iPad Air M3 review: Consistency is a clear virtue, at least for now

In 2013, when Apple launched its first ever iPad Air, it felt like a rich kid’s fancy new toy. This was, of course, an era when mobile computing was far from at par with what laptops could pull off. Today, the 2025 Apple iPad Air M3 is anything but that—in fact, it offers interesting commentary on the perennial question around whether you can really work with a tablet and not lug your laptop around.

Case in point: Apple’s latest iPad Air, the thinnest in its tablet lineup and a middle-ground between the basic iPad and the top-spec iPad Pro, is half as heavy as the company’s newest thin laptop, the MacBook Air. Straight up, the weight difference certainly makes a case for customers to wonder if they can indeed make the switch to this lightweight computing device.

Add to that, Apple uses the same generation of its custom processors on laptops and tablets now. Sure, while the MacBook Air now uses its fourth-generation custom processors (now called M4), the iPad Air uses an M3 processor. For most users, this won’t make a tangible difference.

What will, though, is if you can really work unhindered with the iPad Air. While this will depend significantly on what your work entails, safe to say that if you are considering a lightweight iPad for work, you aren’t a heavy-duty user who needs multiple displays and an elaborate desktop setup on a daily basis.

An unlikely work ally

To this end, the iPad Air seems to do reasonably well. In fact, it does essentially as well as its immediate predecessor, which was launched less than a year ago. This means that if you bought one of these last year, you definitely don’t need to upgrade. In fact, the 2025 iPad Air makes the most sense if you are a first-time iPad buyer—or you’re upgrading from an old, basic iPad that’s run its due lifespan.

By well, we mean that for the most common multitasking scenarios, the iPad Air is more than good enough. For instance, you can attend a virtual meeting on Microsoft Teams or Zoom, shuffle through tabs on a browser (our pick being the Mozilla Firefox) including WhatsApp Web open on it, check emails and attend to work messages on Slack—just the average morning rush hour for folks in management, consulting, journalism and a variety of other professions.

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Does using a tablet make a difference in terms of usability? There are minor tradeoffs. For one, Apple’s iPadOS–a modified version of its iOS mobile operating system–still doesn’t have a native application for WhatsApp. Given the prevalence of WhatsApp in almost everyone’s lives, this is a move that is increasingly befuddling for all. What makes matters worse is that WhatsApp’s web interface isn’t exactly the smoothest, and belies the fact that iPadOS is still more for mobile devices than being a laptop replacement.

Otherwise, navigation and usability is massively improved on iPads with a keyboard in tow. Trying to use an iPad–whichever it may be–without a keyboard cover is not exactly the same as with it. If you’re considering the iPad Air as a productivity tool, though, you’re almost certainly going to get yourself a keyboard cover.

Here, there is an obvious disparity. The joy of the iPad Air is in it being a lightweight computing device. The ‘Magic Keyboard’ adds over 200 grams to it, which is reasonable—but it also costs over ₹25,000. This, unfortunately, is a problem.

Pricing call

If you buy any device today, you’d want ample storage. With 512GB storage and support for a SIM card inside, the 11-inch iPad Air, which is a decent enough screen size, will cost you ₹1.05 lakh. Add the keyboard, and you’d be spending upward of ₹1.3 lakh on this setup. Instead, this year’s MacBook Air, with the same amount of storage and without the need for a separately payable keyboard invoice, will cost you ₹1.2 lakh. Even if you leave the cellular connectivity out of the question, the iPad Air and the MacBook Air cost nearly the same.

While Apple certainly doesn’t look at the iPad Air as a way to substitute the MacBook Air, value-seeking customers will primarily look at buying either of the two—not both. In such a scenario, the MacBook Air is a clear pick—with a better processor, more memory, a full-scale desktop operating system, the same amount of storage, and also a larger, 13-inch display in its basic configuration.

In the end, it all comes down to whether the extra 400 grams (perhaps 500 grams, taking the power adapter into account) is crucial for you to shave off. For many with varying forms of incremental bad posture issues imposed by less than ideal work environments, this weight can be crucial.

But, from a pure usability standpoint, the venerable MacBook Air is still not one to be replaced by the iPad Air.

How costant is too constant?

What is true, however, is that the iPad Air is the perfect laptop if you use a MacBook Pro as your primary computer. Its display still doesn’t use an OLED panel, but that doesn’t hurt it one bit—iPads have always had one of the best displays in the market. It delivers ample performance for your rush-hour work that needs you to switch fast across applications, and for the most part, it is as good as ever.

The only qualm here is that the 2025 iPad Air M3 has not moved beyond what the iPad Air lineup has always offered. It is an excellent tablet in its own right, but from a pure innovation standpoint, Apple’s thinnest tablets are what they have been for years now. It looks identical to its predecessor as well, and while consistency is a virtue, in a few years you wouldn’t be penalized for wondering if too much of the same continues to be a good thing.

Until then, buying the iPad Air makes sense in today’s work standards because of our hybrid, always-online work. It offers a lot to become a frequent flier’s favourite gadget, and just in that itself, the iPad Air will have a fan following that is not to be discounted.

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