Along an updated 11-inch iPad on Tuesday, Apple also went ahead and announced it had bumped up the hardware of its higher-end iPad Air, which is available in both 11-inch and 13-inch models starting at $549.
The iPad Air is anything but a budget device, but it’s the middle ground between the normal consumer line of tablets Apple sells and the company’s pro-grade tablets that it calls the iPad Pro. Is this year’s upgrade worth the premium price? Let’s dive into the hardware specifications in detail to find out.
2025 iPad Air tech specs
Finish
- Aluminum Body
- Blue
- Purple
- Starlight
- Space Gray
Storage capacity
- 128GB
- 256GB
- 512GB
- 1TB
Size & weight
- 11-inch iPad Air
- Dimensions: 9.74 inches (247.6mm) x 7.02 inches (178.5mm) x 0.24 inch (6.1mm)
- Weight: Wi-Fi model: 1.01 pounds (460 grams), Wi-Fi + Cellular model: 1.01 pounds (460 grams)
- 13-inch iPad Air
- Dimensions: 11.04 inches (280.6mm) x 8.46 inches (214.9mm) x 0.24 inch (6.1mm)
- Weight: Wi-Fi model: 1.36 pounds (616 grams), Wi-Fi + Cellular model: 1.36 pounds (617 grams)
Buttons & connectors
- Top button/Touch ID sensor
- Volume up button
- Volume down button
- Magnetic connector
- Smart Connector
- USB-C connector
Display
- Both models
- Liquid Retina display
- LED backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
- Wide color (P3)
- True Tone
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Fully laminated
- Antireflective coating
- Supports Apple Pencil Pro
- Supports Apple Pencil (USB‑C)
- Apple Pencil hover
- 11-inch iPad Air
- 2360-by-1640-pixel resolution at 264 ppi
- 500 nits brightness
- 13-inch iPad Air
- 2732-by-2048-pixel resolution at 264 ppi
- 600 nits brightness
Chip
- Apple M3 chip
-
- 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
- 9-core GPU
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 8GB RAM
- Media Engine
-
- Hardware-accelerated 8K HEVC, 4K H.264, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- Video decode engine
- Video encode engine
- ProRes encode and decode engine
- AV1 decode
Camera
- 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture
- Digital zoom up to 5x
- Five-element lens
- Panorama (up to 63MP)
- Sapphire crystal lens cover
- Autofocus with Focus Pixels
- Smart HDR 4
- Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
- Photo geotagging
- Auto image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
Video recording
- 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
- Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
- Time‑lapse video with stabilization
- Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps
- Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
- Continuous autofocus video
- Playback zoom
- Video formats captured: HEVC and H.264
Front camera
- Landscape 12MP Center Stage camera
- ƒ/2.0 aperture
- Smart HDR 4
- 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- Time‑lapse video with stabilization
- Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps
- Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p)
- Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
- Lens correction
- Retina Flash with True Tone
- Auto image stabilization
- Burst mode
Video calling
- FaceTime video
- Center Stage
- iPad to any FaceTime‑enabled device over Wi-Fi or cellular
- Share experiences like movies, TV, music, and other apps in a FaceTime call with SharePlay
- Screen sharing
- Portrait mode in FaceTime video
- Spatial Audio
- Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes
Audio calling
- FaceTime audio
- iPad to any FaceTime‑enabled device over Wi-Fi or cellular
Speakers
- Landscape stereo speakers
Microphones
- Dual microphones for calls, video recording, and audio recording
Cellular & wireless
- All models
-
- Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2×2 MIMO
- Simultaneous dual band
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Wi-Fi + Cellular models
-
- 5G (sub‑6 GHz) with 4×4 MIMO
- Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO
- Model A3267 and A3269:
- 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n70, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, n79)5
- FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
- TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48)
- UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
- Data only
- Wi-Fi calling
- eSIM
SIM Card
- eSIM
- iPad Air uses advanced eSIM technology for more convenience and security (not compatible with physical SIM cards)
Location
- All models
-
- Digital compass
- Wi‑Fi
- iBeacon microlocation
- Wi-Fi + Cellular models
-
- GPS/GNSS
- Cellular
Sensors
- Touch ID
- Three‐axis gyro
- Accelerometer
- Barometer
- Ambient light sensor
Touch ID
- Unlock iPad
- Secure personal data within apps
- Make purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books
Charging & expansion
- USB-C port with support for:
- Charging
- DisplayPort
- USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s)
Display support
- Supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors
-
- Supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
- Digital video output
-
- Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
- VGA, HDMI, and DVI output supported using adapters (sold separately)
- Video mirroring
-
- Up to 4K AirPlay for mirroring, photos, and video out to Apple TV (2nd generation or later) or AirPlay‑enabled smart TV
- Video mirroring and video out support through USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter and USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter (adapters sold separately)
Power & battery
- 11-inch iPad Air
-
- Built‐in 28.93‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‑polymer battery
- 13-inch iPad Air
-
- Built‐in 36.59‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‑polymer battery
- All models
-
- Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‐Fi or watching video
- Charging via power adapter or USB‑C to computer system
- Wi-Fi + Cellular models
- Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network
Wrapping up
When compared to the iPad Pro models, the iPad Air is a pretty huge bargain. It comes packed with Apple Intelligence and a lot of the features that users care about, including M-series silicon, up to 1TB of internal storage, and competitive battery life.
Also read: 2025 iPad 11-inch (A16) tech specs
If you’re thinking about an iPad Air for your next tablet, then this just might be the right choice for most users.