Tim Cook wasn't lying: the Apple boss announced yesterday that there was "something in the Air" this week, and it starts with... not the MacBook Air as many may have thought, but the iPad Air! The 11- and 13-inch tablets are swapping their old M2 chip for a brand new M3, "practically twice as fast as the iPad Air M1", assures Apple, which prefers not to compare with the previous model, and for good reason.
On paper, this "speed bump" doesn't have enough interest to motivate the purchase of a new iPad if you have an M2 version. One could even think that the user of an iPad M1 (released in 2022) does not really need the new model. This is especially true since Apple Intelligence functions already work very well on an M1.
The standard iPad doubles its storage
Apart from this M3 chip, there are no major changes in these new tablets, which still support the Pencil Pro and Pencil (USB-C). Apple has nevertheless revised the Magic Keyboard for these iPad Air, the keyboard/case now integrating a row of 14 function keys to easily access the screen brightness and volume controls. A privilege that is still very expensive, at from 329€.
iPad Air prices start at 719€ for the 11-inch model (128GB), and 969€ for the 13-inch version. Pre-orders have started from today, for delivery from March 12.
There's also something new for the standard iPad: the engine now accommodates an A16 chip, representing a performance gain of 30% compared to the previous 2022 model (A14). ÇThat won't be enough for Apple Intelligence features, unfortunately! The good news is that this tablet is now available with 128GB of storage, double the amount before, starting at 409€. Here too, pre-orders are underway and the first deliveries will take place on March 12.
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