Last year's launch of Apple Intelligence marked a new era of focus for the folks at Cupertino, so it's unsurprising that the iPhone maker wants to continuously reinforce this with its products.
This year, we expect the company to make more strides on this front. After the Vision Pro and the iPhone 16e, the next showcase for Apple's generative AI platform is the iPad Air, powered by the M3 chip.
It's not the latest processor – that would be the M4 – but Apple seems to be taking it step by step, having a comfortable lead at the top of the global tablet market. But why only the M3? We will offer our theory later in this article.
Though not the first iPad with Apple Intelligence, the M3 iPad Air stands out for one aspect – it is the first new iPad to come with the service out of the box. The National takes a deeper look into the seventh generation of the device.
What's new in the M3 iPad Air?
In terms of hardware, not much, as can be seen in the table below.
Clearly, Apple is focusing on Apple Intelligence here. But the one thing we would have loved is (finally) integrating Face ID into the iPad Air (and the iPad and iPad Mini, as well). Face ID is only available on a bunch of the iPad Pro models.
Touch ID remains the biometric verification method on the M3 iPad Air, nestled within the top button on the right side, which also switches the device on, locks it and can be used to activate Siri. At least it somewhat keeps alive the memory of the home button, which was finally laid to rest with the release of the iPhone 16e.
Side note here, hopefully, in the next iPad mini, we will see the volume buttons, currently on top on the left side, moved to the right edge, to make the button layout in the entire iPad range consistent.
But if you're really looking for new hardware, there's an updated Magic Keyboard for the device. It has a larger trackpad – good to cover more ground – and, notably, a new 14-key function row that gives access to shortcuts including volume and brightness, similar to what's on the keyboards of MacBooks and iMacs. The keyboard is sold separately, however, for Dh1,199 ($326).
AI-powered graphics engine
Apple has consistently built up the capabilities of its hardware to handle intensive tasks such as graphics. This seems to be the main highlight on the M3 iPad Air. The M3 chip, compared with the M2, has up to 35 per cent faster performance and 40 per cent quicker graphics.
We took it for a spin on Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro and didn't experience any significant lags. The fun part is to see how smooth renderings can be, while it is even more fun to think how far we've come in photo and video editing (yours truly is a relic from the early days of Photoshop and Premiere Pro).
Note that Final Cut Pro utilises AI, which, through machine learning, boosts the editing experience. Apple recently launched two new AI features on Final Cut Pro – Magnetic Mask, which isolates people and objects without using a green screen to better customise backgrounds and effects, and Transcribe to Captions, which generates captions using an Apple-trained large language model.
Of course, the Apple Pencil Pro (or its USB-C version) is a huge help and it remains as accurate as ever. It comes in even more handy with Apple Intelligence – try it with Notes for handwritten note-taking, with autocorrection and auto adjustment of handwriting, in addition to the mainstays – Writing Tools, schedules management, email organisations, picture creation with Image Playground and media management in Photos.
How long does it last?
Still at up to 10 hours, give or take. Fun fact: 10 hours has been the maximum capacity on all iPad Airs, dating back to the original in 2013. We will continue to tug on Apple's heartstrings to boost this key spec, which has been in place for more than a decade now.
That being said, the new iPad Air remains true to its all-day performance, leaving us in the red just as evening set in, but still good enough to squeeze in less than a couple more hours before we plugged it in (we did go easy on it by then). In our one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness test, it lost 15 per cent.
Verdict
Apple's M3 iPad Air is basically a clone of the M2 version, but with Apple Intelligence in it, which is no surprise. Does it merit an upgrade over the M2, or older models? Yes and no – it largely depends on how much you value AI.
Apple Intelligence – and generative AI, in particular – is proving to be a hit, considering all the assistance it can give. On the other hand, maybe hanging on to your older iPad Air won't be a bad decision either, as we're guessing there will be a faster cycle for this series. The device was refreshed in less than a year – the gap between the M1 and M2 was two years – so we're guessing an M4 version would come out later this year, which would set the stage to put it line with the M5 at this same point in 2026.
Also, the prices of the M3 iPad Air's Wi-Fi-plus-cellular version is a bit higher than the newest M4 MacBook Air. We do acknowledge that those two products have different purposes, but just a thought (and the latter is a review for another day.)
Read more: Apple slashes prices for new M4-powered MacBook Air
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4Â m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam:Â Â 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Our family matters legal consultant
Name:Â Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position:Â legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Spare
Profile
Company name:Â Spare
Started:Â March 2018
Co-founders:Â Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based:Â UAE
Sector:Â FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name:Â buybackbazaar.com
Started:Â January 2018
Founder(s):Â Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based:Â Dubai
Sector:Â FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment:Â $1 million
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
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Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
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Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
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Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Match info
Manchester United 1
Fred (18')
Wolves 1
Moutinho (53')
Poacher
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