The iPad Air was final up to date in March 2022 and rumors recommend that the arrival of a brand new mannequin (or two!) might be coming quickly. Right here’s all we all know up to now concerning the sixth era iPad Air.
An Apple occasion occurred on October 30, however there have been no new iPads at that occasion. Does this imply that there shall be no new iPads in 2023? Learn on to learn the way lengthy the wait is prone to be.
When will the brand new iPad Air be launched?
The previous three generations of iPad Air arrived about 18 months aside, so we’re due an replace. However Apple’s occasion on October 30 noticed the corporate solely launch new Macs. The iPad didn’t get a glance in. Does this imply there shall be no new iPad Air in 2023. It appears to be like that approach.
In actual fact, it’s possible that 2023 will go with not a single iPad replace for the primary time since Apple’s late CEO and founder Steve Jobs launched the class in 2010.
The final consensus among the many most trusted Apple forecasters is that the next-gen iPad Air is in growth, however the brand new fashions simply aren’t prepared but. Maybe the delay is because of give attention to the new Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional, set to launch in early 2024.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had instructed (in a MacRumors Present podcast in early September) {that a} new iPad Air was “coming soonish” and that there might be a refresh in October, though most likely not at an occasion. He then clarified (in a mid-October e-newsletter) that he didn’t suppose that the iPads will are available October. He wrote: “Whereas I reported in July that Apple was planning such a launch this 12 months, the most recent indications are that it received’t occur this month.”
Gurman now, understandably, doesn’t suppose that the iPad Air (or any iPad) will launch in 2023. He stated in a November e-newsletter that Apple “plans to replace its whole iPad lineup throughout 2024.”
One other dependable tipster, Ming-Chi Kuo, posted on X (formally Twitter) again in September that it was unlikely we’d see new iPads in 2023.
Then, in November 2023, Kuo elaborated on the upcoming iPads, saying that Apple will refresh all 4 iPad strains—normal, mini, Air, and Professional—in 2024.
Kuo claims a brand new iPad Air shall be coming into mass manufacturing within the first half of 2024.
New iPad Air dimension
- Apple might be launching two sizes of iPad Air, with a brand new 12.9-inch mannequin becoming a member of the lineup.
An October 9to5Mac report claimed, not solely that “there are a number of new iPads on monitor for the approaching months,” however that this consists of two new iPad Air fashions. The positioning signifies that Apple “could also be contemplating introducing a bigger model of the iPad Air, or a dearer mannequin with higher specs.” This idea appears to be based mostly on the truth that there are two codenames related to the brand new iPad Air: J507 and J508, with the one different iPads having two codenames being the iPad Professional, which is available in two sizes.
In November Ming Chi Kuo mentioned the extra iPad Air dimension, saying that the iPad Air line shall be break up into two sizes: 10.9-inch and a brand new 12.9-inch mannequin.
The 12.9-inch iPad Air could have a higher display, not only a greater one, in keeping with 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 present mini-LED iPad Professionals), providing higher show efficiency than the ten.9-inch iPad Air with an a-Si backplane.”
There isn’t any indication as to what dimension this new iPad Air could be. At the moment, the iPad Air has a ten.9-inch show. The iPad Professional has an 11-inch or 12.9-inch show. There are rumors {that a} 14-inch show might be coming to the new iPad Professional, so maybe the brand new iPad Air show shall be 12.9-inches.
Apple
How a lot will the sixth gen iPad Air price?
- Exterior the U.S. Apple consumers are hoping Apple will reverse the worth hikes of the previous few years, as they did with the iPhone.
Relating to the potential pricing of the iPad Air 6, we are able to have a look at the generations which have preceded it as a clue for what you’ll need to pay when it lastly does arrive.
