Tablets · owner-verdict comparison

Apple iPad (11th Gen) vs Apple iPad Air (M3): what real owners say

Real owners lean toward the Apple iPad (11th Gen): 76% of 17 owners recommend it, vs 23% of 13 for the Apple iPad Air (M3).

Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score

Apple iPad (11th Gen)

76%of 17 owners recommend
76% recommend · 6% neutral · 18% don't
Full owner report →

Apple iPad Air (M3)

23%of 13 owners recommend
23% recommend · 39% neutral · 38% don't
Owners praise
  • Fast, capable M3 chip that handles general use smoothly
  • Still considered one of the best overall tablets, especially within the Apple ecosystem
  • Great for drawing and creative work with Apple Pencil and Procreate
Owners complain about
  • Still a 60Hz, non-ProMotion display that many owners find unacceptable at this price
  • Battery drains faster than expected, especially when using the Pencil or apps like Procreate and Freeform
  • Feels like only a modest upgrade with little reason to choose it over the Pro or to upgrade from an older model
Full owner report →

What Apple iPad (11th Gen) owners say

“Yeah the iPad (A16) is what I use daily and there’s no problems when I use it”
— @lychee.fruitle on YouTube
“Touch ID is great heck MacBooks don’t even have Face ID”
— @mjthethird1 on YouTube
“I dont get why apple is so scared of just adding both touch and face id”
— @MYK7z on YouTube

What Apple iPad Air (M3) owners say

“I've been using an M1 iPad Air for college and it's held up extremely well.”
— @derkaiser9881 on YouTube
“I am very satisfied with it”
— @dhiegosegundo2303 on YouTube
“having absolutely no cross platform software support is absolutely infuriating”
— @DonnyStanley on YouTube