Apple is planning to refresh the iPad Air in early 2025, about a year after the 2024 refresh. We don’t have a full picture of what to expect just yet, but rumors point toward an updated chip and new accessories.
Design
Apple refreshed the design of the iPad Air in 2024, introducing two size options to match the iPad Pro models. In 2025, we are again expecting 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, but so far, we haven’t heard word of any design changes.
The 2025 iPad Air models are expected to continue to feature the same design as the 2024 iPad Air models, with an aluminum chassis that has flat sides and rounded edges that wrap around the LCD display. Apple is expected to continue to include a Touch ID power button for biometric authentication, and a USB-C port.
There could be additional color options even if we don’t get design changes. The current iPad Air comes in Space Gray, Purple, Blue, and Starlight, a soft gold shade.
A-Series Chip
Even though Apple added the M4 to the iPad Pro and will bring the chip to the newest Mac models this year, the iPad Air is expected to get the M3, an upgrade to the current M2 chip.
The M3 chip is built on Apple’s newer 3-nanometer process, and while it’s not as fast as the M4, it’s a notable upgrade over the M2. The M3’s CPU performance is up to 30 percent faster than the M2 CPU performance, and GPU performance is 15 percent faster. The M3 is more efficient than the M2 for better battery life, and there is an all-new GPU architecture that uses Dynamic Caching to boost graphics performance for GPU intensive apps and games. There is support for hardware-based ray tracing for an improvement in gaming on the iPad.
Rumors suggest the iPad Air will get the M3 instead of the newer M4 that’s in the iPad Pro models to differentiate between the two tablets. Apple plans to keep the iPad Air a step behind the iPad Pro.
Apple Intelligence
Current iPad Air models with an M2 chip support Apple Intelligence in iPadOS 18, and the M3 chips will also work with Apple Intelligence.
Display
A major differentiator between the iPad Pro and iPad Air is OLED display technology and support for 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates. We don’t expect notable updates to the display in 2025, and so far, it doesn’t sound like Apple plans to bring ProMotion to the iPad Air.
Other Features
Apple brought Wi-Fi 7 support to its latest iPhone models, so we could start to see more products updated to the latest Wi-Fi protocol. Wi-Fi 7 brings faster speeds and lower latency, and if Wi-Fi 7 doesn’t come to the new iPad Air, it’ll continue to use Wi-Fi 6E.
Magic Keyboard
Apple is working on a new version of the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air, and it’s supposed to come out in the same time frame as the next-generation iPad Air. It won’t have an aluminum top case like the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, but it could get the same function row of keys.
Release Date
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, the next-generation iPad Air is set to come out sometime “early next year.”
