The M4 iPad Air is powerful, but I'd recommend this Apple tablet instead

Date:
Tue, 26 May 2026 02:20:55 +0000

Description:
Apples 11-inch M3 iPad Air from last year is still a powerful tablet for the price, and this discount makes it a better buy than the current one.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Apple s iPad Air has been a great middle-ground tablet in recent years, sitting between the top-tier workhorse iPad Pro and the base model iPad.

While its tempting to get this years model with the desktop-class Apple M4 processor, last years iPad Air with the M3 chipset is currently discounted on Amazon Australia at AU$797 , which is 20% off the RRP of the new version.

The current model might have the more powerful processor and more RAM (12GB
vs 8GB in the M3 model), but our tests have shown that you really wont feel the difference in speed between the two iPad Airs when browsing, streaming, taking notes or drawing. The power upgrade really only makes a difference if youre doing a lot of heavy 3D or AI work with the tablet. For the average user, the M3 silicon is plenty powerful and then some. Save 20% (AU$202)
Apple iPad Air M3 (11-inch, 128GB): was AU$999 now AU$797 at Amazon In a time of component shortages and increasing cost-of-living pressures, Apple has managed to keep the RRP of the iPad Air the same in recent years, adding to the value proposition. This discount for the M3-powered model from 2025 stretches that value further, where you get powerful specs that no Android tablet in its price range will be able to match. View Deal In our iPad Air M3 review , the tester found the chipset helped make the tablet fly with nearly every task thrown at it, handling video editing and graphically demanding AAA games effortlessly. They even said that the tablet performed almost similarly to the M4 iPad Pro at the time, which had them question exactly which
specific use cases might require someone to make that jump to the top-tier offering.

While the iPad Air is still capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, the Liquid Retina display is excellent and has punchy colours, good contrast and 500 nits peak brightness.

The M3 model is also perfect if youre upgrading from an older iPad Air, an entry-level iPad or another tablet, providing you with enough processing
power to last you a few more years before it feels sluggish.

If you want to take full advantage of the iPad Airs features, you can use
your savings to invest in the Apple Pencil Pro to take notes with, or get a keyboard folio to make it a laptop replacement. Today's best Apple iPad Air
M3 11 deals 501.60 View Deal 899 649 View Deal 749 View Deal Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tablets/ipad-air/the-m4-ipad-air-is-powerful-but-id- recommend-this-apple-tablet-instead


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