iPad comparison
iPad Air M3 vs iPad Pro M5
Compare iPad Air M3 vs iPad Pro M5 side by side: chip, memory, storage, display, ports, launch price and how each fits in Apple history.
iPad Air (M3)A speed bump to the M3 (in both 11" and 13"), adding ray tracing and a faster GPU while keeping the Air’s value pricing.
iPad Pro (M5)The M5 iPad Pro extends the ultra-thin OLED Pro design with Apple’s newest tablet-class performance tier.At a glance
Both launched in 2025. 13 of 13 specs differ.
Going from the iPad Air (M3) to the iPad Pro (M5), the chip changes from the Apple M3 to the Apple M5, memory goes up from 8 GB to 12 GB, and base storage rises from 128 GB to 256 GB. Launch price rises from $599 to $999.
- ChipApple M3Apple M5
- Memory8 GB12 GB
- Storage128 GB256 GB
- Launch price$599$999
Specs side by side
| Spec | iPad Air (M3) | iPad Pro (M5) |
|---|---|---|
| Release | March 12, 2025 | October 22, 2025 |
| Launch price | $599 | $999 |
| Price today | $605 | $1,009 |
| Chip | Apple M3 · 4.05 GHz | Apple M5 · 4.60 GHz |
| Graphics | Apple 9-core GPU | 10-core Apple GPU |
| CPU cores | 8 | 9 |
| Memory | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Display | 11" or 13" Liquid Retina, up to 2732×2048 | 11" or 13" Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED |
| Weight | 460 g | Varies |
| Dimensions | 247.6×178.5×6.1 mm | Ultra-thin iPad Pro slab |
| Ports | USB-C | Thunderbolt / USB-C |
| Operating system | iPadOS 18.3 | iPadOS 26 |
Highlighted cells win clear more-is-better specs (memory, storage, lighter weight). Historical pricing uses approximate US CPI; clock speeds are not full real-world performance.
Why each matters
iPad Air (M3)
Brought hardware ray tracing and dynamic caching to the Air via the M3.
iPad Pro (M5)
Current iPad Pro generation in Apple’s M5 era.
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Last updated: 2026-08-18