The current iPad Air with Smart Keyboard
August 21 update below. This entry was first published on August 19,2020.
Apple’s iPad Air could be refreshed with a new design, says a new report from the Chinese website MyDrivers. A report picked up by MacRumors claims that the next Air will have a larger screen than ever, consistent with the 11in display of the smaller iPad Pro, larger than the current 10.5in display. That’s a noticeable design change that instructs other modifications and takes the air closer to the Pro in other ways.
Because, accordingly, the new tablet will adopt the iPad Pro’s USB-C connector, the first non-Pro iPad to go through Lightning.
August 21 update. The iPad Air may not be the next iPad to come after all. As mentioned below, there were rumors later this year about an iPad Pro – yes, even though the last Pro came out just a few months ago. The MyDrivers report describing the iPad Air typed this, strange as it may sound. The suggestion was that the next iPad Pro could land in September, perhaps announced next to the next iPhones.
There is precedent for this: last September, the latest entry-level iPad was unveiled during a long keynote that also included the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
My skepticism about this schedule and this device has not completely disappeared, but the idea that there will be an iPad in a few weeks has taken a turn in recent hours.
That’s because it’s one of the most trusted leakers at the moment, Jon Prosser, who yesterday carried out a quickfire Q&A on Twitter, when asked if new iPads came this year, responded with an answer that added more detail than the question. He said: “New iPad new month.”
Leading tipster Jon Prosser says September will be iPad month.
What is not clear is whether Prosser means an iPad specifically an entry or just an Apple tablet in general. In an earlier tweet, he indicated that there will be “iPads” in October. What the release date may mean for the one announced in September or something else in full. I’m pretty clear in the sense that there will be no iPads of any strip announced in two consecutive months. And it’s very likely that Prosser was special in what he said, that is, it’s the entry-level tablet known as the iPad that comes in.
The fact that it was last updated in September 2019, it may not rule out that they will be refreshed now: the iPad has had more generations than other models, because it has been updated more often.
Assuming Prosser is right, it’s only a few days to see which iPad, if any, is announced. And the iPad Air could then follow as predicted in 2021. Back to the details of the predictive Air …
Some of these details are in line with previous rumors, but other parts seem less convincing.
What’s interesting about this new report, for example, is that Apple is pretty much cautious about updating its iPad models anew. So, since there was a new iPad Pro earlier this year and a new entry level at the end of last year, I would have guessed that the next update would have been for the Air and / or the mini. Although rumors of a second iPad Pro in 2020 are also circulating.
If MyDrivers is correct, the next Air will not bubble until 2021, and there may be an entry-level model sooner rather than later. That, it’s an intriguing assumption and, to be honest, the only reason I’m a little skeptical is because of that turn-based thing.
However, MyDrivers has more in the way of details to share.
For starters, it claims that the processor will be a version of the A14 chip that is expected to arrive in the iPhone 12. That is not impossible, but to be honest it sounds more likely that an A14 variant is in ‘ the next iPad Pro may be.
It is also claimed that it is a Liquid Retina display, similar to the iPhone 11, only larger, apparently.
The third generation iPad Air with Smart Keyboard – how can iPad Air 4 be different?
Oh, and there will be a new smart Connector on the back so that a Magic Keyboard can also be made available for the next iPad Air. I can not rule this out, but again Apple likes to keep certain things for their devices for top-flight, in this case the Pro models, so I still need a bit to be convinced here.
Earlier rumors have it that the next Air would have a 10.8in screen. That, what is true? Well, Apple likes to recycle, and since there’s already an 11in iPad Pro, it can use that big screen, though perhaps without sophistications like True Tone or the widest color gamut.
There is a suggestion that the price will be higher. While the iPad Air costs $ 499 and up, this new model can start at $ 649. This seems like a big leap to me. Not impossible, but I’ll stick my neck out here, not likely.
In other words, there is enough detail in this rumor to make it appealing, intriguing and even exciting, but not every part of it sounds true to me.
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