It used to be that you had to shop the older models to grab a deal on an Apple device. I don’t know what’s going on in Apple’s head these days, but now even brand-new devices are going on sale mere months after they release to the public.
The iPad Air M3 is the newest model in the iPad Air family, the middle-of-the-road range between the expensive Pro and the pedestrian “vanilla” iPad. And right now it’s back to its $100-off deal.
a step up in speed and color
Having both launched for sale on March 12, 2025, the iPad Air M3 and 11th-generation iPad (A16) are natural rivals when cross-shopping iPads, though they occupy different price points in Apple’s iPad lineup—middle range and entry level, respectively. Here’s how they compare.
The Air M3 has a P3 wide color for a greater range of colors and deeper blacks than the sRGB panel of the 11th-gen iPad A16, so it’s a step up in color reproduction. It also features an anti-reflective coating to help reduce glare under bright lights, so if you use your iPad outdoors in the sunlight, the iPad Air M3 might have the edge.
And of course, the iPad Air M3 has Apple’s M3 chip, which was shared with 2024’s MacBook Air M3 and the entry-level version of the MacBook Pro M3. The 11th-generation iPad is called the A16 because of its A16 chip, which is a smartphone chip. The iPad Air M3 simply has more power for heavier-duty tasks, although it isn’t the draft horse that is the far pricier iPad Pro.
It’s a solid choice for somebody who requires a bit more oomph and power. Those who create digital art on their iPads or who do light to moderate photo or video editing are ideal candidates for the Air M3.
If all you do on your tablet is browse the internet, stream movies, read ebooks, check email, and FaceTime, then the 11th-gen iPad (A16) will suffice. It’s more than powerful enough to handle these lightweight tasks.
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a bit more power under the hood and know that it’ll last a while longer into the future as our tasks grow ever more performance-intensive.
