It’s almost time for WWDC 2026, where Apple is expected to announce iOS 27 and all sorts of other software updates. But will we see new hardware? And more specifically, new iPads? Well, we can’t say for sure, but we do have a fairly good idea of what to expect (and not expect).

Sadly, the answer to that question is probably 'no' — for two reasons. The first is obvious — WWDC is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, with the key word there being ‘developers’, meaning that the focus is on software, not hardware.

Now, that doesn’t completely rule out new devices. After all, Apple has announced various Macs and MacBooks at WWDC in recent years. The HomePod was also unveiled at WWDC back in 2019, and looking back further, some early iPhones even got a WWDC unveiling.

In fact, the iPad Pro (2017) was even announced at that year’s WWDC, so a new iPad in 2026 isn’t completely out of the question.

But it is very unlikely — while hardware does sometimes make an appearance at WWDC, most years, there’s next to none, and we haven’t heard any indication that a new iPad will land at this year’s event.

Plus, in recent years, Apple has tended to unveil its new tablets either early in the year, in March or occasionally April, or towards the end of the year, in September or October. Mid-year launches are rare.

And this year, we did indeed see an early-year launch, with the iPad Air (2026) landing back in March. That was only a few months ago, so it would seem odd for Apple to launch another model so soon.

So, based on all of that, I’d say it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a new iPad at WWDC 2026. That said, if you’re an iPad fan, it could still be worth tuning in to the keynote, which kicks off at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 6pm BST today (Monday, June 8,) or 3am AEST on Tuesday, June 9 if you’re in Australia.

Why you should still tune in

While we probably won’t see new iPads at WWDC 2026, Apple is almost certainly going to unveil some new software in the form of iPadOS 27, which could include some major changes and upgrades.

Nothing has been announced on that front yet, but leaks and rumors point to the long-awaited Siri overhaul, which could turn Apple's voice assistant into a proper AI chatbot, powered by a custom version of Google Gemini.

This upgrade reportedly won’t be limited to just making Siri smarter, though; it’s also likely to include new capabilities, like better AI photo editing prowess and on-screen awareness, so Siri can understand and respond to whatever’s on your screen. It will probably also be able to perform multi-step actions across multiple apps.

Beyond that, iPadOS 27 is also likely to bring improvements to various apps, such as the ability to use natural language to create shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, more customization options in the camera app, redesigned Safari and Weather apps, and a Grammarly-style keyboard upgrade.

These are all things that we’ll probably see in iOS 27 too, but on the iPad-specific side, reports point to new layouts for Apple Music, Apple TV, and the Podcasts app to make better use of the iPad's larger display. Plus, there are likely to be various performance and stability improvements.

While iPadOS 27 will probably be announced at WWDC 2026, it’s unlikely to launch in finished form until September — but in the meantime, we expect various betas to roll out, giving you a chance to try many of the features early if you don’t mind some bugs.

So, if you want to see exactly what Apple is cooking up on the software side, here’s how to watch WWDC 2026 live — though, of course, we’ll be covering all the announcements here too.

When might we see new iPads?

So, if we probably won’t see new iPads at WWDC, when might we? Well, the next point in the year when Apple would typically announce new tablets is September or October — either alongside the iPhone 18 line in the former month or separately a month later. The latter, though, has been more common, especially in recent years.

Of those two months, I’d guess October is the more likely, so the new tablets have some time to shine rather than getting buried in the iPhone launch. Of course, there’s a chance we won’t see any more new iPads this year, and that Apple will instead wait until March of 2027. After all, we don’t always see late-year iPad launches, but we have in the last two years.

Whenever we do get new iPads, the most likely models are the base model iPad (2026) and an iPad mini (2026), both of which have been rumored for a launch this year. That said, Apple doesn’t stick to yearly updates for its iPads, so it’s hard to predict.

There may also be a new iPad Pro this year, but with no real reports of one and the previous model only landing last October, we wouldn’t count on it. And with the latest iPad Air having landed earlier this year, it’s unlikely the next model of that will be among Apple’s next tablet releases — especially if we do see new slates this year.

It’s been years since I last invested in one of the best laptops, but now my trusted Chromebook is looking a little worse for wear. For a while, I’ve been toying with the idea of replacing it with the iPad Air with M3 — until Apple unveiled the rather attractive MacBook Neo.

Apple’s first entry-level MacBook is one of three new models on the way (along with the MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro M5 Pro), marking Apple’s first budget MacBook starting at $599/ £599/ AU$899. Though I’ve gone my whole life without having owned an Apple laptop, the MacBook Neo has me in a trance, and I’m seriously tempted to abandon my initial plan to convert to iPad for a number of key reasons.

The MacBook Neo puts the iPad in a very vulnerable position indeed, especially since more users gravitate towards iPads over MacBooks as a simpler option, primarily because of the laptop's high price point, which also saves them money on advanced features they know will go unused. The Neo shakes this up, not just because of its value, but because of its simple yet plentiful tools — and I like what I see.

1. iPads and its accessories are annoyingly expensive

Price-wise, the MacBook Neo is more or less the same cost as the best iPads, with the exception of the standard iPad range, which starts from a slightly lower price point ($349/ £329/ AU$599). But it adds up even more if you want all the gear, such as the Apple Pencil (starting from $79/ £79/ AU$139), or the Magic Keyboard (starting from $249/ £249/ AU$399).

2. macOS offers a better experience

As far as operating systems, macOS is a lot more flexible than iPadOS for multitasking and app availability, especially when it comes to offering full-featured versions of apps such as Adobe Creative Cloud. More often than not, iPadOS versions of popular apps aren't as extensive in comparison, which isn't a huge setback if you're using an iPad as a tablet, but rings alarm bells if you want to use it like a laptop, as iPadOS is designed to be touchscreen first.

Historically, iPad has also been late to the game with rolling out its own versions of popular apps. It didn’t make its WhatsApp debut until May 2025, and its official Instagram app followed in September 2025.

3. Same size, same fun colors…

The MacBook Neo comes with the same 13-inch screen as most iPad models and, for the first time in forever, comes with a variety of fun color options, just like the standard iPad lineup. Despite the lack of a touchscreen, the MacBook Neo adopts similar design quirks — plus you don’t have to fork out more money to add a keyboard, what more could you want?

4. …and the same Liquid Retina display

Similar to the iPad Air’s screen size and color options, the MacBook Neo also packs Apple’s high-res Liquid Retina display, which could’ve easily been compromised to lower the cost even more.

5. Solid battery life that gets you by

As well as display quality, the battery life on the MacBook Neo is pretty solid for a base-level laptop. Packing an all-day battery life that can run on a single charge (it’s up to 16 hours for continuous video playback), the Neo matches the iPad Air on the battery front.

• Apple has announced a new iPad Air
• The iPad Air now features the M4 chip alongside the N1 and C1X
• It keeps the starting price as the previous iPad Air with M3

Well, Tim Cook teased a big week ahead of Apple’s invite-only March 4, 2026, event, and the Cupertino-based tech giant is wasting no time. Apple has just announced an upgraded iPad Air with the M4 chip inside.

Now, while there isn't much to speak about in terms of design, Apple is supercharging things under the hood with better-equipped, more powerful silicon. And that’s really something we’ve come to expect from Apple’s now-annual refreshes of its mid-range iPads.

The iPad Air still sports a modern design, available in two sizes – 11-inch and 13-inch – with Touch ID for easy authentication and support for the Apple Pencil Pro, but the real upgrade here is the swap to Apple’s M4 chip from the M3. Apple promises a big boost, even generation over generation, as the M4 iPad Air is up to 30% faster than the M3.

It’s also not just the M4 chip, though; Apple is also upgrading connectivity with its own in-house chips – the N1 and C1X – for fast Wi-Fi 7 and LTE or 5G connectivity. All of this should make iPadOS 26 run smoothly and, honestly, continue to position the iPad Air as the Pro-level iPad for most consumers.

It still comes in four color options – blue, purple, starlight, or space gray – and starts at the same price in the United States. That’s $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch iPad Air and $799 / £799 / AU$1249 for the 13-inch iPad Air, both with 128GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The M4 chip should keeps things fresh

As I noted above, the main change with the iPad Air in 2026 is the chip. The M4 chip inside is configured with an 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. It's also getting a 50% increase in RAM, now up to 12GB, which should make this iPad well-equipped for multitasking and more intense processes. With the latter, think 3D rendering in apps and large exports.

Beyond the improvements for general use I shared above, Apple also promises that the M4 iPad Air will deliver up to 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing compared to the original iPad Air with M1. I suspect this will really shine with video and photo editing, alongside other creative tasks and gaming on the iPad Air.

Alongside the Apple-made M4 chip, there are two other additions inside that bring more robust connectivity. The N1 chip means the iPad Air supports Thread, Bluetooth 6, and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, with the latter being new. Apple’s own C1X modem, which debuted on the iPhone Air, will power cellular connectivity on eligible iPad Air models. As with most previous iPad models, the Air with M4 is eSIM-only.

Between the M4 chip, the N1, and the C1X silicon, that about wraps up the major changes for the iPad Air. It still offers Touch ID in the power button paired with either an 11-inch or 13-inch Liquid Retina display with support for True Tone, Wide Color (P3), and an anti-reflective coating.

One note on display size: Apple is rounding up slightly, but these are the same as the last generation — the 11-inch is actually 10.86 inches, and the 13-inch is 12.9 inches, both measured diagonally.

The iPad Air with M4 still starts at 128GB of storage, but you can configure it up to 1TB. Pricing starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi or $799 / £799 / AU$1249 for the 13-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi. As always, cellular models start a bit higher at $749 for the 11-inch and $949 for the 13-inch. It's still compatible with the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air — both sizes — and works with the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C).

Apple will kick off preorders for the iPad Air with M4 on March 4, 2026, and it will officially launch on March 11, 2026.

We'll be going hands-on with the latest iPad Air as soon as we can. Let us know what you think about the upgrade from M3 to M4 in the comments below.

Apple has just announced a press event – well, technically an 'experience', which suggests something slightly lower-key – taking place on March 4, 2026, in New York, as well as London and Shanghai.

As ever, the company is keeping tight-lipped about what product launches we might see at the event, with nothing specific mentioned in the press invite itself.

However, we have a pretty good idea of what might be coming already based on the very active rumor mill when it comes to Apple. Indeed, one of the main fonts of speculation, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, has already tweeted that a clue in the invite points to a new affordable MacBook.

I'll come back to that shortly, but as well as that lower-tier MacBook, further laptops are expected to be launched by Apple, namely new MacBook Pro models.

Remembering that the iPhone 16e was launched around this time last year, we are also anticipating the successor to that handset, the iPhone 17e. On top of that, we may well witness the revelation of new iPads.

Let's break down the likely revelations for the March event, which Gurman believes is going to consist of online announcements and hands-on previews at the three locations. Then we'll look at what we might not see at this event (sorry – 'experience', which again hints at a hands-on feel).

1. MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

There have been strong rumors that Apple will release new MacBook Pro models with more powerful processors early this year, and tipster Mark Gurman has previously suggested these laptops would debut in the first week of March. Obviously, that lines up perfectly with this event.

Also, don't forget that we've recently seen that new MacBook Pro M4 Max orders are delayed substantially, which is normally the case with an outgoing model, as stock is run down to prepare for its successor. So, all signs point to these new portables being imminent.

Of course, the new processors in the MacBook Pro will be the M5 Pro and M5 Max, but there might be something very different about them this time around – namely that both CPUs may be built on the same base chip. The M5 Max, a recently aired theory runs, would effectively be the higher-binned silicon, and the M5 Pro would be a lower-binned variant with a lesser amount of CPU and GPU cores based on the configuration chosen.

Take that with some seasoning, but it might mean MacBook Pro buyers are going to benefit from more customization options with these higher-end processors.

2. A cheaper MacBook with A18 chip

Another much-rumored possibility is a new bottom-tier MacBook that's much more affordable than the MacBook Air.

Apparently, Apple's plan with this is to use an iPhone processor – the A18 Pro, seemingly – to cut the cost of making such a device, as well as dropping down to 8GB of system RAM. (Which notably would defy its recent stance to deploy 16GB with all its Macs).

The idea with the price is obviously to make it affordable, possibly around the $699 to $799 mark in the US, or so runs the latest speculation – which has also put forward the belief that Apple's going all-in with this one. We're told shipments could be in the order of 5 to 8 million units, which would represent about a quarter of last's years total sales for Macs.

The clue I mentioned at the outset, flagged by Gurman on X, is that the colors on the press invite are light green, blue and yellow – which just happens to be the same colors seen on the test laptops for the affordable MacBook. It could mean nothing, of course, but I think that's a pretty heavy hint.

3. iPhone 17e

As noted at the outset, the iPhone 16e arrived at a press event a year ago, and there were already firm rumors that the iPhone 17e is 'imminent' – in fact we heard that last week. With this press event now revealed, we can put two and two together and, erm – actually, maybe we should be putting 8.5 and 8.5 together to get 17.

Again, it's Mark Gurman who believes this mid-range iPhone is close on the horizon, but the bad news is that the leaker isn't anticipating the device to be much of an upgrade on the existing model.

The main move will simply be upgrading the engine from the A18 chip to A19, which will obviously help the smartphone to be peppier – and another neat extra could be the introduction of MagSafe support.

While it may not be a hugely exciting new launch, and more of an iterative upgrade, the better news is that Apple is expected to hold the price of the iPhone 17e steady at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for this punchier handset. That's particularly good to hear given that we're in a full-blown RAM crisis (and storage is facing serious price hikes, too).

4. iPad Air (8th-gen)

We're expecting a couple of new iPads, including a refreshed Air model. A bit like the rumored iPhone 17e, this iPad Air is not supposed to be a major step forward, but it will get a chip upgrade – from the M3 in the current model to the M4. A tablet packing the M4 chipset would be quite something in terms of power and portability, of course.

5. iPad (12th-gen)

Along with the iPad Air, we're expecting a new iPad (which would be the 12th-gen incarnation). Again, this is expected to be a modest revamp, with the key move being Apple upgrading the A16 chip to an A18.

That's a sizable leap, and one that should see the iPad incorporate Apple Intelligence – with the current model not able to do so. Those keen on AI, then, will be glad to see that happen – if it does.

As ever, take all these rumors – all this iPad speculation again comes from Mark Gurman – with a suitable dose of seasoning.

What we're less likely to get – although you never know…

A revamped Studio Display, or Mac Studio, is a possibility that some people are certainly keeping their fingers crossed for. These devices are rumored for a refresh in the first half of 2026, but I'm not sure we'll see them just yet.

The same is true for the MacBook Air M5, which has also been rumored for early this year. But the new MacBook Pro models, and affordable MacBook, feel like more likely inclusions – and Apple surely won't be launching too many MacBooks at once.

Some folks are hopeful for a new Apple TV, but that seems unlikely to happen just yet, and Gurman explicitly pours cold water on the idea of Siri's big AI overhaul taking center stage here (though we'll likely hear something about it, or be treated to some teasers at least – or maybe a bit more).

• Apple will reportedly launch two new tablets soon
• These will be new models in the iPad and iPad Air lines
• They could have new chipsets but few other upgrades

If you’re in the market for a new standard iPad or iPad Air then now is just about the worst time to buy one, as it sounds like new models could be launching very soon.

This is according to reputable Apple watcher Mark Gurman, who in his latest newsletter for Bloomberg (via MacRumors), claims that new models in these lines are “coming soon".

He doesn't mention an exact date, but the iPad (2025) and iPad Air (2025) both launched in early March last year, so another early March launch would make sense, and would definitely count as "coming soon".

These don’t sound like they’ll be massive upgrades over their predecessors, but one major thing is apparently changing, with Gurman claiming that the next iPad will have an A18 chipset (an upgrade from the A16 Bionic in the current one), while the next iPad Air will have an M4 chipset (up from an M3 currently).

An AI upgrade

So the iPad Air will unsurprisingly be the more powerful of these tablets if this claim is accurate, but the standard iPad would arguably be getting the bigger upgrade, since the move to an A18 should allow it to handle Apple Intelligence, which the current standard iPad can’t. For fans of AI, that’s a big deal, and should help seriously future-proof the slate.

Beyond the chipsets, though, not much is apparently changing, with these two tablets said to look much like their predecessors and have generally similar specs.

If that's the case then they might not be worth upgrading to if you already have an iPad or iPad Air from 2025; but for new buyers or anyone currently using an older model they should absolutely be worth waiting for compared to what’s available right now.

2025 will be remembered as the year when, while we were still waiting on a truly smarter, AI-infused Siri, Apple introduced next-generation AirPods Pro, an ultra-thin iPhone, took its Pro iPhones to the next level, and delivered speedy Macs in several designs.

But perhaps the most exciting additions were to Apple’s iPad lineup. We got three new models: the entry-level 11th-Gen iPad, the iPad Air with M3 chip, and the iPad Pro with the M5. There was nothing new design-wise, but, with a nod to Bruce Springsteen, it was all about the fuel injection rather than the chrome wheels.

The fuel injection came courtesy of the latest Apple silicon, and Apple made the most of that extra power with arguably the biggest changes to iPadOS yet. With true windowing and the introduction of some of the best aspects of macOS, iPadOS 26 is what really made 2025 a landmark year for Apple's tablets.

Apple showed more of its cards with the iPad than ever before

It’s clear that Apple has been performing a balancing act with the iPad for many years – many users rely on their tablets for a mix of entertainment and productivity, and others want their iPad to be the one device to rule them all.

Much of what iPadOS 26 delivered was productivity focused, in the shape of a proper menu bar and dock; more flexible, reliable, and customizable multitasking; a major update to the Files app; and support for background tasks. It’s more macOS-like than ever before, including the red, yellow and green buttons for closing, minimizing and expanding windows, and even a menu bar that feels right out of macOS. We got a Mac-like experience in a form factor that offers easier portability, unique experiences, and – maybe most importantly – flexibility in terms of input.

You can operate the iPad with your fingers, a trackpad, the Apple Pencil, or even a connected mouse or trackpad. It’s a supremely versatile performer, but given how far Apple had taken performance – remember the redesigned iPad Pro launched in 2024 with the M4 chip, before that piece of silicon hit the Mac – the company needed to offer a more robust software experience. As my colleague Lance Ulanoff learned from senior Apple execs, it was something the company had been working on for quite some time.

iPadOS 26 shipped with most of its promised features in September 2025. I’ve used it across a broad range of iPad models, including the current lineup (11th Gen, mini, Air, and Pro) and the 9th-Gen entry-level iPad – while that model isn't as capable as the 11th-Gen iPads or the iPad Pro, the software upgrades have blurred the lines between models when it comes to performance.

As I wrote back shortly after Apple unveiled the fresh software, while it was still in beta, it was a purpose-built upgrade for the iPad – one that catered to the iPad faithful and stayed true to Apple’s ethos. It wasn’t blowing up the classic iPad experience, but it did introduce a familiar, easy-to-grasp way to manage windows. It also delivered some more advanced features that catered to users already maxing out the iPad experience.

Keeping the hardware ticking along

I reviewed all the iPads that Apple released this year, and the common theme is speed upgrades – to the point where the advantages you'll get from going Pro are less obvious than previously. The iPad Air comes in two sizes and is really a stunner, even if it’s not as ultra-thin as the iPad Pro.

In either an 11-inch or 13-inch size, with fun colors to pick from, long battery life, support for key accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, and with the M3 chip now under the hood, it really feels like the model to choose if you want a larger size without the Pro price premium, and don't need sufficient power to use it as your main device.

It’s a strong performer, and a device I keep coming back to, even after testing the latest-generation iPad Pro with the M5 under the hood. If you don’t need the extra vibrancy or contrast capabilities of the OLED screen or Face ID – though I do wish this were on more models – it really comes down to budget.

Complicating your choices further is the 11th-Gen iPad – Apple Pencil quirks aside – which is an excellent model, and likely the best iPad for most users. The A16 Bionic chip under the hood provides plenty of headroom for both work or play, and while it doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, it doesn’t really matter here. It checks the boxes for what you’d want from an iPad, and at an approachable price point.

The iPad mini didn’t receive an update, which means the dream of an OLED screen in this size remains just that for now. But even that device supports iPadOS 26’s new windowing, which makes the case for a Magic Keyboard even more palpable than in years past. Please, Apple.

What’s to come in 2026?

While I can’t predict the future, the ever-churning Apple rumor mill gives us some idea of what we can expect to see from Apple in 2026, and it’s also instructive to look at what Apple did this year. I think the next entry-level 12th-Gen iPad could arrive at some point in the coming year, but don’t expect a treasure trove of new features.

I think the big upgrade here will be a better A-series chip from Apple that's not only more efficient but also adds support for Apple Intelligence. Hopefully, whatever version of iPadOS follows will also, finally, arrive with the AI-infused Siri. Similarly, rumors suggest the iPad Air will keep the same looks and feature set but gain a slightly faster M-series chip, likely the M4.

Basically, this would be a carbon copy of Apple’s approach to iPad upgrades that we saw this year and last year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that new entry-level iPad and iPad Air upgrades will likely arrive sometime in 2026.

The more exciting model we could see next year is an iPad mini with a refreshed design, a better chip, and an OLED screen. This likely wouldn't arrive until the second half of the year, and it’s also reported that it might get a more water-resistant case.

The smallest iPad will likely be the most exciting change next year, while the iPad Pro could receive a chip upgrade, although nothing major in terms of a redesign is planned until 2027, according to recent reports.

Where we might see more exciting developments is in a refinement of the new iPadOS experience and the introduction of new features – maybe more customization around windowing to start. It’s one of the biggest ways Apple can improve the experience for people who already have an iPad and potentially tempt others to upgrade.

But if Tim Cook is listening, let’s keep the list of supported models long when it comes to future updates. I think that’s a major reason why 2025 was so successful for iPadOS 26 and the iPad as a whole.

• Apple has released iPadOS 26.1
• The new update brings back Slide Over multitasking, which was removed with iPadOS 26
• Fan-favorite Split View is still missing

Apple has released iPadOS 26.1, the first major update to iPadOS 26, bringing fixes and new features to the best iPads.

Many of the new features, like a tinted mode for Liquid Glass and new gestures in Apple Music, are shared between iPadOS 26.1 and iOS 26.1, which launched simultaneously, but there is one key feature exclusive to Apple's tablet lineup.

For iPad users specifically, the update brings marks the return of a much-loved iPadOS 18 feature, giving touchscreen-focused users back some of the multitasking power they lose with iPadOS 26.

iPadOS 26.1 brings Slide Over back to the iPad, serving up touchscreen users some extra multitasking power. The feature allows users to quickly access an app in a floating window on the edge of the display which can be swiped away off-screen when not needed.

Slide Over was a staple iPadOS feature for years up until the release of iPadOS 26, when it was quietly removed. Of course, iPadOS 26 also brought with it massively expanded multitasking capabilities with new free-floating windows and background processing. But for some users it seems that this shifted the priority to keyboard users, inspiring plenty of annoyed Reddit threads.

Luckily, Slide Over is back in iPadOS 26.1, and thanks to a new resizeable window could be considered more powerful than ever. As MacRumors reports, you can now access Slide Over by tapping the green full-screen button on the app window and pressing “Enter Slide Over”.

That’s sure to feel like a win for touchscreen users who felt left behind by iPadOS 26 – but there’s still more Apple could do to cater for its hands-on audience.

Split View is still missing

Apple didn’t just remove Slide Over with iPadOS 26 – it also took out Split View, which through iPadOS 18 allowed users to quickly and easily open two apps side by side, with a slider in the middle of the display controlling the size of each app.

And while Slide Over has made a return with iPadOS 26.1, filling the screen with two apps remains more tedious than before.

You can still do so, but now you’ll need to work with the new windowing system, dragging apps around and holding the full-screen button to access different app layouts.

As someone who uses their iPad with a keyboard and on its own in roughly equal measure, I’ve been missing Split View since the launch of iPadOS 26 – as much as I love the new windowed multitasking, I do think Apple needs to keep a good range of features available for people who want to use their tablet's touchscreen to get things done.

Will you be using Slide Over in iPadOS 26.1, or are you waiting for Split View to return? Let us know in the comments below.

The iPad Air is the long-serving middle child of Apple’s tablet lineup, and while mid-tier devices in the iPhone and Mac ranges have come and gone, the iPad Air has managed to hold down its position and shows no signs of leaving any time soon.

In fact, unlike the cursed mid-tier iPhone (think the iPhone mini, iPhone Plus, and dare I say it, the iPhone Air?), the iPad Air is the furthest thing from experimental. You take a base-model iPad, throw an M-series chipset in there, give it a 13-inch option, and boom: you've got one of the best iPads.

That’s been the formula for a few years now – more hardware power than a standard tablet without any of the design or display upgrades exclusive to the iPad Pro – all of which makes recent rumors of a major display upgrade for the iPad Air all the more surprising.

