The Apple iPad Air 2 completed its one-year market cycle in October last year. A successor would have been in order at that time but the American tech giant decided to launch instead its giant tablet, the iPad Pro.
The iPad Pro lived up to its hype of being a powerful tablet and laptop, which is why it was also regarded as a laplet. With its 12.9-inch size, Apple has certainly upped the ante on its tablet line with the iPad Pro.
However, those who have been so used to getting a refresh of the 9.7-inch tablet line would be happy to know that Apple is not doing away with its iPad Air line yet. In fact, rumors and speculations are now swirling wildly that the American tech giant may actually release its iPad Air 3 sometime in March along with the Apple Watch 2, the 2016 MacBook Air, and possibly the 4-inch iPhone 5SE.
Given the 18-month period from the time that the iPad Air 2 was launched, critics believe that the iPad Air 3 will come with fairly substantial updates and based on the rumored specifications and features of Apple’s latest tablet, it seems on target alright, reports MSN Money.
4K resolution display panel
Based on the latest reports, the iPad Air 3 will come out equipped with a 4K resolution display panel, based on the revelation of sources in the Taiwan supply chain.
Although the typical 4K resolutions do not quite fit the signature 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad Air line, Apple has the capability to pack enough pixels into the display to make it comparable in terms of overall pixel count to what is commonly known as a 4K display.
Another interesting rumor about the iPad Air 3 is that it would have a generous 4GB of RAM, which suggests that it may include different levels of main memory in different models, potentially based on storage tier.
The reports are also consistent about the processor of the Apple iPad Air 3, which will be the A9X chipset, the same processor found in the iPad Pro.
Just by imagining these basic features alone, users are already saying that the iPad Air 3 is really worth the wait, particularly those who did not jump on the bandwagon of the iPad Pro and ditch their 9.7-inch tablet in favor of a bigger and more professional-looking one.
Big jump in tech and features
According to Tech Radar, by the time the iPad Air 3 comes out in a few months’ time, the iPad Air 2 is likely pretty old by then so it believes that the new tablet line from the Cupertino-based tech company could see a big jump from its predecessor when it comes to tech and features.
The outlet believes that the Apple iPad Air 3 would be a super-thin tablet but shall come with an expensive price tag, though it would not be as costly as the giant tablet, something which did not allow the iPad Pro to take off well in the market, in terms of sales.
There are also rumors citing that the iPad Air 3 would come out with a similar speaker set-up to the iPad Pro. It would mean four speakers surrounding the tablet to make for a better movie watching experience than the two speakers on the iPad Air 2.
Despite rumors that the iPad Air 3 could launch in March, there is actually no hard evidence to indicate that the tablet would indeed be launching in the first half of 2016.
But it would surely be to the advantage of Apple if it launches the iPad Air 3 before its iPhone 7.
If the iPad Air 3 drops according to its reported schedule, it will be the first time in six years that Apple would be unveiling a tablet on March because the company has been so used to launching the latest iteration of its tablet in October.
It was only last year when it deviated from its usual tablet launching schedule when Apple launched the iPad Pro, along with the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 6S Plus, the iPad mini 4, and the Apple TV in September.
However, the iPad Pro did not immediately make it to the market but came out in November. Prior to the September launching, there were reports that the Cupertino-based tech company was also planning to launch the Apple iPad Air 3. However, because of the iPad Pro, the American tech giant decided to defer the latest iteration of its tablet in order not to compete with the iPad Pro.