M3 iPad Pro Review – 6 Months Later

By Josh Teder

It’s been 6 months since I bought the latest M3 iPad Air. And frankly, this is just kind of a weird iPad.

The Highlights

First, let’s start with the highlights. The first one being price. If you want an iPad that supports many of the same things as the iPad Pro, like the Apple Pencil Pro, which magnetically charges at the top of the iPad, or a Magic Keyboard, which makes the iPad feel more like a laptop, but at a cheaper price than the iPad Pro, the iPad Air seems like the correct choice, right?

Hold on a second, though, because one of those accessories is actually different than the iPad Pro’s, and that’s the Magic Keyboard. The iPad Air’s Magic Keyboard has a physical trackpad and the key travel is a bit greater. And overall, while it’s functional and works fine, it just doesn’t feel as nice as the one you get with the Pro. Oh, and it only comes in white, which can easily pick up color transfer from other materials. So, if you wanted a darker color Magic Keyboard for your iPad, you’ll have to get an iPad Pro.

The Air has the same landscape 12 megapixel front-facing camera as the Pro, the same wide camera at the back, which I only really ever use for document scanning. It has an M3 chip, which I think is there for Apple Intelligence, and a bit more horsepower for the new iPad OS, a P3 wide color liquid retina display, which isn’t OLED, but still has excellent color. You get all of that for $400 less than the starting Pro, which is considerably less money to spend on an iPad, and I think is overall a highlight.

The next highlight is versatility. Use it to consume content, write with a Magic Keyboard, take notes, sign documents, edit photos and videos, and bring your work with you on the go. Or in my case, use it to power my teleprompter. There is a lot you can do with an iPad and there are tons of apps to choose from. Though there are of course downsides with Apple’s app distribution model, which I’ll get into a little bit later on.

Apple Ecosystem Integration

The next highlight with the iPad Air is how well integrated it is with the Apple ecosystem, like the Passwords app, which now gives you an easy place on iPad to find your saved passwords across your Apple devices. I use AirDrop all the time to move files from one Apple device to my iPad and vice versa. I love being able to see all of my messages from my iPhone on my iPad. And I love being able to see in the dock on iPad OS other tabs or apps I have open on other Apple devices. When I click on them, it brings me right to where I left off on my iPhone, for example, which can be useful if you want to view something on the iPad’s larger screen.

Another thing I love is having all of my focus modes sync across all of my Apple devices, so I don’t get most notifications during work hours when I’m trying to concentrate on writing or filming. It’s also great for signing contracts and marking up documents that you first opened on your Mac. You can easily send documents over from a Mac for a quick, professional-look signature or markup.

Now, this is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the Apple ecosystem features you can use with your iPad if you have other Apple devices. I didn’t even go through automatic switching with AirPods, Dolby Atmos with AirPods, or dragging things across your Mac to an iPad, or using an iPad as a second display for a Mac.

Connectivity and Battery Life

Another highlight is 5G connectivity. A lot of plans I’ve noticed have started allowing you to add an extra device to it at no cost. Like Google Fi here in the US, which I personally use, I can add an iPad with 5G for free. And because I have an unlimited data plan, I can take my iPad with me wherever I want to work from, always be connected, and I skip the needing to set up a hotspot step entirely.

Battery life is another highlight. I get all day battery life when using it for work. And if I just use it sporadically throughout the day, its battery will typically last me a few days before I need to charge it. But like with all iPads, I find its standby battery life to be not great. Unless you keep it charged, it’ll die in a few days to a week while in standby. And this is where I wish Apple would copy Google’s tablet dock design idea. While the iPad Air 13-inch, definitely the larger size, might be a bit big for this, having something to always place your iPad on to keep it charged would be really nice.

The last highlight is design. Touch ID works reliably and fast for me, and the weight and form factor of the 11-inch model I purchased does make it very portable. Though, oddly, the Air is heavier than the Pro.

What I Don’t Use It For

So, what have I not used the iPad Air for over the past 6 months? The thing I always think I’ll use an iPad for more than I actually do nowadays is note-taking. Now, if this is your only device for digital note-taking, it’s actually pretty good. And I used it for years that way when I worked in tech. However, given the choice between using something like an iPad Air or my Remarkable Paper Pro that I reviewed, I pick up the Paper Pro every time because I find its writing experience is just a bit better. It feels closer to paper and importantly it’s less distracting to use for ideation in my experience at least because there are no notifications, no distracting web browsers or apps to use and e-ink is just easier on your eyes.

But if you want to use an iPad for other things like consuming content, web browsing, etc. and take some notes on it, then yes, it’s likely going to make sense to just use your iPad.

“If this is your only device for digital note-taking, it’s actually pretty good. And I used it for years that way when I worked in tech.”

A Solution for the Writing Experience

And speaking of taking notes on the iPad, one thing that’s always bothered me about writing on iPad displays is that it feels like you’re writing on glass instead of paper. Well, because you are. Thankfully, there’s a solution to that problem. The new Paperlike 3 screen protector from Paperlike, who sponsored this video.

This is the latest evolution of the original paper-feel screen protector. And what makes it special is their proprietary nanodots technology. Tiny micro beads that create the perfect amount of friction for your Apple Pencil. Unlike Apple’s nanotextured display that just reduces glare, Paperlike 3 actually gives you that tactile feedback that makes digital writing feel more natural.

At just 0.095 mm thick, thinner than a human hair. It stays below Apple’s maximum thickness guidelines, so your Apple Pencil remains as responsive as ever. But what really impressed me about this latest version is the new butterfly application system. Gone are the days of dust bubbles and misaligned installations. This redesigned system eliminates the primary cause of failed installations with its four-layer sheet design and helper tool. The interactive guide walks you through each step right on your iPad.

Each pack includes two screen protectors and comes with a 100-day money-back guarantee. Get your Paperlike 3 today by using the link in the description. And thanks to Paperlike for sponsoring this video.

The Downsides

Now, let’s talk about the downsides I’ve encountered with the iPad Air over the past 6 months.

First is the app distribution model for it. It doesn’t feel as open or innovative as macOS. Gaming is a good example of this. Pretty much all games have to come from the App Store versus on Mac, you can go to Steam, the Epic Game Store, and other places. It just feels like there’s a more competitive marketplace to get games. This is because Apple controls all app distribution to the iPad, whereas with the Mac, it’s possible to download programs from the web. Whether that’s games or free open-source programs like in my case FileZilla or my file syncing software for my video work on my Mac.

Until Apple makes iPad OS as open as the Mac, I’ll probably always find myself working from one. Mac also has full versions of software where even now the iPad OS version can be somewhat more limited like with Adobe suite of products though that has been slowly getting better.

Another downside is iPad OS itself still has some limitations compared to macOS. Though Apple is finally addressing many of those issues with iPad OS 26. The biggest change is a new windowing system that makes iPad work much more like macOS. You can resize windows to any size you want as well as arrange them in any way you want. And you can now arrange your iPad screen into thirds or quarters. They even lifted the stoplight UI from macOS for window management on the iPad.

Exposé allows you to switch to the window you need by swiping up and holding to see all of your windows spread out, similar to Mission Control on the Mac. You can also put folders in the dock just like on Mac. The Preview app comes to the iPad for PDFs which is important for marking up documents and annotating things. And background tasks finally come to the iPad as well.

So, while app distribution is still way more tied down, stifling the overall iPad app ecosystem of any competition for distribution, in terms of the operating system itself, with iPad OS 26, Apple has made it a lot more usable for those that want to move more workloads from a traditional laptop or desktop to an iPad.

Another downside is no ProMotion display where the display has a notably faster refresh rate. This makes animation smoother and scrolling look way better. And given the iPhone 17 now comes with ProMotion, it’s likely Apple will update the next iPad Air model with this technology.

Another downside with the Air is using Touch ID versus Face ID, which after using this iPad and swapping back and forth between it and my iPad Pro, I can definitely say I prefer the Face ID implementation. It just feels faster to unlock the iPad, but it also makes other situations more seamless as well, especially when you’re trying to enter passwords or authenticate for anything else on the iPad.

Should You Get an iPad Air?

So, do I recommend getting an iPad Air? Overall, the iPad Air is kind of in a weird place. Like the regular iPad looks and does a lot of what the iPad Air can do, but there is a considerable difference between the Air and the Pro. The Air almost seems to exist nowadays as an upsell if you were looking at the regular iPad, but I’m not sure it’s going to entice anyone away from the Pro.

“The iPad Air is kind of in a weird place. It almost seems to exist nowadays as an upsell if you were looking at the regular iPad, but I’m not sure it’s going to entice anyone away from the Pro.”

So, who is this iPad for? Six months later, I think this iPad is for you if you don’t know exactly what you’ll do with an iPad or how often you may use one, but you want the ability to have an iPad that works with the Pencil Pro or a Magic Keyboard. Otherwise, if you’ve had an iPad before, know you’ll type on it a lot, use it for work or consuming content, and can swing the cost of the Pro. Honestly, I think you’re going to be much happier with that experience, unless you’re bothered by the PWM used in its display, which could cause more eye strain and other adverse effects for some users.

Buy Now or Wait?

Now that it’s been 6 months, should you get an iPad Air now or wait for the new ones in early to mid-2026? Now that we are getting into the holidays, you’re likely going to find some deals on iPad Airs. And if you don’t care about the new ones coming out next year or you don’t want to wait to see if they have the new ProMotion technology that honestly if it were me I would wait for that feature now that we know the iPhone 17 got it. But if you don’t care about ProMotion then I’d say go for this generation and see if you can get a deal during the holidays.

And I’ve left links to all of the iPads and other products I talked about in this video. So you can see what their current prices are across different retailers and learn more about each product in the blog post for this video. Link to that above.

And for more of my comparisons and reviews of iPads, like my iPad Pro review or a size comparison of iPads. And to see all of the products I recommend at any time, you can do that by visiting 6monthslater.net/shop.

For 6 Months Later, I’m Josh Teder. Thanks for reading!