Compare tablets
Apple iPad Air
64 GBApple iPad 3
16 GB Verizon| Global Score | |
| 75.7 | 68.2 |
| Basic Information | |
| Apple | Apple |
| iOS 8.x, 7.x | iOS 7.x, 6.1, 6, 5.1 |
| 2013-10-22 | 2012-03-07 |
| 9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches | 9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches |
| 16.86 ounces | 23.35 ounces |
| Black, Gray and White | Black and White |
| Aluminium | -- |
| $ 380.00 | $ 395.00 |
| Display / Screen | |
| 9.7 inches | 9.7 inches |
| 2048 x 1536 pixels | 2048 x 1536 pixels |
| IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| 264 pixels per inch | 264 pixels per inch |
| Capacitive, Multi-touch | Capacitive, Multi-touch |
| 8.2 | 8 |
| Performance | |
| Apple A7 chipset | Apple A5X chipset |
| 64-bit Cyclone (Dual-Core 1400 MHz) processor | ARM Cortex-A9 (Dual-Core 1000 MHz) processor |
| 1 GB RAM | 1 GB RAM |
| PowerVR G6430 (600 MHz) GPU | Quad core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU |
| 9.27 | 7.83 |
| Storage | |
| 64 GB internal memory | 16 GB internal memory |
| No SD card slot | No SD card slot |
| 7.7 | 4.4 |
| Camera | |
| 5.00 MP + 1.20 MP | 5.00 MP + 0.30 MP |
| f/2.40 aperture | f/2.40 aperture |
| 33.00mm focal length | 35.00mm focal length |
| 1920 x 1080 (30 fps) (Full HD) video resolution | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps) (Full HD) video resolution |
| 7.92 | 7.81 |
| Networks | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Mobile Hotspot | Mobile Hotspot |
| LTE (4G), HSPA, UMTS, EV-DO A, EV-DO B, EDGE, GPRS, GSM and CDMA | LTE (4G), HSPA+ (4G), HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS and GSM |
| Nano SIM | Micro SIM |
| 6.7 | 6.9 |
| Battery Life | |
| 8820mAh Li-Polymer Battery | 11560mAh Li-Polymer Battery |
| Non-Removable Battery | Non-Removable Battery |
| 9.52 | 11.2 |
| Other Features | |
| Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| GPS | GPS |
| Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope and Light Sensor | Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope and Light Sensor |
Comparison review
The iPad Air has a global score of 75.7, which is much better than iPad 3's score of 68.2. These tablets have iOS OS, but the iPad Air has newer 8.x version and iPad 3 has iOS 7.x, so it provides the user some extra features and improved performance. The iPad Air is a newer portable tablet, and it is also thinner and way lighter than iPad 3.
The iPad Air features a bit sharper screen than Apple iPad 3. Both of them have the same screen pixels density, exactly the same 1536 x 2048 resolution and a screen with the same size. The Apple iPad Air counts with a superior performance than Apple iPad 3, and although they both have a 1 GB RAM and 2 processing cores, the Apple iPad Air also has a graphics co-processor and a 64-bit processor.
The Apple iPad Air captures a little bit better photos and videos than iPad 3. They have a same size aperture, the same resolution back camera, the same 30 frames per second video frame rates and the same 1920x1080 (Full HD) video quality. The iPad Air counts with a much bigger memory for games and applications than iPad 3, because it has more internal memory.
IPad 3 has better battery performance than iPad Air, because it has 11560mAh of battery capacity instead of 8820mAh.
Even being the best tablet in our comparison, iPad Air is also cheap compared to the iPad 3, which makes it a simple decision.
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