Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M3) / Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (Wi-Fi, 8 GB / 128 GB)

Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M3): 13-inch Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular (A3267/A3269); 128 GB–1 TB; 8 GB RAM; Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Grey

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (Wi-Fi, 8 GB / 128 GB): Galaxy Tab S9 11-inch Wi-Fi, SM-X710 (8 GB / 128 GB); Graphite and Beige. The 5G version, Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra are separate models.

SpecificationApple iPad Air 13-inch (M3)Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (Wi-Fi, 8 GB / 128 GB)
Release year20252023
Display13-inch Liquid Retina, LED-backlit IPS; 2732 × 2048, 264 ppi; 600 nits

Fully laminated with an anti-reflective coating; P3 wide colour and True Tone. Apple does not list a refresh rate; there is no ProMotion and the screen is 60 Hz.

Apple		11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X; 60–120 Hz

120 Hz makes scrolling and S Pen drawing smoother; it drops to 60 Hz when content is static.

Samsung
ChipApple M3; 8-core CPU (4 performance, 4 efficiency), 9-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

The GPU supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing; the Media Engine handles ProRes and AV1 decoding in hardware.

Apple		—
Memory8 GB Apple—
Storage128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB Apple—
Rear camera12 MP wide, ƒ/1.8; 4K 60 fps video Apple—
Front camera12 MP landscape Center Stage, ƒ/2.0

Because the camera sits on the long edge, your face stays centred in video calls with the tablet in landscape on a keyboard; Center Stage adjusts the framing to follow you.

Apple		—
AudioLandscape stereo speakers; dual microphones AppleQuad stereo speakers tuned by AKG; Dolby Atmos Samsung
AuthenticationTouch ID in the top button Apple—
Pencil and accessoriesApple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), Pencil hover; Smart Connector

Pencil hover previews where a stroke will land before the pencil touches the screen.

Apple		—
USB-CCharging, DisplayPort, USB 3 (up to 10 Gb/s); one external display up to 6K at 60 Hz Apple—
WirelessWi-Fi 6E (2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5.3; 5G (sub-6 GHz) and eSIM only on the Cellular model Apple—
Battery36.59 Wh; up to 10 hours of web or video on Wi-Fi

Web browsing on mobile data is rated at up to 9 hours.

Apple		8400 mAh (typical)

No charging adapter is included in the box.

Samsung
Size and weight280.6 × 214.9 × 6.1 mm; Wi-Fi 616 g, Cellular 617 g Apple254.3 × 165.8 × 5.9 mm; 498 g (Wi-Fi) Samsung
In the boxiPad Air, 1 m USB-C cable, 20 W USB-C adapter

The adapter is listed on the Australian spec page; it may not be included in some countries.

Apple		—
Processor—Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Samsung
Memory and storage—8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage; microSD up to 1 TB (sold separately) Samsung
Cameras—Rear 13 MP AF; front 12 MP ultra-wide Samsung
S Pen—Bluetooth LE S Pen in the box; IP68

The S Pen attaches magnetically to the back of the tablet and charges there; Bluetooth LE enables remote-control gestures.

Samsung
Durability—Tablet and S Pen IP68

IP68 describes dust-tightness and water immersion resistance under set conditions; it is not recommended for beach or pool use.

Samsung
Connectivity—Wi-Fi 6E; Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth 5.3

The 6 GHz band requires a Wi-Fi 6E router.

Samsung
Operating system—Shipped with Android 13 Samsung
Colours—Beige, Graphite Samsung