Tim Cook summarized today’s Apple product news in a succinct post on X that caused a bit of laughter across the internet: ”Introducing the newest iPad Air!”
The humor is in the fact that there really isn’t much to say about the M3 iPad Air. It’s just the newest one! However, there is something fascinating about “the newest iPad Air!” that isn’t obvious but deserves attention.
The most anyone can really say about the M3 iPad Air is that the optional keyboard case is a little different. We’re down in the weeds when comparing the outgoing iPad Air accessories with the new stuff in a way that makes me start to nod off.
At least the M2 iPad Air had something bigger going for it. Namely, that there was a bigger version of it. The M3 iPad Air, on the other hand, comes in the same colors with the same displays that use the same cameras and have the same storage tiers for the same price.
The difference between the M2 chip and M3 chip arguably only appeals to people who should probably buy the M4 iPad Pro instead.
Yet there’s still something interesting happening with the M3 iPad Air launch that’s rather odd.
First, people are having strong reactions to the M3 iPad Air. The new iPad Air isn’t even out yet, but the reviews are in…
”This is the most sad product announcement I’ve ever seen in the history of Apple,” says the top response to Tim’s Tuesday morning post.
“So….the same product you’ve been releasing for years? But, let me guess a small bump in processing power, slightly better camera, no real new features, but increased price,” reads another reply.
(For the record, the camera isn’t even slightly better, nor has the price been increased.)
”Is this a joke?” asks another responder. A fourth response actually describes the M3 iPad Air situation pretty well. “Re-introducing the iPad Air from 2024, but with the M3 this time.”
I mean, pretty much — not that there’s anything wrong with that.
That’s the thing about the M3 iPad Air. It replaces the M2 iPad Air that was only introduced last May. Less than a year on the market for an iPad Air model that replaced a model that stuck around for two years. Weird! But not bad!
If all Apple did for a while was update each iPad with a one year newer chip, that really wouldn’t be so bad. Boring? Arguably. But an annual update cadence is less boring than unpredictable iterative updates.
The fact that the M3 iPad Air arrives just nine months after the M2 iPad Air is the most interesting thing about it to me. I’m not sure you can call Apple lazy for that turnaround speed even if the colors and marketing image are unchanged.
As an aside, I thought the same thing that Dan Moren wrote on Six Colors today about the choice to go with the M3 chip at all:
The use of the M3 processor is also somewhat surprising, given that it’s based on an outdated manufacturing process that Apple has otherwise been aggressive about transitioning away from on the rest of its product line.
In fact, I was fully prepared to write that Apple had completely discontinued the M3 chip by the end of the week. That would be based on my assumption that Apple will update the MacBook Air to the M4 chip, keep the M2 MacBook Air around to hit a price point (helping explain why it updated the base RAM to 16GB), and remove the M3 MacBook Air from its lineup.
Instead, Apple actually added a new M3 device to the mix. I guess that’s no stranger than introducing a new iPhone in 2025 without MagSafe… or a new iPad without Apple Intelligence.
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