Apple (AAPL) is breathing new life into its iPad line, updating its iPad Air and entry-level iPad with new chips and capabilities. The iPad Air now comes outfitted with Apple’s high-powered M3 chip and gets a new Magic Keyboard, while the iPad now features Apple’s A16 processor and more base storage.
The moves should help boost Apple’s iPad revenue, which declined 6% in 2024 to $26.6 billion from $28.3 billion in 2023. In Q1, the company reported iPad revenue of $8.1 billion, up from $7 billion in the same period last year.
That helped buoy Apple’s revenue at a time when iPhone sales have struggled. Sales of the company’s most important product were flat in 2024 compared to 2023 and declined from $69.7 billion in Q1 last year to $69.1 billion in Q1 this year.
Shares of Apple were flat on the news. The company’s stock is off 4.9% year to date.
As of 10:51:56 AM EST. Market Open.
The new iPad Air is largely similar to its predecessor save for its updated processor. The 11-inch model is still available for $599, and the 13-inch version will cost $799. Both tablets come with the same rear camera setup and include Apple’s Center Stage front camera, which helps center subjects during FaceTime calls.
The tablets both sport LED Liquid Retina displays, offer Apple Pencil support, and have up to 10 hours of battery life, the company claims. The new iPad Air models also come with Apple’s Intelligence AI platform, which the company is banking on as its response to the rise of chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and DeepSeek.
The biggest change is that the Air now includes Apple’s M3 processor, which the company said features a 34% faster CPU than the M1-powered iPad Air. The M3 also adds more powerful graphics functionality to the iPad, including hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which should improve the look of lighting while gaming.
Apple is also rolling out new Magic Keyboards for the Air, complete with a 14-key function row. The 11-inch model will cost $269, while the 13-inch model is priced at $319.
In addition to the Air, Apple also debuted its new entry-level iPad. The tablet now includes twice the starting storage, jumping from 64GB to 128GB. Apple said the new iPad is 30% faster than its predecessor.
Unlike the iPad Air, however, the base iPad doesn’t come with Apple Intelligence. That’s because the tablet’s A16 processor doesn’t support the AI platform. Still, you do get the Center Stage camera and a 12MP rear camera.
Both the iPad Air and iPad are currently available for preorder and hit store shelves March 12.
