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iPad Air (3rd generation)
The Air returns with a 10.5-inch screen and a Pro-inspired body.
Overview
After three years without a new Air, Apple brought the name back in March 2019 as a lower-cost relative of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The body was essentially identical, with the same thin bezels, headphone jack and Smart Connector, but the screen dropped ProMotion and four speakers in favor of a 60 Hz panel and a more conventional two-speaker setup.
The A12 Bionic chip and 3 GB of RAM were a major step up from the iPad 9.7-inch of the day. The display used wide color and True Tone and was fully laminated, giving it Pro-like clarity. A 7-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera were standard.
It worked with both the first-generation Apple Pencil and Apple's Smart Keyboard, which made it the first mid-range iPad that could stand in for a laptop for light work.
Why it mattered
Established the mid-range Air tier that sits between the standard iPad and the Pro.
At a glance
- Announced
- March 18, 2019
- Released
- March 18, 2019
- Discontinued
- September 15, 2020
- Launch price
- $499
- Chip
- Apple A12 Bionic
- Display
- 10.5"
- Storage
- 64GB, 256GB
- Status
- Discontinued
Highlights
- 10.5-inch laminated True Tone display
- A12 Bionic and 3 GB of RAM
- Smart Connector and Apple Pencil support
- Starting at $499
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 10.5-inch
- Type
- Retina IPS, laminated, True Tone, wide color (P3)
- Resolution
- 2224 x 1668 (264 ppi)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Brightness
- 500 nits
Chip
- Chip
- Apple A12 Bionic, 6-core
- Coprocessor
- Neural Engine
Memory
- RAM
- 3 GB
- Storage options
- 64GB, 256GB
Camera
- Rear camera
- 8 MP f/2.4, 1080p video
- Front camera
- 7 MP
Battery
- Battery life
- Up to 10 hours of web, video or music
- Capacity
- About 30.2 Wh
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO
- Cellular
- Optional Gigabit-class LTE model
- Connector
- Lightning and Smart Connector
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.0
Accessories
- Apple Pencil
- Apple Pencil (1st generation)
- Keyboard
- Smart Keyboard via Smart Connector
Design
- Dimensions
- 250.6 x 174.1 x 6.1 mm
- Weight
- 456 g (Wi-Fi), 464 g (cellular)
Security
- Authentication
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor
Software
- Launch OS
- iOS 12.2
- Latest supported OS
- iPadOS 26 (final supported version)
How it compares
More in the iPad Air family
iPad Air
A radical slimming that made the full-size iPad feel new.
iPad Air 2
Barely 6 mm thick, with three CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM.
iPad Air (4th generation)
The Air goes all-screen, with Touch ID in the power button and five colors.
iPad Air (5th generation)
M1 power and 5G in the colorful Air.
iPad Air 11-inch (M2)
An Air with M2 power, a landscape camera and Apple Pencil Pro.
iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
A bigger-screen Air arrives for the first time.
iPad Air 11-inch (M3)
M3 power and Apple Intelligence in the unchanged Air body.
iPad Air 13-inch (M3)
The large Air gets M3 speed and Apple Intelligence.
iPad Air 11-inch (M4)
M4, 12 GB of memory and Wi-Fi 7 for the same $599.
iPad Air 13-inch (M4)
The big Air steps up to M4 and 12 GB of memory.