iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 4th Gen

Name: Apple iPad Air 3rd Gen
Brand: Apple
SKU: apple-ipad-air-3
Availability: InStock

Guide

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Guide

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Swappasaurus says...

The 3rd gen iPad Air was released in March 2019. Apple followed up roughly 18 months later with the release of the 4th gen iPad Air, which arrived in October 2020. Despite the closer release dates, the iPad Air (4th gen) has several key improvements including a 10.9” Liquid Retina display, an Apple A14 Bionic chip, USB-C, Touch ID in the power button, a new exterior design, new color options, and support for accessories such as the 2nd gen Apple Pencil and Apple Magic Keyboard.

Price Comparison

iPad Air 3rd Gen

Low price:

$164

Avg price:

$248

How much does iPad Air 3rd Gen cost?

iPad Air 4th Gen

Low price:

$313

Avg price:

$411

What's the best iPad Air 4th Gen price?

iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 4th Gen Pricing

iPad Air 3rd Gen prices start at $164, which is cheaper than the iPad Air 4th Gen low price of $313.

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Specs Comparison

The iPad Air (3rd gen) specs include a 10.5” Retina display with True Tone, an Apple A12 Bionic chip, an 8MP wide-angle rear camera, a Lightning connector, Touch ID in the home button, stereo speakers, and WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. The iPad Air (4th gen) specs include a 10.9” Liquid Retina display with True Tone, an Apple A14 Bionic chip, a 12MP wide-angle rear camera, USB-C, Touch ID in the top power button, landscape stereo speakers, and WiFi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax). Both models allow for up to 256GB of storage and feature a 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front. Another difference between these two models is accessory support. The iPad Air (3rd gen) supports the 1st gen Apple Pencil, and the iPad Air (4th gen) supports the 2nd gen Apple Pencil. The 4th gen iPad Air also supports the Smart Keyboard Folio and the Apple Magic Keyboard.

Size

Size	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 4th Gen
Width	174 mm 6.9 inches	179 mm 7.0 inches
Height	251 mm 9.9 inches	248 mm 9.8 inches
Depth	6 mm 0.2 inches	6 mm 0.2 inches
Weight	464 g 16.4 ounces	460 g 16.2 ounces

Measurements for the iPad Air (3rd gen) are 9.8” (H) x 6.8” (W) x 0.24” (D), and the iPad Air (4th gen) measures 9.74” (H) x 7.02” (W) x 0.24” (D). The iPad Air (3rd gen) features a 10.5” display size and the iPad Air (4th gen) features a 10.9” display size. The weight varies slightly from model to model. The WiFi-only iPad Air (3rd gen) weighs 1.0 pounds and the WiFi + Cellular model weighs 1.02 pounds. In comparison, the WiFi-only iPad Air (4th gen) weighs 1.0 pounds and the WiFi + Cellular model weighs 1.01 pounds.

Camera

Camera	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 4th Gen
Primary	8.0 MP	12.0 MP
Resolution	3264x2448	4000x3000

The iPad Air (3rd gen) features an 8MP wide-angle camera on the back and a 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front. The iPad Air (4th gen) features a 12MP wide-angle camera on the back and a 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front.

Screen

Display	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 4th Gen
Resolution	1668x2224	1640x2360
Screen Size	267 mm 10.5 in	276 mm 10.9 in
Pixels Per Inch	265 ppi	264 ppi

The iPad Air (3rd gen) features a 10.5-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2224 x 1668 and the iPad Air (4th gen) features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2360 x 1640. The iPad Air (3rd gen) and the iPad Air (4th gen) display supports an SDR max brightness of 500 nits, wide color (P3), and True Tone. These displays are also fully laminated and have an anti-reflective coating and a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

Battery

Battery	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 4th Gen
Capacity	8134 mAh	7526 mAh
Longevity	9 hours	9 hours
USB	Lightning	USB-C

The iPad Air (3rd gen) is equipped with a 30.2-watt-hour battery and the iPad Air (4th gen) is equipped with a 28.6-watt-hour battery. These battery capacities allow for up to 10 hours of battery life when on WiFi or up to 9 hours of battery life when on cellular. The iPad Air (3rd gen) uses the Lightning connector paired with a Lighting to USB cable, and the iPad Air (4th gen) uses the USB-C connector paired with a USB-C cable for charging.

Processing

Processor	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 4th Gen
CPU	Apple A12 Bionic APL1081 / APL1W81 (T8020)	Apple A14 Bionic APL1001 / APL1W01

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Color Choices

iPad Air 3rd Gen

Available in 3 colors:

Gold
Gray
Silver

Which iPad Air 3rd Gen color should you buy?

iPad Air 4th Gen

Available in 5 colors:

Gray
Green
Rose Gold
Silver
Sky Blue

Which color iPad Air 4th Gen is the most popular?

iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 4th Gen Colors

The iPad Air 3rd Gen introduces four new colors not found in the iPad Air 4th Gen color palette: Gray, Green, Rose Gold, and Sky Blue. Both the iPad Air 3rd Gen and iPad Air 4th Gen share one color: Silver. However, the iPad Air 3rd Gen does away with Gold and Gray, previously seen on the iPad Air 4th Gen.

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The 3rd gen iPad Air is available in three colors and the 4th gen iPad Air is available in five colors. The colors for the iPad Air (3rd gen) include Space Gray, Silver, and Gold. The Space Gray model features a black bezel on the front and the Silver and Gold models feature a white bezel on the front. The colors for the iPad Air (4th gen) include Space Gray, Silver, Rose Gold, Sky Blue, and Green.