IPad Air (3rd generation)

Not to be confused with iPad (3rd generation) or iPad mini 3.

iPad Air (3rd generation)

iPad Air (3rd generation)
Also known as	iPad Air 3, iPad Air (10.5-inch)
Developer	Apple Inc.
Product family	iPad Air
Type	Tablet computer
Generation	3rd
Release date	March 18, 2019 (2019-03-18)
Introductory price	$499 USD £479 GBP $649 CAD $779 AUD €549 EUR
Discontinued	September 15, 2020 (2020-09-15)
Operating system	Original: iOS 12.2 Current: iPadOS 26.0.1, released September 29, 2025 [1]
System on a chip	Apple A12 Bionic with 64-bit architecture and Apple M12 motion co-processor
CPU	2.49 GHz Hexa-core (2x high performance Vortex + 4x high efficiency Tempest)
Memory	3 GB (LPDDR4X)
Storage	64 or 256 GB flash memory
Display	10.5 inches (270 mm) (2,224 x 1,668) px (264 ppi), 500-nits Max Brightness, Wide-Color Display (P3), True Tone Display, Fully Laminated Display, 1.8% Reflectivity and Apple Pencil (1st generation) support
Graphics	Apple-Designed 4-Core
Sound	Stereo (both at bottom)
Input	Multi-touch screen, headset controls, M12 motion co-processor, proximity and ambient light sensors, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, digital compass, dual microphone, Touch ID fingerprint reader, barometer
Camera	Front: 7 MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture, burst mode, exposure control, face detection, auto-HDR, auto image stabilization, Retina flash, 1080p HD video recording Rear: 8 MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture, five-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, Live Photos, face detection, HDR, panorama, wide-color capture, timer mode, burst mode, 1080p HD 30fps video recording, video stabilization, slo-mo, time-lapse
Connectivity	Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and MIMO Bluetooth 5.0 Wi-Fi + Cellular: GPS & GLONASS GSM UMTS / HSDPA 850, 1700, 1800, 1900 MHz LTE Multiple bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66, 71
Power	30.2  W·h, up to 10 hours of battery life.
Online services	App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Books, iCloud, Game Center
Dimensions	250.6 mm (9.87 in) (h) 174.1 mm (6.85 in) (w) 6.1 mm (0.24 in) (d)
Weight	Wi-Fi: 456 g (1.005 lb) Wi-Fi + Cellular: 464 g (1.023 lb)
Predecessor	iPad Air 2
Successor	iPad Air (4th generation)
Related	iPad Mini (5th generation) iPad (7th generation)
Website	https://www.apple.com/ipad-air/

The iPad Air (3rd generation) ^[2] (colloquially referred to as iPad Air 3) is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced and released on March 18, 2019, alongside the 5th-generation iPad Mini.

The device was released five years after the previous iPad Air 2, as the 5th-generation iPad was released in 2017 as the successor to the 4th-generation iPad released in 2012. The entry-level iPad lineup continued starting 6th-generation iPad released in 2018, while the third generation iPad Air was positioned as an iPad Air lineup.

Its case design is identical to the iPad Pro 10.5 inch; internal hardware includes an upgraded Apple A12 Bionic SoC, a 10.5-inch Retina Display, 3GB of LPDDR4X memory, and support for Bluetooth 5.0 and 1st-generation Apple Pencil. ^[3]

This iPad, the 9th-generation iPad and the 5th-generation iPad Mini were the last iPad models to use a Lightning port and a home button. The 3rd-generation iPad Air was discontinued on September 15, 2020, following the introduction of the 4th-generation iPad Air. ^[4]

Features

Hardware

The 3rd-generation iPad Air comes in three color options (Silver, Space Gray and Gold), with the gold color option changed to the gold style used on the iPhone 8.

