Apple iPad Air 11″ (M3) vs Apple iPad Air (3rd generation)

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iPad Air 11″ (M3) compared with iPad Air (3rd generation)

	AppleiPad Air 11″ (M3)	AppleiPad Air (3rd generation)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2025	March 2019
Display
Screen size
Screen size	10.86″	10.5″
Resolution
Resolution	2360 × 1640 (better)	2224 × 1668
Sharpness
Sharpness	265 pixels per inch	265 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LCD	LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	500 nits
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display, LED-backlit IPS LCD; sold as 11-inch, 10.86 inches measured diagonally as a rectangle	Retina; LED-backlit IPS LCD (IPS confirmed by Notebookcheck)
Pixel density
Pixel density	264 ppi	264 ppi
Display features
Display features	Wide colour (P3); True Tone; fully laminated; anti-reflective coating; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating	P3 wide colour; True Tone; fully laminated; anti-reflective coating with 1.8% reflectivity; oleophobic coating
Performance
Chip
Chip	M3	A12 Bionic
Memory
Memory	8 GB (better)	3 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)	64 GB, 256 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores	64-bit A12 Bionic; M12 motion coprocessor; 3 GB RAM confirmed by iFixit
GPU
GPU	9-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with hardware-accelerated 8K HEVC, 4K H.264, ProRes and ProRes RAW, AV1 decode	–
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	Neural Engine
Cameras
Rear camera
Rear camera	12 MP (better)	8 MP
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	None	None
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP (better)	7 MP
Rear camera
Rear camera	12MP Wide, ƒ/1.8, five-element lens, autofocus with Focus Pixels, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4	f/2.4 five-element lens; backside illumination; hybrid IR filter; autofocus; wide colour and Live Photos; HDR; panorama up to 43 MP; burst; timer; auto image stabilisation
Front camera
Front camera	Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/2.0	FaceTime HD; f/2.2; Retina Flash; wide colour capture; backside illumination; auto HDR; burst; timer
Video recording
Video recording	4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; cinematic video stabilisation (4K, 1080p and 720p)	Rear 1080p; slow-motion at 240 fps; stabilised time-lapse; video stabilisation; 3x video zoom; front 1080p at 30 fps
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 10 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	28.93 Wh	30.2 Wh (better)
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Stylus
Stylus	Supported, sold separately	Supported, sold separately
Keyboard made for it
Keyboard made for it	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 10 hours surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video; up to 9 hours surfing the web on mobile data	Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi browsing, video or music; nine hours cellular browsing
Charging
Charging	Via USB-C power adapter (not included) or computer	USB power adapter or USB computer charging
USB-C
USB-C	USB-C with charging, DisplayPort and USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); one external display up to 6K at 60Hz	Lightning; 3.5 mm headphone jack; Smart Connector
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO	Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac; HT80 with MIMO
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.0
Mobile network
Mobile network	5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; eSIM only	Gigabit-class LTE; nano-SIM with Apple SIM support and eSIM; cellular model weighs 464 g
Stylus support
Stylus support	Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C); Apple Pencil hover	Apple Pencil (1st generation), sold separately
Keyboards
Keyboards	Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (white)	Smart Keyboard, sold separately
Design
Weight
Weight	460 g	456 g (better)
Thickness
Thickness	6.1 mm	6.1 mm
Height × width
Height × width	247.6 × 178.5 mm	250.6 × 174.1 mm
Operating system
Operating system	iPadOS	iPadOS
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID in the top button	Touch ID in Home button
Speakers
Speakers	Landscape stereo speakers	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Dual microphones
Sensors
Sensors	Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor	Three-axis gyro; accelerometer; barometer; ambient light; compass; iBeacon; GPS and GNSS on cellular model
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium in the enclosure	–
Colours
Colours	Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey	Silver, Gold, Space Grey
Software at launch
Software at launch	iPadOS 18	iOS 12; orders opened 18 March 2019, with shops receiving it the following week
In the box
In the box	iPad Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m)	iPad Air; Lightning to USB cable; USB power adapter