $549 for the 11-inch model and $749 for the 13-inch model.

Customers can pre-order the new iPad Air today via Apple’s website, with in-store availability beginning March 12.

Image: Apple

This article, "Apple Unveils iPad Air with M3 Chip and New Magic Keyboard" was first published on Small Business Trends

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