The iPad Air was first introduced in 2013 along the iPad mini 2 and the cylindrical “Trash Can” Mac Pro. With a 9.7-inch display, it was really thin and light, weighing only 469 grams – over 25% lighter than its respective predecessor, the iPad 4. But that’s history. Today, iPad Air is even larger, slighty lighter, and more powerful with Apple’s M-Series chips.
The current (6th generation) iPad Air with M3 was unveiled on March 4, 2025 via a press release and became available a week later on March 12, 2025. Along with the new M3 chip, Apple also gave us a new Magic Keyboard to go along with it and an updated version of the base iPad.
Pricing was unchanged for the new iPad Air, with the 11-inch model starting at $599 and the 13-inch model starting at $799. The device is available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options.
6th gen iPad Air with M3 and its new Magic Keyboard.
Here are some iPad Air with M3 performance stats from Apple:
8-core CPU and 9-core GPU
Support for dynamic caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing
2x faster than iPad Air with M1
3.5x faster than iPad Air with A14 Bionic chip
40% faster graphic performance than iPad Air with M1
60% faster for AI-based workflows than the M1 iPad Air
Reviews of the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 have gone live across the web tonight and, as you may have expected, reviewers and pundits love Apple’s newest tablets. As usual, we’ve rounded up links to the reviews along with some choice quotes. You can find them all below the break:
The iPad Air 2 only recently started shipping with delivery dates of October 22nd and 23rd, and it appears the first devices have been delivered to Australian owners over the past few hours, as several 9to5Mac readers have tipped us. At least one device in the wild was tested on Geekbench recently, revealing some interesting undisclosed facts about Apple’s A8X processor.
iPad Air 2 buyers in the United States and other launch countries should expect to start seeing deliveries tomorrow. If you haven’t already ordered yours, you can get it on Apple.com today.
Geekbench results for the iMac with Retina 5K Display have hit the web and show that when it comes to 64-bit processing, the 4.0 GHz model of the new all-in-one comes out ahead of the lowest-end (3.7 GHz) Mac Pro. Of course, the rest of the Mac Pro family handily beats the iMac in the same category.
The extra power is almost certainly dedicating to keeping things running smoothly on the impressive new 5K display.
For those that pre-ordered Apple’s new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Apple has now started shipping the devices with an expected delivery date of Oct. 22 or Oct. 23 quoted to several 9to5Mac readers who pre-ordered on day one.Others have been quoted a delivery date of between Oct. 22-27.
T-Mobile confirmed today that it will officially start accepting preorders for Apple’s new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 tomorrow. The announcement follows preorders through Apple, AT&T and others kicking off late last week and an announcement from Sprint yesterday that it will begin selling the devices this week.
The device through T-Mobile, unlike iPads sold direct from Apple retailers, will of course be available through T-Mobile’s financing options for Simple Choice plan customers starting at $0 down for both tablets.
$0 down with monthly payments (approx. $26 for iPad Air 2 and $22 for iPad mini 3) is for the 16GB entry level models, while the 64GB model will be available for $99 down and the 128GB models for $199 down.
For qualified customers with a Simple Choice plan from T-Mobile, the iPad Air 2 (16GB) will be available for $0 down, with 24 monthly payments of $26.24 per month; the iPad mini 3 (16GB) will be available for $0 down, with 24 monthly payments of $22.08 per month.
Of course you’ll have to add the tablet to a Simple Choice plan, which will run you $10 a month and get you up to 5GB of data depending on your plan.
Preorders kick off tomorrow but T-Mobile said the tablets will be available to purchase in stores and online within a week. Apple is expected to start shipping initial preorders this week.
Just as Apple announced at its iPad & Mac event last Thursday, iOS 8.1 is now publicly available with new features including Apple Pay, iCloud Photo Library, and additional Continuity features. Apple Pay is available for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users for making payments for purchases with the new iPhone rather than a physical credit card in supported retail stores and apps; iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users will be able to use Apple Pay within supported apps as well. In addition to iOS 8.1, Apple also released version 7.0.1 for third-generation Apple TV boxes.
