Apple’s next iPad Air will upgrade to TSMC’s 3nm chip, as company creates even bigger gap with ‘Pro’ models

Apple’s iPad Air lineup sits quite nicely between the entry-level models and the OLED iPad Pro models, giving users the best of both categories. Compared to its price, the iPad Air M2’s performance is excellent and it looks like the company is taking another major step forward. According to a new rumor from a private account on

According to some rumors, the iPad Air is already equipped with an M3 chip, while Apple widens the gap with the “Pro” models

Apple announced the new M3 series of chips less than a year ago, but the company saw fit to unveil the M4 chip with the launch of the new OLED iPad Pro models. This is quite interesting, because the company ignored the M3 chip, which should have been the upgrade designed for the iPad “Pro.” However, considering how Apple is making giant strides in developing its generative AI technology, a faster processor with more Neural Engine cores makes perfect sense.

According to the tipster (via MacRumors), Apple’s next iPad Air upgrade will come with an M3 chip, possibly the same chip that powers the base MacBook Air and Pro models. The move from the M1 or M2 to the new M3 chip would be huge as it would move the iPad Air line from a 5nm architecture to 3nm. This will not only improve performance in the air, but also provide better energy efficiency.

Since Apple announced the iPad Air M2 just a week ago, we’ve been assuming the upgrade won’t happen until next year. This also means the company will keep the iPad Air one step behind the “Pro” models. However, the tech giant appears to have created a wider performance gap as the iPad Pro would likely upgrade to the M5 chip. Since this is just speculation, note that Apple could go in a completely different direction. Indeed, the company could still skip a year for the “Pro” upgrade, as it did last year.

As for the new iPad Air M2, it comes in 11- and 13-inch screen sizes, similar to the “Pro” models. Performance is 50% faster on the M2 iPad Air compared to the M1 models, which is a major jump for users upgrading from the iPad 10 or older iPad models. The iPad Air is available at a starting price of $599 for the 11-inch model and $799 for the 13-inch model.