Bloomberg’s resident Apple analyst and tipster supreme, Mark Gurman, has shared fresh rumors that suggest the iPad Air, iPad mini, and MacBook Air could all get OLED displays in coming generations. That’d be the biggest display upgrade the iPad Air and iPad mini have ever received.

If we got shiny new OLED panels without any changes to brightness, resolution, or refresh rate, I’d welcome the upgrade – but if Apple is willing to go one step further, I think it has a shot at turning the iPad Air, specifically, into the best tablet for most people.

Once again, I am asking Apple to give another of its devices a ProMotion display.

For reference, ProMotion is how Apple brands its variable refresh rate displays. Refresh rate refers to how often a display redraws the on-screen image. The current-gen iPad Air has a 60Hz display. ProMotion displays, like the one on the iPad Pro, automatically modulate between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the amount of movement on-screen – and that maximum 120Hz creates a much smoother experience.

In the past, asking Apple to fit the iPad Air with a ProMotion display might have seemed like a slightly pointless request; variable refresh rate panels were, up until recently, only found on devices with a Pro title – the iPad Pro, iPhone Pro and Pro Max, and MacBook Pro, to be exact.

However, with the release of the iPhone 17 series, Apple extended ProMotion to a non-Pro device for the first time by giving the standard iPhone 17 a ProMotion panel, which, in conjunction with those aforementioned new display upgrade rumors, gives me real hope that the iPad Air could be next.

Though the iPad Air’s 60Hz LCD display is nice enough, it’s perhaps the only thing holding the tablet back from true greatness. The M3 chipset is more than powerful enough for iPadOS, so much so that the vast majority of users won’t feel the difference between it and the iPad Pro’s M5 chipset. The Air’s design, while not as thin as the iPad Pro, is time-tested and pragmatic. And its accessory choices are excellent, with support for the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.

If Apple were to equip the iPad Air with ProMotion while retaining its starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model and $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 13-inch model, it’d get my recommendation for all but the most budget-conscious users or the most power-focused professionals. Apple has shown renewed willingness to equip its everyday devices with Pro-grade tech – now it’s the iPad Air’s turn.

The tough part is that Gurman’s report suggests we might not see any kind of display upgrade for the iPad Air until after the expected 2026 refresh, as the iPad mini is apparently the priority (a great tablet in its own right, but not as universal as the larger iPad Air). Let us know if you want to see OLED and ProMotion come to the iPad mini or iPad Air in the comments below.

When it comes to buying a new iPad, making a choice can be difficult. Apple’s tablet lineup has expanded in recent years, and now contains a total of six models under four different names (due to some models having different screen size options).

Naturally, many iPad customers will look to the lower end of the lineup in a bid to not overspend; while the high-end iPad Pro is a lovely bit of kit, its high price point and extreme hardware power will be overkill for some users.

The standard iPad, once one of the more premium devices in Apple’s portfolio, has taken on the role of Apple’s budget-friendly tablet, with a chipset borrowed from the iPhone 15, an 11-inch display, and a variety of fun colors to choose from.

The next step up is the iPad Air, which offers a mid-point between the iPad and iPad Pro. It’s got the M3 Apple Silicon chipset, support for Apple Intelligence, and comes in both 11-inch and 13-inch sizes.

For a lot of buyers, the choice between the iPad and iPad Air will be a tough one to make. Keep reading for our detailed head-to-head, so you can make the right decision for your tablet-buying needs.

Just a note: some of the images of the iPad Air in this comparison are of the previous-generation M2 model - the design is identical to the current-gen M3 model.

iPad vs iPad Air: Specs comparison

This guide contains a detailed breakdown of the iPad and iPad Air, but if you just want a rundown of the essential features take a look at this handy specs table:

Later on in this guide we'll go into detail about the key functions and features for the iPad and iPad Air, but if you just want a quick specs comparison check out the table below:

iPad vs iPad Air: Price and availability

As we’re talking about Apple here, availability for the iPad and both models of the iPad Air shouldn’t be an issue. Apple products of all kinds are widely available in western and global markets.

As for price, the base-model iPad comes in at $349 / £329 / AU$599 for the model with 128GB of storage. We frequently highlight base-model iPad deals because of this low starting price, which lends itself to great bargains in seasonal sales at third-party retailers.

The 11-inch iPad Air is quite a bit more expensive, starting at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for 128GB of storage. This rises to $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 13-inch model, with the same 128GB of storage.

The base-model iPad is a great deal and by far the best tablet you can buy at its price point. The 11-inch iPad Air asks for quite a big step up price-wise, so it’s best to know you’ll get good use out of its exclusive features, such as Apple Pencil Pro compatibility and Apple Intelligence support. However, the 13-inch iPad Air is priced pretty well for such a large tablet, and is a lot cheaper than the 13-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,199.

iPad vs iPad Air: Design and display

Both the base-model iPad and 13-inch iPad Air follow Apple’s modern all-screen iPad design language, with a unibody aluminum enclosure, flat edges, no home button, and black bezels around the 10:7 display. The 13-inch iPad Air follows the same design language, but is, naturally, a bit larger, and has a squarer 4:3 aspect ratio.

As mentioned below, the three tablets all have the same 12-megapixel rear camera, and have a small camera bump on the upper-left corner of the rear panel. The two 11-inch models look practically identical other than color; the base-model iPad comes in a vibrant selection of Silver, Pink, Blue and Yellow, while the iPad Air comes in a choice of pastel shades including Space Gray, Blue, Starlight, and Purple.

All three models come with the ability to attach an Apple Pencil to the right-hand side of the tablet, though which Apple Pencil models are supported vary between models (see the Performance section for details).

As for displays, the base-model iPad and 11-inch iPad Air have similar displays; both have 11-inch panels with a resolution of 1640 x 2360 pixels and a peak brightness of 500 nits. The iPad Air, however, has a laminated display, which eliminates the visible gap between the glass and the LCD panel underneath. This can make drawing and swiping feel more connected to the visuals on screen.

As for the 13-inch iPad Air, its display comes in at a resolution of 2048 x 2732 pixels, with the same peak brightness of 500 nits. All three displays have the same 60Hz refresh rate and identical pixel densities of 264ppi – you’ll need to get the iPad Pro for Apple’s 120Hz ProMotion display.

The iPad Air just barely wins it in the display category thanks to its laminated screen, but there’s little in the way of difference here. Naturally, the Air also wins in terms of size when we factor in the 13-inch model.

iPad vs iPad Air: Cameras

The camera systems on the iPad and two iPad Air models are almost exactly the same. As far as I can tell, the rear camera on all three is the exact same, with a 12MP sensor, f/1.8 lens, and video recording up to 4K at 60 frames per second.

All three have a 12MP selfie camera, though the aperture is slightly different on the base iPad. The iPad Air has an f/2.0 selfie lens, while the base iPad gets an f/2.4 lens. This means selfies on the iPad Air should be slightly brighter than the base iPad. All three support 1080p recording at 60fps, and support Apple’s Center Stage feature, which keeps you in-frame for video calls.

This is all to say that the photo and video experience is very, very similar between the iPad and iPad Air, and should be a rather small consideration when trying to decide between the two.

iPad vs iPad Air: Performance

The iPad and iPad Air are most obviously set apart by their performance. Other than the 13-inch iPad Air’s large display, this category contains the main considerations for whether an upgrade is worthwhile.

First, software: both the iPad and iPad Air run iPadOS 26, and benefit from the same windowing, file management, and background task upgrades as a result. It’s likely you’ll be able to open more windows at once on the more powerful iPad Air.

The base-model iPad comes equipped with the A16 chipset, a mobile system-on-a-chip also found in the iPhone 15. This is paired with 6GB of RAM, and either 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage depending on configuration.

The iPad Air comes in two sizes, but other than battery capacity its internal specs are identical. It comes equipped with the M3 chipset, a desktop-class chipset also found in previous-generation MacBooks and the current-gen iMac. It is perhaps the single biggest upgrade over the standard iPad, and allows the iPad Air to take on serious multitasking, heavy, media-intensive workloads, and high-intensity gaming.

The iPad Air also gets 8GB of RAM, which assists with said multitasking while also enabling the tablet to run Apple Intelligence tools and processes. It comes with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage depending on configuration – that 1TB option ramps the price up, but could be a deciding factor for those with lots of photos, videos, or apps to store locally.

The base-model iPad and iPad Air are also set apart by their varying compatibility with first-party accessories, which lends to similar but distinct experiences.

The standard iPad is compatible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard Folio, a two-piece accessory composed of a kickstand case and detachable keyboard. The iPad Air is compatible with the creatively named Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, which is a single unit that folds into a folio-style case, with an adjustable viewing angle.

As for Apple Pencils, the iPad is compatible with the Apple Pencil with USB-C, which is charged with a wired connection. The iPad Air is compatible with either the Apple Pencil with USB-C, or Apple Pencil Pro, which charges while attached to the side of the iPad and supports a wider variety of gestures and features.

Compared to the base model there’s no doubt that the iPad Air is the better-performing tablet and has access to much better accessories. However, it’s worth noting that the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air and Apple Pencil Pro are both more expensive than their base-model counterparts, which, combined with the iPad Air’s higher starting price, can make upgrading a pretty costly proposition.

iPad vs iPad Air: Battery

iPads are known for their great battery life, and there isn’t that much difference in battery capacity or measured battery life between the base-model iPad and 11-inch iPad Air. The 13-inch iPad Air beats both by some measure, but that’s to be expected from a much larger device.

Apple doesnt share exact battery capacities for its products, so we have to turn to third-party sources. According to PhoneArena, the standard iPad has a battery capacity of 7,698mAh. According to GSMArena, the 11-inch iPad Air has a battery capacity of 7,606mAh, with the 13-inch model bumping that up to 9,705mAh.

In our own Future Labs testing, the base-model iPad managed 11 hours and 25 minutes, while the 11-inch iPad Air survived just over 9 hours. That could be down to the iPad Air’s more powerful M3 chipset requiring more power – the two devices have near-identical displays.

As for the 13-inch iPad Air, we’ve not tested the latest generation model for battery life, but the 2024 version with the M2 chipset lasted around 11 hours and 30 minutes per our iPad Air 13-inch (2024) review.

All of these tablets offer great battery life, but our testing reveals the base-model iPad as the winner. That’s possibly due to its lower-powered A16 chipset, or could be because of other hardware requirements.

Of course, battery life depends on activity and settings like screen brightness, so these test figures can’t tell the whole story. It’s worth keeping in mind that the iPad Air’s M3 chipset will break less of a sweat during intensive tasks like video editing, which could affect overall battery life.

iPad vs iPad Air: Verdict

With the iPad and iPad Air, Apple’s strongly tiered pricing is as visible as it gets. The iPad is a great choice for everyday users, families, and even students and professionals thanks to its low price point, reasonably powerful chipset, and great display.

The 11-inch iPad Air is a straight upgrade when it comes to performance, thanks to its M3 chipset. It’s also the obvious choice for AI fans thanks to its Apple Intelligence compatibility and greater amount of RAM. Additionally, it supports better (but more expensive) first-party accessories. Otherwise, the two tablets are very similar, with near-identical designs and displays.

Of course, the 13-inch iPad Air stands as Apple’s cheapest larger tablet, and will be the obvious choice for those who just want a really big screen. Other than its larger display and battery, it’s effectively the same tablet as the 11-inch model.

Overall, you can’t beat the base-model iPad when it comes to value for money, and the 13-inch iPad is actually quite competitive with its pricing. The 11-inch iPad is both sleek and powerful, which is perhaps why Apple makes it rather expensive – still, the M3 chipset is a very fast piece of silicon, which helps to allay this somewhat. If you need to save money, go for the base-model, if you need performance, go for the 11-inch Air, and if you want performance plus a big screen, the 13-inch Air is your go-to.

Which iPad would you choose? Let us know in the comments below.

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iPadOS 26 is on the way – revealed at WWDC 2025, Apple’s next-generation tablet operating system is the biggest single update to iPadOS we’ve ever seen (Apple’s Craig Federighi said as much during the keynote).

Amongst other new features, iPadOS 26 brings support for windowed multitasking to all currently available iPads, from the cheapest base-model iPad to the pricey and powerful iPad Pro.

If you ask me, that makes now a great time to pick up the base-model iPad. Just a few years back, windowed multitasking was a pipe dream on even the most powerful iPad Pros, and now it’s coming to all models.

With that in mind, it’s a good time for prospective iPad buyers to consider whether they need the power of an iPad Pro or iPad Air, or if the base model, with its upcoming suite of multitasking tools, might be enough for their needs.

The 11th-generation iPad comes equipped with an A16 chipset and 6GB of RAM, as well as 12MP front and rear cameras, an 11-inch display, and support for the Apple Pencil and the Magic Keyboard Folio.

You certainly save a good bit of money by going with Apple’s cheapest tablet, which starts at $349 / £329 / AU$599, compared to the iPad Air, which steps the price up to $599 / £599 / AU$999.

The latest iPad Pro comes in at an even heavier $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 – almost three times as expensive as the base model. And that's for the smaller 11-inch model – choose the larger iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) and it costs even more.

And while the iPad Pro is powerful, the standard 11th-generation iPad is honestly no slouch when it comes to internal hardware, especially for the everyday user. It has the same A16 chipset and 6GB of RAM as the iPhone 15, which we found could handle action games and 4K video editing while testing for our iPhone 15 review.

It also helps that the base model iPad is currently discounted in both the US and UK:

Sure, the iPad’s A16 chipset isn’t at the same level as the iPad Air and iPad Pro’s M-series chipsets, but it’s a solid choice for the things people use tablets for every day – web browsing, watching videos and movies, social media, messaging, and typing up notes and documents. Pair that with the ability to do all of the above in desktop-style windows, and the standard iPad starts looking rather capable.

It’s still true that the iPad Air and iPad Pro, with their desktop class chipsets, increased RAM capacity, and Apple Intelligence support will be a better choice if you’re in need of pro-level power, AI, or heavier multitasking.

And as a disclaimer, we don’t know how well the new window system will run on the base-model iPad. iPadOS 26 is still upcoming, so it shouldn't be the only reason you buy an iPad.

But, personally, I’m not worried. It’d be very unlike Apple to release a feature to a specific piece of hardware if it didn't at least work decently well; we saw this in practice with the limited launch of Apple Intelligence.

With that in mind, I find it really unlikely that Apple would release multitasking tools to the base-model iPad if these new features ran poorly. At this point in iPadOS 26’s development, I’m almost certain that Apple has tested the new tools extensively with a range of iPad hardware.

If you're in the market for a new tablet, be sure to check out our lists of the best iPads and best tablets. Would you consider picking up a base model iPad over an iPad Air or iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

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iPadOS 26 is on the way – Apple revealed its next iPad software update at WWDC 2025, and since then the internet has been ablaze with reactions and speculation.

The big ticket items for this year’s iPadOS update pertain to multitasking – all currently-sold iPads (and likely several older models) are due to get support for up to six desktop-style windows at once, as well as a menu bar, and updates to the dock and background processing.

We already recommend the base model iPad and iPad Pro as some of the best tablets you can buy, but this upcoming update has got me thinking about where Apple now sits in the wider tablet market.

It’s no secret that Apple’s tablet hardware is the best on the market – there are simply no other tablets with the raw processing power the iPad Pro and iPad Air's M-series chipsets can offer.

Speaking frankly, the only thing giving other tablet makers a chance has been software – iPadOS has long been held back by a lack of flexibility and unintuitive design, while rivals like Samsung have pushed ahead with innovative features like DeX, which offers a desktop-style experience that works especially well with a keyboard and mouse.

But with iPadOS 26 bringing huge updates, that could all change.

Samsung's options

I recently spent some time testing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus for an upcoming review, and found it to be a big, premium-feeling tablet that offers a lot of software flexibility at the cost of performance.

In fact, having used the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus in a variety of situations, I think the only reason someone should buy one is if they absolutely need its combination of a large 13-inch screen, flexible multitasking, and intermediate price (starting at $649 / £649 / AU$1,099).

iPadOS 26’s windowed multitasking, from what we’ve seen so far, is not as developed or as open-ended as Samsung DeX, but in true Apple style it’ll probably be just useful enough to overshadow Samsung’s offering when combined with the iPad’s hardware power.

That takes away a major advantage to buying a Samsung tablet pretty much instantly.

If you ask me, Samsung should be really quite worried about this, and has one of two options to survive an upcoming iPad renaissance.

The first is simply cutting prices as much as costs allow. Samsung tablets are definitively premium devices, with great build quality and sometimes bigger screens than comparably priced iPads – but they’re still very expensive, and don't perform as well as Apple's tablets.

Like it or not, iPadOS is the standard for how a tablet works, so asking users to shell out almost as much as an iPad costs for a device that isn’t as powerful, runs potentially unfamiliar software, and offers just slightly more utility looks like a pretty mediocre deal.

The second option is stepping up performance without an increase in price – our Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus review and Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra review found the tablets to be solid performers, but not to Apple’s standards. That’s backed up by our own Future Labs testing data: neither Samsung tablet catches up to the latest iPad Air in single or multicore benchmarks.

A renewed rivalry

Both of these options ask a lot of Samsung, perhaps more than can be delivered in a few release cycles.

But with Apple’s smooth user experience, wider selection of professional apps, more powerful hardware, and upcoming multitasking improvements, I seriously can’t see the point in buying a Samsung tablet right now.

That's not me giving Apple an easy ride either, let me be clear that as someone who personally bought an iPad Pro in 2020, the long wait for proper multitasking on iPad has been very, very frustrating. But having used both iPads and Samsung tablets, I'd still pick the iPad any day thanks to its better app availability and smoother user experience.

And my own experiences aside, there's no denying that iPads are vastly more popular than Samsung tablets. A Forbes report from September 2024 estimates that Apple holds 35.8% of the tablet market worldwide, compared to Samsung's 20.1%. That's going to make the impact of iPadOS 26 feel even more significant, even if the features added are ones Samsung users have enjoyed for years.

That’s not to say there are no benefits to buying a Samsung tablet: One UI 7 is rich with customizable settings, and the aforementioned Dex mode really is fantastic. It’s just that iPadOS 26 is poised to take Apple’s tablet platform to a new level of competition.

I'd like to see a future in which the best iPads and the best Samsung tablets keep clashing head-to-head; here’s hoping Samsung can make the right moves to keep up. Look out for my full Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review soon.

As ever, the comments section is open for discussion – is Apple destined to take over? Or does Samsung have more of a chance than I think? Let us know below.

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How quickly five years goes by – I can scarcely believe it, but it’s been almost half a decade since I picked up my 11-inch iPad Pro and second-generation Apple Pencil.

The approach of WWDC 2025 has brought an onslaught of rumors about Apple’s upcoming operating system updates, and given the timing of the above I’ve been drawn to the latest tip-offs and suggestions about iPadOS 19.

Speaking personally, I’m pretty excited by the prospect of an iPad operating system that’s tipped to be the most Mac-like iPadOS update ever – check out our recent roundup of iPadOS 19 features we want to see for a detailed breakdown.

But on the other hand, as a user of both Apple and Android devices, I’ll believe it when I see it. Android has surpassed Apple in terms of tablet multitasking and computer compatibility so successfully that I’d almost stopped hoping for any proper competition from Apple in the software arena (iPads arguably have the superior hardware and a better optimized app ecosystem.)

To be fair, in the last five years I’ve put my iPad Pro to good use. It carried me through the first two years of my degree, and has been a fabulous companion for streaming video, controlling Spotify playback, and doodling on ProCreate. I’ve edited audio and video, taken photos, made spreadsheets and diagrams, and scrolled through plenty of social media posts.

But since picking up a 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro just over a year ago, I’ve noticed my iPad usage falling steadily – to the point where its A12Z processor and still-lovely 120Hz LCD display have mostly been relegated to the status of YouTube machine.

As anyone who’s owned an iPad knows, that’s pretty much death’s door for an Apple tablet, no matter the model. In the latter years of my older iPad Air (the original model released in 2013), I was using the tablet for the exact same thing, despite not having a Mac at the time, and the iPad Pro's greater power and multitasking capabilities.

Given five years is somewhat aged for my iPad Pro, especially as its successors moved to the powerful and efficient M-series Apple chips, I’ve been eyeing up some of the best iPads as a possible successor to the Pro, and to give me a tablet that I'll use for a lot more than streaming.

To be honest, though, the spark I felt with my previous two Apple tablets just isn’t there this time.

The crux of this is I don't feel there's enough 'pro' features to justify and upgrade to the latest iPad Pro, and see it become my primary device for work and play over my MacBook. Unless you absolutely need the touchscreen or Apple Pencil, I think it’s quicker to get things done on the more flexible, more powerful macOS-based machine.

That’s because iPadOS just isn't powerful enough without proper desktop-style features – its multitasking is usable, but awkward, the files app convenient, but nerfed, the ecosystem smooth, but much more closed off than a traditional desktop. Essentially, I feel in its current guise iPadOS means the iPad Pro is essentially a powered-up iPad Air rather than a MacBook replacement that would pique my interest.

I’m not the first to say that the iPad’s remarkable hardware is held back by iPadOS. I'm not even the first TechRadar journalist to say so - Managing Editor, Core Tech Matt Hanson said he found that "the power of the M4 chip largely went to waste with the iPad Pro" earlier this year.

I think the hardware jump from my current 11-inch iPad Pro to one of the gorgeous 2024 models, with their slim build, Tandem OLED displays, and ludicrously powerful M4 chipsets, would feel even greater than the jump from the original iPad Air to my current 2020 iPad Pro, which makes the limitations of iPadOS even more frustrating. Why invest in all that power if the software can't take advantage of it?

So, without being too dramatic, I think this coming WWDC is Apple’s last chance to show me it really knows what it’s doing with the iPad.

While I’d settle for new features that offer a more purposeful tablet experience while remaining entirely separate from the Mac, what I really want to see is Apple pushing the iPad towards a bolder, more capable role, leaving its ‘YouTube machine’ moniker firmly in the past.

One could even suggest having a separate fork to iPadOS, such as iPadOS Pro, that focuses on pro-grade multitasking, a better mouse-centric interface when using an iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard, and file management and transfer that's suitable for people doing professional work such as video editing.

There's always been the perceived concern that Apple wouldn't do this due to cannibalising MacBook users, but there's scope that by making iPadOS more macOS-like for iPad Pros you could get an more capable and flexible tablet that could augment one Apple product collection than dilute it; for example photographers and video editors could use an iPad Pro with a more pro-centric iPadOS to do on the fly edits or tap into powerful Apple Intelligence features, while out in the field, then move over to a MacBook Pro when back at their desk or in a more laptop-friendly environment.

So my hope is we see something special from Apple at WWDC that supercharges iPadOS, if not with an eye on professionals then in a fashion that really harnesses the M-series chip power to make iPadOS more distinct, and less of what's arguably a modified take on iOS 18.

WWDC 2025 kicks off on June 9 – be sure to bookmark our how to watch WWDC 2025 guide and keep an eye on our phones coverage and tablets coverage for the latest updates. Let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments below.

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• However, don’t expect anything remotely close to smooth performance levels

In the ongoing quest to have software (or games – usually Doom) running on unexpected devices, a fresh twist has emerged as somebody has managed to get Windows 11 running on an iPad Air.

Windows Central noticed the feat achieved by using Tiny11, a lightweight version of Windows 11 which was installed on an iPad Air with M2 chip.

NTDEV, the developer of Tiny11, was behind this effort, and used the Arm64 variant of their slimline take on Windows 11. Microsoft’s OS was run on the iPad Air using emulation (UTM with JIT, the developer explains – a PC emulator, in short).

So, is Windows 11 impressive on an iPad Air? No, in a word. The developer is waiting for over a minute and a half for the desktop to appear, and Windows 11’s features (Task Manager, Settings) and apps load pretty sluggishly – but they work.

The illustrative YouTube clip below gives you a good idea of what to expect: it’s far, far from a smooth experience, but it’s still a bit better than the developer anticipated.

Analysis: Doing stuff for the hell of it

This stripped-back incarnation of Windows 11 certainly runs better on an iPad Air than it did on an iPhone 15 Pro, something NTDEV demonstrated in the past (booting the OS took 20 minutes on a smartphone).

However, as noted at the outset, sometimes achievements in the tech world are simply about marvelling that something can be done at all, rather than having any practical value.

You wouldn’t want to use Windows 11 on an iPad (or indeed iPhone) in this way, anyhow, just in the same way you wouldn’t want to play Doom on a toothbrush even though it’s possible (would you?).

It also underlines the niftiness of Tiny11, the bloat-free take on Windows 11 which has been around for a couple of years now. If you need a more streamlined version of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Tiny11 certainly delivers (bearing some security-related caveats in mind).