Sprint announced today that it will begin selling cellular versions of Apple’s new iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 this week following pre-orders of the device kicking off through Apple, AT&T on Friday. Sprint also noted that the iPad Air 2, which includes support for 20 LTE bands and speeds up to 150Mbps over LTE, will be the first iPad that supports its high-speed Spark LTE network.
Sprint Spark delivers average wireless speeds of 6-15Mbps and peak wireless speeds of 50-60Mbps today on capable devices, with increasing speed potential over time. Sprint is on track to reach 100 million Americans by year-end with Sprint Spark.
The iPad mini 3, however, doesn’t support the Sprint Spark network and will instead be limited to Sprint’s normal 4G LTE network.
Sprint will have the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 later this week online and in-stores. Sprint customers can add the new tablets to a Family Share plan for $10/month per tablet, but the carrier is waiving the fee through December 2015 for customers with a 20GB Family Share plan or higher. It also has a limited time 100MB of data for $10 in addition to its normal tablet plans.
Apple is already taking orders for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 that ship with its new universal SIM with support for AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile out of the box. Apple is expected to start shipping the new tablets this week.
Now that Apple’s new iPad Air 2 is officially up for preorder today through Apple’s online store, AT&T and others, you’re going to need a new case to accommodate the 18% thinner design. Not only will case makers have to make tweaks for the thinner design, removed side switch and other design tweaks, they will also have to make sure the home button is exposed for the new Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Below we’ve put together a list of cases that are already available to order and we’ll be updating as more cases get announced ahead of the new iPad Air 2 shipping to customers next week. Expand Expanding Close
After going down earlier this morning to update the site in preparation for selling the new iPads, the Apple Online Store is back up with both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 available for pre-order. Current ship times for each model shows 2-4 business days while Apple said yesterday the new iPads would begin shipping by the end of next week. Buyers are reporting delivery promises of Thursday, October 23rd. Expand Expanding Close
While the relatively modest iPad updates might have led to a flurry of ‘Apple is doomed’ reports from analysts, an early roundup by Fortune suggests that the consensus view so far remains positive. Most are rating it a buy or overweight – meaning they expect it to outperform typical stocks – with the majority setting a target price in the $112-120 range …
The online Apple Store is down as Apple readies the site to take pre-orders of the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.
The iPad Air 2 is 18% thinner than the original Air, adds Touch ID, M8 motion-sensing chip and an AX8 processor that Apple says is 40% faster than the previous model. It also has camera and wifi improvements, and is available in gold … Expand Expanding Close
In addition to introducing the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Apple has refreshed its online store with new Smart Cases and Smart Covers to compliment and protect the new hardware.
The latest iPad Air Smart Cover will work with both the iPad Air and iPad Air 2. The iPad Air Smart Cover is available in polyurethane for $39 with options in black, white, pink, yellow, blue, green, and red. Apple says each iPad Air Smart Cover is available to ship in 1-3 days currently.
The iPad mini Smart Cover is available at the same $39 price point in the same colors. All three 7.9-inch iPad mini generations are compatible with this accessory. Apple also says the iPad mini Smart Cover will be available to ship in 1-3 days currently.
Apple has also updated its Smart Case for the iPad Air 2. Because the iPad Air 2 is thinner than the previous generation iPad Air and features a second microphone in place of the previously existing mute/rotation toggle switch, the new iPad Air 2 cases are only compatible with the new tablets. The iPad Air 2 Smart Case is available for $79 in leather with options in black, red, midnight blue, olive brown, and soft pink. These new cases are currently unavailable for order and coming soon for store pickup.
The iPad mini Smart Case is also available in leather at $69 with the same color options available. Apple says it will be begin shipping 1-3 days after ordering.
Since the cellular model of the iPad isn’t subject to typically two-year contracts, users have always been free to start or end pre-paid cellular data plans at will from the device’s settings. In the past, however, this meant buying your iPad from one carrier and being locked into that carrier’s plans.
With tomorrow’s launch of the iPad Air 2, however, Apple is changing that by including its own SIM card with each unit. This SIM card will work with multiple US carriers—AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile—and allow users to not only enable or disable a cellular plan as they see fit, but also switch back and forth between carriers to find the plan that works best for them at the moment.