- 64GB, Wi-Fi – $599 / £669
- 256GB, Wi-Fi – $749 / £849
- 64GB, Mobile – $749 / £849
- 256GB, Mobile – $899 / £1,029
- 64GB, Wi-Fi – $599 / £579
- 256GB, Wi-Fi – $749 / £729
- 64GB, Mobile – $729 /£709
- 256GB, Mobile – $879 / £859
As you possibly can see, Apple saved a lot of the pricing roughly the identical for its U.S. clients when transferring between the previous few generations, whereas outdoors the U.S. consumers obtained hit with aggressive worth hikes (one thing that occurred throughout all Apple merchandise, see Is Apple ripping off the remainder of the world with inflated costs?) Apple reversed these extortionate worth rises when it launched the iPhone 15, so we’re hopeful that outdoors the U.S. Apple consumers may even see iPad costs lower.
If Apple does introduce the next spec or bigger iPad Air to accompany the present dimension, we may see decrease costs on the entry stage and better costs on the top quality.
Naturally, a mannequin with improved {hardware} will price extra, however as there may be presently solely round $200/£200 between the iPad Air fifth gen and the 11in iPad Professional, there isn’t a whole lot of room for a brand new tier. If Apple does introduce a bigger iPad Air it appears possible it will be priced round $100/£100 above the common iPad Air. This may be much like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, so possibly Apple is simply providing dimension variants for patrons somewhat than in another way geared up ‘iPad Air Plus’ fashions.
What new options will we see within the iPad Air 6?
For a tool whose launch might be imminent, there’s not truly that many rumors or leaks on the market. This could be a case of Apple tightening up any leaks that have been showing in its manufacturing chain, or that any updates to the iPad Air shall be minimal.
A brand new processor
The obvious space the place the iPad Air 6 shall be superior to the present iPad Air 5 is within the processor that powers it. The iPad Air 5 already boasts a reasonably nifty M1 chip, however the 11-inch iPad Professional has been sporting M2 silicon for over a 12 months, with stories suggesting it is going to get an replace to a new M3 chipset. This may enable Apple to raid its elements bin and transfer the M2 to the iPad Air 6, whereas retaining the latest silicon for its Professional platform.
Tech tipster Revegnus posted on X/Twitter that this might be the case.
New show know-how
One other change Apple might be trying to carry to iPads is OLED shows. Rumors of OLED screens coming to the iPad lineup have popped up with regularity through the years. Apple is claimed to be in negotiations with LG, Samsung, and Chinese language corporations for lively matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs) that might be coming to the iPad Air and iPad mini.
Whereas this may symbolize a superb improve, plainly the roadmap for that is 2025/2026, so there’s no likelihood that it’s going to arrive in time for the iPad Air 6. Perhaps the iPad Air 7?
Nonetheless, there could also be display upgrades coming before that. As talked about above, in November 2023 analyst Ming Chi Kuo instructed {that a} new 12.9-inch iPad Air will function a greater display with an Oxide backplane, as seen within the present mini-LED iPad Professionals), “providing higher show efficiency than the ten.9-inch iPad Air with an a-Si backplane.”
Extra storage
For the reason that launch of the iPhone 13, Apple has supplied a baseline storage capability of 128GB. Sadly, this hasn’t been the case with the iPad Air, which presently begins at a somewhat paltry 64GB. May the iPad Air 6 lastly see this alteration? We hope somewhat than know that when the iPad Air 6 turns up, it will likely be endowed with a roomy 128GB in order that it may grow to be the laptop computer substitute Apple has been advertising and marketing it as for some time now.
We’ll proceed to observe the most recent information and rumors surrounding the iPad Air (6th Technology), so you should definitely examine again usually to see what we are able to discover.
Within the meantime, right here’s a number of the very best offers for the iPad Air 5.
$549.00
$559
$599
$599
$599.99
$599.99
iPad Air (2014) 64GB – Silver – (Wi-Fi)
$123.97
$169.99
$404.99
iPad Air (2022) 64GB – Blue – (Wi-Fi)
$444.00
iPad Air (2022) 64GB – Area Grey – (Wi-Fi)
$487.00
iPad Air (2022) 64GB – Pink – (Wi-Fi)
$499.79
iPad Air (2022) 64GB – Starlight – (Wi-Fi)
$526.99
iPad Air (2020) 256GB – Inexperienced – (Wi-Fi)
$618.00