There are all sorts of takes on this app, including a ludicrously slimmed-down version of Tiny11 (that comes in at a featherweight 100MB). And, of course, the Arm64 spin used in this iPad Air demonstration, which we’ve previously seen installed on the Raspberry Pi.

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The iPad Pro and iPad Air have never been more similar – at the time of writing, Apple’s high end and midrange tablets both feature an M-series chipset, high-resolution display, single camera, support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and come in 11-inch and 13-inch variants.

That’s partially due to the fact that the iPad Pro and iPad Air have developed at different rates. The iPad Pro hits a bit of a ceiling when it comes to performance, as the monstrously powerful M4 chipset is, frankly, under-utilized by iPadOS.

It’s still the most powerful tablet on the market, though, with one of the best displays on any mobile device.

The iPad Air, conversely, had plenty of room to grow when Apple relaunched it in 2020, and has since picked up the M3 chipset, an enlarged 13-inch version, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro.

Its current generation, released in 2025, is a confident midrange device, rather than a blank intermediate between the cheap base-model iPad and pricey iPad Pro.

There are, of course, some substantial differences between the two devices, most noticeably in their display tech, peripheral support, and price tags.

If you're stuck deciding between either device, don't sweat it – simply read on for a detailed breakdown of the differences between each.

Editor's note: some of the iPad Air images in this article are of the 2024 iPad Air with M2 chipset. As the 2025 model was just a spec bump, the two iterations are visually identical.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Specs

Keep scrolling for a detailed head-to-head between the iPad Pro and iPad Air, but if you just want a quick overview, check out the table below.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Price and availability

The iPad Pro is the most expensive tablet Apple sells and one of the most expensive on the market overall.

The iPad Pro starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for the 11-inch model with 256GB of storage and $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,299 for the 13-inch model with 256GB of storage. Storage for both tops out at an impressive 2TB, which will set you back $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,449 for the 11-inch model and a patently ridiculous $2,299 / £2,299 / AU$3,949 for the 13-inch model.

The iPad Air is more moderately priced, but those higher storage tiers can get quite expensive. The iPad Air starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model with 128GB of storage, and $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 for the 13-inch model with 128GB of storage.

Storage for both iPad Air models maxes out at 1TB, which will set you back $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,899 for the 11-inch model, and $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,249 for the 13-inch model.

The iPad Air is quite a bit cheaper than the iPad Pro when looking at their respective starting prices, but the gap does narrow when you adjust for the Air’s smaller starting storage capacity.

Ultimately, which is better value for money comes down to the features you prioritize – the iPad Air is the cheaper way to get an M-series chipset in a tablet, but only the iPad Pro has a 120Hz ProMotion display, 2TB storage option, and super-thin design.

However, I will say that $599 / £599 / AU$999 is an excellent starting price for the 11-inch iPad Air, even if 128GB of storage is a touch low.

As for availability, we’re talking about Apple here, so we can confidently say that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are some of the most readily available tablets in the world.

Both models of iPad Pro and iPad Air are sold by Apple directly, third-party retailers, and some mobile carriers.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Design and Display

Though both the iPad Pro and iPad Air sport beautiful displays with the same choice between 11-inch and 13-inch options, the iPad Pro pulls ahead in several categories. This is where the iPad Pro really gets to shine, unfettered by the limitations of its operating system.

The iPad Pro comes equipped with one of the best displays on any device. That’s not an exaggeration: our iPad Pro (2024) review found that Apple’s tandem OLED is bold, bright, and fantastically detailed, with a resolution of 1668 x 2420 for the 11-inch model and 2064 x 2752 for the 13-inch model.

That tandem OLED moniker refers to the layering of two OLED panels on top of one another, which increases image consistency and reduces burn-in. The iPad Pro is the only Apple product to use this technology, which also resolves the bloom issue prevalent on prior iPad models.

Both the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro feature Apple’s ProMotion technology, which is the company’s term for displays with a variable 1-120Hz refresh rate. Models with 1TB or 2TB of storage can be fitted with nano-texture glass, which reduces reflections and glare.

The two iPad Air models, in comparison, offer displays with similar resolutions but fewer cutting-edge specs. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models come with LCD displays that are locked at 60Hz.

Additionally, neither display quite matches the resolution of its corresponding iPad Pro: the 11-inch iPad Air has a resolution of 1640 x 2360, while the 13-inch model has a resolution of 2048 x 2732. The iPad Air also lacks the option for nano-textured glass.

Design-wise, the iPad Pro and iPad Air each feature full-screen displays with Face ID functionality, an aluminum chassis, and three-point smart connector on the rear panel. The iPad Pro is notably very thin – at 5.3mm for the 11-inch model and 5.1mm for the 13-inch model, it’s the slimmest tablet Apple has ever made.

The iPad Pro pulls ahead in both design and display. Its display is best-in-class, and its design is forward-thinking. The iPad Air offers great displays and a solid build, but it can’t compete with the Pro on either front.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Cameras

The iPad Pro and iPad Air sport the same 12MP rear camera and 12MP selfie camera. The Pro gets a few software bells and whistles, but really there’s very little difference between the two.

Apple surprised some iPad fans at the time of the iPad Pro (2024) by dropping the tablet’s ultra-wide camera, a staple since the iPad Pro was redesigned in 2018. The iPad isn’t usually a first choice for photography, though, so it’s not that major of a loss.

Both rear cameras can record video at 4K, but only the iPad Pro can record in ProRes. Again, I’m not sure anyone is out filming pro-level video with an iPad, but it’s a nice option to have.

The 12MP selfie camera found on the iPad Pro and iPad Air is the same as the one found on the iPhone 16. Both support Center Stage, Apple’s face-tracking technology for video calls and recording. The iPad Pro also supports TrueDepth, the face-scanning tech that powers Face ID.

There’s not much difference to compare here – both will do fine for taking the odd snap and scanning documents, and the iPad Pro’s exclusive features aren’t meaningful enough that they should sway your decision.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Performance

Though the iPad Pro is equipped with technically better internal hardware than the iPad Air, the needs of most iPad users are such that the difference is unlikely to be very noticeable unless you’re taking on intensive media work or the heaviest multitasking.

The fact of the matter is that iPadOS 18 – which both tablets run – is now outpaced by these tablets' internal hardware, meaning you’re more likely to come up against a software ceiling than any sort of hardware deficiency. For both devices, screen size has no bearing on internal power.

To get specific, the iPad Pro comes with the M4 chipset. Models with less than 1TB of storage come with 8GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB models each come with 16GB of RAM.

That extra RAM and processing headroom will prove valuable for those who enjoy gaming on their iPad Pro, or indeed who use their tablet for professional work with apps such as Final Cut Pro for iPad or Adobe Lightroom.

The iPad Air gets the M3 chipset and 8GB of RAM for all models. That’s honestly not far from the lower-specced iPad Pros in terms of hardware horsepower.

Both the M4 and M3 chipsets are desktop class and enable the iPad Pro and iPad Air to access the full suite of Apple Intelligence tools. Both are more than powerful enough to sustain highly demanding workloads and will breeze through day-to-day use, with full support for external monitors and windowed multitasking via Stage Manager.

As for accessories, both tablets support the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C). The iPad Pro is only compatible with the aptly named Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, while the iPad Air gets its own Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, while retaining support for the previous-generation Magic Keyboard. Both support pairing keyboards, mice, and other devices over Bluetooth.

The iPad Pro wins in this category due to its increased internal power and objectively better hardware specs – but do consider whether you really need that extra power.

The stubbornly limited power of iPadOS has smoothed out the advantages of the Pro when it comes to raw performance, and unless you're using it for professional work, the Air will probably have enough horsepower for you.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Battery

iPads are renowned for their long battery lives. The iPad Pro and iPad Air are no different, each providing a quoted 10 hours of video playback or web surfing; though the 13-inch models have a larger battery, their larger displays deplete the cell faster than the 11-inch models’ smaller panels.

Apple doesn't list specific battery capacities for iPads in milliamp hours (mAh), so the following are estimates listed by GSMArena.

The iPad Pro 11-inch sports an 8,160mAh battery, while the 13-inch model has a 10,290mAh battery.

The iPad Air 11-inch comes equipped with a 7,606mAh battery, which the 13-inch model bumps up to 9,705mAh

Across the board, these are some of the largest batteries you’ll find on any mobile device. The iPad Pro wins on capacity alone, but keep in mind that its larger, more advanced, 120Hz ProMotion display will likely draw a touch more power than the iPad Air’s 60Hz panel.

Specific charging speeds for either device are not listed by Apple. Again, though, Apple rates all four models as offering 10 hours of use, so on paper it’s a tie.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Verdict

The current-gen iPad Pro and iPad Air rank amongst the best iPads, or even the best tablets, ever made. Going with either device, in either size, will give you access to a smooth and powerful tablet experience as well as a key to the wider Apple ecosystem. Both are likely to feel as impressive and immersive as iPads typically do.

With that said, whether the iPad Pro or iPad Air will suit you better really comes down to your needs and budget.

If money is less of a concern, or you want to use your iPad for demanding professional work like photo or video editing, the the iPad Pro is the obvious choice.

Its stunning high-refresh rate display, faster chipset, higher maximum RAM, and svelte design give the iPad Pro an edge over the Air and other competitors. There's no getting around that huge price tag, though.

If you find yourself using your iPad more for more moderate work, or everyday tasks such as web browsing, social media, and watching shows and movies, then the iPad Air offers better value for money. The M3 chipset is very capable, and the iPad Air's display is still very good, even if it's not as excessively powerful as the iPad Pro.

So there you have it. The iPad Pro and iPad Air are both some of the most capable tablets that Apple has ever produced – the former better for media professionals and those who don't mind spending more, and the latter better for other professionals, students, and everyday users looking for better value for money.

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Though we’re still due at least one more mid-year update to iPadOS 19, we’re already hearing some juicy rumors about the next major update to Apple’s tablet operating system.

iPadOS 19 will probably be revealed at WWDC in June 2025, following the trend of previous years. Similarly, we expect that Apple’s next major iPadOS upgrade will make it to general release in September 2025, around the time we expect the iPhone 17 series to launch.

Apple doesn’t release iPads yearly in the way it does iPhones, so we’re not sure if any new iPads will be launched alongside the new software. We’d expect all current-gen iPads to support iPadOS 19 on release.

Keep reading for a roundup of the 4 biggest iPadOS 19 rumors we’ve heard so far, as well as 2 further things I’d like to see come to the iPad platform.

• iPadOS 19 is still fairly far away, but we've already heard some key rumors
• New homescreen features could be on the way, as well as a new low-power mode
• New features shared with iOS 19 are rumored to include an Apple Intelligence-powered Siri and visionOS-inspired redesign

Pinned files on the homescreen

Apple fans have been calling out en masse for more desktop-style iPad features for a few years now – and honestly, I get it. The iPad Pro and iPad Air especially are as powerful on paper as certain MacBooks, powered by M-series chipsets with as much as 16GB of RAM.

We don’t expect that iPadOS 19 will push Apple’s tablets drastically closer to the desktop experience, but a notable tipster suggests that at least one new desktop-style feature is on the way.

According to longtime tipster Majin Bu, iPadOS 19 will bring the ability to pin files and folders to the homescreen, which we imagine means they’ll appear similarly to app icons.

This could add flexibility to the iPad experience, allowing users to set up pages of their homescreen with each focused on different projects or folders. Users have long been able to add websites and widgets to the iPad homescreen, so adding files feels like a natural extension.

A new low-power mode

A further rumor from tipster Majin Bu notes that iPadOS 19 could bring an overhauled low-power mode to Apple’s tablet lineup.

The rumor suggests that iPadOS 19 will fold the low-power mode into Apple Intelligence, using AI to optimize performance and conserve battery life.

Currently, the iPad’s low-power mode prioritizes essential tasks, dims the screen, and locks the display to a 60hz refresh rate on models with ProMotion displays (which only includes iPad Pro models at the time of writing).

Though I’m a noted AI skeptic, this sounds like a great way to use it. Some of my concerns about AI are to do with power efficiency, so if Apple is looking to use it to conserve energy I'm happy to watch with curiosity rather than doubt.

Apple Intelligence, meet Siri

Siri is due to get its long-awaited Apple Intelligence update with the next major iPadOS update, in line with contemporaneous updates to iOS and macOS.

Apple had initially sought to imbue Siri with the full power of Apple Intelligence via a mid-year iPadOS 18 update, but this has unfortunately failed to materialize.

As well as marking another chapter in the messy rollout of Apple Intelligence, this has led various commentators to adjust their expectations and set sights on iPadOS 19 as Siri’s saviour.

As we recently covered, Siri is well overdue an update, as it still struggles to answer certain basic questions.

A possible redesign

As we previously reported, Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert Mark Gurman has suggested that iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 will all come with a major visionOS inspired redesign – think transparent windows, circular icons, and less visual clutter.

Though we’ve not seen many rumors focused on the possible iPadOS overhaul, we have seen images that supposedly show the redesigned iOS camera app.

Though most of the latest Apple software redesign rumors have concerned iOS, it tracks that iPadOS would receive a similar visual refresh, as the two typically mirror each other when it comes to aesthetics.

iPadOS has technically never had a major redesign, as the operating system only diverged from iOS in 2019. The last major iOS redesign came in 2012, with the introduction of iOS 7.

What I want to see from iPadOS 19

I’ve been an iPad user since long before I joined the TechRadar team, and my trusty 2020 iPad Pro is still ticking along – but like many others I think there are a few key things Apple could do to elevate the experience with iPadOS 19.

The first is proper floating window support. I don’t care if it’s packaged as part of Stage Manager, I just want to be able to resize windows at will and place them where I want. I’ve given up on wanting the iPad to behave exactly like a Mac, but I don’t think this will cross any borders.

As mentioned, the iPad Pro and iPad Air now both sport desktop-class chipsets that are more than capable of running and resizing multiple windows – especially for first-party apps.

The second feature I’d like to see added is a software split keyboard. It honestly confuses me that my 11-inch iPad Pro doesn’t support this feature – the tablet is thin and portable, but just too big to type on comfortably when held vertically.

So there you have it – my two-part wishlist. Let us know what you want to see from iPadOS 19 in the comments, and for a refresher on Apple's current tablet lineup check out our list of the best iPads.

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• A German news site has published detailed information about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE series
• Two new midrange tablets are said to be slated for release by mid-April
• Samsung has yet to confirm this release window or any of the rumored specs

Samsung has had a busy few months, with the launch of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra flagship phones, as well as the behemoth Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra late last year.

However, it seems like there’s no slowdown in sight for the Korean tech giant, with a major rumor suggesting the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is on the way by mid-April - and by the looks of its specs sheet, it could prove to be a strong rival to Apple’s iPad Air.

The information comes courtesy of German tech news site WinFuture (via GSMArena), and details the specs, European pricing, and color options for both the base Galaxy Tab S10 FE and larger Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus.

According to the WinFuture, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE sports a 10.9-inch display with a 2304 x 1440 resolution, Exynos 1580 chipset, RAM configurable to 8GB or 12GB, and 128GB and 256GB storage options. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE also supposedly sports an 8,000mAh battery.

As for the larger sibling, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus sports a 13.1-inch display with a 2880 x 1800 resolution, the same Exynos 1580 chipset, and the same 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. It also sports a 10,00mAh battery.

The pair are seemingly the same tablet other than their display size and resolution and battery size.

Both tablets support the S-Pen stylus, but we aren’t sure if they ship with one yet. Both support 45W wired charging and are likely to run a version of One UI 7, based on the pattern of recent Samsung releases. Both sport a 13MP rear camera and 12MP selfie camera and have one USB-C port.

Additionally, renders shared by WinFuture show both tablets as coming in a light-blue color, as well as a black and white option.

The WinFuture report also includes European pricing for the tablets, which we can convert to get estimates for pricing elsewhere.

According to these rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE costs €579 for the model with 128GB of storage, and €679 for the model with 256GB of storage. That’s roughly $630 / £490 / AU$1,000 for 128GB, and $740 / £570 / AU$1,200 for 256GB.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus supposedly costs €749 for the model with 128GB of storage and €849 for 256GB, which is approximately $810 / £630 / AU$1,300 and $920 / £710 / AU$1,470 respectively.

If these prices turn out to be accurate, then the Galaxy Tab FE series could offer users a cheaper alternative to the iPad Air, which comes in similar 11-inch and 13-inch models. The Exynos 1580 chipset is, admittedly, nowhere near as powerful as the iPad Air’s M3 chipset, but it’s still likely to be a compelling choice for budget-conscious buyers who want a premium-feeling device.

Keeping in mind that all of the above is based in rumors, what do you think of the rumored Galaxy Tab S10 FE? Would you ever choose one over an iPad Air? Let us know in the comments below.

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As is often the case in the week following an Apple launch event, the TechRadar reviews team has been absolutely inundated with reviews this week. We were blessed with three Apple releases – including the predicted MacBook Air M4 and the shock of that new Mac Studio with M3 Ultra chip. But our testing suite also received a smattering of other exciting tech to put through its paces.

• Read all of our previous Review Recaps

Naturally, we're sure you're itching to hear how the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) and Apple iPad Air 11-inch M3 (2025) stack up. Well, you can read about their high-octane performance and sleek design below. But we also have plenty of other stellar tech to talk about this week, including Sennheiser's new affordable, audiophile-pleasing open-backed headphones and Philips' gorgeous, sensational sounding new premium OLED TV.

1. Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review

2. Apple iPad Air 11-inch M3 (2025) review

3. Philips OLED+959 review

4. Sennheiser HD 505 review

5. Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) review

It was easy to miss in Apple's blast of launches last week – which also included the new MacBook Air M4 – but Apple recently launched a new iPad Air M3.

Alongside a fresh processor, the mid-range tablet was given a new, Pro-level Magic Keyboard companion. For such a powerful tablet, it's pricing also remains at a tempting level, starting at $599 / £599 / AU$999 (for the 11-inch model) and $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 (for the 13-inch version).

But should you buy the iPad Air M3? Or is it a pointless middle ground between the refreshed base iPad and the more powerful, OLED-packing iPad Pro M4?

We've rounded up all the biggest reviews from around the internet below to see if there's a consensus and help you decide the best iPad for you. Starting, of course, with TechRadar's experiences with Apple's latest Air...

The iPad Air M3 reviews

TechRadar: "Stretches the value even further with more power for the same price"

Our iPad Air M3 review concludes that it's an even better value option than before – and potentially a reason to skip the iPad Pro (2024). The Air lacks the Pro's best-in-class screen and (ironically) ultra-thin design, but we "really noticed and enjoyed the speed boost" from its M3 chip.

That means, as our review concludes, that the new iPad Air "blurs the line between who this is for and who the iPad Pro is for." It rattled through most tasks we threw at it, from photo and video editing to work apps and gaming. While it isn't far ahead of the M2 chip's performance, we found it "almost impossible" to even slow it down.

In short, the iPad Air M3 is definitely a worthy upgrade "if you have an M1 iPad Air or older, an entry-level iPad, or another tablet" and need more power.

The Verge: "An excellent tablet, and I wish Apple would use iPadOS to make it a more versatile one"

The Verge's iPad Air M3 review chimes with most of our findings – which means it concludes that it's a great option if you want a slightly more future-proofed tablet than the more affordable base iPad.

Unlike us, The Verge reviewed the 13-inch version. The conclusion was, "if you want a larger model, I’d encourage you to consider the 13-inch Pro instead". We thought the same after crunching the numbers on the iPad Air M3's various configuration options.

Another slight point of difference was that The Verge didn't notice any real-world difference from the M3 chip compared to its predecessor. That means it recommends that "2024 Air plus 2025 Magic Keyboard" could be the combo to go for if you can find it on sale.

CNET: "Once again, the Pro iPad for most"

Unlike The Verge, CNET doesn't think the iPad Pro is now worth the upgrade compared to the new Air (unless you're considering a high-end Air like the 1TB model).

What's the difference between the two? The Pro gets you an OLED display, thinner design, Face ID camera, and a Lidar scanner alongside an M4 chip. But as we also concluded, the lines between the Air and Pro are now even more blurred – and it depends on how much you want those extra features.

Similarly, CNET's review concluded that there are two big reasons to get the new Air over the base iPad – its M3 chip and compatibility with the Pencil Pro. It also praises the Magic Keyboard, which it says is "a better option now than it was," and in a running theme, says that the 11-inch model "would be the one I'd consider."

Wired: "Now an option for creatives and gamers, but lacks exciting upgrades"

Wired settled on a middling 7/10 rating for the iPad Air M3, with the main recommendation being to wait for price drops on it if you need the M3 power. "It delivers a great experience, but it doesn't bring anything vital to the table that warrants paying full price," Wireds review concludes.

Its side-by-side comparisons with the M1 and M2 iPad Airs showed that "it was tough to spot a distinction in performance between all three," other than the M3 feeling "a bit snappier" but not noticeably so.

The other main criticisms are the Air's design ("it's comical that the iPad Air is still a few grams heavier and almost a full millimeter thicker than the iPad Pro") plus the lack of battery life and screen improvements. Wired thinks Apple should have replaced its LCD panel with the mini LED one seen on the iPad Pro in 2021 and 2022.

In short, while Wired thinks the Air M3 is still a solid option, it reckons that "we're on the precipice of an even thinner, faster, and better model" in the near future.

Engadget: "A modest update that's still easy to recommend"

Like most iPad Air M3 reviews here, Engadget didn't notice much of a real-world impact of the new M3 chip (despite Geekbench scores showing a 16% improvement over the M2). However, it does point out that the chip makes the tablet slightly more future-proofed.

Like Wired, Engadget thinks Apple should have upgraded the Air's screen tech to the iPad Pro's mini LED panel from a few years ago. The combo of a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,000 nits brightness (1,600 nits for HDR content) would, it says, "be a major improvement" given how popular iPads are for watching video. Then again, it also admits that "the iPad Air’s screen remains quite lovely."

In conclusion, Engadget says, "the Air remains a clear upgrade over the base iPad," thanks to its "improved display, stronger performance, more robust multitasking experience and better accessories." But also that most people who want "just a good iPad" likely wouldn't miss the Air's upgrades.

The iPad Air M3 verdict

Despite some minor differences of opinion, there's a clear consensus in the iPad Air M3 reviews – all reviewers think it's a fine mid-range tablet if a slightly boring, incremental upgrade.

The new Air may also potentially be caught in between two stools. The refreshed base iPad remains better value for those who simply want an Apple tablet (and don't care about Apple Intelligence), while the cost of the iPad Air M3 configurations can mount to the point where the iPad Pro M4 might be the better bet (particularly if you need a 13-inch screen).

The main reasons for picking an iPad Air over the base iPad are its M3 chip and Apple Pencil Pro compatibility. The iPad Pro M3, meanwhile, offers a much better OLED display, an M4 chip, Face ID, a Lidar sensor, and better speakers.

But most reviews also concluded that, if the latter aren't important to you, the new Air remains a fine tablet, with the 11-inch model being the sweet spot for size and price.

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Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: One-minute review

Apple hasn’t changed much with the latest generation iPad Air, and for good reason. In 2024, Apple expanded the Air to two sizes, moved the front-facing camera, tossed in support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and upgraded it to the M2 chip.

This year – and not even 12 months have passed since the last upgrade – Apple keeps the same prices and color options but equips the Air with an even better chip – the M3. The result is a faster yet refreshingly familiar experience that checks off the right boxes, whether you want a tablet just for entertainment or one for both work and play. The only caveat is that the Magic Keyboard, which you'll really benefit from if your focus is more on productivity, is an additional purchase and doesn't come bundled with the iPad Air, although it's cheaper year over year.

In my five days with the iPad Air, I really noticed and enjoyed the speed boost. It stretches the value proposition that bit further, and puts any concerns about power – both now and likely for the foreseeable future for most people – pretty much to bed for me. I was able to edit photos in Photoshop and Pixelmator, draw my wildest dreams in ProCreate, and even edit a movie in Final Cut Pro, and export those media files swiftly, with the Air sometimes outpacing a MacBook Air.

When it was time to get to work, I could dive into Slack, Safari, Gmail, and Google Docs to quickly write, edit, and produce stories to get them live without missing a beat. And I could also fit in time for a FaceTime call, a quick game – be it a AAA title or an Apple Arcade one – and stream any TV show or movie on the services I subscribe to.

Apple Intelligence in its current state is fully supported here, and future upgrades, including the AI-infused Siri and other yet-to-be-revealed ones, should run here without issue. I had no problems creating my emojis, removing objects from photos, and even dabbling with writing tools to clean up copy.

All this is to say that the latest generation iPad Air blurs the line between who this is for and who the iPad Pro is for. Yes, it’s more powerful than the iPad mini or the entry-level iPad, but it lacks some of the flair of the iPad Pro. If you need the best-in-range screen from Apple, and for some reason need even more power than the new Air, or really want the ultra-thin look and feel, the Pro is worth consideration if you can afford it.

