Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad Air How big of an upgrade is the M3 Air compared to a 3rd generation air?

F

Fishels

macrumors 6502
Original poster
OK guys so Apple is doing something really cool for me.

I was still enjoying my Air third generation and it was still very capable 5 years in. Obviously it felt a bit dated as it "looked old" and had a home button but it was still serving me every day from 2020 until now. My first Ipad was actually the 2nd gen Air.

Anyhow my Air 3 developed a bright white spot in the corner and long story short I was still paying monthly for applecare. I'm a clumsy person and its saved my butt alot. Anyway Apple is sending me a 11 inch Air 3 as they consider the gen 3 to be officially vintage.


It's supposed to be here tomorrow and I'm incredibly excited. Of course it won't be a pro but I've always wanted one with that new design and personally I still prefer fingerprint sensors to face ID. I have an Android phone that has both and I like both.

So is this going to feel like a massive leap forward or just a slight bump in performance? All I use my iPad for is browsing the web, watching YouTube and doing social media. To me a phone is way too small to enjoy that exclusively.

Let me know what you think please!
 
  • Like
Reactions: teohyc, Paul1964, I7guy and 1 other person
That’s great news. Kudos to Apple for making it right for you.

Technically, the M3 Air is a massive performance leap. However, if your usage is simple, then it might not be all that noticeable to you.

Personally, I find my iPad 9th gen (A13/3GB) on iPadOS 26 pretty laggy so I imagine the Air 3 (A12/3GB) would be similar or even worse. I reckon even M1/8GB or A16/6GB would be a noticeable upgrade for me so much more for the M3 Air. Alas, I kinda hate 26 so I don’t want to upgrade any of my good iPads just yet.

Anyway, enjoy your new iPad!
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: Herr Podspro, _Mitchan1999 and Fishels
rui no onna said:
That’s great news. Kudos to Apple for making it right for you.

Technically, the M3 Air is a massive performance leap. However, if your usage is simple, then it might not be all that noticeable to you.

Personally, I find my iPad 9th gen (A13/3GB) on iPadOS 26 pretty laggy so I imagine the Air 3 (A12/3GB) would be similar or even worse. I reckon even M1/8GB or A16/6GB would be a noticeable upgrade for me so much more for the M3 Air. Alas, I kinda hate 26 so I don’t want to upgrade any of my good iPads just yet.

Anyway, enjoy your new iPad!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! Why do you hate 26?
I keep seeing that sentiment.

Also im confused as to why Apple gave me a new ipad M3. Like couldn't they have just upgraded me to the air generation 4 or 5 and called it a day?

Obviously I'm an incredibly happy customer to be getting a brand new device for essentially free but surely they have to have plenty of refurbished Airs laying around that aren't the new one, right?
 
  • Like
Reactions: I7guy
Fishels said:
Thank you so much! Why do you hate 26?
I keep seeing that sentiment.
Click to expand...

Liquid glass looks uncomfortable to my eyes plus I use an abandoned app that got totally screwed up on 26.

Fishels said:
Also im confused as to why Apple gave me a new ipad M3. Like couldn't they have just upgraded me to the air generation 4 or 5 and called it a day?

Obviously I'm an incredibly happy customer to be getting a brand new device for essentially free but surely they have to have plenty of refurbished Airs laying around that aren't the new one, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, seems weird they didn’t use an older refurb. But hey, good for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Herr Podspro
Fishels said:
Thank you so much! Why do you hate 26?
I keep seeing that sentiment.

Also im confused as to why Apple gave me a new ipad M3. Like couldn't they have just upgraded me to the air generation 4 or 5 and called it a day?

Obviously I'm an incredibly happy customer to be getting a brand new device for essentially free but surely they have to have plenty of refurbished Airs laying around that aren't the new one, right?
Click to expand...
if you are using Android today and are used to different GUIs 26 won't feel that different. Looks a bit different, was initially plagued by a bugs, both visual and performance but lately beyond 26.2 its stable and are running well. You can tweak it a bit so it does look a little bit more like 18.

Why not try and hook the Air up to an external screen? Have started doing this lately and it works great with external mouse and keyboard. The extra amount of RAM will make a big difference in performance, especially webbrowsing of you are going for slightly heavier sites or are using more than one tab.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snipr125 and Fishels
Reverend Benny said:
if you are using Android today and are used to different GUIs 26 won't feel that different. Looks a bit different, was initially plagued by a bugs, both visual and performance but lately beyond 26.2 its stable and are running well. You can tweak it a bit so it does look a little bit more like 18.

