This year, Apple has not made any iPad refresh, which has not yet happened since the first iPad was announced. Instead, the iPhone-maker is highly rumored to release multiple iPad tablets around the first quarter of next year. A fresh report is now detailing more details about the lineup, especially on the chipset choice for the iPad Air, which is also tipped to add a bigger 12.9-inch model.
Apple iPad Air 12.9-inch (2024) processor and keyboard compatibility
In the latest newsletter of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, he suggests both 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Air models are getting the custom M2 chipset. This is not a big surprise given the current 5th gen iPad Air from 2022 is powered by an M1. Likewise, this mostly confirms that the bigger iPad Air won’t be sharing the more capable M3 chip of Apple’s upcoming 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro, despite the increased screen estate.
Regarding the performance of Apple’s M3 chip, it is modestly faster than the M2 which outputs 15 percent and 20 percent higher processor and graphics scores in benchmarks, respectively. But although the chip’s speed difference may be evident in some scenarios, it’s unclear whether regular users will notice a major performance gap between the two iPad models at all.
Another differentiating hardware specs between the iPad Air and iPad Pro is with the type of display. The former duo is sticking with an IPS LCD while the two Pro sizes are believed to debut with an OLED screen. However, all of these iPads could still run with 120 Hz display refresh rate.
Gurman added that Apple will be launching a new Magic Keyboard and Pencil to pair with the new iPads. But it is still believed Apple is making the current Magic Keyboard of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro work with the bigger iPad Air, which similar to how the current Air is compatible with the Magic Keyboard for the 11-inch iPad Pro.
The end of Apple iPad 9th gen and the home button
The leaker also said that Apple will stop offering the iPad 9 and discontinue this model starting next year. Furthermore, the move could make Apple’s iPad lineup less convoluted with the iPad 10 (review) remaining as the standard slate entry in addition to the iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.
As for the release date, Gurman speculates the iPad Air will be launched along with the MacBook Air M3 sometime in March 2024. And in a separate post, analyst Ross Young doubles down on this and described that the Cupertino has started shipping the display panels of the iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
Which of the forthcoming iPad models are you intending to buy next year? And which features do wish to see Apple adding to them? We’d like to hear your thoughts in the comment section.
