Apple Refreshes the iPad Air and Basic iPad — the Workhorses Get Cheaper Muscle Publish date: 5 March 2025

5 March 2025

Apple has announced an iPad Air with the M3 chip (from £599, in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes) and a faster basic iPad (from £329). No fireworks — and that's rather the point. The tablet has quietly become one of the most useful, least discussed tools in small business.

What businesses actually do with them

• The till and the booking desk. A tablet plus a card reader is a point-of-sale system that once cost thousands.
• The portfolio. For trades, designers, agents: showing past work on a 13-inch screen at a kitchen table closes jobs. It feels considered in a way a phone doesn't.
• Forms without paper. Site surveys, sign-offs, checklists — filled in on the spot, filed automatically.
• The lightweight editing suite. The M3 Air cuts 4K video comfortably; many creators now edit entire social campaigns on one.

Buying advice in one paragraph

Most businesses need the £329 iPad, not the Air — the basic model does the till, the forms and the portfolio without breaking sweat. Buy the Air if video editing or design work is on the menu. Either way, add a decent case: the most common tablet failure in business is the floor.