Apple iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026) vs Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M3)

The short verdict

iPad Air 11-inch (M3) edges it on score

The iPad Air 11-inch (M3) leads overall; pick the iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026) if its strengths below matter more to you.

iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026)

8.5

iPad Air 11-inch (M3)

9.3

Choose the iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026) if

Students and creatives who want M4 speed and Apple Pencil Pro support in a portable 11-inch iPad.

Full specs →

Choose the iPad Air 11-inch (M3) if

Students and creatives who want serious power in a portable tablet

Full specs →

At a glance

Key differences

Measured differences only. Ties and tiny gaps are left out.

Full specs

Side-by-side specifications

Display1 difference

Brightness

500 nits brightness

500

Performance3 differences

Chipset

Apple M4 (iPad)

Apple M3

GPU

9 core Apple GPU

9-core GPU

CPU

8-core CPU with 3 performance cores and 5 efficiency cores

8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores

Battery & Charging2 differences

Capacity

28.93 Wh lithium-polymer

Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‐Fi or watching video, Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network

Charging port

USB-C (Charging, DisplayPort, USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s))

USB-C

Camera1 difference

Primary camera

12 MP

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Connectivity3 differences

Bluetooth

6.0

5.3

Ports

USB Type-C

USB-C port with support for:

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)

Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO 5

Body1 difference

Weight

464 g

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Where to buy

Specs verified against manufacturer data. Prices in USD before tax; we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Community

Which would you buy?

One vote per person. Results appear after you vote.

iPad Air 11" (8th Gen, 2026) vs iPad Air 11-inch (M3)

iPad Air 11-inch (M3) edges it on score

Key differences

Side-by-side specifications

Which would you buy?