hello. This is Technologytodaynow. As mentioned earlier, Apple’s Tim Cook revealed through his X account that a product related to AIR will be released sometime this week, raising many questions. Now that the M3 iPad Air has been released, let’s take a closer look at the news.
M3 iPad Air release news
The M3 iPad Air was released on Tuesday, March 4th, US time. Apple previously announced plans to release the M2 iPad Air in two sizes in 2024, and the M3 in the first half of 2025. However, many people had doubts about whether Apple would release another new product in less than a year.
Fast product release cycle
When I first came across this information, I was a little bit puzzled, but to actually be able to launch it like this, I’m a little surprised. Apple launched the M2 iPad Air on May 7 last year, so it’s only been 10 months since the launch. Such a fast product launch cycle is quite unusual for Apple’s lineup.
Pricing information and expected pre-order date
The 7th generation iPad Air has been available in two sizes since last year, priced at $599 for an 11-inch and $799 for a 13-inch. In Korea, it sells for W949,000 and W1,249,000 respectively. In the U.S., pre-orders started on March 4 and the official release date is March 12. Although the pre-order schedule has not been revealed yet in Korea, as of last year, pre-orders are expected to begin in Korea around the same time, as it began on June 8, about four weeks after its release in the U.S.
7세대 아이패드 에어 변경점
이번에 출시된 7세대 아이패드 에어의 가장 두드러진 변화는 M3 칩의 탑재로 인해 향상된 레이 트레이싱 성능을 제공하게 되었다는 점입니다. 이전 모델에 장착된 M3 칩셋은 10코어 GPU를 탑재하고 있었으나, 7세대 M3 아이패드 에어는 9코어 GPU를 탑재하고 있습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 기존 M3 맥북 에어 기본 모델에 장착된 8코어 CPU와 GPU보다 약간 더 나은 성능을 보여주는 것으로 보입니다. 작년이나 최근에 학생 할인 등을 통해 M2 아이패드 에어를 구매한 분들은 다소 아쉬울 수 있겠지만, 다른 주요 변경 사항이 없기 때문에 M2 아이패드 에어가 구형 모델로 전락했다고는 할 수 없다고 말씀드리고 싶습니다.
Need to upgrade
따라서 M2 아이패드를 보유하고 계신 분들은 M3로의 업그레이드가 꼭 필요하다고 느끼지 않을 수 있습니다. 하지만 오늘 7세대 아이패드 에어가 출시되면서 새로운 매직 키보드도 출시되었습니다. 이 매직 키보드는 M2 아이패드 에어와도 호환되며, 멀티 터치를 지원하는 글라스 트랙패드가 탑재되어 있어 구매를 고려해 볼 만합니다. 가격은 269달러, 한화로 약 41만 9천 원입니다. 다만 환율 문제로 인해 한국에서의 구매는 추천하기 어려운 상황입니다. 또 하나 아쉬운 점은 한국에서 애플 교육 할인이 3월 13일에 종료되므로, 해당 제품의 학생 할인은 내년까지 기다려야 할 것 같습니다.
11th generation iPad released
When Apple announced the 7th generation iPad Air with the M3 chipset, it also unveiled the 11th generation iPad with the A16 chip. This has made it clearer to differentiate between the Pro, Air, Mini, and entry-level models. If you personally have enough budget, it would be a good idea to buy the newly released M3 iPad Air, but we also recommend that you buy the slightly lower-performing M2 iPad Air at a discounted price in the open market. Since there is not much difference between using Apple intelligence or other iPads, this is a good opportunity to buy them at a lower price. As of March 4, an 11-inch iPad Air 2024 on Coupang is priced at 820,000 won.
M4 MacBook Air will also be released
Additionally, as mentioned in the previous article, if you are waiting for the release of the new 13-inch and 15-inch M4 MacBook Air equipped with the M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and GPU, it is likely to be released this week, so we recommend that you wait and check before purchasing. It looks like Tim Cook emphasized AIR in the teaser video, as a series of products from the AIR lineup are scheduled to be released this week. You can order the AIR lineup being released this week without worry.