Otherwise, the latest iPad Air might be a bit thicker and heavier, but it makes less of a dent in your wallet – and really isn’t that heavy. I normally would have opted for the larger-screen option, but the 11-inch iPad Air stretched its mileage for me. It’s proved to be an excellent working companion when teamed with the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro, allowing me to leave my Mac at home and more than get by with just the super-portable combo.

If you invested in the iPad Air with M2 you won’t need to make the jump just yet, but if you have an M1 or older iPad Air, or own an entry-level iPad and feel the need for more power, now’s an excellent time to upgrade.

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Specs

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Price and availability

• How much does it cost: $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch or $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 for the 13-inch
• When does it ship: Apple’s iPad Air with M3 in both sizes formally launches on March 12, 2025.

Here’s some good news: Apple’s 11-inch iPad Air with M3 starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999, and the 13-inch at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299, which is the same price as last year’s M2 model. Both start at 128GB but can be configured with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage if you’re willing to spend the money.

Apple also offers an LTE model with 5G connectivity if you need it. The iPad Air comes in Purple, Blue, Space Gray, or Starlight regardless of connectivity or storage size.

My test unit is an 11-inch iPad Air with M3 with cellular connectivity and 1TB of storage in a lovely shade of purple.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Design

• The 11-inch size is very portable without compromising on features or power
• It's a nearly identical build to the 2024 model aside from slightly less branding

Considering that Apple updated the design of the iPad Air in 2024 and rolled out a new super-sized 13-inch model, there isn’t a whole lot new about the M3 iPad Air design-wise. After all, the most significant change does lie within the name.

The dimensions year over year for both sizes remain essentially the same. The 11-inch iPad Air I’ve been using is 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm and weighs 460 grams – that’s actually two grams lighter than last year’s model, but the difference is indiscernible in everyday use.

For those keeping track, that’s heavier and thicker than the 11-inch iPad Pro, but the iPad Air still feels effortlessly modern. I still dig the pastel-y shade of purple that it comes in and appreciate that, thanks to its matte aluminum finish, the rear gets easily covered in fingerprints. That distinct shade of purple can also change depending on how the light hits it.

The most noticeable design change that Apple has made to the iPad Air is removing the name from the tablet's rear. On previous models, ‘iPad Air’ was stamped above the Smart Connectors on the rear (when held vertically, it was centered on the bottom), but that’s no longer the case. Now, the whole rear is quite clean, aside from a shiny Apple logo in the center and a 12-megapixel camera aperture in the upper-right corner (when held vertically).

Little has changed in terms of button and port placement, which is to be expected, especially since the power button with the embedded Touch ID sensor was already in a location that works great for either orientation. When the Air is held horizontally or docked in the Magic Keyboard, that button lives at the top on the left-hand side, making it easy to unlock the iPad and authenticate for purchases or password fill-ins, and when you’re holding the tablet held vertically Touch ID is a beat away at the top on the right-hand side.

Touch ID is fast here, and I’d highly recommend setting up a finger from each of your hands, as it makes it a bit easier to get the most out of the button in both orientations; it will also save you from playing Twister when it comes to unlocking. You’ll also find the stereo speakers – which get quite loud – on the shorter sides of the iPad Air, so on the top and bottom when it’s vertical or left and right when horizontal. It makes this tablet excellent for enjoying content, be it in an episode of Bluey with my niece, the latest episode of Severance, or Bruce Springsteen’s Road Diary on Disney Plus.

The speaker volume is controlled by the up and down buttons that are on the top when horizontal or right side when vertical, or via Control Center. For charging or data transfers, the USB-C port is still on the bottom when the tablet is vertical or on the right side when it’s horizontal. You get a USB-C to USB-C cable and wall plug in the box.

Right below the volume controls is the magnetic connector for the Apple Pencil. The iPad Air supports both the Apple Pencil Pro or Apple Pencil with USB-C, but I’d recommend the former if you can afford it, as it will wirelessly charge when attached to the side. As we noted with the 2024 refresh of the iPad Air, reconfiguring the wireless charging spot here required some heavy lifting on Apple’s part.

Apple has made this change not only to facilitate easier Pencil charging, but also so that it could move the front-facing 12-megapixel wide camera that supports CenterStage, which is now in a better position when you're using the iPad Air horizontally. The microphone now sits directly next to it, and you won’t risk muddying up the lens with fingerprints, which can be an issue given that the bezels on tablets are relatively thick. The bezels are identical in size to those on the 2024 model, and despite their relative thickness and the Liquid Retina display here, which I’ll talk about more in the next section, is almost all screen.

Even if it’s no longer the thinnest or lightest iPad, the 11-inch iPad Air was never a chore to take with me. While I usually use a 13-inch iPad Pro, I really like the flexibility this size of iPad affords – I could easily toss it in a bag or backpack wrapped in either the Smart Folio or the Magic Keyboard. It will easily fit on a tray table on an airplane, but more importantly, it didn’t take up too much space when I was working in a cafe or at a kitchen island. The 11-inch size has its perks.

So, the iPad Air is still the name, but maybe ‘Air’ reflects the price more than the design. Either way, the iPad Air is still a modern-looking tablet that has all the buttons in the right places and is won’t weigh you down, whether you’re using it to watch something in bed, working at your desk or from the kitchen, or touting it around in a bag.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Display

• The Liquid Retina display is still excellent with punchy colors
• No ProMotion high refresh rate here

I’ll cut to the chase here: the 11-inch Liquid Retina display is excellent. No, it’s not a Dynamic OLED like on the iPad Pro, but it’s more than enough for everything from streaming content to editing photos or videos or drawing in Procreate, playing games like Asphalt 9 or Mini Metro, browsing the web, and responding to emails in between all of the above. The colors are vibrant and punchy, contrast is good, and whether it was typed or handwritten via an Apple Pencil, text is rich and inky.

Apple is also one of the best at creating anti-reflective coatings for its screens, and the oleophobic coating here effectively blocks fingerprints from being visible when you’re using the tablet. That’s something that I think is pretty important – and remember, the 11-inch Air only hits 500 nits at its peak (that’s up by 100 to 600 nits on the 13-inch iPad Air), so the coating is doing its thing here.

As on the 2024 model, this year’s display still has a 2360 x 1640 resolution at 264 pixels per inch, with support for the P3 Wide Color Gamut and Apple’s True Tone tech.

For the lower price, I think the Liquid Retina display here isn’t too much of a concession – it’s a great tablet screen that lets you make the most of iPadOS and your various apps.

The only thing missing is a higher refresh rate courtesy of the ProMotion designation, but as on the iPhone and Mac, Apple reserves that for its higher-tier products.

Still, whether you’re using the 11-inch iPad Air for education, work, or play, you’ll be happy with the screen here. And if you want a super-sized experience, the 13-inch Air gives you a more expansive canvas.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Cameras

• No major upgrades to either the front or rear camera
• Center Stage is still great for video calls

Like every other iPad in Apple’s lineup, the iPad Air features two cameras, and as on every other model but the iPad mini, the front camera is on the landscape/horizontal side. It’s still a 12-megapixel camera that supports Center Stage, Apple’s onboard software that responds swiftly to keep you in the center of the frame for video calls. That, plus the better location for the camera, especially if you use it docked in the Magic Keyboard, makes this an excellent device for video calls or at-home recording.

For instance, one night, while cooking dinner, I rested the iPad Air on the counter in one position. As I moved around to the stove and back to the countertop, including draining a pot while cooking pasta, Center Stage kept me in the frame while on a FaceTime call with friends.

The rear camera on the new iPad Air is still a 12-megapixel wide lens that can zoom in up to five times digitally and supports video recording at up to 4K at 60 frames per second. It performs pretty well, and considering some folks insist on taking photos with an iPad, the Air does a good job here.

• Cameras score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Software

• It's the familiar iPadOS experience
• The iPad Air supports the advanced Stage Manager multitasking mode
• It works really well with the new Magic Keyboard; it's more laptop-like than before

Just as with the iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro, or the iPad Air that came before this iPad Air, one of the best parts of the Apple tablet experience is the vast array of things you can do on your device.

In my testing time so far, I’ve been writing – including this review – on the iPad Air with it docked in the Magic Keyboard, streaming movies and TV shows, playing games like Mini Metro, RFS+ (a flight simulator), Asphalt 9, and Disney Dreamlight Valley, editing photos and videos in Pixelmator, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Detail, drawing in Procreate, practicing organization in Notability, and even dabbling with some 3D modeling to see what the M3 chip is capable of in the likes of Uniform.

I’ve pushed iPadOS pretty much to the limits, using just one app, multitasking on a split screen with a third app hanging on the side, and even using Stage Manager. iPadOS 18 is still a very familiar experience; it’s another year older, but Apple is still differentiating it from its other OSes – it’s not entirely different from iOS, though it has clear benefits for the tablet form factor, and still uniquely different from macOS. There’s sufficient continuity between iPadOS and Apple’s wider ecosystem, though – I can use my Mac’s trackpad and keyboard on the iPad thanks to Universal Control, and even extend my display to the iPad with Sidecar.

The M3 chip here is very, very powerful, and ensures that nothing so much as stutters, other than a larger 4K export file in Final Cut Pro, which took some time. For the most part, any typical productivity or entertainment task really flies, allowing you to get a lot done with the iPad Air in a little time – and it also blurs the lines as to who might need this model versus the iPad Pro with the M4.

While the iPad Air with M2 was released before Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence and began its staggered release – one that’s still ongoing – it does support the suite of features, as does the iPad Air with M3.

A lot of what you can do with Apple’s take on AI right now is complimentary to the rest of iPadOS – you can remove photo bombers and objects from photos directly in the app under ‘Clean Up’, you can opt to have your notifications summarized, create unique emojis on the fly, and even have Siri route your queries through ChatGPT.

You’ll also find Siri’s new look – a colorful glow that surrounds the whole display as a digital bezel – here on the iPad Air, but the truly AI-infused Siri is still a promised feature. On March 7, Apple announced that the smarter Siri was taking a bit longer that expected, and that it would arrive “in the coming year.” Whenever it does come, the iPad Air with M3 will support ot, as well as future Apple Intelligence features

Another way in which the iPad Air with M3 really shines is when it’s docked into the redesigned Magic Keyboard, which costs $269 / £269 / AU$449 for the 11-inch iPad, and $319 / £299 / AU$499 for the 13-inch model. Regardless of size, the new Magic Keyboard is slightly cheaper, and you’re getting a much more Pro experience that almost takes you into MacBook territory. Apple has kept the same form factor for the Magic Keyboard, but there’s now a 14-key function row, which gives you easy access to shortcuts like multitasking, playback control, volume control, and even focus mode engagement. You also get a full QWERTY keyboard with arrow keys and a larger trackpad. I spent two days using just the 11-inch iPad Air as my main work device, tabbing between Slack, Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets, as well as Safari, Messages, Photoshop, Notes, FaceTime, and countless other apps.

Even though I usually use a 13-inch or 14-inch MacBook, I didn’t feel all that cramped on the iPad Air, even at the 11-inch size, and this is something I want to test more while traveling. I especially liked that I could literally reach out and touch iPadOS when I needed to, and I felt at home with the more laptop-like experience as well.

Another key and needed upgrade to the Magic Keyboard is an upgrade to the charging speed, and the keyboard’s USB-C port now supports up to 60W charging, the same as the iPad’s own USB-C port. Bravo, Apple! To make room for the extra row of keys and larger trackpad, the oval hinge – the mechanism by which the iPad attaches and the case closes – has been redesigned to accommodate the extra functionality. It’s really well designed, and my only complaint is that the Magic Keyboard only comes in white, which will undoubtedly get dirty.

It adds cost to the iPad Air, but it’s an excellent accessory that will let you stretch the mileage and capabilities of the tablet itself; and paired with the M3 chip inside, the excellent, punchy display, and iPadOS, it will most certainly let you get a bunch of years of use out of your device.

The Apple Pencil Pro is also an add-on at $129 / £129 / AU$219, and one that I found enjoyable to use for note-taking, navigating iPadOS, and for creative acts like drawing. Way back when Apple first launched the original Apple Pencil and super-sized 12.9-inch iPad, I ditched a Retina MacBook Pro for the iPad and used it with the Pencil and eventually a Smart Keyboard as my main device combo – and the note-taking experience is still effortless here, and basically identical to writing on paper, with no visible latency. The addition of Squeeze to the Pencil Pro lets you easily engage options like an eraser, which is quite helpful considering Apple never added one to the top.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Performance

• M3 chip lets the iPad Air fly with nearly any task
• Even more intense video edits or AAA game perform without hiccups
• Not a night and day difference over the M2 iPad Air, but older models will see a big improvement

The biggest change with Apple’s 2025 iPad Air refresh is the newer, faster, and better-equipped M3 chip under the hood. It also blurs the lines between the iPad Air and the M4-powered iPad Pro a bit more, as both are very powerful – and it was already a close race last year between the M2-powered Air and the M4 Pro. Apple’s silicon is just very, very good.

I threw pretty much everything at the M3 iPad Air, and it was almost impossible even to slow it down, never mind make it buckle. It’s not leagues better than the iPad Air with M2, but it’s closing the gap with the Pro, and has me questioning exactly which specific use cases might require you to make that jump – the overall thinner build and OLED screen might be better selling points for the Pro.

Considering that the Air in iPad Air doesn't mean slower speeds or a super light build, I think it really denotes that this tablet is closer in terms of features and power to the MacBook Air. The new iPad Air is more affordable, but it still delivers a stellar experience in nearly every department, especially performance. I could perform all my daily tasks for work, from email to writing and editing written words, as well as producing GIFs and editing photos, then exporting them at my normal speed, if not faster. I could also have a FaceTime call running during this or even take a break for a quick game – maybe, just don’t tell my boss that. Testing, though, am I right?

In my daily experience, the M3 iPad Air flew, and quantitatively, it also bettered the results we got from the M2 iPad Air in 2024. Apple hasn’t put an underpowered version of the M3 in the iPad Air – it’s still an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine as well as 8GB of RAM – that’s plenty for an iPad in pretty much any use case.

The chip enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing for AAA titles like Death Stranding and Resident Evil. Using GeekBench 6, which runs the iPad Air through a number of tests, the iPad Air scored very well, achieving 3,023 single-core and 11,716 multi-core scores. That jumps past the iPad Air with M2, which scored 2,591 on single-core and 10,046 on multi-core, and puts it closer to the iPad Pro with M4, which scored 3,700 on single-core and 14,523 on multi-core.

Suffice to say, those are impressive numbers from Apple’s mid-range iPad, at a much more affordable price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 11-inch or the $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 for the 13-inch then compared with the iPad Pro. You’ll also find that really any iPad task runs well here, assuming you have the app to make it happen.

Given that it’s not a huge leap over the M2-powered iPad Air, I don’t see any need for folks who bought that model last year to rush out and upgrade. But if you have an older standard iPad, and find your needs pushing past its capabilities, or even an M1-powered iPad Air or older, the iPad Air with M3 makes a whole lot of sense, offering power and performance that will last you for many years to come.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review: Battery and Connectivity

• The iPad Air can still last a full work day on a charge
• It's the same battery performance as the prior generation
• No Wi-Fi 7 support

Still powering the 11-inch iPad Air is a 28.93Wh battery (the 13-inch Air has a larger 36.59Wh battery), and Apple again promises up to 10 hours of web surfing or watching a video on Wi-Fi. That essentially translates as all-day battery life, and that’s largely what I got out of the iPad Air with M3, even when docked in the Magic Keyboard, which didn’t seem to drain much more of the battery. What battery depletion I did experience was generally the result of a more power-hungry process or app – for example, exporting a bunch of photos or videos, or a AAA game.

I could get through between eight to 10 hours of work with brightness at about 70% using various productivity apps, and some music playback and video calls in between, which is pretty good for a tablet of this size, all things considered. When needed, I could also plug in the iPad Air or utilize the port on the Magic Keyboard with a USB-C cable to charge.

Connectivity is identical to the previous version, meaning that Wi-Fi 7 is still missing here, with Apple opting for Wi-Fi 6E. There’s also Bluetooth 5.3 and, on LTE models, support for 5G Sub-6 GHz and Gigabit LTE.

• Battery and Connectivity score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025): Should you buy it?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025): How I tested

I spent five days testing the 11-inch M3 iPad Air, supplemented with a Magic Keyboard, a Smart Folio, and an Apple Pencil Pro. After unboxing the tablet and accessories I set the iPad Air up as new, and then downloaded my usual apps to make it feel like home.

I mostly put my 14-inch MacBook Pro to one side, and put the iPad Air to the test by using it as my primary device productivity and entertainment device. I used it for most of my daily tasks, from responding to emails, writing articles, and communicating on Slack to editing photos and videos. I also played several games on the device, from more basic titles to AAA ones, and streamed hours of content, including music, TV shows, and movies.

First reviewed March 10, 2025

• Demand has reportedly been weak for the OLED iPad Pro
• This means there are some expected changes to Apple's OLED roadmap
• This year's iPad Pro upgrade is set to be a minor one

Our iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) review will tell you that we love the most recent version of the tablet – the first to sport an OLED screen – but it doesn't come cheap, and its price is reportedly leading to weak demand for the Apple slate.

This comes from the industry analysts at Meritz Securities (via @Jukanlosreve), with around 5.7 million units apparently shipping last year. If accurate, that figure is some way down on the nine million units Apple was originally hoping to shift.

What's more, the same report says there won't be many changes in the OLED iPad Pro rumored to launch later this year. While it is predicted to get an upgrade to an M5 chip, it sounds as though everything else will be more or less the same.

Given that the device isn't exactly flying off the shelves right now, and won't get a big upgrade this year, Apple is said to be revising its OLED tech plans – with some products coming forward and some getting pushed back.

What's coming next

Under the new schedule, the OLED iPad mini will make an appearance in 2026, while the OLED iPad Air is going to jump forward from 2028 to 2027 – that's if Meritz Securities and its sources have got their information correct.

An upgrade to the OLED tech in the iPad Pro – incorporating something called Capsule OLED Encapsulation, for improved performance and durability – has apparently been pushed back from 2027 to 2028.

While the starting price of $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 might be putting potential buyers off the 2024 iPad Pro, it seems Apple will continue to use the most expensive OLED displays for it. The iPad mini and iPad Air are thought to be getting cheaper OLED tech.

We most recently saw a new 7th-gen iPad Air and a refreshed entry-level iPad from Apple – neither of which come with an OLED display. If you're wondering which one is the right pick for you, check out our guide to the best iPads.

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• The Mac mute button now matches the on-screen graphics
• Keyboards for MacBooks and iPads have been updated
• It's the first tweak to the button design since back in 1999

Apple unveiled some shiny new MacBook Airs for 2025 earlier this week – and as well as featuring the latest M4 chipsets inside, they also correct a keyboard oversight that's been around since the last century.

As spotted by iCulture (via MacRumors), the mute button on the keyboard now shows a small speaker with a strikeout line through it. Previously, the icon was just a speaker, with none of the sound waves next to it that the other volume buttons show.

Why does this matter? Well, as you'll notice if you're reading this on a Mac, if you tap the mute button on an Apple keyboard, you get a speaker icon with a strikeout line through it on screen. The keyboard graphics now match the macOS visuals.

It's not much of a change in the grand scheme of computing upgrades, but it's nice to now have some consistency. The old mute button icon has been around since the launch of the PowerBook G3 all the way back in 1999.

Looking good

Apple hasn't said anything officially about the updated iconography, but the change has also been made on the new Magic Keyboard that comes with the refreshed 7th-generation iPad Air tablet, powered by the M3 chipset.

That would indicate the new look is here to stay, and will continue to feature on Mac keyboards going forward. The next computers we're expecting from Apple are the M5 MacBook Pros, due before the end of the year.

Judging by the comments on the MacRumors article linked above, this isn't something that has been particularly confusing or frustrating for users – but given Apple's usual attention to detail, it's strange that the inconsistency has persisted.

Our full review of the M4 MacBook Air is still in the pipeline, but we have managed to get some hands-on time with the updated laptops already – and the fresh Sky Blue color is definitely one that catches the eye.

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• The new M3 iPad Air offers good value at $599 / £599 / AU$999
• But it becomes less attractive when you start adding upgrades
• If you’re doing that, buying an iPad Pro might make more sense

Apple has just launched a new iPad Air with M3 chip, updating the mid-range tablet while keeping its $599 / £599 / AU$999 starting price the same as the M2 edition – a nice little boost for Apple fans. Yet I’ve been having a look at the different configuration options (see the full list below), and pretty quickly you run into a problem: the iPad Pro.

Here’s an example. If it was me and I had my heart set on buying an iPad Air, I would probably want to get the 13-inch model over the 11-inch version. Not only does this get you a more expansive screen – which is fantastic for watching movies and editing videos – but it’s actually brighter than the 11-inch iPad Air. Whereas that device goes up to 500 nits of brightness, the 13-inch iPad Air maxes out at 600 nits.

But picking that upgrade pushes the iPad Air’s price up to $799 / £799 / AU$1,349. Add in a storage upgrade from the base 128GB to 256GB and you’re looking at a grand total of $899. That’s fairly pricey for a mid-range tablet, and it means the iPad Air loses some of its luster.

A pricing problem

If you’re spending this much money, it might actually be worth considering the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at just $100 more ($999 / £999 / AU$1,699).

That gets you an excellent tandem OLED display, Face ID, ProMotion refresh rates, up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and the M4 chip, among other benefits. That’s a lot of extra oomph for not much more cash. The main drawback is you’re getting a smaller 11-inch screen, as the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at the more expensive asking price of $1,299 / £1,299 / $2,199.

But if you can live with the 11-inch display (which is still a fantastic screen thanks to that tandem OLED), you’re getting one of the best tablets money can buy for only a little more than a less-advanced iPad Air. And, ironically, the iPad Pro is even thinner than the iPad Air, despite the latter’s name implying that it should be the most lightweight option.

It’s a tricky position to be in. Don’t get me wrong, the base-level $599 / £599 / AU$999 iPad Air is great value, and you get a lot of tablet for your money thanks to its featherweight design and M3 chip. But once you start adding on the upgrades, it’s much less attractive compared to the iPad Pro.

Deciding which device is right for you comes down to personal preference, but if I was looking at the iPad Air and adding a few upgrades, I’d find myself drifting inexorably towards the iPad Pro.

Maybe that’s Apple upselling people by being clever with its pricing, or maybe it’s an oversight that’s undercutting the iPad Air. Either way, the new iPad Air makes the most sense when you don’t add any upgrades to it.

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Right now, Apple’s iPad lineup is a strong four, two of which come in two sizes. Just this morning, Apple ushered in the next generation of the iPad Air and the entry-level iPad, which is now dubbed iPad (A16).

Even with the gorgeous Dynamic OLED display on the iPad Pro, the bite-sized build of the iPad mini, and the sheer value of the iPad Air – now with M3 – the entry-level iPad is still a perfect balancing act.

On paper, the most recent upgrade seems minimal – it’s a jump from the A14 Bionic chip to the A16, which Apple promises delivers up to 50% better performance and a doubling of the internal storage from 64GB to 128GB. Both of these keep this iPad ticking, but what it doesn’t bring is support for Apple Intelligence.

It's kind of a surprise, yes, but it also shows that Apple isn’t necessarily on a quest to bring it to every device, or at least not at this time. Further, I think it’s a sign of what this entry-level iPad is all about and a testament to the fact that the rest of the hardware here makes it a pretty perfect package.

High-end looks with likely stellar performance

There is no knocking the iPad (A16) for its looks – it still comes in some fun colors and boasts an iPad Air-esque design with rounded edges and a healthy bezel around the now-called 11-inch Liquid Retina display that’s still 10.86 inches. It looks modern in every sense of the word, even though it’s stuck in the design language that was used when it was the tenth Generation.

This was also the first iPad with a front-facing camera on the landscape side and Apple’s still sticking with that placement on everything but the iPad mini. You also get an easy way of unlocking and purchasing with Touch ID built into the power button, and there is a camera on the back should you want to take photos with your iPad.

The Apple Pencil situation here is still a little complicated as the iPad (A16) has a USB-C port but supports the first-generation Apple Pencil even though it has a Lightning port built-in. To charge it, you’ll need an adapter and a USB-C to USB-C cable – it’s incredibly clunky, but it works.

You can also opt for the Apple Pencil with USB-C, which you can slide the top over to expose the USB-C port to plug it in for charge. That’s equally clunky. It does magnetically attach to the side of the iPad (A16) for safe-keeping, but that won’t charge it.

Once you figure out how to keep it charged, it works like an Apple Pencil should – giving you an experience that’s close to writing with pen to paper or drawing on a surface. Scribble is supported here, letting you write a message, and the iPad automatically translates it to text. It was kind of an Apple Intelligence-like feature before that was dubbed the name for Apple’s suite of AI functionality.

