iPad Air (M2) vs iPad Air (M3)

Apple announced iPad Air (M2) on 7 May 2024, in stores from 15 May 2024, as the first Air sold in both an 11-inch and a 13-inch size. Just under ten months later, on 4 March 2025, iPad Air (M3) took its place in the same aluminum case, in stores from 12 March 2025. A year after that, iPad Air (M4) replaced it in turn, so both of these are previous-generation tablets now.

If you own an M2, don’t trade it for an M3. Apple added hardware ray tracing to the chip and took two grams off the 11-inch; the screens, batteries, memory, radios, port and Pencil support stayed as they were. If you want more than the M2 has, the later iPad Air (M4) is the one with 12GB of memory, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread and an optional C1X modem, covered in iPad Air (M3) vs iPad Air (M4).

Almost everything matches

Spec	iPad Air (M2)	iPad Air (M3)
Announced	7 May 2024; in stores 15 May 2024	4 March 2025; in stores 12 March 2025
Chip	M2: 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine	M3: same core counts, plus hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Weight, 11-inch	462 g	460 g
Weight, 13-inch	617 g Wi-Fi; 618 g cellular	616 g Wi-Fi; 617 g cellular
Front camera	Landscape 12 MP Ultra Wide with Center Stage, f/2.0	Landscape 12 MP Center Stage, f/2.0
Cellular launch price	Not published	$749 (11-inch); $949 (13-inch)
Education price	Not published	$549 (11-inch); $749 (13-inch)
Magic Keyboard for iPad Air	Sold separately; no price given	Sold separately; later listed at $269 (11-inch) and $319 (13-inch), black
Screen	11-inch: 2360 × 1640, 500 nits; 13-inch: 2732 × 2048, 600 nits	Same
Size	11-inch: 247.6 × 178.5 × 6.1 mm; 13-inch: 280.6 × 214.9 × 6.1 mm	Same
Memory and storage	8GB; 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB	Same
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3; 5G cellular, eSIM only	Same
Apple Pencil	Pencil Pro and USB-C, with hover	Same
Port	USB 3 up to 10 Gb/s; one display up to 6K at 60 Hz	Same
Battery	28.93 Wh (11-inch), 36.59 Wh (13-inch); up to 10 hours	Same
In the box	20W adapter; 1 m USB-C cable	Same
Wi-Fi launch price	$599 (11-inch); $799 (13-inch)	Same
Finishes	Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Gray	Same
Location	Compass, Wi-Fi and iBeacon on every model; GPS and GNSS with cellular	Same

Ray tracing is the only new silicon

M2 and M3 share a layout: an 8-core CPU with four performance and four efficiency cores, a 9-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. What M3 adds is hardware-accelerated ray tracing. That matters in games and 3D apps written to use it. It isn’t a reason to expect notes, reading or video to feel any different, and Apple doesn’t put a percentage on M3 over M2.

Memory stays put too. Both have 8GB at every storage size from 128GB to 1TB, so the 1TB model buys space, not memory, and neither takes a microSD card. Apple’s 12GB Air came a generation later.

Same screens, same batteries

Apple left the displays alone. Both sizes use an LED-backlit Liquid Retina IPS panel with P3, True Tone, full lamination, antireflective and oleophobic coatings and Pencil hover. The 11-inch is a 10.86-inch rectangle at 2360 × 1640 and 264 pixels per inch, rated at 500 nits; the 13-inch is 2732 × 2048 at 264 pixels per inch and 600 nits. Neither has ProMotion, which at 120 Hz remains a Pro feature.

Battery capacity didn’t move either: 28.93 watt-hours in the 11-inch and 36.59 in the 13-inch, with Apple’s rating of up to 10 hours of Wi-Fi web or video and up to 9 hours of web use on cellular. Both ship with a 20-watt adapter and a 1-meter USB-C cable. Apple gives neither one a fast-charge rating.

Two grams and a camera label

The M3 is a touch lighter: 460 grams for the 11-inch against 462, and 616 and 617 grams for the 13-inch Wi-Fi and cellular models against 617 and 618. That’s two grams on the small Air and one on the big one, too little to matter.

The front camera’s description changed, not its numbers. Apple calls the M2’s a landscape 12 MP Ultra Wide with Center Stage and the M3’s a landscape 12 MP Center Stage camera, dropping the Ultra Wide label; both are f/2.0 and record 1080p. Around the back nothing changed: a 12 MP Wide camera at f/1.8, recording 4K video at up to 60 frames per second. Neither has LiDAR. The M3’s sensor list names a gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor and Touch ID.

Radios, Pencil and port

Wireless is identical: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax, 2x2 MIMO) and Bluetooth 5.3, so the M3 doesn’t bring Wi-Fi 7. The cellular versions of both are 5G sub-6 with 4x4 MIMO and Gigabit LTE, eSIM only with no nano-SIM tray, and the modem isn’t the C1X that later Airs use. On the 11-inch M2, the cellular models are A2899 and A2903.

Pencil support matches too, hover included, so hover isn’t an M3 extra. Both unlock with Touch ID in the top button, play through landscape stereo speakers with two microphones, and have a USB-C port at USB 3 speeds up to 10 gigabits per second that drives one external display at up to 6K and 60 Hz. That isn’t Thunderbolt. Both have a Smart Connector for a keyboard, and Apple lists Apple Intelligence for both, with region and language limits.

What they cost

Apple charged the same for both: $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch with Wi-Fi, in May 2024 and again on 4 March 2025. For the M3 it also gave cellular prices of $749 and $949, $150 over Wi-Fi, and education prices of $549 and $749. It didn’t publish either for the M2, so a seller’s cellular price for one has no launch figure to compare with. Magic Keyboard for iPad Air is extra; the later price Apple gave alongside the M3 is $269 for the 11-inch and $319 for the 13-inch, in black.

With both now previous-generation tablets, the price in front of you decides it. A refurbished M2 well under an M3 is the sensible buy, and paying the same for the older chip isn’t. Refurbished listings can mix storage sizes, so check the capacity and current prices before you buy.

Neither is the Air for 12GB of memory or Wi-Fi 7; that’s the M4. Tandem OLED, four speakers, Face ID and Thunderbolt mean an iPad Pro, and an 8.3-inch screen means the iPad mini.