Why not try and hook the Air up to an external screen? Have started doing this lately and it works great with external mouse and keyboard. The extra amount of RAM will make a big difference in performance, especially webbrowsing of you are going for slightly heavier sites or are using more than one tab.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I have never thought of doing that. I would say I'd be more tempted to go with the pro, not that i was talking Apple into that of course lol

I wish I didn't like Android in terms of phone because the ecosystem of having an IPhone with an iPad sure sounds nice. And if you look at it vice versa I think Ipad is way better than Android Tablets

I have literally never had an iPhone yet im a diehard ipad guy. I'm an odd breed

The last phone I upgraded was in 2020 so I'm due for a new one. Maybe I should look Into atleast trying the IPhone
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Reverend Benny and _Mitchan1999
Yeah, I reckon it’ll be a significant upgrade for you.

I upgraded from the A9X 9.7-inch iPad Pro to the M1 Air and the difference is significant, especially in terms of battery life for me. Performance-wise, the Pro was decent.

But I think that the biggest difference will still be constrained to the form factor, unless iPadOS 26 (if you had it) ran too poorly on the 3rd-gen Air. You saying that it was slow makes me think that, however.

For web browsing and YouTube, Safari will probably be faster. How much, I dunno. Battery life if the 3rd-gen Air was updated should be a LOT better on the M3, but the difference probably isn’t that massive barring the form factor.

Obviously a worthy upgrade even if hadn’t been free. In my opinion, the form factor alone makes the upgrade worth it.

The fact that you say that the Air was slow makes me think it was fully updated, in which case it’s even more of an upgrade.
 
Fishels said:
Well guys it came. The only thing so far is the screen almost feels too big because the Bezels are tiny. I’m hopeful that I will get used to it but it’s a beautiful device.

Everything is Fast! Again at last no more slow loading screens.
Click to expand...
I had an iPad 7th gen that was getting long in the tooth. So I upgraded to an iPad Air M3. The performance jump was like night and day. After two days the Touch ID was a little too touchy for me. So I returned it and upgraded to an iPad Pro M5 11 inch, which I got at a discount. Well the IPP M5 was a noticeable update from the iPad Air M3. And Face ID to me is much better than Touch ID on the power button.

I like iOS 26 and the windowed multitasking works well…after you get used to it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fishels and Reverend Benny
Enjoy your new iPad Air M3 OP, one thing to note though is standby battery life. I would get weeks of standby battery life on my iPad Air 3, but my iPad Air 4 with the newer USB C design barely lasts a week on standby!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fishels
Hey guys quick question about AppleCare. In the settings on my iPad it’s offering me a 59.99 dollar a year option, but if I had bought it from Best Buy you get 2 years for 79.99 if not mistaken. That’s quite a good deal, perhaps it is retailer specific?

But yeah I really like it. That home button I thought I’d be missing is already a distant relic and I love the feeling of no buttons and so much screen control. The only thing I’d change was I think it’s time to move on to 120hz for the Air. Other than that there’s no reason for me to want the pro. Hopefully since Apple is now offering 120hz on the base iPhone that will be coming down the pipeline.
 
Fishels said:
If you don’t care what others say you wouldn’t be on this forum 😉.

My IPad was getting replaced either way which i mentioned in my post, I was just wondering how big the gap was

It is indeed a great time though
Click to expand...
Id imagine the gap to be quit big. Better screen, battery life (and a new battery), speakers, camera. USB C s also very nice to have nowadays.
 
Fishels said:
Hey guys quick question about AppleCare. In the settings on my iPad it’s offering me a 59.99 dollar a year option, but if I had bought it from Best Buy you get 2 years for 79.99 if not mistaken. That’s quite a good deal, perhaps it is retailer specific?
Click to expand...

is that 79.99 from Best Buy for apple care, or Best Buy's brand of care? Id pay the extra for apple care from apple. I know on some items Best Buy offers its own policy.
 
G5isAlive said:
is that 79.99 from Best Buy for apple care, or Best Buy's brand of care? Id pay the extra for apple care from apple. I know on some items Best Buy offers its own policy.
Click to expand...

When my mom purchased an iPad from Best Buy, they offered her AppleCare+.

Mind, I believe Best Buy's own subscription service ($199/yr?) includes AppleCare+ coverage as part of the extended warranty services.
 
Fishels said:
Hey guys quick question about AppleCare. In the settings on my iPad it’s offering me a 59.99 dollar a year option, but if I had bought it from Best Buy you get 2 years for 79.99 if not mistaken. That’s quite a good deal, perhaps it is retailer specific?
Click to expand...

There are two versions offered. AppleCare+ $79/2 years (extended warranty and accidental damage only) and AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss $119/2 years.

I believe Apple only gives you the option with theft and loss coverage.
 
rui no onna said:
When my mom purchased an iPad from Best Buy, they offered her AppleCare+.
Click to expand...

just saying when I bought from Best Buy I recall them offering me both, AppleCare and their own brand. guess which is cheaper? you suggested you could get a better deal on AppleCare, and I am skeptical. but in the end, this is all theoretical. Apple gave you an upgraded iPad. enjoy. pay the AppleCare tax, its already worked for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back