2025 iPad Air: What you need to know about the rumored M3 iPad Air

Macworld

It’s not quite a year since Apple updated the iPad Air with an M2 processor back in May 2024, more than two years after the launch of the M1 model. Apple didn’t change the design much, though it did introduce a larger 13-inch model. It looks like the wait won’t be so long for the next model—less than a year later, rumors of a new iPad Air are already flying, and we’ve collected everything we know here.

UPDATE: February 19 2025: Apple didn’t launch a new iPad Air alongside the iPhone 16E on Wednesday February 19, but we could still see a new iPad Air really soon.

2025 iPad Air release date: When will the new iPad Air launch?

Spring 2025 (expected) – after March 15, 2025.

One iPad is long overdue an update: the standard iPad, which doesn’t even support Apple Intelligence, is expected to get an update to become the 11th gen iPad. But the iPad Air may also be getting a surprise update.

That update didn’t happen alongside the launch of the iPhone 16E on Wednesday, February 11, but a new iPad Air is expected to launch soon.

It was not a surprise that Apple didn’t update the iPad Air on February 19. The company is running its Higher Education Offer 2025 in Australia until March 15, where they are offering an Apple Pencil with iPad Air and iPad Pro. Apple is unlikely to change the specs of a device currently in a promotion.

It is possible that Apple will want to get the iPad Air update out before its second financial quarter of 2025 ends on March 28.

The indication that an iPad Air update is coming came in October 2024 when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple will release an iPad Air update at the same time as the replacement for the iPhone SE. In January 2025, Gurman reiterated that the iPad Air would become available this spring.

The current M2 iPad Air was released in May 2024, so a spring 2025 release for a new iPad Air would be short of a year later. Here’s when the past five iPad Air models launched:

iPad Air (M2): May 2024

iPad Air (5th generation): March 2022

iPad Air (4th generation): October 2020

iPad Air (3rd generation): March 2019

iPad Air 2: October 2014

2025 iPad Air price: How much will the new iPad Air cost?

The iPad has remained at $599 since its 2020 redesign.

The price may also be affected by component prices, plus unfavorable exchange rates may mean the iPad costs more where you are.

The current 11-inch M2 iPad Air starts at $599/£599 while the 13-inch model starts at $799/£799. 2024 was the first year Apple offers the iPad Air in two sizes.

It’s not unprecedented for Apple to raise prices. When Apple released the M4 iPad Pro in May 2024, it raised the prices by $100/£100. That price hike was accompanied by a new tandem OLED display, which the iPad Air is unlikely to receive. However, Apple may increase the price of the 2025 iPad Air in places where the local currency has fallen against the dollar. This is something it has done in the past, although it didn’t adjust prices with the arrival of the iPhone 16E (other than raising the price of that handset compared to its predecessor) so hopefully there will be no price hikes coming.

2025 iPad Air features: What specs will we see in the new iPad Air?

A new chip is the main upgrade

Other major upgrades are unlikely

With the 2024 iPad Air release, Apple revamped the iPad Air lineup. In addition to creating two sizes (11- and 13-inches), Apple upgraded the chip from an M1 to an M2 and moved the front-facing camera to the landscape edge. Apple made a few smaller changes, such as upgrading Bluetooth to 5.3, Wi-Fi to 6E, and the Smart HDR implementation in the camera to HDR 4.

The 2025 iPad Air is expected to be a chip upgrade without much else. What that new chip will be, however, is in question. When Apple upgraded the iPad Air in 2024 it used the older M2 chip while the iPad Pro jumped to the M4 due to numerous issues with the M3. In mid-January 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that he “wouldn’t be terribly surprised” if the 2024 iPad Air jumped to the M4. The M5 iPad Pro update isn’t expected until later in 2025.




Tthe 2025 iPad Air will feature an M3 or M4 chip.Petter Ahrnstedt

A private post by leaker Evan Blass in January claims to show what is supposedly an official Apple document that identifies the new iPad Air as with an M3 chip, not an M4. However, that document also contained an image of the iPhone SE 4 with a Dynamic Island, which has been largely debunked.

We’ll update this article as more information becomes available. Until then, you should check out our best iPad Air deals, our best 10th-gen iPad deals and best iPad deals roundups to see if you can find a bargain on the current range.