It features an upgraded, 7MP front camera (used first in the iPhone 7 and up to the iPhone XS), compared to the 1.2MP camera found in the previous generation. However, it retains the same, older 8MP rear camera which cannot record in 4K video as such. ^[5]

It uses the Apple A12 Bionic chip, a 2.49GHz six-core processor, which has a 66% faster clock speed than the 1.5GHz triple-core Apple A8X in the iPad Air 2. It also has an improved display from the previous generation, including a P3 color gamut for more vibrant colours (improved from sRGB) and True Tone, which allows the display to adapt to ambient lighting to change its color and intensity in different environments.

This iPad Air retains the Lightning port and the headphone jack from the previous generation and is the final iPad Air model to do so; the 4th-generation Air does not have a headphone jack and uses USB-C instead. It is also the final iPad Air model available with white bezels; the 4th-generation Air uses black bezels only. It also has a slightly larger battery of 30.2 watt-hours (up from 27.6 W·h), rated by Apple to provide the same "10 hours" of active use. ^[6]

Software

See also: iOS, iOS 12, iPadOS, iPadOS 13, iPadOS 14, iPadOS 15, iPadOS 16, iPadOS 17, iPadOS 18, and iPadOS 26

The 3rd-generation iPad Air first shipped with iOS 12.2. It supported iPadOS 13, iPadOS 14, iPadOS 15, iPadOS 16, iPadOS 17 and iPadOS 18. It currently supports iPadOS 26. ^[7]

Reception

The 3rd-generation iPad Air received positive reviews. It was praised for its laminated screen, Smart Keyboard case capability, as well as a speedy SoC. However, it only supports the 1st-generation Apple Pencil, uses the 2017's 10.5-inch iPad Pro design and only has two speakers compared to four on the Pro models. ^[8] In addition, while the current Pro models provide some support for HDR, the 3rd-generation Air does not.

Hardware issues

Some devices of this model, which were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, have issues where the screen may flicker or flash before permanently dying. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]} As a result of this Apple released a recall program which allows users to send in their device for replacement up to two years from the date of purchase. ^[9]

Timeline

Timeline of iPad models v t e
See also: List of Apple products

Source: Apple Newsroom Archive. ^[14] Apple products use the convention 1 GB = one gigabyte (one billion bytes), meaning that 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB storage devices contain a total of 14.9, 29.8, 59.6 and 119.2 GiB, respectively. Formatting and apps take up some of this total storage, leaving 11.5, 27.5, 56.5 and 114 GiB available to the user. ^[15]

References

1. "About iPadOS 26 Updates". Apple Support.
2. "iPad Air (3rd generation) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
3. Joe Rossignol (March 18, 2019). "Apple Launches New 10.5-Inch iPad Air With A12 Bionic Chip and Apple Pencil Support, Starts at $499". MacRumors. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
4. "IPad Air 4 (2020) review". 7 June 2021.
5. "iPad - Compare Models". Apple. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
6. "iPad Air - Technical Specifications". Apple. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
7. "OS - iPadOS 26 - Apple". Apple. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
8. "iPad Air (2019) review". TechRadar. June 3, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
9. "iPad Air (3rd generation) Program for Blank Screen Issue - Apple Support". support.apple.com. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
10. Carman, Ashley (9 March 2020). "Apple will fix third-generation iPad Air screens that permanently go black". The Verge. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
11. March 2020, David Nield 08 (8 March 2020). "If your 3rd-gen iPad Air has a faulty screen, Apple might fix it for free". TechRadar. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
12. "If your 2019 iPad Air suddenly goes dark, Apple will fix it for free". Macworld. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
13. Siegal, Jacob (9 March 2020). "Apple offers free iPad Air 3 repairs to fix blank screen issue". BGR. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
14. Apple Inc. (2010–2011). iPad News – Newsroom Archive. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
15. https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/ipad/whats-iphone-ipod-ipads-true-formatted-storage-capacity-3511773/ Macworld

Preceded by iPad Air 2

iPad Air (3rd generation) 2019

Succeeded by iPad Air (4th generation)