iPad comparison
iPad mini (7th gen) vs iPad Air M3
Compare iPad mini (7th gen) vs iPad Air M3 side by side: chip, memory, storage, display, ports, launch price and how each fits in Apple history.
iPad mini (A17 Pro, 7th generation)The pocketable iPad gains the A17 Pro and 8 GB of RAM specifically to run Apple’s on-device AI, plus Apple Pencil Pro support.
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.At a glance
Released 1 year apart — the iPad Air (M3) is the newer model. 10 of 13 specs differ.
Going from the iPad mini (A17 Pro, 7th generation) to the iPad Air (M3), the chip changes from the Apple A17 Pro to the Apple M3, the display grows from 8.3″ to 11″, and it gets heavier, 293 g to 460 g. Launch price rises from $499 to $599.
- ChipApple A17 ProApple M3
- Display8.3″11″
- Weight293 g460 g
- Launch price$499$599
Unchanged memory, storage, ports.
Specs side by side
| Spec | iPad mini (A17 Pro, 7th generation) | iPad Air (M3) |
|---|---|---|
| Release | October 23, 2024 | March 12, 2025 |
| Launch price | $499 | $599 |
| Price today | $504 | $605 |
| Chip | Apple A17 Pro · 3.78 GHz | Apple M3 · 4.05 GHz |
| Graphics | Apple 5-core GPU | Apple 9-core GPU |
| CPU cores | 6 | 8 |
| MemorySame | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| StorageSame | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Display | 8.3" Liquid Retina, 2266×1488 | 11" or 13" Liquid Retina, up to 2732×2048 |
| Weight | 293 g | 460 g |
| Dimensions | 195.4×134.8×6.3 mm | 247.6×178.5×6.1 mm |
| PortsSame | USB-C | USB-C |
| Operating system | iPadOS 18 | iPadOS 18.3 |
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
First mini to run Apple Intelligence, thanks to the A17 Pro and 8 GB of RAM.
Brought hardware ray tracing and dynamic caching to the Air via the M3.
Open the full archive entries
More iPad comparisons
Last updated: 2026-08-18