iPad Air 3rd Generation: Will the next iPad Air have a larger display and a different camera?
August 10 update below. This entry was first published on August 7, 2020.
Apple’s iPad Air looks like the next tablet to be updated, possibly as soon as next month. So, it is not surprising that the rumors are starting to soap up. The latter comes from leaker Komiya. In a new tweet, the trusted tipster claims something very special about the upcoming iPad: it will only have one camera.
Okay, that’s not the surprising bit, it’s just the iPad Pro that has dual cameras, not to mention a LiDAR scanner on the back.
But what is remarkable is the claim that the single camera will be an ultra-wide lens.
August 10 update. The same trusted liqueur, Komiya, has now slipped a very exciting treat over the Apple pen. Initially, it was the tweetje was pretty cryptic. It just said “3ms” – milliseconds, that is. When asked if this meant Apple Pencil latency, the answer was yes.
That said, the next Apple Pencil will have very low latency. To put this in context, the second generation Apple Pencil has a latency of 9ms and, as you will know if you have tried it, it is indeed very fast. The trick with a stylus like this is, to succeed at every opportunity, it must feel like the virtual ink is flowing as smoothly as the real thing. If you see that the line pulls just that little bit back, where your stylus feels against glass, the effect is ruinous and discourages you from doing this again. To flourish, it must feel that the transfer of the Pencil to the screen must be immediate.
Samsung, for its just released tablets, the Galaxy Tab 7 and Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, rightly noted that it had low latency on its stylus, called the S Pen. It measures this at 9ms. That, any reduction in Apple’s share would bring the company forward again.
Here’s the smart bit: the improved latency could happen to existing pencils instead of being limited to a new model. I assume that because the Apple Pencil (second generation) originally had latency of 20ms, not bad, but no patch at 9ms. It was with the arrival of iPadOS 13 that the latency dropped to 9ms, so it is possible that this new predictive change could be achieved without having to buy a replacement Apple Pencil. Komiya does not specify which generation Apple Pencil will benefit here, but my idea is that you will need Generation-2, which means it will work with a recent iPad Pro. But there could be benefits for first-generation Pencil owners, too, just not as dramatic, likely.
August 8 update. The rumor of iPad Air is not the only indication of a major change coming to the iPad range. A new patent just spotted by Patently Apple shows something really off-the-wall: a frame that folds out and contains multiple projectors. These are designed to shine a virtual keyboard on the desktop, or whatever. Crazy, huh? This patent does not specify which product it will be attached to, so it could be an iPad Pro, MacBook or who knows what else? The idea is that the projected keyboard would appear on a different surface so you can tap on it.
Sensors will then see where your fingers and thumbs are, and detect which keys you are trying to touch. This is not the first time a projecting keyboard has been used, but in my experience the reliability and accuracy of such devices are variable, to say the least.
I will say at the moment that the fun of the keyboards on the Mac and the external keyboards on iPads is the journey in the keys, which of course is not there when you tap your fingers on the desktop. There is literally no amount of weight- or space-saving that would make me choose this method over something light, thin and most importantly deliver-to-the-fingers like the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro. That said, I do not know exactly how Apple would implement such a solution and it could be something brilliant. Back to the larger iPad Air camera …
This is very different. An ultra-wide camera, although eminently useful in many situations, is rarely used except as a supplement to a normal wide camera. It offers great versatility, and allows you to capture the entire panorama without stepping back.
But to contain this and not a broad one instead, is unusual.
Komiya describes the pixel density of the sensor – it will be a 12MP camera.
This is also a surprise, as it has a higher pixel count than the ultra wide on the iPad Pro. The Pro has a camera of 12MP wide but 10MP ultra wide.
So, why would Apple choose this lens?
Now, iPad cameras are not used in the same way as iPhone snappers. The addition of the LiDAR scanner, which is not expected on the iPad Air, is proof of how a tablet is better for AR functions than just snapping images. After all, a flat, wide-shaped object is much less ergonomic than one that you can easily hold in one hand, or, it turns out, a proper camera with its handy grips and carefully weighed design.
That said, Apple can recognize that an ultra-wide camera is all you need on an iPad. I have used the ultra-wide on the iPhone 11 much more than I thought I would. It is certainly also useful for larger shooters and surprisingly effective for portraits.
As the pixel count is higher than the iPad Pro, I think that indicates that Apple would take the 12MP ultra-wide sensor from the iPhone 11. It is assumed that the smaller thickness of the Air compared to the iPhone does not make that impossible . The air is marginally thicker than the iPad Pro (6.1mm and 5.9mm respectively) while the iPhone 11 is 8.3mm. Or this may be a brand new sensor, but it seems surprising to develop this for the Air before the Pro. However, if there is only one camera, Apple might be able to make sure it was the best it could be.
This is the first time this rumor has surfaced so it can be countered by other reports. If so, I’ll cover them.
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