The M2 iPad Air has yet to be released, but rumors about a next-generation device are already floating around the web. A private X account that usually shares correct information about upcoming Apple builds and firmware for its products says Cupertino is working on an M3 iPad Air.
While you may think that the iPad Air getting the M3 makes sense, Apple could have ultimately scrapped these plans, as it jumped from the M2 to M4 with the iPad Pro. The reason behind it is that the first-generation 3nm technology that TSMC applies to the M3 isn’t as good as we hoped.
Take, for example, the A17 Pro on the iPhone 15 Pro. Even after software updates, the processor still overheats with some demanding tasks, which makes the battery drain faster. Although M3 Macs users don’t complain about overheating, thanks to most MacBook cooling systems, the improvements over M2 are pretty modest.
Besides GPU enhancements, such as hardware ray tracing and Dynamic Cache, Apple doesn’t compare the M3 processor with the M2 but with the M1 or older Intel options.
That said, once Cupertino decides to unveil the next-generation iPad Air – around a year from now – it will have a modest upgrade compared to the current model, which could lead to poor sales.
On the other hand, if Apple keeps the iPad Air two generations behind the iPad Pro, it might help boost sales for the most expensive product. Since the Air model is expected to get an OLED display in 2026 at the earliest, Cupertino might want to highlight the differences between these lines in the meantime.
Besides that, little is known about the future M3 iPad Air. Still, I wouldn’t put my hopes up. Apple will likely keep 11-inch and 13-inch options, the landscape front-facing camera, and the same design with colorful options to choose from.
Of course, we’re still in the early days of M3 iPad Air rumors, and BGR will let you know as we discover more about this tablet.
