In This Story
Apple (AAPL-9.76%) just unveiled a brand new model in its iPad Air series, equipped with the M3 chip that boasts faster processing and better ability to handle AI workloads.
Priced at $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch model, the new iPad Airs are nearly twice as fast as the iPad Airs with M1, the tech giant said in an announcement on Tuesday.
The new replacement with the M3 chips comes less than a year after Apple debuted the iPad Airs with the M2 chips.
The tech giant claims the neural engine in M3 is up to 60% faster for AI-based workloads than Apple’s M1 chip — but the M3 is not the latest chip tech the company has.
Apple introduced its latest powerful chip, M4, last May, and the chip has since been incorporated into various iPad, iMac, Mac mini and MacBook Pro models. M4-equipped Apple devices boast higher speed performance and are deemed better at handling artificial intelligence tasks than previous models like M3 and M1.
The iPad Airs with the M3 chip will also have increased support for Apple Intelligence, and advanced accessories like Apple Pencil Pro and the Magic Keyboard, which also got a brand new, larger trackpad in Tuesday’s update. Apple Intelligence is the company’s own artificial intelligence system, which includes ChatGPT integration into Writing Tools and Siri.
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased the announcement in an X post on Monday.
The tech giant revealed the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs with the M3 chip around the same time last year.
This might be the first of several product launches of Apple’s Air series this year. Rumors are swirling that a new MacBook Air model equipped with Apple’s powerful M4 chip, as well as a brand new super-thin iPhone Air will be unveiled by the tech giant later this year.