Apple updates the iPad Air with an M3 chip and a new Magic Keyboard

It’s been less than a year since Apple update the iPad Air, but the company is taking another opportunity to speed things up by adding the M3 chip to the mix. The new iPad Air still comes in 11- and 13-inch sizes and starts at the same price as the prior model — $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch. It also works with a redesigned Magic Keyboard, similar to the one Apple introduced last May with the iPad Pro.

It’s definitely a strange update, given that Apple doesn’t typically upgrade its iPads on an annual basis at this point. And an M3 versus the M2 that it had before likely won’t make a big difference to most users — the iPad Air already worked with Apple Intelligence, and the M-series chip also enables it to use the more advanced Stage Manager multitasking mode.

Pre-orders start today, and the new iPad Air will ship on March 12. Surprisingly enough, Apple also cut the price of the Magic Keyboard — it now starts at $$269 for the 11-inch and $319 for the 13-inch, $30 less than before in both cases.

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