Amid rising prices for Apple products in South Africa, driven by RAM shortages, the 13-inch iPad Air with the M3 chip maintains its price at R14,999, offering exceptional value compared to other devices in the lineup.
The increase in cost for almost all Mac and iPad devices is due to an industry-wide shortage of RAM, triggered by the AI boom. However, one gadget could be the best product from the tech giant in South Africa.
This refers to the 13-inch iPad Air with the M3 chip, whose price for local consumers remains unchanged at R14,999. For comparison, the base model 13-inch MacBook Air with the M5 chip has increased from R19,999 to R26,499, which is an increase of a substantial R6,500 for an identical device.
Despite the general price hike, the most telling comparison is with the MacBook Neo. The base 256GB model, which does not feature Touch ID, has risen from R11,999 to R13,999. This makes it only R1,000 cheaper than the significantly superior iPad Air M3.
The Neo runs on the A18 Pro processor, which is used in the iPhone 16 Pro series. Although both the Air and the Neo have 8GB of unified memory, performance differs significantly at the silicon level: the Neo has a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU, whereas the M3 iPad Air is equipped with an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU.
While the Neo comes with a keyboard and trackpad included, the iPad's touchscreen makes it inherently more versatile and portable. Pairing it with an external keyboard and mouse represents a minor compromise, especially considering how close their price categories have become.
Ultimately, if the choice is between these two devices in South Africa right now, the iPad Air wins in raw power, performance longevity, and overall flexibility.