The A16 chip here should be plenty powerful for all the major tasks one would want to use an iPad for, like:

• Following a recipe
• Browsing the web
• Playing a game from the App Store or Apple Arcade
• FaceTiming with friends or family
• Reading a book
• Listening to Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run
• Scrolling through photos or editing some
• Typing a story … maybe even this one?
• Taking notes with an Apple Pencil
• Endless other things
• Streaming movies and TV shows

You get the point, but the vast majority of things that one can do on an iPad are all possible here (with the notable exception of Apple Intelligence). No, it might not replace a high-performance workflow that you’d need an iPad Air or iPad Pro for, but for the basics and even some more fun processes, the iPad (A16) is more than capable.

After all, to deserve the name of iPad, it needs to be an iPad. But when my friends or family ask me which one is best, if they aren’t doing anything crazy and simply want an iPad to join the bandwagon, as a secondary device, or as one for streaming content, this entry-level iPad checks off the boxes.

It has the better Magic Keyboard

If you want to use the iPad for email, spreadsheets, or other productivity tasks, it also works with my favorite Apple keyboard accessory. The Magic Keyboard Folio has two parts: one that magnetically snaps to the back with a kickstand that you can prop up at various heights, and a keyboard on the front complete with function keys and a good-sized trackpad.

When you don’t need the keyboard, that front piece can snap to the back with the keys facing inward so you don’t accidentally have the keys pressed. It’s great and super functional; it’s not the cheapest, though, at $249.

The previous tenth-generation iPad is our pick for the ‘Best iPad’ overall, and on our Best Tablets page, is the best for most. I expect that this iPad (A16) will quickly shuffle into that spot with better performance after we go hands-on, even without Apple Intelligence.

So if you can live without Image Playground, summarized notifications, or writing tools and want an iPad for drawing, browsing the web, FaceTiming with friends or family, gaming, and streaming your favorite content, don’t dismiss the entry-level iPad … it’s pretty awesome. And I can’t wait to test one out, hopefully in Yellow or Pink.

Apple's taking preorders now for the iPad (A16) with a starting price of $349 / £329, and it will formally launch on March 12, 2025.

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What's in a name, especially one as evocative as "Air"? To me, it means light, floating, a breeze, and the distinction matters. In the case of the iPad, it's always meant lighter than the original, or at least it did. But Apple's recent iPad releases have muddied the definition of 'Air' and now Apple's made one change to the latest iPad Air M3 (11-inch and 13-inch) that makes it clear that the "Air" distinction likely belongs elsewhere.

There isn't much difference between the iPad Air 2024 with the M2 chip and the new Apple iPad Air M3 11-inch and 13-inch models unveiled today aside from the more powerful M3 chip. That bit of Apple silicon imbues the iPad Air with overall faster performance and better intelligence features thanks to a super-charged Neural Processor that better supports the Cupertino tech giant's Apple Intelligence ambitions.

'There is, though, one easy-to-miss design change. On the back, right above the three Magic Keyboard smart connectors, is nothing. In this case, nothing is something because I've noticed the absence of two words, "iPad Air," that were on the back of the M2 iPad Air.

I don't know why Apple removed those words, and Apple is not telling us, but it's a notable change. Here's why.

A question of weight

It's been 15 years since Steve Jobs introduced us to the "post-PC" world and unveiled the first iPad. That remarkable and sturdy tablet weighed 1.5 pounds. At the time, we lauded it for its sveltness.

Two years later, Apple unveiled the first iPad Air, a skinny, 1-pound, glass and aluminum wonder. The product adopted the Air name from the original MacBook Air, an ultra-thin 3-pound laptop that, in a particularly theatrical flourish, Steve Jobs pulled from a manila envelope.

Since then, all 'Air' products have been dependably lighter and thinner than their base and even Pro counterparts. It's still that way on the MacBook side, but things have gotten fuzzier in the iPad space.

Since 2024, Apple's iPad Air has no longer been the thinnest or lightest iPad. That distinction goes to the M4 iPad Pro models. Introduced in 2024, the iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 13-inch use the new Tandem OLED screen technology. This sandwiches two OLED panels for better colors and deeper blacks, while also eliminating the need for a backlight, thereby making the 5.3-milimeter thickness possible. The 11-inch model weighs just under a pound (0.98 pounds), while the 13-inch Pro weighs 1.28 pounds.

Compare this to the new iPad Air with M3. The 11-inch model is 6.1 milimeters thick and weighs 1.01 pounds. The 13-inch iPad Air is the same 6.1 milimeters thick, and weighs 1.36 pounds. The iPad Air is still 0.9 milimeters thinner than the base iPad (which also got a refresh this week) and 17 grams heavier.

These are not vast differences, but it's also clear that until Apple brings the Tandem OLED technology to the iPad Air lineup, that tablet will still use an LCD-based Liquid Retina screen that requires a backlight, which naturally makes it thicker than the iPad Pro.

Will the real Air stand up?

There is nothing wrong with the previous or this new iPad Air lineup. The M3 I've previously experienced in the MacBook Air is an excellent chip and offers ample support for pro-level video and audio editing, AAA gaming, and, of course, Apple Intelligence.

What about it, though, makes it 'Air'-worthy? Without admitting it directly, Apple has given us a clue that maybe the 'Air' name means less than we thought. Taking the label off this new model is a none-too-subtle way of saying that the appellation doesn't mean what it used to.

Choosing which iPad is right for you will no longer be, "Obviously, I want the light and thin Air model." There are other, more nuanced reasons, like getting near-M4 power and a far more affordable price.

After all, the iPad Pro starts at $999 for the 11-inch model. The new iPad Air M3 starts at just $599. It's not the thinnest or lightest iPad you can get anymore, but that balance of price, performance, and support for the Pencil Pro and that new Magic keyboard may be enough – at least until Apple is ready for the iPad Air to reclaim the thin and light crown.

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• 11- and 13-inch iPad Air tablets get the M3
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• Pricing unchanged since last models

Not even 24 hours after Tim Cook teased, "There’s something in the AIR,” Apple’s just made its next-generation iPad Air official. Along with getting the M3 chip, it still comes in several fun, poppy colors and now supports the ‘new’ Magic Keyboard, which was initially launched alongside the iPad Pro M4.

Now, this is a pretty early refresh for the iPad Air, considering it was upgraded to the M2 chip and a refreshed design on May 7, 2024. Still, it’s clearly popular within the lineup and is now getting an even more powerful chip to make all sorts of tasks even more fluid.

It’s still available in either an 11-inch or 13-inch size, allowing you to pick what best fits your needs, and there is no price increase year over year. The 11-inch model starts at $599/£599/AU$999, while the 13-inch is $799/£799/AU$1,349, both start at 128GB storage and come in Blue, Purple, Starlight, or Space Gray.

The screens are still Liquid Retina displays, meaning no Dynamic OLED like on the iPad Pro. However, they offer a vibrant and crisp experience with an anti-reflective coating standard. They also support the P3 Wide Color gamut and True Tone, which will automatically adjust the color temperature to your space. This is all quite nice to have, and considering this still supports the Apple Pencil Pro, you can hover over the screen to see what impact a pen stroke might have before committing to it.

What the M3 means

As far as the M3 chip goes, it’s an 8-core CPU – split between 4 performance, 4 efficiency cores, a 9-core GPU with support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and a 16-core Neural Engine. Plus, Apple has even confirmed that the new iPad Air ships with 8GB of RAM out of the box. Suffice to say, this should be plenty of power for everyday performance in iPadOS 18, for the Stage Manager multitasking experience, and for Apple Intelligence features. Remember, the iPad Air with M2 was no slouch, but this should future-proof the device even further.

The iPad Air still sticks with a Touch ID sensor baked into the power button for easy authentication or unlocking, but it does keep the 12-megapixel front-facing camera on the horizontal spot, meaning that this device is best used in landscape mode.

And that's why ushering in a whole new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air makes so much sense. It's still the same square footage and in fact, backward compatible with the M2 iPad Air's, but Apple's plopped in a larger trackpad and 14 function keys at the top. Think quick keys for brightness, playback, microphone, and volume.

Another welcome change is that USB-C passthrough port now supports faster charging, but we don't know how that impacts data speeds just yet. Still a win, though! It's also a bit cheaper at $269/£269/AU$399 for the 11-inch iPad Air and a bit more at $319/£299/AU$499 for the 13-inch, but it only comes in white.

True to the older Smart Keyboards and every Magic Keyboard that Apple has offered, you won’t need to worry about charging this accessory or a pesky pairing process as it has a Smart Connector built-in. Interestingly enough, the base iPad is still the only model supporting the two-part Magic Keyboard, so it sticks with the floating design here on the iPad Air.

Rounding out the iPad Air on the rear is still a 12-megapixel camera for taking photos or videos. As far as this refresh goes though, it’s pretty much focused on giving the iPad Air even more headroom and better performance across the board courtesy of the M3 chip. In the press release, Apple calls out its performance gains not on the M2-powered iPad Air but on older models – promising up to two times faster than the M1 iPad Air and a leapfrogging three and a half times faster than the A14 Bionic model.

We’ll be going hands-on and testing the new iPad Air with M3 just as soon as we can, but for now, if you’re sold, it’s up for preorder right now and will formally launch on March 12. But if you were hoping for one more thing, Apple also gave the entry-level iPad a bit of a spec bump, but maybe most importantly kept the price the same.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook channeled his inner Phil Collins this week by posting "There’s something in the Air" as a teaser. Yesterday we saw the arrival of a new iPad Air M3 tablet with a refreshed Magic Keyboard, and now Apple has followed that up by launching a new MacBook Air M4 and Mac Studio.

First, a recap of yesterday's news. That new iPad Air comes in 11-inch or 13-inch sizes, both of which cost the same as before. You can pre-order the 11-inch model for $599 / £599 / AU$999 or the 13-inch version for $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 ahead of a March 12 delivery, in your choice of Blue, Purple, Starlight, or Space Gray color options.

Apple also quietly updated the base iPad, doubling the base storage but keeping the A16 chip. This means it won't get Apple Intelligence – an odd decision, considering how much Apple has been promoting its AI features.

Fortunately for MacBook Air fans, that wasn't the end of the news. Apple has now also announced a new MacBook Air M4 model (complete with a slight price cut from last year) and a Mac Studio, which it's calling "the most powerful Mac ever". Here's all the latest news and reaction in another big day for Apple...

The latest news

• Apple has announced a new entry-level MacBook Air M4 laptop
• It's also landed alongside a new Mac Studio desktop
• This follows yesterday's launch of the iPad Air M3

Hello. Mobile Computing Managing Editor Roland Moore-Colyer here to take you through the Apple rumors and TechRadar musings so far. I've been covering such Apple announcements and major Apple events for years, so I feel I'm qualified to have a good ol' stab at speculating what we might see from Apple this week.

Thinking differently...

In days gone by, Apple would normally have a couple of big events a year with an in-person or live streamed event that would usually see the reveal of a handful of products around specific categories, such as phones, tablets and computers.

But as the crew at Cupertino have started to push out ever-more iterative updates to Apple's product lines, these events have given away to announcements on social media and Apple's own newsroom page. To me this lacks the spectacle but does give us regular Apple announcements to chew over.

The last Apple announcement of the newsroom ilk came in the form of the iPhone 16e reveal. Apple simply posted an information drop on its website and had the phone up for pre-order pretty sharpish.

There was a decent amount of information to chew over but one could argue the announcement lacked Cupertino's normal appetite for showmanship. I expect the announcement this week to be very similar to that of the iPhone 16e's.

Expect M4 chip power

So what do I and others expect to see from the Apple announcement? Well as discussed it'll very likely be a pair of new MacBook Air laptops.

While the current pair of MacBook Airs are hardly old, having been refreshed last year with the M3 chip, they don't sport the very latest chips; those can be found in the MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch.

Those models rock the 'Pro' version of the M4 chip, so we can expect to see non-pro version come to refreshed Airs.

As someone still using the MacBook Air M2, which is a fantastic little laptop that's going very strong after two years of consistent use, I'm not overly convinced Apple really needs to refresh the Air lineup on just a specs basis.

But Apple is Apple, and minor refreshes to its products are to be expected... if not exactly desired.

I'd like a new design for the MacBook Air please Apple

Having said that I love the MacBook Air M2, I'd not mind a few tweaks to the slim laptop's design. A 14-inch display, perhaps facilitated by some narrowing of the display bezels and a trimming down of the display notch, would definitely get my attention.

I love the LCD Retina display on my Air M2, but it can feel a tad cramped at times when I'm trying to get work done on the go and at speed.

But there are no rumors indicating to a reworked MacBook Air design. So I'm not going to hold my breath and expect the display notch to have been given a nip and a tuck.

Equally, one can never be 100% sure when it comes to Apple. And the MacBook Air's design language is a bit long in the tooth for tech standards. So perhaps we could be in for a surprise.

Other areas for MacBook Air improvement could come in the form of a refreshed keyboard. I love the keyboard on my Air, and my fingers fly across it when I'm writing at speed.

However, there's not the deepest of key travel and sometimes I feel the keyboard lacks the tactile feel of the amazing keyboard on the Microsoft Surface Laptop models; those balanced snappy responses with a decent bit of travel to make for a wonderfully tactile experience; I feel nostalgic for my old Surface Laptop 2.

On the flipside, I'd not want Apple to mess with the Force Touch trackpad, which is basically the best trackpad I've used on any laptop.

It's big, smooth and responsive and I adore it. Force Touch is an odd name however...

Other design changes and upgrades I'd like to see could come in the form of faster charging; the MacBook Air is by no means a slouch when sucking up electrical juice but it's not amazingly quick either.

I'd also not mind a few more ports. An extra USB-C slot would be appreciated, especially if Apple adds it to the right-hand side where there's seemingly loads of spare space.

And while I doubt Apple will ever do it, I'd love to see a full-sized SD card slot on the next-generation MacBook Air, as that would make transferring photos from my DSLR to macOS far easier than it currently is for me.

A final request for a MacBook Air upgrade would be a move to OLED displays. I feel Apple could thread the line of balancing bolder display tech with energy efficiency.

But if such an upgrade was coming this year I reckon the rumor mill would have been churning it out by now; we've heard no whispers.

When I'm in the office I use a Samsung laptop with an OLED display and adore how rich its colors are, and that deep contrast OLED offers. So there's potential here, but I suspect Apple will keep OLED panels for its MacBook Pros for a good few years still.

Dialing in my specualtion, the obvious upgrade for the MacBook Air, and one that I've mentioned earlier, would be an M4 chip.

We've already seen this system-on-a-chip get used in the latest versions of the iPad Pro, Mac mini and iMac, so it makes sense for new MacBook Air models to get it.

I highly doubt Apple will have tweaked the silicon to work any differently for the MacBook Airs than these other devices, though there's sure to be more headroom to push the chipset a little harder in a laptop chassis than in the iPad Pro.

Speaking from my experience with the MacBook Air M2, I'm rather unfussed on the next-generation Air having a dollop more power.

My Air has enough grunt to deal with basically any everyday task I throw at it. I opted for the model with 8GB of RAM and I don't think it's ever felt slow. Sure, it won't churn through the handful of proper PC games macOS supports, but it can run the excellent Baldur's Gate 3 so one might argue what more does one need...

Then again, I'm not a huge user of the AI-powered Apple Intelligence tools, which I suspect will only get more demanding as they advance.

So having M4 power could certainly make a new MacBook Air more futureproof.

Speaking of AI, I'd expect Apple announcement to lean hard on talking about Apple Intelligence and its integration into macOS, along with how an M4 chip-equipped Air will be poised perfectly to crunch through onboard AI tasks.

Not sure that'll rock my world but I stand ready to be entertained and informed.

Right, enough chatter about my thoughts on the MacBook Air. Let's take a closer look at the video Tim Cook posted. Check it out below.

As I mentioned earlier, the blue line that strikes through the word 'Air' has the look of a MacBook Air when closed, so would point towards a revealed of a new Air models.

Don't expect a new iPad Air this week

But then maybe Apple could go a bit rogue and reveal a new iPad Air.

However, putting aside Gurman's speculation that new iPads won't get revealed this week, I'm not convinced we'll see a new iPad Air this week. The Apple iPad Air 13-inch got launched last year to critical acclaim from TechRadar and others.

That iPad uses the M2 chip, so is arguably due a specs boost. But I'm not sure the iPad Air necessarily need a lot more power. For power-users the M4-equipped iPad Pros exist, albeit at pretty high prices.

Then again, giving a refreshed iPad Air an M3 chip would be one way for Apple to use up any M3 chips it had lying around and give it something else to announce. If that's the case, then I tend to agree with Gruman and don't expect to see a new iPad Air get revealed today; likely Apple will keep such an announcement in its back pocket for a reveal later.

I reckon Apple's announcement will come on Wednesday

So when do I think Apple will make an announcement? I'm predicting Wednesday.

Historically, Apple has favored Tuesdays for its product launches, but the iPhone 16e was launched on Wednesday, February 20. And my gut instinct tells me Apple could drop its announcement tomorrow, which would be two weeks on from the last announcement.

I feel that makes sense as it give some room for the nws to breathe before we get into the weekend. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

As an FYI, I'm keeping an eye on the Apple Newsroom webpage, just in case Apple suddenly drops its announcement today.

The page for the MacBook Air M3 is still up and running. Usually if there's a product drop that's imminently imminent, then Apple tends to have a message saying its updating the store.

Equally, pre-orders for a new MacBook Air might not go live on the same day as the announcement. Watch this space.

Apple announces... a new iPad Air M3

Well, that wasn't quite the MacBook-flavored news we were expecting, but we'll take it for now – Apple has just announced a new iPad Air with an M3 chip plus a new Magic Keyboard.

The new Air comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes – and the chip upgrade hasn't affected its price tag either, with the prices starting at the usual $599/£599/AU$999 (11-inch) and $799/£799/AU$1,349 (13-inch). The new Magic Keyboard, meanwhile, has a bigger built-in trackpad and a new 14-key function row.

Will the new iPad Air be an option for those waiting for the new MacBook Air M4? Probably not, judging by our Managing editor Matt Hansen's experiences when swapping his laptop for an iPad. But Apple's new Air certainly looks like a compelling mid-range tablet option.

The only question now is when we'll see that MacBook Air M4...

New base iPad misses out on Apple Intelligence

We've previously said that the Apple Intelligence launch is a mess – and Apple's quiet refresh of the entry-level iPad isn't going to help change people's minds about that.

Apple base iPad – now called the iPad (A16) – comes with a new chip, double the starting storage (128GB, up from 64GB), and the same price tag as before (starting at $349 / £329 / AU$599). But bizarrely, that A16 chip means it can't support Apple Intelligence.

Granted, Apple Intelligence features still aren't exactly living up to their potential, but it's strange for Apple to add a new product to its iPad lineup that doesn't support the features it's been crowing about for the last six months.

It might also make it difficult to recommend the new cheaper iPad, but we'll see when we get it in for testing...

What's new with the Magic Keyboard?

Arriving in the slipstream of the new iPad Air M3 is a refreshed Magic Keyboard for the Air series – so what's new?

The new keyboard attachment – which costs $269 / £269 / AU$399 for the 11-inch model, and $319 / £319 / AU$499 for the 13-inch one – gives you a larger trackpad than before, and also a row of function keys that you could previously only get on the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro.

That means you can quickly tweak things like screen brightness or music volume, and generally get a more laptop-like experience. That's important because, with its new M3 chip, the latest iPad Air could tempt those who think (with some justification) that the iPad Pro 13-inch is overkill for their needs...

When can you buy the new iPad Air M3?

You can pre-order the new iPad Air M3 right now, with availability starting from March 12. So that's just over a week to wait, but which version should you get? I've broken down the pricing below.

With the maxed out version iPad Air M3 costing $1,449 / £1,449 / AU$2,499 (that's with 1TB storage and both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity), it might not sound so mid-range.

But that's unlikely to be necessary for most people – I'd personally be tempted by the 11-inch (512GB) Wi-Fi version, which looks ideal for travel, streaming and photo editing. Your needs may vary though, so here's a price breakdown for every model...

Where does this leave the MacBook Air M4?

It initially looked odds-on that Apple would announce the MacBook Air M4 today, rather than a new iPad Air – but the rumor mill isn't always correct, and it was new iPad day instead.

Does this mean the new MacBook Air is on the back burner? Not at all – in fact, I'd imagine we'll see that laptop refresh sooner rather than later. Maybe even tomorrow, if we're lucky.

While Apple isn't quite adopting the 12 days of OpenAI approach we saw last year, when the ChatGPT maker made a new announcement every day for almost a fortnight, it is definitely moving away from big events towards smaller announcements.

With that in mind, keep your eyes peeled this week for a MacBook Air M4 refresh – we'll be here to update you the second it's announced.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has taken to X to shed a bit more light on what we could see tomorrow. As he previously reported, the MacBook Air with the upgraded M4 processor is still expected to arrive this week, but we also might be getting some other devices.

It would make sense that Apple wants to finish updating its entire Mac lineup to its latest and greatest chipsets. The MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac were all upgraded to the M4 chip series in October of 2024, leaving the MacBook Air, Mac Sutido, and Mac Pro needing an update at some point.

While it’s fully expected that if the MacBook Air’ does get an upgrade, they’ll replace the M3 chip with the base M4, Gurman predicts that the new Mac Studio will get an M4 Max chip, but instead of an M4 Ultra it’ll be the M3 Ultra. Still likely plenty powerful, though.

Are you bummed that the new Apple iPad only got an Apple A16 chip, which means it won't get the most advanced Apple Intelligence features? Our News Chief Jake Krol reasons that the latest update still leaves Apple with the strongest tablet offering. The iPad is still the best tablet, even without Apple Intelligence.

Frankly, even with just an Apple A16 chipset inside, the iPad remains one of the most powerful tablets you can buy as well. I've reviewed the fastest Android tablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, and Apple is far ahead of its Android rivals when it comes to power and performance. The real question is what will you do with all of that power?

Of course, Tim Apple didn't say "iPad Air" in his hint on X, he just said "Air," which is why we've been anticipating a MacBook Air refresh, but is it possible there is another Air on the way? Maybe I just have smartphones on the brain after an exciting start to 2025, with some of the best phones we've seen already making an early appearance, but I think it's possible, if remotely so, that Apple could talk about a new iPhone.

I don't mean the iPhone 16e, of course, I mean the hotly-anticipated iPhone Air. Samsung showed off a Galaxy S25 Edge, a super-thin version of its latest flagship smartphone, and that seemed to make sense considering all the rumors we've heard about a slim new iPhone.

Apple usually launches new iPhone models in September, but the iPhone 16e just launched, and it wouldn't hurt sales too much to announce an upcoming member of the family, just to get people excited (and maybe help buyers forget about Samsung).

If Apple announces the iPhone Air this week, I'll take a bow, but don't hold me responsible if it never comes up.

So, what could be coming today?

Hello, and welcome again to our Apple liveblog for its "There something in the air" launches this week. If you missed yesterday's news, we saw Apple announce:

• a new iPad Air M3 (in 11-inch and 13-inch versions)
• an updated Magic Keyboard for the Air series
• a refreshed bae iPad with an A16 chip (but no Apple Intelligence support)

But is that going to be the end of the story? Not according to the rumor mill, which is still predicting the imminent arrival (perhaps even today) for:

• a new MacBook Air M4 (in 13-inch and 15-inch variants)
• a new Mac Studio (with the option of an M4 Max or M3 Ultra chip)

That Mac Studio wouldn't fit into the 'Air' theme of Apple's teaser, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman think it's "imminent" and "could be announced as early as this week along with the new MacBook Airs".

Whether we see either or both of those today remains to be seen – but I'm keeping a very close eye on Apple's newsroom and will be rounding up all the latest rumors here over the coming hours.

What to expect from the M4 MacBook Air

It's been a long wait for a MacBook Air M4, with the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini all getting Apple's latest silicon before the entry-level laptop. But what can we expect if it does indeed arrive today?

On the performance front, some leaked benchmarks last month showed that the M4 Air could be only slightly behind the M4 MacBook Pro in terms of performance and efficiency. Naturally, this will also come down to how you spec the laptop and we won't know for sure how it performs until we test it, but the Geekbench hints are promising.

Aside from that new M4 chip, the next MacBook Air is also expect to get an improved LCD display (sadly an OLED panel is still a few years away), a better webcam, and stronger support for connecting multiple monitors.

As someone who's running an aging MacBook Pro from mid-2018, I'm definitely keeping a close eye on the new Air to see if it offers better value than a new Pro.

The end of Apple's 64GB era

An interesting footnote from yesterday's launches, as spotted by MacRumors – Apple no longer offers any iPhones or iPads with 64GB storage options.

That's because the iPhone 16e and new base iPad A16 have replaced the last two models that offered what today seems a pretty measly 64GB of base storage.

