Apple announces M3-powered iPad Air with improved Magic Keyboard layout

It's not the update that most Apple watchers were hoping for, but today, Apple announced upgrades to two of its iPads, including the standard iPad and the quirky middle child, the iPad Air.

The iPad Air moves up from an M2 in last year's Air refresh to an M3 chip, which is capable of Apple Intelligence and more graphics rendering. The Magic Keyboard gets a new layout with a larger trackpad and a physical function key row.

iPad Air and its Magic Keyboard. Credit: Apple

That's a notable upgrade for anybody doing real, portable-minded work with an iPad, but there's even better news: The new Magic Keyboard with those physical keys is backward-compatible with previous iPad Airs: 4th and 5th generation, 11-inch M2 and M3, and 13-inch M2 and M3 models (better news, that is, if you're good with the $270 price).

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source https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/apple-announces-m3-powered-ipad-air-with-improved-magic-keyboard-layout/