Apple unveils all-new iPad Air M3 series, Magic Keyboard

Apple also updated its regular iPad with A16 silicon. Both the new iPad Air M3 and iPad with A16 will be available for purchase next week on March 12 in India.

As hinted by Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday, the Cupertino-based technology major unveiled the new generation iPad Air with powerful M3 silicon.

The latest iPad Air comes in two screen sizes-- 11-inch and 13-inch. They feature Liquid Retina (2360x1640p) display with pixel density of 264 ppi (pixels per inch), True Tone technology and anti-reflective coating. It also sports TouchID fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers (in landscape orientation), two microphones and a USB-C port.

Inside, it is powered by Apple M3 silicon. Compared to M1, the Neural Engine in M3 is up to 60 percent faster for Aritificial Intelligence-based workloads.

It has a more powerful 8-core CPU, which can deliver up to 35 percent faster for multithreaded CPU workflows than iPad Air with M1.

Further, the M3 features a 9-core GPU with up to 40 percent faster graphics performance over M1.

The new iPad Air comes with Apple’s advanced graphics architecture. It will support dynamic caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing to deliver immerssive gaming experience. For graphics-intensive rendering workflows, iPad Air with M3 can offer up to 4x faster performance than iPad Air with M1. It ensures accurate lighting, reflections, shadows, and extremely realistic gaming experiences.

Apple M3 silicon.

The latest iPad Air M3 also supports all the Apple Intelligence features including Clean Up tool, Genmoji, smart Writing Tools, Image Playground, Image Wand (via Apple Pencil Pro & Pencil with USB-C), ChatGPT and more.

“iPad Air is so popular because of its unmatched combination of powerful performance, portability, and support for advanced accessories, all at an affordable price. For everyone from college students taking notes with Apple Pencil Pro, to travellers and content creators who need powerful productivity on the go, iPad Air with M3, Apple Intelligence, and the new Magic Keyboard take versatility and value to the next level,” said said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Apple iPad Air M3 with Magic Keyboard.

It also boasts of 12MP wide camera with f/1.8 aperture, Smart HDR Photos 4.0, and digital zoom up to 5X and record up to 4K resolution videos. On the front, it houses a 12MP Center Stage camera,ƒ/2.0 aperture, 2X zoom, Retina Flash with True Tone, and full HD video recording capability.

Apple has also introduced the all-new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air. It boasts of a large built-in trackpad and a new 14-key function row allows easy access to features like screen brightness and volume controls.

The new Magic Keyboard can easy attach magnetically with the iPad Air. Also, the Smart Connector can instantly connect to power and data without the need for Bluetooth.

Apple iPad Air M3 with Magic Keyboard.

The keyboard boasts a machined aluminum hinge, which by the way also features a USB-C connector for charging.

Apple also unveiled iPad 11th gen, which succeeeds regular iPad (10th gen with A13). The latest model boasts of A16 silicon.

Compared to the predecessor, the updated iPad with A16 is almost 30 percent faster. Compared to iPad with A13 Bionic, it can deliver up to 50 percent improvement in overall performance.

Apple iPad with A16 silicon.

The new iPad Air M3 is available in four storage options-- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. And, it comes in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + Cellular options. The 11-inch iPad Air Wi-Fi (128GB) starts at Rs 59,900 and cellular model (128GB) at Rs 74,900.

The 13-inch iPad Air M3 (Wi-Fi) starts at Rs 79,900 and the cellular model (128GB) at Rs 94,900.

The Magic Keyboard costs Rs 26,900 for the 11-inch model and Rs 29,900 for the 13-inch model. It comes in white colour.

The new iPad starts with 128GB of storage, and is also available in 256GB and a new 512GB configuration. IT will be available in blue, pink, yellow, and silver.

Wi-Fi models of the new iPad are available with a starting price of Rs 34,900, and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at Rs 49,900.

For education, Wi-Fi models of the new iPad are available with a starting price of Rs 32,900, and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at Rs 47,900.

All the new iPad will be available for pre-order today (March 4) and can be purchased next week on March 12.

Besides the new iPad, Apple is slated to bring the Apple MacBook Air M4 series later this week.

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