This was “Air” week for Apple as it announced new iPads and MacBooks with upgraded chipsets. Note that the new Apple devices are on pre-order and will be available from March 12 (Wednesday). We also look at Samsung Galaxy discounts, plus Amazon’s advanced new AI venture.
First, the vanilla iPad – the 2025 model was upgraded to the Apple A16 chip, which makes it the only new iPad without Apple Intelligence support (the 2024 mini uses the A17 Pro chipset).
At least Apple bumped up the base storage to 128GB, which is livable (64GB was tricky and upgrading took you to a pricey 256GB model). It has been three years since the vanilla iPad got an upgrade and while we appreciate the extra performance and storage, we would have appreciated something extra – AI, a 120Hz display, anything.
The iPad Air was previously upgraded last year with the M2 chip, now those are gone in favor of the M3 chip. That’s pretty much the only upgrade to the 2025 iPad Air 11” and 13”. Apple claims these are twice as fast as the older M1-based Airs, so the company is trying to entice owners of 2022 models to upgrade.
Also new this week are the 13” and 15.3” MacBook Air models with the new M4 chip and a $100 price cut. The new chip supports up to two 6K 60Hz displays (up from just one on the previous generation). The new Airs also feature new 12MP Center Stage cameras (well, not new – it’s the same as on the MacBook Pro). There’s also a new color, dubbed Sky Blue.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is $100 off. This includes both 42mm and 46mm models with and without cellular connectivity. Note that we’ve linked the aluminum models below, but you can also look at the pricier titanium models.
Moving on to Android, Amazon has dropped the free storage upgrades for the Galaxy S25 series and is instead offering straight discounts. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25+ are $200 off, the vanilla Galaxy S25 is only $100 off.
The FE series offers some cheap storage upgrades right now. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE goes from 128GB to 256GB for just $20 more. Previously, the 256GB model was $60 more.
Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is only $45 more to upgrade from 128GB to 256GB. This also brings with it more RAM, going from 6GB to 8GB. Previously, this was a $70 upgrade.
Unfortunately, the larger Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ doesn’t follow this pattern and the jump to 256GB costs the same as it always did, $100.
Earlier this week, Amazon unveiled its upgraded AI assistant, Alexa+. It’s based on a generative AI model and can handle more natural conversations and more complex tasks. It’s $20 a month normally, but Amazon Prime members get it for free.
You can use Alexa+ with a variety of Echo devices, including the cheap $40 speaker and the $150 smart display. With those, you can get early access to Alexa+, though note that Amazon will prioritize Echo Show (smart display) devices.
Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro laptop is also built for AI – this one with Intel Core Ultra and Microsoft Copilot under the hood. AI aside, this is a slender laptop available in 14” (11.6mm, 2.71lbs) and 16” (12.5mm, 3.44lbs) sizes, both with 3K 120Hz OLED touchscreens. Both are powered by the first-gen Core Ultra 7 (155H) with Intel Arc Graphics.
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