The current iPad Air, which launched back in 2022, sports Apple’s M1 chipset, making it a powerful tablet that can pretty much tackle anything in its path, but its successor is said to be better in every way. According to the latest report, Apple is preparing a newer version, one that will feature updated specifications, and for the most part, nearly everyone knows what the major upgrades will be this year.
Apple not introducing any major changes to the iPad lineup this year, but the iPad Air may still get treated to the M2
Without revealing the obvious bits of the new iPad Air, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has stated the following in his Power On newsletter, believing that the new slate is in development and will likely launch later this year.
“For those wondering about the iPad — another product that typically gets refreshed in October — I wouldn’t expect any major upgrades until the M3 iPad Pros with OLED screens arrive next year. But an iPad Air model that boosts its specifications is also in development.”
Seeing as how Apple managed to cram an M1 in the iPad Air 5, it will not be surprising to see the company use the M2 in the updated model, but apart from that, we expect the other specifications to remain the same, but at this stage, there are diminishing returns to adding anything extra. We should get the same chassis as last year’s model, along with a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD panel that will probably not get ProMotion support, meaning the tablet will lose out on a faster refresh rate panel.
Customers wanting to experience that buttery smooth ProMotion technology will have to spend a little more money and upgrade to any of the available iPad Pro models. We also believe that the maximum supported internal storage and 8GB RAM will remain unchanged on the new iPad Air, so it will likely be targeted to those who have not yet purchased a powerful iPad but wish to do without stepping into the iPad Pro pricing territory.
The only other notable upgrade we see arriving to the iPad Air 6 is support for Wi-Fi 6E, a wireless adapter that is present on the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. As for pricing, Gurman left that detail out too, but looking at the global conditions and the fact that Apple raised the iPad 10’s price without giving it ample upgrades, the new iPad Air could be slightly more expensive than its predecessor. Thankfully, the launch of the new slate will mean that the 2022 version will get heftier price cuts, making it more affordable for the masses.
