How fast is the iPad Air 3 compared to earlier iPad Air models? How fast is it compared to the iPad mini and iPad Pro?

Apple introduced the iPad Air 3 and the iPad mini 5 in a shared press release and noted that both tablets have a new Apple A12 "Bionic" processor.

More specifically, the company boasts that the iPad Air 3 "delivers a 70 percent boost in performance and twice the graphics capability" but only notes in fine print that this is compared to the 9.7" iPad (6th Gen) that was its entry-level contemporary when the iPad Air 3 was introduced. Apple declines to compare the iPad Air 3 to its iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro predecessors.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (iPad Air 3 with Smart Keyboard)

As a quick review of the EveryiPad.com comparison of the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 5 would tell you, Apple doesn't compare the performance of the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 5 because both devices have the same processor, same 3 GB of RAM, and provide essentially the same performance.

Apple's official performance data is worthwhile, but only independent benchmarks can tell you just how fast the iPad Air 3 is compared to its predecessors (and subsequent iPad models) as well as other iOS devices.

Benchmark Performance Overview

For a helpful general overview of the performance differences between the iPad Air 3 and other iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices, Everyi.com's own Ultimate iComparison makes it quick to compare side-by-side Geekbench benchmark averages for hundreds of possible performance comparisons.

The Geekbench 4.0 benchmark confirms that the performance of the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 5 are within the margin of error.

Compared to other recent iOS devices, the iPad Air 3 performs accordingly:

iPad Air 3 Compared To:	Percent Faster (Single Core)	Percent Faster (Multicore)
iPad Air (Original)	261%	406%
iPad Air 2	167%	173%
iPad (5th Gen)	88%	159%
iPad (6th Gen)	39%	94%
iPad (7th Gen)	38%	92%
iPad Pro 9.7" (1st Gen)	62%	133%
iPad Pro 10.5" (2nd Gen)	24%	24%
iPad Pro 11" (3rd Gen)	-4%	-36%
iPhone XR	Equal	6%
iPhone 11	-12%	-16%

With a review of the above, you can see clearly that the Geekbench 4 benchmark shows a massive performance boost for the iPad Air 3 compared to the iPad Air 2 that was discontinued two years earlier, but a far more modest increase in performance compared to the iPad Pro 10.5" (2nd Gen) that it effectively replaced.

The Geekbench 4 benchmark also shows a significant performance boost in multicore tasks when compared to the iPad 6th Gen but a modest performance deficit when compared to the subsequently introduced iPad Pro 11" (3rd Gen) and iPhone 11.

Performance Summary

Ultimately, the iPad Air 3 is a fairly powerful tablet, but its performance increase over the iPad Pro 10.5" (2nd Gen) that it essentially replaced is not as impressive as its increase compared to the iPad (6th Gen) that was its entry-level contemporary when it was introduced. It is clear why Apple's marketing department selected the iPad (6th Gen) as its point of comparison for the iPad Air 3 instead of the iPad Pro 10.5" (2nd Gen).

With that said, the iPad Air 3 barely falls short of the more expensive iPad Pro 11" (3rd Gen) that was introduced subsequently in single-core tasks and yet has a starting price tag that is 38% less (US$300).

If you want a reasonably high-performance tablet at a reasonable price, the iPad Air 3 is a solid choice.

In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new iPad Air models with free shipping for all.

In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs has a large number of used and refurbished iPad models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.

Also see: What are all the differences between the iPad Air 3 and the iPad model it replaced? How does it compare to the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro?