iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 5th 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...

Apple released the iPad Air (3rd gen) in March 2019. The iPad Air (5th gen) arrived three years later, in March 2022. The 5th gen iPad Air has several notable improvements compared to the 3rd gen iPad Air. Key specs for the 5th gen iPad Air include a 10.9” Liquid Retina display, an Apple M1 chip, USB-C, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle front camera with Center Stage. The 5th gen iPad Air also has better accessory support and is compatible with the Apple Magic Keyboard and the 2nd gen Apple Pencil.

Price Comparison

iPad Air 3rd Gen

Low price:

$164

Avg price:

$248

How much does iPad Air 3rd Gen cost?

iPad Air 5th Gen

Low price:

$401

Avg price:

$505

What's the best iPad Air 5th Gen price?

iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 5th Gen Pricing

iPad Air 3rd Gen prices start at $164, which is cheaper than the iPad Air 5th Gen low price of $401.

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Specs Comparison

Key specs for the iPad Air (3rd gen) include a 10.5” Retina display with True Tone, an Apple A12 Bionic chip, up to 256GB of storage, a Lightning connector, Touch ID in the home button, stereo speakers, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, an 8MP wide-angle rear camera, and a 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front. In comparison, the key specs for the iPad Air (5th gen) include a 10.9” Liquid Retina display with True Tone, an Apple M1 chip, up to 256GB of storage, USB-C, Touch ID in the top power button, landscape stereo speakers, WiFi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), a 12MP wide-angle rear camera, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera on the front with Center Stage. The 3rd gen cellular model supports 4G connectivity and the 5th gen cellular model supports 5G connectivity. 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 5th Gen
Width	174 mm 6.9 inches
Height	251 mm 9.9 inches
Depth	6 mm 0.2 inches
Weight	464 g 16.4 ounces

The iPad Air (3rd gen) measures 9.8” (H) x 6.8” (W) x 0.24” (D), and the iPad Air (5th 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 (5th gen) features a 10.9” display size. The weight of these two iPads varies from model to model. The WiFi-only iPad Air (3rd gen) weighs 1.0 pounds and the WiFi + Cellular model weighs 1.02 pounds. And, the WiFi-only iPad Air (5th gen) weighs 1.02 pounds and the WiFi + Cellular model weighs 1.02 pounds.

Camera

Camera	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 5th Gen
Primary	8.0 MP
Resolution	3264x2448

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 (5th gen) features a 12MP wide-angle camera on the back and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera on the front. The front-facing camera on the 5th gen iPad Air also supports Center Stage.

Screen

Display	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 5th Gen
Resolution	1668x2224
Screen Size	267 mm 10.5 in
Pixels Per Inch	265 ppi	ppi

The iPad Air (3rd gen) has a 10.5-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2224 x 1668 and the iPad Air (5th gen) has a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2360 x 1640. The iPad Air (3rd gen) and iPad Air (5th gen) display supports an SDR max brightness of 500 nits, wide color (P3), and True Tone. Both of 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 5th Gen
Capacity	8134 mAh	mAh
Longevity	9 hours	hours
USB	Lightning

The iPad Air (3rd gen) is powered by a 30.2-watt-hour battery and the iPad Air (5th gen) is powered by a 28.6-watt-hour battery. The iPad Air (3rd gen) charges with the Lightning connector and a Lighting to USB cable, and the iPad Air (5th gen) charges with the USB-C connector and a USB-C cable. 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.

Processing

Processor	iPad Air 3rd Gen	iPad Air 5th Gen
CPU	Apple A12 Bionic APL1081 / APL1W81 (T8020)

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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 5th Gen

Available in 5 colors:

Blue
Gray
Pink
Purple
Starlight

Which color iPad Air 5th Gen is the most popular?

iPad Air 3rd Gen vs iPad Air 5th Gen Colors

The iPad Air 3rd Gen introduces four new colors not found in the iPad Air 5th Gen color palette: Blue, Starlight, Pink, and Purple. Both the iPad Air 3rd Gen and iPad Air 5th Gen share one color: Gray. However, the iPad Air 3rd Gen does away with Silver and Gold, previously seen on the iPad Air 5th Gen.

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The iPad Air (3rd gen) is available in three colors and the iPad Air (5th gen) is available in five colors. The iPad Air (3rd gen) color lineup includes Space Gray, Silver, and Gold. The Space Gray model has a black bezel on the front and the Silver and Gold models have a white bezel on the front. The iPad Air (5th gen) colors include Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue.