Leaked illustrations may show the design of the next Apple iPad Air

08/28/2020 USA


Yesterday we told you that Apple had submitted to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) information regarding seven different variants of an upcoming new iPad model. Usually there are a few weeks lag between the time a device is submitted to the regulatory committee and the actual release of the product. Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International says that Apple will announce a 10.8-inch iPad Air this year, possibly at the same time that the new 5G iPhone 12 units are unveiled.

Leaked pamphlet said to be for the iPad Air 4, shows an iPad Pro design language for the cheaper tablet

Today, a Twitter user named DuanRui (@ duanrui1205) distributed a tweet containing a pamphlet with instructions in Spanish, supposedly for the iPad Air 4. Similar to the premium iPad Pro, the illustrations on the pamphlet show a screen with thinner edges than the one on the iPad Air 3. It also shows that the device is equipped with a Type-C charging port instead of Apple’s own Lightning charging system. That’s also a feature found on the iPad Pro.

Not every feature on the iPad Pro appears on the iPad Air 4, based on this leak. There is no Face ID and although there was speculation about a fingerprint scanner in the display, it looks like Touch ID will be sitting in the push button. Apple is reportedly working on a similar iteration of Touch ID for next year’s rumored iPhone SE Plus. That rumor comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, which gives the rumor more than the usual modicum of credibility.

The iPad Airline lies somewhere between the regular iPad and the iPad Pro. By moving the Touch ID button, Apple can reduce the size of the edges, giving the tablet a more modern and premium look. The most recent iPad Air model, the third generation version, starts at $ 499 for the 64GB Wi-Fi only variant. While we could see an upcoming fourth-generation iPad Air powered by the 5nm A14 Bionic chip, it’s more likely that a variant of last year’s A13 Bionic will be used to keep costs low.

According to Canalys, the iPad remained the leading market share in the tablet market in the second quarter. The iPad has been in that position since the first one was introduced on January 27, 2010. From April to June this year, Apple shipped 14.2 million iPads over the year, up 19.8%. That gave Apple a healthy 38% share of the sector less than the 40% share it had in the second quarter of last year. The tech giant delivered more than twice the number of tablets Samsung shipped in the quarter (7,024,000, accounting for 18.7% of the tablet market) and more than the next two factories combined. Huawei was third in the three months and had delivered 4,770,000 units in the three months.

The tablet market got a shot in the arm of the pandemic when parents bought the product for their children to watch streaming content, learn lessons from home school, stay in touch with friends, and more. At the same time, domestic workers used their tablets as extra tools. In the second quarter, 37.5 million tablets were shipped worldwide compared to the 29.8 million delivered in the same period last year. That is an improvement of 26.1% on an annual basis. Lenovo had the largest increase in tablet shipping in the fourth with a gain of almost 53% followed by 45% for Huawei.

As for Apple’s next iPad, there’s no guarantee that the pamphlet showing the improvements in the iPad Air 4 is legitimate. But if the company can bring some of the design edge from its high-priced iPad Pro to the cheaper iPad Air series, Apple may be able to expand its dominance in the tablet market.

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