It’s onerous to imagine, however the iPad Air is now over a decade previous.
That unique mannequin launched again in November 2013, and have become the costly iPad ever on the time. It’s lengthy since been changed by the iPad Professional on the high of Apple’s tablet range, however acts as a center floor between it and the common iPad.
The subsequent era of the iPad Air would be the sixth, and there are many rumours concerning what to anticipate. Right here’s every part it’s good to find out about its potential launch date, pricing and key specs.
When will the brand new iPad Air be launched?
The iPad Air was rumoured to be introduced at Apple’s October 2023 event, however that by no means materialised.
In line with Mark Gurman, Apple has gone into manufacturing of the following era of iPad Air, iPad Professional and the MacBook Air in anticipation of a late March launch. That aligns with the next Apple event anticipated in spring 2024.
Ross Younger additionally claims in his tweet that shipments of show panels for a brand new 12.9-inch iPad Air commenced in December, suggesting a spring launch.
Ming-Chi Kuo additionally recommended a brand new iPad hair was coming within the first quarter of 2024, so someday between now and the tip of March.
Apple held comparable occasions in April 2021 and March 2022, however skipped 2023. For context, right here’s when latest iterations of the iPad Air arrived:
- fifth era: March 2022
- 4th era: September 2020
- third era: March 2019
How a lot will the brand new iPad Air price?
Pricing is normally one of many final issues to be revealed a few new product, so it’s no shock that there’s no information but.
For reference, right here’s how a lot the present iPad Air vary prices:
- iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi): £569/$599
- iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi): £719/$749
- iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): £719/$749
- iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): £869/$899
It’s troublesome to foretell whether or not Apple will enhance the costs on the following era. If the rumoured upgrades to the show turn into true, it’s very attainable.
However the iPad Air represents the center floor between the $449/£499 regular iPad and $1,099/£1,249 iPad Pro, and that’s unlikely to vary anytime quickly.
For extra options, see our information to the best iPads.
What specs and options will the brand new iPad Air have?
The subsequent iPad Air most likely isn’t far-off, and we have already got a tough thought of what to anticipate.
Design
The upcoming iPad Air mannequin is anticipated to characteristic minimal design modifications, resembling carefully its predecessor.
Nevertheless, in January, code unearthed in iOS 17.4 hinted that the forthcoming iPad Pro may embrace a panorama design for the Face ID digicam.
Nevertheless, leaker Instant Digital posted on Weibo that the transition to a panorama Face ID digicam can be anticipated to be featured within the iPad Air, in each its 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch sizes.
Presently, the iPad Air depends on the Contact ID constructed into the fingerprint sensor. The iPad Professional has it, however its placement on the high makes it awkward to make use of throughout video calls, the place you’d naturally maintain it in panorama mode.
Apple has already moved the front-facing digicam to the aspect on the 10th-generation iPad, simply not added separate Face ID sensors.
New color choices are additionally seemingly on the following iPad Air, although it’s not clear if it’ll match the colourful tones of the 10th-generation iPad or the extra muted palette of the iPhone 15.
Show
The massive hearsay to this point issues the iPad Air’s show. In line with DigiTimes (through Forbes), the following Air will probably be obtainable with a 12.9-inch show.
In November 2023, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a robust repute for Apple information) acknowledged that the iPad Air line could be divided into a ten.9-inch and a brand new 12.9-inch mannequin. A later tweet from leaker Ross Young seems to substantiate this info.
A 9to5Mac report is one other supply stating that Apple is contemplating introducing both a bigger model of the iPad Air or a higher-priced mannequin with improved specs. This hypothesis stems from the presence of two codenames linked to the brand new iPad Air: J507 and J508.
In line with sources shut 9to5Mac, the bigger iPad Air is anticipated to have dimensions of 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.0 mm, indicating that the display screen dimension may even be very comparable. But it surely’s unlikely that the smaller iPad Air will endure vital design alterations.
That will match what we see on the bigger model of the present iPad Pro, and be a major enhance in comparison with the ten.9-inch 2022 iPad Air.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t appear to be the iPad Professional’s mini-LED display screen will probably be making its option to the Air. Forbes says it’ll most likely follow the LCD panels we see at the moment, and there’s no phrase on a better refresh charge than 60Hz.
In line with Ming-Chi Kuo, “the 12.9-inch iPad Air is an all-new mannequin, and whereas it lacks Mini-LED, it advantages from an Oxide backplane (the identical spec as the prevailing miniLED iPad Professionals), providing higher show efficiency than the ten.9-inch iPad Air with an a-Si backplane.”
An Omdia report additionally suggests Apple may shift to OLED shows in some unspecified time in the future, however it’s unlikely to be within the 2024 iPad Air.
Efficiency
A brand new processor is one factor we could be nearly sure about. In line with in style leaker Revegnus, it’ll use Apple’s M2 chipset:
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg additionally reports that Apple’s intention is certainly to equip the iPad Air with an M2 chip.
That will make sense, given the M3 chips are extensively official and M1 powers the 2022 iPad Air. Apple will most likely restrict M3 to the iPad Professional, a minimum of for now.
Apple now gives a baseline 128GB storage on the iPhone, however iPads nonetheless begin at 64GB, until it’s a Professional mannequin.
The brand new iPad Air will most likely characteristic 128GB, although, making it a viable possibility with out the necessity for a pricier 256GB mannequin. Anticipate pricier variations with extra storage to even be obtainable.
Cameras
MacRumors additionally thinks we may very well be getting upgrades to the entrance and rear cameras, with each {hardware} and software program enhancements attainable.
Nevertheless, it’s not clear what number of modifications there’ll really be to the present 12Mp rear and 12Mp front-facing lenses.
Whereas we anticipate extra information, it’s value studying our review of the latest iPad Air to see whether or not it’s value shopping for. You might also be focused on extra of the best iPads and best tablets round.