Of course, many will see 128GB as too little storage in this day-and-age, but we can expect the MacBook Air M4 to go beyond that if it arrives today. The current M3 model offers 512GB, 1TB and 2TB options, albeit for the usual hefty Apple premium...

Which iPad Air M3 should you get?

Before we return to today's MacBook Air M4 rumors, here's an interesting price comparison between the many possible iPad Air M3 configurations from TechRadar contributor Alex Blake.

His conclusion after balancing the value offered by all the different Air M3 models? For many people, the 11-inch iPad Pro might be a better bet. It starts at just $100 more ($999 / £999 / AU$1,699) than the larger 13-inch iPad Air M3 with 256GB storage – and it gives you a lovely tandem OLED display, Face ID, ProMotion refresh rates, up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and the M4 chip, among other benefits.

Of course, you may well need a larger 13-inch screen instead, in which case the Air M3 could offer better value. And if you don't add lots of upgrades, the base Air M3 model is tempting at $599 / £599 / AU$999. But it's definitely a useful comparison if you're thinking of pre-ordering a new iPad...

This time yesterday...

Yesterday's iPad Air M3 announcement took place at 9am ET / 2pm GMT. Could Apple repeat that trick today for the M4 MacBook Air?

It's by no means certain – Apple's launch process seems much more scattergun and unpredictable these days. But I'll certainly be keeping a close eye on my inbox and Apple's newsroomas the clock ticks closer to that time...

The MacBook Air M4 is here!

So it's finally here – Apple has just announced the new MacBook Air M4. Alongside that new M4 chip, Apple has upgraded its 12MP FaceTime camera with some Center Stage powers – it also now has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a boost from last year's Thunderbolt 3 ones.

And wait, there's also a new color. Apple has replaced the Space Gray option (which I always thought that was the most popular) with Sky Blue, which it's offering alongside Midnight, Starlight and Silver.

Pre-orders for the MacBook Air M4 open today ahead of shipping on March 12 – the 13-inch model starts at $999 and the 15-inch one starts at $1,599. Impressively, that looks like a $100 price cut from last year. More news on the promising entry-level laptop and its international pricing when we get it...

And just for good measure... a new Mac Studio

Well, this is turning into quite a day for Mac fans. Apple has also just announced a new Mac Studio, which it's billing as "the most powerful Mac ever".

It seems that Apple still wants to make sure this relatively compact desktop offering is still overclocked. It offers a range of ports, with the two USB-Cs now being a Thunderbolt 5 flavor, but the real change is under the hood.

The Mac Studio comes with the M4 Max, which is already well-reviewed, and a brand-new M3 Ultra. And while it’s not an “M4 Ultra,” it’s the most powerful one in the lineup, essentially fusing two M3 Max chips.

You can pre-order the Mac Studio from today with prices starting at $1,999 (we'll follow up with international pricing shortly).

That MacBook Air M4 price drop...

Here's some confirmation of that unexpected, but very welcome, MacBook Air price cut with international pricing.

The 13-inch model starts at $999 / £999 / $1,699, which is a drop from the MacBook Air M3's tag of $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799. If you want a bigger screen, the 15-inch version starts at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099, which is again a drop from last year's starting tag of $1,299 / £1,399 / AU$2,199.

That new M4 chip brings more power in the form of a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU. You can also upgrade the laptop to 32GB of unified memory, though the base model starts at 16GB RAM.

All in all, getting those upgrades for less money than last year is likely to make the new MacBook Air very popular indeed. Still a but surprised that Apple dropped the Space Grey version for the new Sky Blue shade, though...

I've decided... the new Sky Blue looks like a winner

At first, I was a bit surprised that Apple had replaced Space Grey with its new Sky Blue color option for the MacBook Air M4. I always thought Space Grey was a bit of a default option and maybe Apple's most popular hue (though I have no data to back this up).

But after looking at the available photos of the new color, I've decided it's probably the one I'd go for. Space Grey is a bit serious for what is an entry-level laptop and metallic blue color looks like a nice compromise between going too iMac and keeping things safe and dull.

The color-matched MagSafe charging cables are nice, too. I'll reserve final judgement until I see it in the flesh, mind...

Early thoughts on the MacBook Air M4

TechRadar's Managing Editor (Core Tech) Matt Hansen is very familiar with both the MacBook Air family and Apple's M4 chip, having done in-depth tests of both. And he reckons the new M4 version looks very promising, on paper.

"It's good to see the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 launch at $999, the original price of the M1 MacBook Air. That’s incredible value for money considering the premium design and build quality" he said.

"And from my time using the M4 chip in the latest MacBook Pros, and last year’s iPad Pro, I’m pretty confident that it will be a great performer," he added. We'll give you our official verdict on where it sits in our guide to the best laptops soon once we've done some benchmarking and real-world testing, of course.

Alongside debuting the MacBook Air with M4, Apple removed the MacBook Air with M3 for sale, as we expected with a new generation, but also removed the MacBook Air with M2, which was the entry point to the lineup.

The 13-inch MacBook with M4 at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 fills that entry-level spot. Arguably, that will get Apple's latest chipset in the hands of more folks at a more affordable price. In the United States, with an educational discount, the MacBook Air is just $899 with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.

Even so, while Apple is no longer selling the M2- or M3-powered MacBook Air, there is a good chance that third-party retailers will still offer it until stock runs out. Remember, you can still find the M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for a pretty unbeatable value.

Regarding the Mac Studio getting an M3 Ultra as the top-of-the-line chip versus an M4 Ultra, Matt Bolton – TechRadar's Managing Editor, Home Entertainment – has some thoughts.

"It’s perhaps a little odd that the Mac Studio uses the M4 Max, but the M3 Ultra – and not an M4 Ultra. There are three obvious potential reasons why:

• The M4 Ultra might just produce too much heat for the Mac Studio’s thermal design to handle compared to the M3 Max
• The M4 Ultra would be two M4 Max chips Frankensteined together, and perhaps Apple thinks it will struggle to make enough M4 Max chips to meet supply if it has to use two of them per M4 Ultra model sold
• The Mac Pro is perhaps about to be upgraded as well, and the M4 Ultra is being saved for that (perhaps partly connected to the reason above – maybe Apple would struggle to produce enough Ultra chips for both machines)

Of course, there could be any other marketing or logistical reason, but it remains one of the more surprising foibles of the new machines."

The color of hue

The Blue Sky MacBook Air is an interesting one, in that it takes this laptop further towards meeting the iPad Air, which has been available in lovely pastel hues for a while. If this takes off, will we get pink and green MacBook Air models? I’d be very tempted by the latter, and I could see Apple releasing them later in the year, to tempt people to buy one for the holiday season.

Making big comparisons

There’s some interesting choice of comparisons in Apple’s press release about the M4 MacBook Air. Note how often it’s compared to an Intel MacBook Air, even though such a thing hasn’t been sold since 2020.

• Spreadsheet calculation performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 1.6x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
• Video editing in iMovie is up to 8x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
• Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3.6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
• Web browsing is up to 60 percent faster when compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and more demanding tasks get up to 2x faster performance.

Cynics will possibly say that Apple is just trying to offer the biggest possible comparison numbers – but I think it’s probably a lot more deliberate than that. Apple knows a lot about people’s buying behavior and how often they update, and I’m guessing that it’s got strong data saying that people who bought Intel MacBook Airs or MacBook Pros are starting to now look to replace them. It’s making the case for what a huge update the MacBook Air will be to these people specifically.

Game time

The evolution of gaming on the Mac is moving along quite well, especially as our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff saw a demo of Cyberpunk 2077 running on the ultra-powerful new Mac Studio.

For folks who want a Mac, let's say specifically or mostly for gaming, the case could be made for a machine with the best chip and a hefty amount of RAM to ensure everything runs smoothly. We've seen a steady stream of AAA titles become available for all M-series, and while they do run well on the MacBook Air and even the Mini, it's likely the Mac Studio will deliver the best of the best experience.

• Tim Cook just teased that something's in the AIR this week
• It's not an event invite, but rather a video teaser for something new
• If rumors are right, we could see a new MacBook Air with M4 or a new iPad

Hot off the heels of fresh rumors about a MacBook Air refresh with the latest, super-speedy M4 chip, Apple CEO Tim Cook is teasing that there is something in the ‘AIR’ this week. It’s likely a very smart choice of words, but this all but confirms that there is at least an Apple launch on the horizon.

As with the tease for what turned out to be the iPhone 16e, Tim Cook took to X (formerly Twitter), writing “This week.” and then a six-second teaser video. While it doesn’t show any product, it flashes one word individually at a time, writing out: There’s something in the AIR. And that points to two of Apple’s products – the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air and the iPad Air.

Hinting at speed is the fact that something slides through the word Air, causing a ripple effect. That could be a new MacBook Air or an iPad Air, likely with some improved performance courtesy of Apple Silicon.

The teaser, which was posted at 10:54AM ET on March 3, 2025, comes a day after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared that Apple's planned refresh for the MacBook Air with the M4 chip could come as soon as this week.

Apple initially launched the M4 chip in May of 2024 with the iPad Pro and then brought it to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro (14-inch and 16-inch) in October of 2024. So you could say it's about time to arrive in Apple's most popular and portable laptop, the MacBook Air.

We're not expecting a wildly different design with the new MacBook Air, but the M4 chip could speed up tasks thanks to an improved CPU and GPU, and it could also be better at Apple Intelligence thanks to bigger leaps with the Neural Engine. It should also help stretch the battery life even further.

Tim Cook also chose an important set of words that have some history at Apple. You might recall that before Steve Jobs pulled the original MacBook Air out of the manila envelope, the event was teased with the sub-line, "2008 There's something in the air." This time around, there is extra emphasis on the AIR.

Considering that this tease from Apple doesn't specify one new addition to the family, we could be getting more than one new product from the Cupertino-based tech giant.

According to recent reports, Apple is also preparing an upgraded iPad Air and a new entry-level iPad, likely the 12th gen. Apple refreshed the iPad Air, bringing down Face ID and a design that was more similar to the iPad Pro in May of 2024, but it could be improving performance by either the M3 or M4 chip, as well as new accessories.

Regarding the base entry-level iPad, it should also see a speed improvement, but rumors suggest that will be about it. In the same report as the MacBook Air, Bloomberg noted that the iPad launches could be further out.

We'll know more soon, though, as Apple says the news will be made this week. Of course, stick with TechRadar for the latest as we break down whatever Apple has in store. In the meantime, I'm asking Siri to play a Phil Collins classic – In The Air Tonight.

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• The iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad could be upgraded very soon
• They’re expected shortly after the upcoming M4 MacBook Air launch
• But one source says they “probably won’t come in the next few days”

If you’re in the market for one of the best iPads, you might want to hold off buying one for now. That’s because freshly updated models are supposedly just around the corner, and they could bring a powerful chip upgrade that will make it worth the wait.

Specifically, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says in his latest Power On newsletter that stock of the iPad Air and 10th-generation iPad are running low at Apple Stores. This is usually a sign that new models are coming soon, as Apple often stops refreshing supplies of its soon-to-be-replaced devices in preparation for new arrivals.

However, while a new MacBook Air with M4 chip could launch as soon as this week, Gurman says that the new iPads “probably won’t come in the next few days.” The timeframe hasn’t been narrowed down any more than that, but it suggests that the tablets could launch within weeks rather than days.

Minor upgrades

Both the iPad Air and entry-level iPad are expected to receive minor upgrades this year, with new chips among the only changes anticipated. The iPad Air could get the M3 or M4 chip, while the 11th-generation iPad is likely to be outfitted with either the A16 Bionic or the A17 Pro chip.

Don’t bet on wide-ranging changes to the designs or displays of these devices, though. The rumor mill has been very quiet on this front, suggesting most of the changes will come to the tablets’ internals. It’s possible there will be other new features, with Wi-Fi 7 and a new Magic Keyboard both potentially in the cards.

Despite these models reportedly being imminent, the same can’t be said for the iPad Pro and the iPad mini. The iPad Pro probably won’t get an update until Apple’s M5 chip launches later this year, while the iPad mini was only just refreshed a few months ago.

If you’re looking at buying one of those devices, you should be safe to go ahead. But if the iPad Air or entry-level iPad are on your shopping list, it would be best to wait a while longer until the new models come out.

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Apple often releases a slate of new products in the Spring each year (usually April or May), it seems 2025 will be no exception.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has now officially announced the tech giant's first event of the year on February 19. His post on X (formerly Twitter) says "get ready to meet the newest member of the family", so what is he referring to?

The most likely answer right now is the iPhone SE 4 (or iPhone SE 2025). Despite rumors of an M4 MacBook Air being on the horizon, the latest rumors suggest the big Apple event will be a mid-range addition to the iPhone family.

If that's the case, we could see more than one Apple event this Spring, rather than one big one like its 'Spring Loaded' event in 2021. Read on to find out the latest rumors about the iPhone SE 4 and Apple's other imminent launches...

When will the Apple event happen?

Apple has now announced one official event for early 2025 – the one it's confirmed is taking place on Wednesday February 19. But it's also unlikely to be the tech giant's only event in the next few months.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple has new products on the way early in 2025, including an iPhone SE, M4 MacBook Air, new iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad. But it seems, according to commentators like Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, that the February 19 event will be mainly focused on the iPhone SE 4.

This suggests that one big Apple Spring event for multiple announcements is now highly unlikely. Apple has held bigger shows in March over the past few years – for example, in 2022 its 'Peek Performance' event saw the arrival of a new iPhone SE and iPad Air.

But it seems we'll now get a series of more staggered, focused announcements in 2025. Here's all the latest on Apple's imminent launches...

iPhone SE 4

Apple has been heavily rumored to be planning a new iPhone SE, and according to many sources that's what we're likely to see announced on February 19.

The latest rumors (below) suggest the iPhone SE 4 will be the main star of that now official event. And this could be the most significant update to the iPhone SE in years – potentially in its entire history.

It’s expected to lose the chunky bezels and Home button featuring Touch ID, replacing them with an all-screen look and Face ID for a more modern appearance.

Apparently, we could get a 6.1-inch OLED display, a single 48MP rear camera, Apple’s latest A18 chip and 8GB of memory (which in turn will enable Apple Intelligence), and a USB-C port. It is also said to debut Apple’s in-house 5G modem chip.

• Rumored launch: at Apple's official February 19 event

M4 MacBook Air

After Apple brought the M4 chip to the MacBook Pro late last year. The MacBook Air is next in line, and it’s widely touted to be launching this spring. The M4 chip could only bring modest performance improvements, though, according to rumors.

Don’t expect much else, either: no chassis redesign, no new display, no improved speakers. This will probably be a simple chip upgrade – nothing to sniff at given Apple silicon’s impressive power, but don’t hold your breath for a wide-ranging overhaul.

• Rumored launch: sometime between March and April

iPad Air and 11th-generation iPad

A recent rumor claimed that new versions of the iPad Air and the 10.9-inch iPad are on the way, meaning they could well be included as part of a spring event hosted by Apple – or simply announced in a more low-key fashion.

Like the iPhone SE 4, the iPad 11 has also been claimed to be getting Apple’s own 5G modem. And with Apple pushing to bring Apple Intelligence to as many of its products as possible, that also feels like a likely inclusion. It would require a new chip, with the A17 Pro being put forward as a possibility to match the one found in the iPad mini.

The iPad Air, meanwhile, will feature “internal improvements,” Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claims. It could also get a new Magic Keyboard for both the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes.

• Rumored launch: sometime in March or April

Apple HomePod with screen

Apple last updated the HomePod in 2023, but a third-generation model could be coming as soon as this spring – although the latest rumors have thrown that into doubt.

Apparently, the new HomePod may feature Siri voice control and Apple Intelligence, although other sources have called that into question. It might also have an OLED display measuring six or seven inches across, which would give it a new degree of functionality not seen in previous models.

There seems to be a lot of crossover with reports that Apple is working on a home hub device that combines a speaker with a display. Apple is also said to be working on a speaker with a screen that is attached to a robotic arm.

Whether these will be branded as HomePod devices isn’t clear, but they’re still at least several months away from being announced, Mark Gurman believes. So don't expect HomePod news until well after the rumored iPhone SE 4, M3 MacBook Air, new iPad Air and iPad 11.

• Rumored launch: sometime in 2025, but still apparently "months away from shipping"

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Apple has now announced at least one big event for early 2025 – the one it has planned for Wednesday February 19. But it may not be the only unveiling it has planned for the next few months.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple has new products on the way early in 2025, including an iPhone SE, M4 MacBook Air, new iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad. Sources like Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman have claimed that they’re all either imminent or will be released in the coming weeks.

• Apple could be about to launch a new iPad Air and 11th-generation iPad
• The company’s suppliers have apparently sent units to Apple
• A spring launch (sometime between March and April) now looks likely

Apple’s iPads are some of the best tablets money can buy, with the company’s iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad offering good mid-range and entry-level options, respectively. If you’re in the market for one of these tablets, now could be the time to hang on just a little longer, as it looks like they’re both on the verge of being refreshed.

That idea comes from a paywalled article published by Taiwanese outlet DigiTimes (via MacRumors), which says that Apple’s suppliers began shipments of a new iPad Air and an 11th-generation iPad in December. That suggests that Apple is almost ready to start selling the devices to customers.

That’s backed up by a recent report from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who claimed that the new iPads are “coming soon.” Gurman has a very strong track record for Apple leaks, so his words lend this idea weight.

The main question is when exactly we can expect the new tablets to arrive, as neither DigiTimes nor Gurman has given much more than a vague indication. However, if Apple’s supply chain is gearing up now, that suggests a spring launch rather than something later in the year. In Apple terms, that usually means the products will be revealed in either March or April, potentially putting them just a few weeks away.

What to expect

What can we expect from the new iPad Air and 11th-generation iPad? According to DigiTimes, these devices will be “transitioning to Apple’s own chips.”

That’s a somewhat confusing claim, as both tablets have used Apple silicon chips since they first debuted. There’s a chance DigiTimes could be referring to Apple’s combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, although Gurman doesn’t believe that will arrive until 2026.

Interestingly, DigiTimes also mentioned the MacBook Air, including it in the list of devices that were apparently on the way. This will come with an Apple M4 chip, resulting in increased performance, but not much else is expected in the way of changes.

While we don’t know for sure when any of these products will drop, it’s worth keeping an eye on things to see if Apple makes any sudden changes to a smattering of its best devices. There’s probably not long to wait now.

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• We previously heard suggestions that the next-generation iPad Air could land early this year
• Apple has yet to release official information about the next iPad Air

Apple could be equipping the next iteration of the iPad Air with an M3 chipset and releasing it in early 2025, if a handful of recent rumors are to be believed.

Notable leaker Evan Blass (via 9to5Mac) shared a document to his private X (formerly Twitter) account containing allusions to a next-generation iPad Air, equipped with the M3 chipset.

As 9to5Mac reports, the document contains text strings that reference the possibly upcoming models: the first reads “apple-ipad-air-13-(m3)”, and the second reads “apple-ipad-air-11-(m3)”.

With no further major rumors surrounding the next iteration of Apple’s mid-range tablets, we might be in for just a chipset refresh with the next iPad Air. Apple’s mid-range tablets were last refreshed in May 2024, which saw the standard 11-inch iPad Air joined by an enlarged 13-inch model for the first time.

However, the timing of this latest rumor lines up well with previous speculation about the next iPad Air’s release date.

Bloomberg’s resident Apple commentator Mark Gurman published a roundup in October 2024 that suggested a new iPad Air would reach store shelves in early 2025 – likely around April.

Gurman has also predicted that a new Magic Keyboard could be on the way specifically designed for the iPad Air. This would complete the stratification of Apple’s iPad Keyboard line up, which has slowly grown from a single one-fits-all product to include more specialized units designed for the base-model iPad and iPad Pro.

Should you wait for the M3 iPad Air?

Though these rumors and suggestions are far from conclusive, they may hold some sway over those looking to pick up an iPad Air for themselves.

As MacRumors notes, the M3 chipset is substantially more powerful than the M2 – at launch, Apple said the M3 offered a 35% improvement on the M1 chipset’s performance, while the M2 offers an 18% improvement. Crunching the numbers suggests the M3 is around 14% faster than the M2 chipset, which is certainly substantial for an iterative improvement.

Apple has held iPad pricing steady over the past few years, so any chipset upgrade is unlikely to come with an attendant price hike. Waiting for the M3 then will probably mean getting more performance at no extra cost.

But for those using an iPad Air M2 already it might not be worth upgrading. The M3 chipset may be more powerful than the M2, but the capabilities of either iPad Air are likely to be very similar due to the cohesive (some would say limited) iPadOS platform. The performance headroom of the M3 is more likely to be noticed in day-to-day snappiness than in heavier workflows, to which the iPad is often awkwardly suited.

It could be a busy season for the iPad family, with murmurs of a new iPad Pro circling alongside these M3 iPad Air rumors. For a refresher on the best tablets Apple has to offer, be sure to check out our list of the best iPads.

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• A new report claims the iPad Air will soon get a new Magic Keyboard
• This will include some features from the high-end iPad Pro version
• The entry-level iPad might also get a new Magic Keyboard

In a way, Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad is the epitome of the company’s products: on the pricey side, but undeniably high-quality. If you’ve been tempted to buy one, it might be a good idea to hold off, as Apple is apparently on the verge of releasing new models.

The news comes from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who is well-known for his accurate leaks and predictions regarding Apple tech. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman explains that the new version of the Magic Keyboard is coming “in the not-too-distant future”.

It follows a report from Gurman in October 2024, which stated that Apple was planning to update the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air (in both 11-inch and 13-inch versions). Gurman wrote that these new versions would “bring some of the features of the iPad Pro keyboard down-market.”

The iPad Pro version of the Magic Keyboard was updated in May 2024 to come with a thinner and lighter design, a row of function and media keys, a larger glass trackpad with haptic feedback, and an aluminum palm rest.

These features are currently absent from the iPad Air version of the Magic Keyboard, and while not all of them might make it into the upcoming low-end version, at least some (including the function row) are expected to make the transition.

Upcoming updates

The Magic Keyboard is not the only product that Gurman believes Apple will update in the near future – alongside the accessory, we could see new versions of the iPad Air and the entry-level iPad.

The iPad Air “will focus on internal improvements,” Gurman has previously said. That means we’re likely to see a new M4 chip to ensure the tablet works with Apple Intelligence. The 10.9-inch iPad, meanwhile, is expected to get an A17 Pro chip – again, to guarantee compatibility with Apple Intelligence – as well as a memory increase to 8GB. Both models may gain Apple’s upcoming in-house 5G modem.

While the latest Power On newsletter simply says that the iPad Air will get the new Magic Keyboard, Gurman reported in September 2024 that the entry-level iPad would also get this peripheral. It’s unclear whether anything has changed regarding this, nor is it obvious why Gurman didn’t mention the entry-level tablet getting the Magic Keyboard upgrade in his most recent newsletter. It’s possible that the accessory is now only coming to the iPad Air.

Whatever the case, we should find out more when Apple releases the new products in the next few months. If you’re in the market for any of the products mentioned, it could be worth waiting a little longer if you can.

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Apple’s had a busy 2024, and alongside Apple Intelligence, new Macs, and a whole family of iPhones, there’s been the iPad. In fact, the iPad Pro and iPad Air were the sole focus of the company's first ‘Special Event’ in 2024, and a new iPad mini was central to the launch of Apple’s AI features.

And now that 2024 is coming to a close, it’s time to reflect on the iPad this year. Yes, we got the thinnest device Apple has ever made in the form of the iPad Pro, and the iPad Air trickled down a supersize iPad for the masses, and the new iPad mini, well, was a new mini in a very similar form factor. Even so, though, the 9th Gen iPad and 10th Gen iPad were left untouched.

iPadOS 18 brought some new tricks, including the arrival of Apple Intelligence – mainly Scribble and Type to Siri, a new look for Siri, and Clean Up – but those yearning for a more desktop-class experience were left waiting.

So, as we look to 2025 and likely the arrival of a few new iPads, including an entry-level and iPadOS 19, let’s look back at 2024's highs and lows, and what we want to see next year.

Apple’s iPad in 2024

Let’s roll it back to May 7, 2024, to Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event – the technology giant dropped the 11” and 13” iPad Pro and the 11” and 13” iPad Air. Both devices tested very well in our reviews, but the iPad Pro was a skinny, lightweight powerhouse. The iPad Pro is the thinnest product Apple has ever shipped, besting the iPad Nano, but it was also the first product with the M4 chip. The iPad Pro was super speedy and arrived with Apple's first-ever Tandem OLED display.

Seriously, we described that screen as “the most exciting thing about the iPad Pro” and further that Apple’s flagship tablet as an “incredibly accomplished and versatile device.” The M4 power, which made iPadOS run swimmingly, also extended a runway for more ‘Pro” creative workflows like music creation in Logic Pro for iPad and movie-making within Final Cut Pro. You can also do more in ProCreate with the Apple Pencil Pro.

