A brand new report claims Apple is engaged on two new variations of a sixth-generation iPad Air for every of the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Mobile fashions.
That works out to 4 separate fashions in complete, in response to the report, which comes from 9to5Mac. Nonetheless, it doesn’t say what the variations can be between the 2 separate iPad Air fashions which are stated to be on the best way.
The report speculates that since Apple makes two variations of the iPad Professional in two completely different sizes, Apple could also be planning to launch a bigger model of the iPad Air to accompany the present 10.9-inch model. The report additionally says it’s attainable that Apple could also be planning “a costlier mannequin with higher specs.”
Whereas that may be a risk, the iPad lineup already consists of the iPad Professional in two sizes, a base mannequin iPad in the usual measurement, and the smaller iPad mini. This implies a bigger or higher-end iPad Air won’t match effectively into the lineup. 9to5Mac covers its rear by mentioning that Apple’s plans might all the time change, and a second iPad Air mannequin won’t make an look.
There have additionally been rumors that Apple is engaged on a seventh-generation iPad mini, in addition to an Eleventh-generation base iPad. Neither new pill is predicted to boast main updates.
9to5Mac says that its sources imagine the seventh-generation iPad mini is coming “quickly.” The report additionally speculates that each one of Apple’s new iPads will probably be introduced “between now and WWDC 2024 in June,” which leaves loads of room for hypothesis.
In July, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman stated Apple was engaged on a barely spec-bumped sixth-generation iPad Air, though he didn’t have any info as to when the brand new iPad Air mannequin would possibly debut.
Apple supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated final month that Apple is not going to probably unveil any new iPads throughout 2023 and that new iPad Air and iPad mini fashions would as a substitute debut someday in 2024.
The iPad Air has not been up to date since March 2022, so the pill’s specs have stood pat for greater than a 12 months now. The present iPad Air is powered by an M1 chip, so Apple could also be ready till the M3 chip is prepared earlier than updating the gadget.
In late September 2023, Kuo stated regardless of the expectation that Apple’s upcoming 2024 MacBooks and iPads can be powered by 3nm chips, Apple would possibly discover that demand for the units can be under expectations resulting from a “lack of development drivers.”
Kuo says Apple is missing a driving catalyst to drive new clients, as customers are returning to office-based work post-pandemic. He says it’s also missing new options just like the Apple Silicon-based M1, which drove gross sales a number of years in the past as clients appeared to improve from Intel-based Macs.
It must also be famous that the iPad mini has not been refreshed since September 2021. Nonetheless, that’s not shocking as Apple doesn’t present a lot replace love for the mini regularly.
The primary technology iPad Air was introduced on October 22, 2013, and was launched on November 1, 2013. The primary-generation Air boasted a Retina Show and was powered by an Apple A7 chip that included an embedded Apple M7 Movement coprocessor. It had 802.11n-based MINO WiFi know-how and extended-range LTE telecommunication.
Nonetheless, these first two iPad Air fashions in 2013 and 2014 had been successfully simply updates to the usual iPad lineup below a brand new title; it wasn’t till the third-generation mannequin got here together with greater specs in early 2019 that the iPad Air took its place as Apple’s new middle-tier iPad household.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]