M3 iPad Air vs. M5 iPad Pro Buyer’s Guide: All Differences Compared

Apple recently updated the iPad Pro, widening the gap with the iPad Air, but how different are the two product lines and which should you buy?

Earlier this year, Apple refreshed the ‌iPad Air‌ with the M3 chip—a minor update over the previous model from 2024 which added the M2 chip and Apple Pencil hover. The latest ‌iPad Pro‌ models introduced the M5 chip alongside a small number of changes after last year’s major redesign, which saw the debut of a thinner design with OLED displays.

Should you consider purchasing the ‌iPad Air‌ to save money, or do you need the high-end features of the ‌iPad Pro‌? Our guide answers the question of how to decide which of these two iPads is best for you.

‌iPad Air‌ (M3, 2025)	‌iPad Pro‌ (M5, 2025)
Liquid Retina display (LED backlit display with IPS technology)	Ultra Retina XDR display (Tandem OLED)
	ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz
11-inch model SDR brightness: 500 nits max 13-inch model SDR brightness: 600 nits max	SDR brightness: 1,000 nits max XDR brightness: 1,000 nits max full screen, 1,600 nits peak (HDR content only)
	Nano-texture display glass option on 1TB and 2TB models
Drive external displays at 60Hz	Drive external displays at up to 120Hz
	Adaptive Sync support
‌M3‌ chip	M5 chip
Made using TSMC’s first-generation 3nm technology (N3)	Made using TSMC’s third-generation ‌3nm‌ process (N3P)
Based on A17 Pro chip from iPhone 15 Pro (2023)	Based on A19 Pro chip from iPhone 17 Pro (2025)
8-core CPU (4 performance + 4 efficiency cores)	Up to 10 CPU cores (4 performance + 6 efficiency cores)
9-core GPU	10-core GPU
	Integrated Neural Accelerator in every GPU core
Metal 4 developer APIs	Metal 4 developer APIs with Tensor APIs to program GPU Neural Accelerators
LPDDR5 memory	LPDDR5X memory
8GB of memory	256GB and 512GB models: 12GB memory 1TB and 2TB models: 16GB memory
100 GB/s memory bandwidth	153 GB/s unified memory bandwidth
	Dedicated display engine
First-generation ray tracing engine	Third-generation ray tracing engine
First-generation dynamic caching	Second-generation dynamic caching
Shader cores	Enhanced shader cores
GPU with standard power efficiency	More power-efficient GPU: Maintains performance with significantly less power
	Improved thermal design with graphite sheets and copper
Broadcom Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip	N1 chip
Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 6
Wi-Fi 6E connectivity	Wi-Fi 7 connectivity
Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G modem (cellular models only)	C1X chip (cellular models only)
Touch ID in top button	TrueDepth camera system for Face ID
	Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
	Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
	Animoji and Memoji
	LiDAR scanner
	Adaptive True Tone flash
	Rear ambient light sensor
	ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 256GB capacity)
	ProRes video recording up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording
Two microphones	Four studio-quality microphones
	Audio zoom
	Stereo recording
Landscape stereo speakers	Four speaker audio
Weight: 462 grams or 617 grams	Weight 444 grams or 579 grams
Depth: 6.1 mm	Depth: 5.3 mm or 5.1 mm
	Fast-charge capable (Up to 50% charge using a 60W adapter or higher in 30 minutes with the 11-inch model or 35 minutes with the 13-inch model)
USB‑C connector	USB‑C connector with support for Thunderbolt/USB 4
Supports Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Air‌	Supports Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Pro‌
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage	256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage
	Up to 2× faster SSD read and write speeds
Available in Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, and Blue	Available in Space Black and Silver
Price starting at $599	Price starting at $999

Overall, the ‌iPad Air‌ is the better option for the majority of users, simply on the basis of value for money. For most people, the additional $400+ needed to buy the ‌iPad Pro‌ is not justified to get the likes of ‌Face ID‌, a thinner design, four-speaker audio, and a ProMotion OLED display with refresh rates up to 120Hz.

Some ‌iPad Pro‌ features, such as LiDAR, up to 16GB of memory, and Thunderbolt connectivity are only practically useful to a small niche of users and most will never use some of these high-end capabilities. Many features, such as Adaptive Sync and Audio zoom, will not be meaningfully utilized by many users.

Professionals who have a clear use case for needing larger amounts of RAM and storage, a matte display, Thunderbolt connectivity, and OLED for HDR content will clearly benefit from buying the ‌iPad Pro‌. That being said, “prosumer”-style customers who simply want the best iPad will enjoy features such as 120Hz ProMotion for smoother scrolling and gaming, a thinner design, deeper blacks and more vivid colors with the OLED display, and the Adaptive True Tone flash for document scanning, even if they are not necessary.

Beyond these individual circumstances, the ‌iPad Air‌ is the best value for money and will be more than ample for most users’ needs. With the ‌iPad Air‌, users can get a modern all-screen design, the M3 chip, practical features like USB-C and 5G connectivity, and compatibility with the core Apple accessories for a price well below that of the ‌iPad Pro‌.

A new ‌iPad Air‌ with the M4 chip is in development and will likely launch in the first half of 2026, which may be worth bearing in mind if you aren’t in a hurry to make a purchase. The new chip is expected to be the main upgrade, with few other new features or enhancements expected.

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