For the majority of people who are looking to buy the best iPad, it’s going to be the iPad Air. That’s true whether you’re upgrading from an older one or want your first iPad to have proper versatility and power.
It sits right in the middle of Apple’s range, with big upgrades over the entrylevel model, but without the premium iPad Pro perks that aren’t for all of us. I’d argue that this midrange tablet is more than capable enough to replace a laptop.
Apple has now launched the newest iPad Air with the M3 chip and, just like the last one, it’s a fantastic tablet. I’ve been using the new 2025 iPad Air for several days now, and it’s clear Apple continues to deliver the goods. This time around, it is more of an iterative update – one that builds on what made the previous generation so appealing rather than having loads of headlinegrabbing changes – but it’s still very easy to recommend.
It has the same sleek design in both 11‑inch and 13‑inch sizes, making it ideal for productivity, creativity, reading and streaming videos. So, if you’re after performance and versatility without paying for the highend Pro features you may not use, this is where to start.
Apple iPad Air M3: At a glance
Apple iPad Air M3
Key specifications
| Processor | Apple M3 |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 11inch or 13inch |
| Screen resolution | 2360 x 1640 pixels or 2732 x 2048 pixels |
| Ports | USBC x1, Magnetic connector x1 |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| Cameras | 12MP ultrawide (frontfacing) and 12MP wide (rearfacing) |
| Colours | Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey |
What’s new about the iPad Air M3?
This year’s model gets a welcome upgrade with the new M3 chip, promising faster processing and improved efficiency over its predecessor, last year’s iPad Air with the M2 processor.
Otherwise, the colours, price, cameras and physical sizes remain the same. Alongside the chip upgrade, though, Apple has introduced an upgraded Magic Keyboard featuring a larger trackpad, a full row of function keys, and support for faster USB‑C charging.
Apple iPad Air M3: Design and display
As this is an iterative update, Apple hasn’t overhauled the design at all. The new iPad Air continues to be a thin, sleek and minimalist slate with rounded edges and a recycled aluminium chassis. It also comes in exactly the same colours as the previous version of the Air, so you can buy it in either Blue, Purple, Starlight or Space Grey.
Both the 11‑inch and 13‑inch versions have the same highquality LCD, which Apple calls the Liquid Retina display. This is not an OLED screen like you’ll find on the iPad Pro, so that model is still better for its display.
In my testing, I’ve found that this still delivers natural colours and sharp details, so it’s great for streaming and creative work. It also gets very bright and does a good job of dealing with reflections, so it’s great for viewing in all lighting conditions. It’s the same display as in last year’s iPad Air, so there’s no big shock here!
Apple iPad Air M3: Performance and battery life
Powered by the M3 chip, this iPad Air handles multitasking and resourceheavy apps with ease. In my daytoday use, everything from productivity software to streaming highresolution videos has been snappy.
However, it’s worth noting that this has been the case for the previous M1 and M2 iPad Airs too – it’s an area where you’ll really notice the improvement if you’re coming from an older or entrylevel model, but you may not see a big difference between this and other iPad Airs of recent years.
Given that this now claims to have almost double the speed of the iPad Air with the M1 chip, though, it could be a noticeable upgrade for users who were pushing the M1 to its limit. One area where it’s notably better is with graphics, as the additions here result in a much better experience for gamers.
When it comes to battery life, there’s also no difference between this and the other models in the range; Apple promises 10 hours of use from a single charge, and it feels like it lives up to that claim, as ever!
Apple iPad Air M3: Software
The iPad Air runs on the latest version of iPadOS, which will be intuitive to anyone familiar with an iPhone, but has robust multitasking features to improve the experience. To make it feel more laptoplike, you can also go into the “Stage Manager” feature and have hovering windows for apps, something you can’t do with the latest entrylevel iPad.
I’ve written much of this review on the new iPad Air and I’ve found iPadOS really helpful. The interface is also ideal for reading, watching films and doing research. Because it supports the highend Apple Pencil Pro, it’s great for notetakers and artists too. The system feels fluid overall, and there’s a huge library of available apps in the App Store.
Like any Mseries iPad, this also has Apple Intelligence built into the operating system, so you can generate your own emoji, use Writing Tools to summarise long notes and proofread work, and use Clean Up to remove distractions from the background of photos. The full suite of Apple Intelligence features is, unfortunately, missing from the entrylevel iPad, so you’d need to invest in this model if you’re interested in these features.
Apple iPad Air M3: Accessory support
Beyond support for the Apple Pencil (USB‑C) and Apple Pencil Pro, there’s now an upgraded Magic Keyboard you can buy to go with this iPad. This has a larger trackpad and a dedicated row of 14 function keys, which makes typing and navigating feel much more like it does on a laptop. It also puts the controls for volume, music playback and screen brightness right at your fingertips, just like they are on a typical Mac keyboard.
The new keyboard is responsive, easy to use, and makes the iPad much more of a portable workstation. I also love that it now supports faster charging via the builtin USBC port on the keyboard, which is a big upgrade from the old one. It is still an investment at £269, but one I’d say is worth it if you’re intending to work with this iPad on the go.
Apple iPad Air M3: Storage and price
Just like the previous generation, the new iPad Air starts at 128GB, with options to upgrade to higher capacities if you need more space. The other options are 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB – I think 256GB is a good sweet spot if you think you’re going to store a lot of photos, videos and files on the device. That said, many of us simply won’t fill up 128GB, and that’s particularly true if you mostly stream shows, music and films, don’t need any large apps or games, and generally use cloud storage rather than downloading files.
In the UK, the best news is that the pricing has stayed consistent with the previous launch: the 11‑inch model starts at £599 and the 13‑inch variant starts at £799. This is a competitive price for the value of the iPad Air, especially as the M3 chip makes it a mid‑range powerhouse, offering many of the benefits of the iPad Pro at a more attainable price point.
The Good Housekeeping verdict on the iPad Air M3
The new iPad Air is a fantastic pick for the majority of buyers, and one I have no trouble recommending. While there are a handful of features that I’d like to see make their way from the Pro lineup down to the Air, none of these are substantial enough to be dealbreakers.
The Air does lack an OLED display, but its screen is more than good enough for everything you’ll need it to do. It would be lovely if this had Face ID too, but I can’t complain about Apple’s reliable fingerprint sensor. This is ultimately more of an iterative update and last year’s model may be just as good for you, but the speed of the M3 chip and lack of price increase make this a highquality pick.
The iPad Air remains the best versatile iPad for simple design, great accessory support, two screen sizes, a powerful processor, excellent battery life and useful multitasking features (plus Apple Intelligence), which you’re not going to find on the most basic model.
As I said at the start of this review – if there’s one iPad that I’d recommend to almost everyone, it’s this one.
Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and moneysaving advice guides and edited thousands of indepth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