While the iPad Pro was top-of-the-line, with a flashy, ultra-thin look, the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air packed a ton of value into a lower-priced package. Furthermore, it finally trickled down to a bigger screen with less Apple tax. Our review called the 13-inch iPad Air an “attractive and very portable slab that’s ready for just about anything.” Sure, it only has an M2 chip inside, but it still can run rings around most other tablets on the market

Both the Pros and Airs supported the new Apple Pencil Pro, which felt like an accessory that had been coming for a long time. The two headline features it delivered were haptic feedback, allowing one to squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro to trigger an action or open a menu, but thanks to a gyroscope, you could also barrel roll the souped-up styles. We’ve seen Apple update its apps to take advantage of this, as well as third parties like Procreate.

Maybe the most surprising thing Apple did with the iPad in 2024, though, was support the new Apple Pencil Pro on the iPad mini (A17 Pro or 7th Generation). It made the latest iPad mini jump beyond just being fit for note-taking but also leveled up its ability for drawing even if the display stayed the same.

And that about sums up the latest iPad mini – it keeps a familiar form factor, actually the exact measurement and the same 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with Touch ID built into the power button and a CenterStage capable camera, but leaps with processing power. Like the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the A17 Pro powers the iPad mini and makes it run quite well, but most importantly, it supports Apple Intelligence.

It’s still excellent and scored four and a half out of five stars in our review, but we – like many others – can’t help but hope that a redesigned iPad mini with an OLED display like the tandem one in the iPad Pro might be on the horizon.

What’s to come in 2025?

While we can’t fully predict the future, the rumor mill for the iPad lineup certainly comes in handy. Considering Apple ushered in new versions of every iPad except the entry-level in 2024, we’re fully expecting the iPad's 11th generation to arrive in 2025. Much like the current 10th Generation, it should stick with a familiar look, mimicking the iPad Air with a 10.9-inch Retina display.

As far as what could be upgraded, as Apple tends to do with the entry-level iPad, it will likely be a spec bump, and if you guessed AI, it might just support Apple Intelligence. This means it could jump from the A14 chip, currently found in the 10th generation, to an A17 Pro or even an A18 to support Apple’s latest software suite.

Expect it to stick with 64GB as starting storage, something that’s a win for us all, and a USB-C port for easy charging and data transfers. Might it get support for the Apple Pencil Pro? That remains a bit more uncertain, but it’s certainly not off the table with that accessory being supported on the latest iPad mini.

While we wouldn’t expect a new iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad mini in 2025 – remember, these were all upgraded this year – we should get iPadOS 19 for all these models. It will likely continue the Apple Intelligence rollout, but it could also be the software upgrade that brings better multitasking and possibly better interoperability with other devices.

Apple’s iPad lineup is looking pretty good now, but we might just get a surprise or two in the next year; we’ll all just need to stick along for the ride. As always, keep an eye on TechRadar for the latest on all things iPad, Apple, and tech as a whole.

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• This would likely be a direct competitor to the iPad Pro.
• OnePlus has yet to confirm the existence of the rumored device.

The iPad Pro has long been considered the peak of the tablet market, with even the best Android tablets rarely challenging Apple’s top-of-the-line iPad directly.

However, a new rumor suggests the iPad Pro could finally be getting some targeted direct competition from the Android world, though this may not come from who you’d immediately expect.

OnePlus is reportedly working on a 13-inch tablet to complement the OnePlus Pad 2, which sports a 12.1-inch display.

This rumor stems from a Weibo post by blogger Whylab, which suggests the new OnePlus tablet will sport a 13-inch 3840 x 2400 144Hz display, with 600 nits of brightness and a 240Hz touch sampling rate.

The poster claims in the comments section that the display will be an LCD panel, rather than an OLED.

The post also includes images which supposedly show the device’s screen, though the products shown are labelled as TCL products – it’s possible that the images are from a demonstration of the screen technology in question, rather than a prototype of the finished OnePlus product.

Taking on Apple

The OnePlus Pad 2 – launched in China as the OnePlus Pad Pro – is already a fairly close analogue to Apple’s iPad Air, with a similar form factor, versatile performance, and stylus compatibility.

The version of the OxygenOS Android supplied to the OnePlus Pad lineup is notably similar in appearance to iPadOS, too.

At a starting price of $549 / £499 / AU$699, the OnePlus Pad 2 substantially undercuts the $599 / £599 / AU$999 11-inch iPad Air price-wise and offers double the storage at the base tier.

With Apple’s cheapest 13-inch tablet – the enlarged iPad Air – starting at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 there’s definitely room for OnePlus to take the same approach with an enlarged version of its pro-sumer tablet.

We didn’t review the OnePlus Pad 2, but we did get to grips with its predecessor: our OnePlus Pad review found the device to be a powerful “flagship-killer” disguised as a cheap tablet.

We liked the OnePlus Pad so much, in fact, that it still holds a place on our list of the best tablets.

For the moment, though, most of the above is based only on rumors and speculation. For the latest updates as we hear them, be sure to keep up with our Android coverage and tablets coverage.

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• The iPad Air comes in a distant third behind the affordable base iPad
• Figures don't yet reflect the popularity of the new iPad Mini 7

Thinking about treating yourself (or a loved one) to a new iPad this Christmas or in the Black Friday tablet deals? Some new sales figures have revealed which models other iPad buyers are going for this year – and the distant winner is the iPad Pro.

The figures from analysts CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) give us our first glimpse of the relative popularity of the new iPad Pro M4 and iPad Air (2024), which both landed in May. They show the sales during the quarter that ended in September.

The slightly surprising conclusion is that while the iPad Pro has retained its market share from last year (at 45% of all iPad sales), the iPad Air has dropped to only 13% (compared to 24% during the same quarter last year).

The main beneficiary has been the base iPad 10 (2022), which is now 33% of all iPad sales. The iPad mini has remained fairly static at 9% of iPad sales, though that should increase during the next quarter when iPad Mini 7 figures are included.

It seems that the iPad Air is in something of a no-man's land, with the base iPad getting a $100 / £100 price cut this year and clearly proving to be the value option. Strangely, the Air is also no longer Apple's lightest iPad, with the iPad Pro models coming in 20g lighter.

Do iPad buyers care about Apple Intelligence?

What these figures don't yet tell us is what impact (if any) Apple Intelligence features will have on iPad buying decisions.

Apple's take on AI-powered tools, which Apple unveiled in September, will bring new features to Mail, Messages, Photos, Siri, and more. The base iPad is now the only model that doesn't support Apple Intelligence features, which require an M1 chip or later (and also work on the new iPad mini's A17 Pro chip).

If the features are a big factor in iPad purchasing decisions, we should see a reasonably big shift from the base iPad to the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. But then again, the base iPad continues to offer great value – and we still consider it the best iPad for most people.

In fact, the third model in our list is the even older iPad 10.2 (2021), which continues to be available from third-party sellers and could offer good value in the Black Friday iPad deals.

Right now, the iPad mini 7 is the cheapest way to get Apple Intelligence, so if you do want that software future-proofing and don't mind an 8.3-inch screen, it could now be a tempting alternative to the base iPad – which now looks unlikely to get an update until 2025.

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Numerous leaks have suggested that the iPad mini 7 is fast approaching, with the most telling sign perhaps being the clearance of iPad mini 6 stock, and now we have a specific date for when Apple’s next mini slate might ship.

According to Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, the iPad mini 7 could ship on Friday, November 1, following an announcement around the end of October. So in other words this tablet could be announced in just a few weeks, and ship in less than four weeks.

While we’d always take release date leaks with a pinch of salt, Gurman has a solid track record for reporting Apple information, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard mention of an October Apple event.

So we’d say there’s a high chance this date is accurate – and if so it’s welcome news, as the iPad mini (2021) is long overdue a successor.

No sign of the iPad 11

If you’re interested in new models of other Apple tablets though you’ll probably have to wait until the first half of 2025, when Gurman says Apple might launch new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, along with the iPhone SE 4.

He makes no mention of new iPad Pro models, but with the iPad Pro (2024) having only landed this year that’s not too surprising. What is slightly more surprising is that there’s also no mention of the iPad 11, despite the current standard iPad model – the iPad 10.9 (2022) – being almost two years old.

So if you’re hoping for a new model in Apple’s base or high-end iPad lines, it looks like you might be waiting a while yet.

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The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are here, but one member of Apple’s smartphone lineup is still waiting for an upgrade. 

The iPhone SE is by many estimations overdue for an upgrade, but new leaks suggest that a refresh could bring a substantial price hike with it. PhoneArena reports that “renowned leaker” Revegnus1 has suggested that the rumored fourth-generation iPhone SE could cost $499 in the US, a $70 increase from the current price of $429 (£429 / AU$719). 

However, when you look at the list of possible upgrades coming with the rumored refresh, this price hike starts to make a little more sense. 

Chief amongst these upgrades is support for Apple Intelligence, as posited by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in August. Even with the price hike suggested by Revegnus1, the iPhone SE 4 would be the cheapest entry point for Apple Intelligence in Apple’s entire product lineup.

The next-cheapest Apple Intelligence-enabled device would then be the 11-inch iPad Air at $599 / £599 / AU$999, and the next cheapest iPhone with Apple Intelligence would be this year’s iPhone 16 at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399.

A modernized iPhone SE priced at $499 would match Google’s Pixel 8a, also listed at $499 (£499 / AU$849), and would present a serious challenge to Samsung’s budget-ized flagship, the Galaxy S23 FE, listed at $599 (£599 / AU$899).

If Apple Intelligence is coming to the iPhone SE 4, we’d expect to see it ship with either the A17 Pro or A18 chipset and 8GB of RAM, closing the specs gap between the SE and base-model iPhone 16.

The current third-generation iPhone SE was released in 2022, with 4GB of RAM and the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic chipset inside the design of the iPhone 8 – Touch ID-enabled home button included. 

We expect the fourth-generation iPhone SE to use the design of the iPhone 14, with a full-length notched OLED display, Face ID, and USB-C connectivity, though opinions are split on whether it’ll get one or two cameras.  

Closing the distance

Releasing an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone SE would track with Apple’s recent efforts to close the distance between its regular iPhone and iPhone Plus and the ultra-premium iPhone Pro and Pro Max. 

Apple equipped the base-model iPhone 15 with the Dynamic Island and a 48MP main camera, and with the standard iPhone 16 shipping with the Action Button, Camera Control, and all the specs needed to run Apple Intelligence when it launches in October, the gap is even narrower this year. 

An iPhone SE featuring this year’s A18 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and Apple Intelligence would, in theory, offer a very similar software experience to the iPhone 16.

In this case, it’s probable that Apple would differentiate the two models with design and hardware features – we wouldn’t expect to see the more recent Action Button and Camera Control make it to the iPhone SE, though we've previously heard that the Dynamic Island could be present.

Of course, all of the above is based on rumors and leaks for the time being – it’ll be up to Apple to confirm any refreshes, price rises, or spec bumps for the iPhone SE in due time. 

Until then, the current iPhone SE is still the best budget iPhone. For more on the latest iPhones, check out our iPhone 16 review, iPhone 16 Plus review, iPhone 16 Pro review, and iPhone 16 Pro Max review.

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The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes a ‘damp squib’ as “something that is disappointing because it is not as exciting or effective as expected.” And that’s how I’d describe Apple’s reveal of iPadOS 18 at WWDC 2024. 

While the iPad-centric operating system will get a lot of the slick features of iOS 18, such as smart categorization of emails in the Mail app and the ability to schedule messages in iMessage, the exclusive iPadOS 18 features are a big ol’ meh. 

Yes, the addition of a native Calculator app for iPads may have got a whoop at WWDC’s keynote and had many people flock to the TechTadar TikTok, but the rest of the features didn’t leave my colleagues or I with the impression that Cupertino’s snazzy fondle slates are being particularly pushed.

The Notes app gets the Smart Script feature to help smooth out quickly scribbled text, and there's now live audio transcription, plus some fresh customization that will let users rearrange icons and widgets where people want them on the home screen. 

None of that is bad, but as the iPad Air 2024 and iPad Pro 2024 come with the new Apple M4 chip, I was left with a distinct feeling that Apple’s in-house silicon is hardly being pushed. 

In fact, I’m a tad miffed Apple didn’t do more. It’s harped on about iPads being able to replace laptops, at one point coming to a head with the infamous “what’s a computer?” advert – which still makes me cringe to this day – yet refuses to make iPadOS into more of a desktop-like experience when connected to the Magic Keyboard. 

This has felt like a missed opportunity in my eyes, even though Apple has long railed against bringing iPadOS much closer to macOS. 

The crux of this is down to the power Apple has stuffed into the new iPad Air and iPad Pro models. While the M4 chip isn’t necessarily a huge step on from the M3 chip, in that in prioritizes efficiency and AI workloads over a big boost in raw performance, it’s still a slice of silicon that’s basically laptop-grade; in some cases desktop-grade when you take into account the iMac 24-inch and Mac mini. 

Sure, the suite of iPads will get access to the new Apple Intelligence, and will surely have access to the smarter Siri. But these tools seem generic and good for iPhones rather than something that’ll really tap into the power and flexibility of the new iPads. The addition of a Game Mode and improved audio via compatible AirPods is also nice to have, but again isn’t anything that iOS 18 won’t get; plus I feel these features aren’t helping turn the iPads into slick gaming machines despite the chips at their hearts.

All the gear with no idea

This is frustrating as my colleague Matt Hanson, Managing Editor of Core Tech, recently pointed out when he ditched his laptop for an iPad Pro for a few weeks that “the hardware's there – but the software isn't.” So it seems to me that Apple is really missing a trick here, despite having often been great at getting the most out of its tech.

And I feel all this puts the new iPads in an odd place. They may have more power, but that strength doesn’t look like it’s being well used, and older iPads can still do just about everything the newer ones can due to the lack of demanding software.

Now one could argue that we see similar things with some of the best Android phones that have powerful chips but don’t really ever push those capabilities. But phones still cover a different use case from tablets, despite being close cousins, meaning it’s not unreasonable to expect more from a tablet.

There’s a caveat here in that I’ve yet to try out iPadOS 18. But unless Apple has some hidden features it’s yet to showcase and Apple Intelligence really taps into M4 power, iPadOS 18 has left me underwhelming and I can’t help feel that M4-equipped iPads are overpowered to the extent that they may be a waste of money in slick rectangular form.

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Apple’s latest iPad Air and iPad Pro 2024 are versatile beasts, with ample headroom for everyday tasks, more creative ones and even a little AI-infused fun. The latter is partly made possible by the new Apple M4 chipset in the 11- and 13-inch iPad Pros, which boasts a wildly powerful neural processing unit. 

However, if you want to try out Apple's take on AI without needing to splash out on a new iPad, then look no further than the new Logic Pro for iPad 2 app.

This is the first major update to Apple's pro audio application, which arrived on tablets in 2023. For 2024, the '2.0' designation is all about AI-powered features that aim to be truly helpful – and that are available on any M-series iPad. 

These include an expansion to Drummer, a long-standing feature of Logic Pro on Mac and iPad, and new Session Players that act as a band you can call upon at any time. There is also a 'Chromaglow' effect to customize your sound and a stem splitter that is as useful as it is impressive.

I've spent over a week with Logic Pro 2 on the 13-inch iPad Pro with M4, a 13-inch iPad Air with M2, and even the previous-generation iPad Pro (2022), getting a feel for how these AI-powered features come to life. Many of them, for instance Session Players, are downright fun, reminiscent of time spent in Garageband, while others can be genuinely useful in speeding up workflows. Here's what I like and don't like about them.

Stem Splitter: seriously impressive track separation

Stem Splitter is seriously impressive, whether you’re a budding songwriter in a full-fledged band or just playing around with some friends. The idea is that it takes a single track, like a recording from a cafe or a live performance, or even a rehearsal, then splits in into four – drums, bass, vocals and other instruments. You can then easily customize, add plugins, and adjust each track element to your liking, all within the app. 

I found that Stem Splitter works as promised, making it much easier to examine the elements of a track. The key to this is that it doesn’t manipulate the track; it simply provides easy instrument separation across the four categories. It's also fast: it can also tackle a 2:30 track in just a handful of seconds. Theoretically, one could also use this to pull samples. A longer track – with a broader range of elements – took less than 30 seconds on the iPad Pro. It was maybe a second or two longer on the M2 iPad, but this wasn’t a huge dealbreaker.

Enabling this is an on-device algorithm that takes over the Logic Pro app while it completes the splitting. This means you can’t adjust tracks or record something fresh while it’s going. That's pretty common for processes in apps. What is handy is that right after the process is complete, you can start adjusting the elements of the track. So in this case, I could raise or lower drums and other grouped percussion, or even mute all tracks by vocals to focus on those instruments. I think folks using Logic Pro for iPad to record songs, spoken word tracks, or even podcasts will find this helpful, as it’s a simple way to expand the elements on a timeline. 

It also illuminates how Apple views AI-infused or AI-powered features – they’re not just there to be a buzzword, but rather to prove helpful and likely deliver a requested feature that Logic Pro users, and even those coming from Garageband, will delight in now having built-in.

You also don’t need the latest iPad Air or iPad Pro to use Stem Splitter, or for the Session Players feature (below). They'll all work with any Apple Silicon M-Series chip, meaning you're ready to go if you have an M1-, M2-, or M4-powered iPad. Not to mention, Logic Pro 2 for iPad is a free upgrade for folks who are already paying monthly at $5.99 / £4.99 / AU$7.99 or annually at $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$59.99, and there is no price increase for new subscribers. 

Session Players: your virtual band

Probably the most fun addition, and one that has kept me busy, is Session Players. It’s essentially a massive expansion on Drummer. For those unfamiliar, Drummer has been with Logic Pro for many generations and is a tool used to create percussion or drums for a track. You can pick a kit style and even genre, then adjust the complexity and give it direction. 

So if you only know how to sing and play the guitar, you can add a drummer into your band … err, at least a computer-created one, and customize the sound to make it fit within your track.  

Beyond just adding a drummer, you can now add a bass player and a piano player – both with the same level of playing style and genre and unique customizations. Furthermore, the players will pay attention to the tracks already down and try to match them style-wise. Apple notes that these Session Players are trained on real musician works, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, so they’ll play within their styles, but you will likely need to make some adjustments as you go with it. 

One thing for sure, though, is that whether you’re a classically trained musician or someone just playing around with Logic Pro, you'll find them a blast. You can have a lot of fun adjusting each portion that the 'Session Player' has created, and if you’re not feeling it, you can delete it and give it a go again. For folks coming from Garageband, where you can play a virtual keyboard or even an EDM board, I think you’ll find Session Players to be an excellent progression – one that novices and professionals can get something out of.

Some things just work better on an iPad

I have fond memories of attending Apple Camp at my local Apple Store, where free lessons in various creative apps were offered. I started with iLife during this time. Still, I remember at times using an iBook G4 or an early iMac and struggling to move around the cursor, jumping between playing a virtual on-screen piano in Garageband.

Flash forward to 2023, and Logic Pro drops for the iPad, a big moment as it’s a pro app for Apple’s tablet. The realization is that it’s so much more natural to play a digital set of keys. The same is true in 2024 – moving tracks around on the timeline, adjusting a fade in or fade out, playing with a virtual instrument, and even adjusting AI-powered Session Players with a finger or two is quite handy.

While Apple Pencil Pro was a big part of the “Let Loose” event, in which the iPads and Logic Pro for iPad 2 were unveiled, the new accessory does not have dedicated features for the app. It would be neat if a palette tool were employed here, but for now you'll have to be content with using it as a more exact control element.

Logic Pro for iPad 2 – the outlook

Logic Pro for iPad 2 keeps what was successful with the original Logic Pro for iPad and tries to employ its new AI capabilities in the areas that matter most to a potential user. For a budding songwriter, Session Players allows you to add in drums, piano, and even bass. For a starting band, you can easily split your recording session from a voice memo into separated tracks to adjust and customize. 

Folks with more advanced skills can use either of these new flagship-level features to supercharge their Logic Pro project. Chromaglow is a unique and fun plugin which brings "the texture of tubes, tape and other coveted analog hardware" to your music, for instance, but I have a feeling more avid musicians or artists will get more from it than I did. 

Most critically, though, it shows that Apple is still focused on the end user. As it’s done in the past, it doesn’t focus on speeds or feeds but rather aims to provide actually useful features. Logic Pro for iPad 2 succeeds with that and doesn’t increase the price, either.

Of course, if you want to simply play around with digital instruments, make a podcast, or take a crack at mixing jingles together, you could do that in Garageband for free.

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Apple has just equipped its iPad Pro with an OLED display for the first time, and the results have been remarkable – in our iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) review we praise the screen as “easily the best you’ll get on a tablet device.” Now, it looks like Apple could be planning to bring OLED to the iPad Air and iPad mini – but we may have to wait a while.

The rumor comes from a machine-translated article on Korean news site Naver (via Wccftech), which states that Samsung Display “has recently begun developing panels for the iPad mini.” As well as that, the website claims that “Apple plans to apply OLED to the iPad mini and Air models,” meaning that almost the entire iPad range could be in line for a serious screen upgrade.

Yet the report also notes that mass production isn’t expected to begin until the second half of 2025 at the earliest, with the tablets then being released in 2026. That’s potentially a two-year wait for the Air and mini to catch up to the iPad Pro.

While that makes sense from a business perspective – Apple wants the iPad Pro to stand out as a clear top-end option – it will no doubt be frustrating for anyone who wants to get their hands on an OLED iPad in a cheaper package.

It takes two to tandem

According to Naver, the only iPad that will apparently miss out on OLED tech is the 10.9-inch iPad. After a recent price drop to  $349 / £349 / AU$599, this device is currently Apple’s most affordable tablet (costing less than the smaller iPad mini). Without an expensive OLED panel, Apple will be able to keep its cost down and offer a more accessible entry into the iPad lineup.

Still, adding OLED to nearly every iPad would be great news for Apple fans. The last time Apple introduced new high-end screen tech was in 2021 with the launch of the mini-LED iPad Pro, and this display never made it to any other iPads. Rolling out OLED displays to the iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini would signal Apple’s dedication to the tech.

Apple doesn’t just employ any old OLED panels in the iPad Pro either – it uses a custom 'tandem OLED' setup that far outstrips the competition and notches several industry firsts. However, it’s unclear whether this tech will make it into the upcoming iPad mini and iPad Air.

That’s because tandem OLED panels are more expensive to produce than regular OLEDs, owing to the fact that they consist of two displays sandwiched together. This results in much improved brightness and a thinner overall display, but the cost is most likely why Apple has limited it to the iPad Pro for now. Display industry expert Ross Young was very surprised by the iPad Pro’s $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 starting price, commenting that the use of a tandem OLED screen could have raised the iPad Pro’s price by 50% or more.

This all means it’s unlikely that the iPad Air and iPad mini will come with tandem OLED screens, at least until Apple can bring the price down. But the fact that they’re getting OLED at all is great news for Apple fans, even if there’s a bit of a wait until the devices finally make an appearance.

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The new iPad Air is just a few days old and buzz is already circulating about its next iteration: the OLED M3 iPad Air. It’s no surprise that people are speculating as to when we could see an M3 iPad, considering that most of Apple’s product lineup is up to speed with the latest in-house silicon. 

The iPad Pro is fitted with M4 processors, meaning there’s effectively only one product slot left for the M3 chip to debut, and people seem confident the M3 will appear in an OLED iPad Air. According to MacRumors, the speculation comes from a “private account with a proven track record of sharing accurate information about Apple plans”. While that adds some credibility to the claim, we can’t really be sure of anything so soon after a product launch. 

MacRumors notes that Apple could introduce a 10.8-inch OLED iPad Air between 2026 and 2028! That is so far away from now I can’t even comprehend it. Even if we take this rumor to be true, why would Apple space out the launch of an M3 iPad so far ahead from releasing M2 and M4 iPads? 

A long wait ahead

For all orders of its M-series chips, Apple uses TSMC (Taiwanese Manufacturing Company), and pumping out a whole new chip series so soon after the M3 launch (and subsequent product launches) is a tall order to fill. It would make more sense to produce more M3 chips update the entire product lineup, and save any M4 chips for iPad Pros or Macs. 

There’s potentially quite a lot of M3 stock to be used and sold, and given how quickly the M4 chips were launched after the M3 release, it backs up our theory that there’s just a surplus that needs to be used.  So, no massive conspiracy theory here: likely, this is all down to manufacturing logistics. 

If true, the rumor does however suggest that we may be waiting a long time for M5 chips, as TSMC is currently still churning out M3 chips. Honestly, I’m pretty pleased with that, as the constant cycle of producing new products every year is incredibly wasteful and unnecessary. Waiting for stock to be used and pushing sales of M3 products is a perfectly valid move here - especially since the iPad Air is a more lightweight device that doesn't necessarily need more power than the M3 chip provides.

