- The new M3 iPad Air offers good value for $ 599 / £ 599 / AU $ 999
- But it becomes less attractive when you start adding upgrades
- If you do, it might be more sensible to buy an iPad Pro
Apple has just launched a new iPad Air with the M3 chip that updates the Mid-Range tablet while holding its $ 599 / £ 599 / AU $ 999 Starting price the same as the M2 edition-a nice little lift for Apple fans. Still, I’ve seen a look at the different configuration settings (see the full list below), and pretty quickly you run into a problem: iPad Pro.
Here is an example. If it was me and I got my heart to buy an iPad Air, I would probably have the 13-inch model over the 11-inch version. This not only gives you a more expansive screen-What is great for watching movies and editing videos-but it is actually brighter than 11-inch iPad Air. While this device goes up to 500 nits brightness, the 13-inch iPad Air Air maximizes 600 nits.
But picking up the upgrade pushes iPad Air’s price up to $ 799 / £ 799 / AU $ 1,349. Add a storage upgrade from the base 128 GB to 256 GB and you are looking at a total sum of $ 899. It’s quite expensive for a medium -sized tablet and that means iPad Air loses some of its shine.
|
Model |
$ Us |
£ uk |
Au $ |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (128 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 599 |
£ 599 |
AU $ 999 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (256 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 699 |
£ 699 |
AU $ 1,199 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (512 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 899 |
£ 899 |
AU $ 1,549 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (1TB), Wi-Fi |
$ 1,099 |
£ 1,099 |
AU $ 1,899 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (128 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 749 |
£ 749 |
AU $ 1,249 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (256 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 849 |
£ 849 |
AU $ 1,449 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (512 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 1,049 |
£ 1,049 |
AU $ 1,799 |
|
iPad Air M3 11-inch (1TB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 1,249 |
£ 1,249 |
AU $ 2,149 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (128 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 799 |
£ 799 |
AU $ 1,349 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (256 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 899 |
£ 899 |
AU $ 1,549 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (512 GB), Wi-Fi |
$ 1,099 |
£ 1,099 |
AU $ 1,899 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (1 TB), Wi-Fi |
$ 1,299 |
£ 1,299 |
AU $ 2,249 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (128 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 949 |
£ 949 |
AU $ 1,599 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (256 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 1,049 |
£ 1,049 |
AU $ 1,799 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (512 GB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 1,249 |
£, 1249 |
AU $ 2,149 |
|
iPad Air M3 13-inch (1 TB), Wi-Fi + Cellular |
$ 1,449 |
£ 1,449 |
AU $ 2,499 |
A price problem
If you spend so much money, it may actually be worth considering 11-inch iPad Pro, starting at just $ 100 more ($ 999 / £ 999 / AU $ 1,699).
It gives you an excellent Tandem OLED screen, Facial IID, Promotion Update Rates, up to 1,600 nits of maximum brightness and M4 chip, among other benefits. It’s a lot of extra oomph for not much more cash. The main disadvantage is that you get a smaller 11-inch screen as 13-inch iPad Pro starts at the more expensive price price of $ 1,299 / £ 1,299 / $ 2,199.
But if you can live with the 11-inch screen (which is still a great screen thanks to the tandem OLED), you get one of the best tablets that money can only buy for a little more than a less advanced iPad Air. And ironically, the iPad Pro is even thinner than iPad Air, despite the latter name, suggesting that it should be the most easy option.
It’s a difficult position to be in. Don’t wrong me, Basic level $ 599 / £ 599 / AU $ 999 iPad Air is great value and you get a lot of tablet for your money thanks to its featherweight design and M3-chip. But once you start adding the upgrades, it is much less attractive compared to the iPad Pro.
Deciding which device is right for you will come down on personal preference, but if I looked at iPad Air and added a few upgrades, I would find myself running unnecessary toward the iPad Pro.
Maybe it’s apple that retired people by being smart with its pricing, or maybe it’s a supervision that is under -budded iPad air. Either way, the new iPad Air makes the most sense when you don’t add any upgrades to it.