Seth Weintraub|9:53Here’s the streaming URL for You Windows/other users (sorry!) http://p.events-delivery.apple.com.edgesuite.net/14pounqefvoiubefvpiub10/refs/14pijbnoihjb10_sl_ref.mov
Seth Weintraub|9:52Live Stream is up. Only one sang playing at a time this time (cancel the Truck!)
Seth Weintraub|9:49
Having a laugh with Craig backstage. Just a few more minutes.
We’ll be running down the event coverage and pre-coverage right here with this auto-updating live blog so stay dialled in while we’ll do separate posts for new products/services/announcements as they happen… Expand Expanding Close
Apple previously announced that it would be live streaming Thursday’s iPad and Mac event, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the company is pushing out an Apple TV channel to stream the video. It is a bit surprising, however, that the channel is already available at midnight Pacific time. It’s usually much later in the day that it appears.
You can also stream the event from Apple’s website on a Mac or iOS device. If you’re on a Windows PC, you’ll need to follow a few extra steps to get the stream working, but you’ll also be able to watch. Apple is expected to debut upgraded versions of the iPad and iPad mini along with a new Retina iMac. There should also be some final details about iOS 8.1 and OS X Yosemite, including release dates and Apple Pay availability.
We’ll have also full coverage of the event right here on 9to5Mac.
Apple’s iTunes Store has just made a little bit of a slip-up (and with perfect uncanny timing): screenshots for the iOS 8.1 iPad user guide have just appeared within iBooks and include Apple’s upcoming iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Of course, Apple will be formally debuting these devices tomorrow.
The screenshots confirm that both new tablets will include nearly identical designs to their predecessors and the addition of Touch ID sensors in the Home button. Another new feature confirmed by this leak is a new Burst Mode (first introduced with the iPhone 5s) for the iPad Air 2 (image below).
These images also indicate that the new tablets will be named “iPad Air 2” and “iPad mini 3,” which means that Apple will bringing the numbering scheme for names back to the iPad lineup. Of course, the presence of this user guide means iOS 8.1 (with Apple Pay) is likely to drop tomorrow, too.
KGI has published a new research note indicating that the 27″ model of the new “Retina” iMac will begin shipping before the end of this year. However, according to the note, a 21-inch version which is currently in development will not be released until the beginning of 2015, probably alongside other products “early 2015” like the Apple Watch and Photos for Mac.
With regards to the iPad Air 2, KGI says that constrained supplies are likely, with a possible initial shipment of only 7-9 million. Compare that to the original iPad Air, which kicked of sales with 12 million units. The iPad mini will be updated, but the changes will be more conservative than those coming to the Air. A 12.9″ iPad is also said to be in development, though no timeline seems to have been set for its release.
Following component leaks over the weekend purporting to show an A8X chip and Touch ID button destined for new iPads, additional photos re-published by blog apple.club.tw point to a closer look at the modified system-on-a-chip as well as what appears to be 2GB of RAM for application memory. The purported increase in RAM on the updated tablet would double that of the current generation iPad Air (and iPhone 6 for that matter) and make more more powerful multitasking on the device. Expand Expanding Close
Ahead of next Thursday’s Apple event, new images purportedly showing parts for the new, full-sized iPad have emerged. Photos re-published by blog apple.club.twshow a full logic board for the new iPad Air as well as parts for the new Home button, glass screen cover, and audio control components. At first glance, the new iPad Air logic board does not reveal too much new, but adjusting the colors of the image shows a fairly unexpected addition: an A8X system-on-a-chip:
Vietnamese blog Tinhte.vn has pictures claiming to show the design of the new iPad Air, likely a dummy unit which acts as a reasonable portrayal of the device’s characteristics. Shown in white, the device is reportedley only 7 mm thin. This is almost the same depth as Apple’s latest iPhones, which measure 6.9 mm and 7.1 mm thin. As such, it also features the same recessed volume button style as the iPhone 6.
The leaks show the next generation iPad to be mostly identical to the current iPad Air, but with some notable changes. Aside from thinness, the iPad now features a ‘glass’ (likely sapphire) Touch ID home button to match previous rumors. Interestingly, the side shots of the device appear to lack a mute switch.
The blog speculates this was for space-saving reasons, meaning the mute switch (which can also be a rotation lock) was sacrificed in order for Apple to attain the desired thinness. Video below.