Apple has spoken in detail at the last few events just how committed the company is to being environmentally friendly - and if this rumor is true and we don’t see any more hardware updates for a long time, I know I’ll be fine with it. 

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Alongside the monstrous iPad Pro (2024), Apple also launched the iPad Air (2024), and while this isn’t the biggest upgrade we’ve ever seen, it does have some significant improvements over the iPad Air (2022).

These include a powerful M2 chipset, a repositioned selfie camera, and – perhaps most notably – the option of a larger 13-inch screen size.

So is the iPad Air (2024) worth upgrading to? Well, both based on the specs and our  impressions in our iPad Air 13-inch (2024) review, we’ve compared it to the iPad Air (2022), to give you a clearer idea.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): specs comparison

Before we look closely at the various aspects of these new and old(er) slates, the chart below provides a brief rundown of their key specs, so you can see their similarities and differences at a glance.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): price and availability

The iPad Air (2024) was announced on May 7, 2024, and went on sale May 15. The iPad Air (2022) launched back in 2022 obviously, and while it was widely available, it has now been discontinued – though some third-party stores will still have stock at the time of writing.

As for the price, the iPad Air 11-inch (2024) starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999, which gets you a 128GB Wi-Fi model. The 11-inch option tops out at $1,249 / £1,249 / AU$2,129, for a 1TB Wi-Fi and cellular model.

The iPad Air 13-inch (2024) starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 (again for 128GB), and tops out at $1,449 / £1,449 / AU$2,429 (for a 1TB version with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity).

The iPad Air (2022) only comes in one size (10.9 inches), and that starts at $599 / £569 / AU$929, which is for a 64GB Wi-Fi model. It tops out at $899 / £869 / $1,389, for a 256GB model with Wi-Fi and cellular.

So the starting price of the iPad Air (2024) is similar to that of the iPad Air (2022) – albeit marginally higher in the UK and Australia. And that’s for twice as much storage.

Of course, the larger 13-inch iPad Air (2024) costs more, and both sizes top out at a higher price than the 2022 model, but that’s with way more storage than you can get the iPad Air (2022) with.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): design and display

The design of the iPad Air (2024) isn’t dramatically different to that of the iPad Air (2022). In fact, the iPad Air 11-inch (2024) has exactly the same dimensions as the iPad Air (2022), at 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm, and it weighs almost the same too, with the 2024 model being 462g while the 2022 one is 461g.

The larger iPad Air 13-inch (2024) is of course bigger and heavier, but just as slim, at 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1mm and 617g.

All of these tablets are clad in aluminum, and there are only really two other differences. One is the position of the front-facing camera, which is on a long edge with the 2024 models and the short top edge with the 2022 model.

The other is the available colors, with the iPad Air (2024) being sold in Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, and Blue, while the iPad Air (2022) is available in Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue. So even there, the only real difference is that the older tablet is available in Pink, while the rest of the shades are almost identical, albeit a slightly different tone.

There aren’t too many differences when it comes to their screens either, with all of these tablets having around 264 pixels per inch, and using IPS LCD. The iPad Air 11-inch (2024) and the iPad Air (2022) also have the same resolution and brightness, at 1640 x 2360 and 500 nits respectively.

The big difference though is the presence of a larger 13-inch model this year. The iPad Air 13-inch (2024) then is higher resolution at 2048 x 2732 (though with the same pixel density), and its screen can get brighter, reaching 600 nits.

We were fairly impressed with this screen in our review, describing it as delivering “vibrant colors and the ability to craft immersive visuals.” Though sadly none of these tablets have a 120Hz refresh rate – they're all stuck at 60Hz.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): cameras

If you were hoping for camera upgrades on the iPad Air (2024) then – at least in terms of the rear camera – you’re out of luck, as it has the same 12MP f/1.8 camera as the iPad Air (2022).

Things have changed slightly on the front though, as while both generations of iPad have a 12MP f/2.4 ultra-wide camera (with a 122-degree field of view), it’s on the top edge of the iPad Air (2022), but it’s on one of the longer edges of the iPad Air (2024).

That makes it more ideally suited for landscape use on the new iPad, which should be preferable for most people, since it’s a better position for video calls.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): performance and software

One of the biggest upgrades this generation is to the chipset, with the iPad Air (2024) having an M2 chip, in place of the M1 used by the iPad Air (2022). Apple claims this newer chipset is almost 50% faster than the M1, so it’s a substantial upgrade – though notably trails behind the M4 chipset in the iPad Pro (2024).

That said, the iPad Air (2022) is still a powerful tablet, so if your use cases aren’t super-demanding then you might not benefit much from the extra power in the new generation, especially as both generations have 8GB of RAM.

Where the iPad Air (2024) should be an improvement for everyone though is the available storage. It starts at 128GB, which is double the frankly unacceptably low 64GB that the iPad Air (2022) starts with. And it tops out at 1TB, rather than 256GB. So storage is a lot less limited with the iPad Air (2024).

For software, both generations run iPadOS 17.4, but the iPad Air (2022) has been through two years of updates to get there, so Apple may well stop supporting it two years before it stops supporting the iPad Air (2024).

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): battery

Apple claims that all of these tablets offer up to 10 hours of life when surfing the web on Wi‑Fi or when watching videos, and that they can all manage up to 9 hours of life when web browsing using a mobile data network.

So there shouldn’t be any significant differences in their battery lives, and they all charge via USB-C as well.

We found that the 2022 model largely lived up to Apple’s claims, although when using it heavily or with patchy 5G coverage the battery dipped slightly faster than Apple suggests it should.

iPad Air (2024) vs iPad Air (2022): verdict

The main differences between the iPad Air (2024) and the iPad Air (2022) – on paper – are a faster chipset in the new model, along with a better position for the front-facing camera, the option of a bigger screen, and more storage, both in terms of the starting capacity and the maximum available.

The iPad Air (2024) will probably be supported with software updates for longer too, but should have a similar battery life, screen quality, and camera performance, and has a near identical design, as well as having the same amount of RAM.

So this isn’t the biggest or most exciting upgrade, but when you consider that its starting price is roughly the same and that you get twice as much storage for that money, it’s clearly the better prospect in 2024 – unless you can find a heavily reduced iPad Air (2022).

We’d hesitate to say you should upgrade from the older model to the iPad Air (2024) though, going by the specs list – but for a better idea of how it performs in practice, make sure to read our full iPad Air (2024) review.

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Apple has released a new version of iTunes for Windows 11 (and Windows 10), which also includes support for the newly debuted iPad Air and iPad Pro models. 

You can download iTunes version 12.13.2  for Windows from both the Microsoft Store and from Apple’s website.

iTunes has been phased out for macOS and is no longer present on Apple’s own desktop operating system. Apple still updates iTunes pretty regularly on Windows, though, and this new update follows a release that brought in security fixes back in December 2023.

This latest iTunes update also delivers a security fix, dealing with a vulnerability that could lead to the app unexpectedly shutting down, or a malicious party leveraging  “arbitrary code execution” (allowing an attacker to do nasty things to your PC, basically).

Apple's transition away from iTunes to more modern apps

In general, though, it does seem like Apple is trying to move away from iTunes in favor of its more modern media apps like Apple Music, Apple TV, and iCloud. These modern media apps are also available on Windows, and are optimized to match Windows 11’s own sleek contemporary aesthetics. 

iTunes is more than a media app - it’s also a device manager that many users of Apple hardware are used to, allowing iPhone and iPad users to carry out tasks like backing up data and installing software. However, nowadays you can do that using the newer Apple Device app, which you get through the Microsoft Store as well. 

There’s one caveat to consider - Apple’s new apps might not work as intended if you also have iTunes installed, as Neowin points out, so it’s advised that you pick one to use and uninstall the other.

iTunes: a timeless hub for Apple's media

Apple’s legacy media manager is a classic and still has a lot of purpose as it’s a place to manage all the media you’ve purchased from Apple including music, movies, and TV shows, as well as Apple Music.

If you prefer to continue to use iTunes, of course, you’re still in luck, as you can grab this latest version from the Microsoft Store. This will work whether you’re using Windows 11 or Windows 10, but not Windows 7. You can get older versions of iTunes from Apple’s website (but of course, you shouldn’t still be using Windows 7 for obvious reasons - the lack of security updates being the primary concern).

It’s good that Apple’s still looking out for users who might want to continue to use iTunes, and it also gives Apple a way in with customers who might prefer Windows as their PC’s operating system. 

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Apple finally debuted the long-awaited iPad Air 6 and iPad Pro (2024) at its May 7 Apple event, meaning there's plenty of new iPad-related price information to digest.

The iPad Air 6 – otherwise known as the iPad Air (2024) – is available in two sizes and four storage configurations, where it's predecessor, the iPad Air (2022), was only available in one size and two storage configurations. The iPad Pro (2024), on the other hand, is available in the same number of sizes (2) but fewer storage configurations (16) than its predecessor, the iPad Pro (2022).

Both the iPad Air (2024) and iPad Pro (2024) are also available in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations, regardless of which storage capacity you choose, which means there's now a grand total of 56 new iPad prices (or 168 new prices across the UK, US and Australia) to consider. In this guide, we've outlined almost every price, but to help you make sense of the figures, we've broken down the key takeaways from each comparison at the end of each model section.

iPad Air (2024)

Here's how each variant of the iPad Air (2024) costs in the US, UK and Australia:

And here's how those prices compare to the iPad Air (2022):

Key points:

• For starters, where there were only four different configurations of the iPad Air (2022), there are now 16 different configurations of iPad Air (2024) to choose from, owing to the additional size and storage options available on the latter.
• The new tablet's starting price is the same as before in the US, £30 more expensive in the UK and AU$90 more expensive in Australia, but you do get double the base storage for that price (128GB vs 64GB).
• For like-for-like, 11-inch 256GB Wi-Fi models, the iPad Air (2024) is $50 / £20 / AU$20 more expensive than the iPad Air (2022), while the new 256GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model has also received a $50 / £20 / AU$40 price hike. Naturally, you'll pay more for every model of the new 13-inch size.
• That said, the iPad Air (2024) offers a much faster M2 chipset than its predecessor – Apple says the new model is 50% faster than the M1-equipped model – which arguably justifies the price increase.

iPad Pro (2024)

Here's how each variant of the iPad Pro (2024) costs in the US, UK and Australia:

And here's how those prices compare to the iPad Pro (2022):

Key points:

• Disclaimer: Since Apple has now discontinued the iPad Pro (2022), it’s a little tricky to track down the exact prices for every storage configuration. We’ve been able to recover every price for every storage variant of the 13-inch iPad Pro (2022), as well as the regional starting prices for the 11-inch model, but additional prices for the 11-inch model are proving particularly difficult to find, hence the N/A entries in the above table. We’ll update this page once we've been able to confirm the figures.
• We can, however, see that the starting price of the iPad Pro (2024) is $200 / £200 / AU$300 more expensive than the starting price of the iPad Pro (2022), though you do get double the storage (256GB) with the newer model, since Apple has dropped the 128GB option with both sizes of the iPad Pro (2024).
• For like-for-like, 13-inch 256GB Wi-Fi models, the iPad Pro (2024) costs $100 more than the iPad Pro (2022) in the US and AU$120 more in Australia, but £70 less in the UK. For the same Wi-Fi + Cellular model, the iPad Pro (2024) costs $100 more in the US and AU$220 more in Australia, but £70 less in the UK.
• For like-for-like, 13-inch 1TB Wi-Fi models, the iPad Pro (2024) costs $100 more than the iPad Pro (2022) in the US and AU$120 more in Australia, but £150 less in the UK. For the same Wi-Fi + Cellular model, the iPad Pro (2024) costs $100 more in the US and AU$200 more in Australia, but £150 less in the UK.
• On the whole, then, the iPad Pro (2024) is more expensive than the iPad Pro (2022) in the US and Australia, but slightly cheaper in the US. It's worth noting that the new model offers a brighter OLED display and a faster M4 chipset than its predecessor.

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After months of speculation, Apple has finally lifted the lid on the iPad Air 6, with two different versions of the new slate debuting alongside the supersized iPad Pro (2024) at the company’s highly anticipated ‘Let Loose’ event.

Where previous iPad Air models, like the iPad Air (2022), launched in a single 10.9-inch size, the iPad Air 6 is now available to pre-order in an additional 13-inch size, with both models coming equipped with an M2 chipset (aka the same chipset you'll find powering many of the best MacBooks).

Apple says this chipset makes the new iPad Air 50% faster than its M1-equipped predecessor, and three times faster than A14 Bionic-equipped iPad Air models.

Other key upgrades for the iPad Air 6 – which can also be thought of as the iPad Air (2024) – include a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, landscape stereo speakers with spatial audio, and up to 1TB of internal storage. The new tablet is available in four colors: Blue, Purple, Starlight and Space Grey.

Apple has confirmed that the iPad Air 6 will begin shipping next week, at a starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model. The 13-inch model starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299, rising to $1,449 / £1,449 / AU$2,429 for the 1TB model with cellular capabilities. You'll find a full price breakdown in our iPad Air 6 hub.

The launch of the iPad Air 6 and iPad Pro (2024) brings to an end the longest wait for new iPad models since the company began producing iPads in 2010; the last new iPad to hit shelves was the iPad 10.9 (2022) in October 2022.

For a look at what else was revealed during Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event – namely a new Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard – head ove rto our dedicated Apple event live blog.

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Apple is expected to introduce some brand new iPads at its launch event today, May 7 – which gets underway at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST (May 8 at 12am AEST). But the latest rumor is that we might also get our first look at the generative AI features Apple has been busy working on.

According to sources speaking to AppleInsider, we could get a preview of a photo editing feature known as Clean Up. As you might guess from the name, it would leverage AI smarts to remove objects from images and apply other instant edits.

The feature is apparently set to replace the Retouch tool currently available in Apple Photos for macOS – but AppleInsider understands that something similar might be coming to Photos for iPadOS too, for making AI-powered edits on the go.

It looks likely that we'll get a new Apple Pencil alongside the updated iPads today, and the report says there's a "possibility" Apple could well choose to demonstrate the capabilities of the new stylus with a little bit of AI photo editing. Alternatively, we might have to wait for WWDC 2024 in June to see the new photo editing tricks.

AI preview

As spotted by MacRumors, Apple has added an interactive eraser feature to its website to help promote the iPad launch event. You can scrub over the Apple logo with the cursor to cycle through different versions of it – which is perhaps just a bit of fun or perhaps another hint at the Clean Up tool.

There has certainly been a substantial amount of chatter from well-placed sources around the idea that today's event will feature AI demos as well as new hardware. These AI features might not all be ready to go, but they could still be mentioned.

Another rumor we've heard is that the refreshed iPad Pros for 2024 could come running Apple M4 chips – chips that haven't yet been announced. That extra on-board performance would perhaps enable generative AI features for the first time on an Apple device.

The official word is that this is going to be a "different kind of Apple event", so we're very much looking forward to what's in store: iPads, an Apple Pencil, and maybe some AI photo editing features. We'll be covering all the news and announcements as they happen, and we've got a comprehensive guide on how to watch the event.

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Apple has told us it's going to be launching something new on May 7, and all the signs point to that something being new iPads. Now a new report lists the specific models and accessories we'll be getting introduced to on Tuesday.

This report comes from well-known Apple tipster Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, and it rounds up some of the rumors we've already been hearing. Gurman says we'll get a new pair of iPad Pro models: the 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes will be the same as the current iPad Pros, but they'll be the first Apple tablets to switch to OLED.

They "may" run on M4 chips Gurman says, something which we've heard before. That would help distinguish them from the updated iPad Air, apparently arriving in 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch sizes – that larger size would be a first for the iPad Air, so we'd have two versions of both the Pro and Air models.

The M2 chip is the one most likely to be in the 2024 iPad Air, Gurman says. As you'll see from our iPad Air 5 review, it was fitted with an M1 chip. The report also predicts that some AI features will be "teased" ahead of a full unveiling at WWDC on June 10.

Pencils and keyboards

As for accessories, Gurman states that we'll get a new Apple Pencil with haptic feedback, and a new Magic Keyboard that will "make the iPad look more laptop-like". We've previously been told by the same source to expect these extras alongside the iPads.

While a new entry-level iPad and a new iPad mini are being worked on, they apparently won't be shown off on Tuesday. Apple is working to make its 11th-generation iPad significantly cheaper than its 10th-generation iPad, the report says.

A few more tidbits: according to Gurman, the event is starting earlier than normal (May 7 at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST, and on May 8 at 12am AEST) so people in China can watch along, and will last "a little more than half an hour".

It'll be the first time Apple has refreshed its iPad models since 2022, so Tim Cook and the other Apple execs will be hoping there's some pent up demand for these tablets. If you want to see everything as it happens, here's how to watch along.

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On May 7, Apple will likely tear the wraps off a bunch of new iPads, ranging from new OLED iPad Pros to larger iPad Airs, at its "Let Loose event". It's been too long since Apple updated its tablet line but perhaps that's because not much needs changing. In truth, I love my iPad Pros, Airs, and minis almost as they are, though I have some notes and, more specifically, some requests for these new iPads.

A curved or waterfall back

At 6.1mm, the iPad Air is incredibly thin and yet never feels flimsy. Weighing just over a pound, it feels good in the hand. Still, if I had my way, I would bring back the curves, or, more specifically, introduce a waterfall back to remove or at least soften the sharp edges and make the iPad significantly more comfortable to hold and even rest in the curve of your arm or on your lap.

Such a redesign would also be a nod to the iconic original iPad design. It also has the edge around the back, but there was also that curve that made the device look and feel friendlier.

Shrink the bezels

The iPad has come a long way since the nearly inch-wide black bezels surrounding the first iPad screen but I think Apple can go further. The current iPad Air's bezel is still noticeably wider than what you'll find on the MacBook Air 13-inch. 

On the new iPads, I'd like to see bezels that can be measured in a few millimeters. Give me, Apple, as much drawing real estate as possible. If you must, go ahead and introduce a notch similar to what exists on the MacBook Air. I'd appreciate it if you made it smaller but I can live with the cutout if the end result is more screen. I would also accept a punch-hole camera approach. 

What I really want, though, is a Dynamic Island on the iPad; an update that would require both hardware and iPadOS changes. Just think of all the bits of information and interaction that could be delivered through that fungible, pill-shaped interface. 

Move the camera

It's time for Apple to acknowledge how 99% of us use our iPads. We work on them, watch TV, play games, and FaceTime in landscape mode. The FaceTime camera has inexplicably remained on the short side for Portrait mode use. It's a legacy feature from when people first bought iPads and ran vertical iOS apps in 2X mode. If a FaceTime call came in, you'd just look up at the camera along the top edge.

iPadOS now has its own apps, and the majority of them are designed to work in landscape mode. When I conduct a FaceTime call, I'm always looking at the wrong place and sometimes cover the camera with my fingers because I keep forgetting the camera is on the short left side.

This is a simple and much-needed change. Apple, put the camera on the long edge – yes, right below where we dock our Apple Pencil  – and let's move on from this legacy issue.

Wireless charging

This is such a no-brainer and I have seen rumors that promise such a feature. 

It's been 7 years since the iPhone line got wireless charging, and the Apple Watch and AirPods all arrived with it. It's almost inconceivable that Apple's other popular mobile technology still doesn't have it.

All I want is a nice MagSafe inductive charge ring on the back of every new iPad, from the Air and traditional iPad to the iPad Pro (and the iPad mini, if it survives). I don't think it will increase the thickness of any iPad.

Imagine the convenience of dropping your iPad on an iPhone MagSafe charger or, perhaps a new iPad MagSafe chargepad, one large enough to support the entire iPad back. Come to think of it, this could be a new Smart Folio cover.

A moveable dock

I keep my iPad Dock pretty clean, there are just a handful of go-to apps in there. This means it's never cluttered and can feel almost like an app widget. The problem is that it's glued to that one spot at the bottom of the home screen. 

For the new iPad (I know, this is primarily an iPadOS update), I want the ability to move the dock from the bottom edge to the right or left side of my screen as a vertical dock. 

It's not just that I demand flexibility – because I do – I think the dock might be more useful sitting next to one of my open apps. I also think that home screens should be less prescriptive and more adaptable. Such a change also fits with the home screen and lock screen enhancements Apple made in recent years to iOS and iPadOS

Bonus request

The modern iPad is so powerful that when paired with a keyboard it easily doubles as an ultraportable, touchscreen laptop. I like the Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad but I'd like it even more if the keyboard were on a slider so I could pull it away from the iPad screen. If it can also tilt up a bit to meet my touch, that would be even better. 

It's not that I won't appreciate the new iPads if Apple doesn't do some or all of these things, but if it does, it'll nudge some of the best tablets on the market to near-perfection and who can argue with that?

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Apple's 'Let Loose' event is taking place May 7, and you can follow our Apple event live blog for a blow-by-blow account of the livestreamed showcase 

The main image for the event features a hand twirling an Apple Pencil amid a colorful Apple logo, so we expect there to be a focus on using iPads for creativity, likely with a new and enhanced Pencil. And rumors suggest that the Apple Vision Pro will get Pencil support; if so, expect Apple to tout the creation of digital art with in a virtual and mixed reality environment. 

So read on for details on how to watch May's Apple event, along with a quick overview on what to expect. 

How to watch the Apple Let Loose livestream

Apple's May event will take place in the form of a livestream. It kicks off on May 7 at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST, and on May 8 at 12am AEST. 

The easiest way to watch the livestream will be on YouTube, where Apple currently has a holding page (see below) where you can set a reminder to get notified of when the steam starts. But you can also watch the May Apple event on the company's website and on the Apple TV app. 

We'll be reporting on all the action so do keep an eye on TechRadar if you can't' follow the livestream. And we're sure to have some interesting videos and insights over on the TechRadar TikTok. 

What to expect at the Apple May event

In short: iPads. Going by the rumors so far, we expect Apple to launch an iPad Air 6, which is tipped to potentially come with an OLED display, a new M-series chip – probably the M2 chip but with scope for the M3 chip at a push – and come in a new 12.9-inch option for people who want a bigger tablet without needing to splash the cash on a high-end iPad Pro. 

Speaking of which, we're expecting to see new iPad Pro models. The iPad Pro 2024 modes are tipped to carry on with the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models, but are likely to drop the LCD and mini-LED displays of their respective predecessors for OLED panels; these would likely promise better colors and contrast, a boon for digital artists and content creators. As 'pro' tablets we can expect the new iPad Pros to make use of the M3 chip, with the larger model potentially getting a more powerful M3 Pro slice of silicon. 

There have been murmurs of a new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. The former could have a more laptop-like design, potentially being made out of aluminum and featuring a larger trackpad. The new Pencil could have various sensitivity improvements, more gesture options, and better compatibility with third-party apps; moreover it could also work with the Vision Pro. 

We also wouldn't be surprised if Apple touted more Vision Pro features and interconnectivity with the new iPads. And there's scope for the likes of a new iPad AIr getting a gaming focus given how the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip can run console-quality games and Apple Arcade keeps building out its library. 

All in all, the May Apple event could be an interesting one. It's not likely to shake things up like an iPhone launch; we'll need to wait until September and the likely launch of the iPhone 16 range go that. But May 7 could still host a livestream that Apple fans won't want to miss. 

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The iPad Air 6 is probably almost here, with signs suggesting it will land at the Apple event on May 7, but when it does, it might lack one of the key upgrades that has previously been rumored for it.

That upgrade is a mini-LED screen, which is the same type of display as the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) has. A week ago, reputable leaker Ross Young claimed that a mini-LED screen was planned for the 12.9-inch iPad Air 6, but now the same source has backtracked, with Young saying (via MacRumors) that the iPad Air 6 will have a standard LCD screen like its predecessor instead.

That’s arguably unfortunate, as the use of mini-LED would have delivered improved contrast and brightness, along with lower power consumption – though it would likely also have come at a higher price.

Keeping it mid-range

As such, perhaps this isn’t such a bad thing, since a mini-LED screen might bring the iPad Air 6 too close to the iPad Pro line in terms of price and features. Better maybe to keep this as a mid-range slate.

Of course, we’d take this with a pinch of salt for now, but since it’s the original source now backtracking on their mini-LED claims, we’d think a mini-LED screen is unlikely.

But the iPad Air 6 probably won’t be lacking for improvements, as other leaks suggest it will come in a larger 12.9-inch size along with a 10.9-inch version, and that it will have a powerful M2 chipset. So with a larger screen and more power this should hopefully be a worthwhile upgrade on the iPad Air (2022).

And if you do want a more substantial upgrade, you could always buy an iPad Pro 2024, which is expected to land alongside the iPad Air 6 on May 7, and which will reportedly have a new OLED screen and likely even more power than the upcoming Air.

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