Twenty months. That’s how long it has been since Apple last updated the iPad Air with the M1 chip. In fact, the entire iPad line hasn’t been touched since October 2022, making it more than a full calendar year without any upgrades. And while Cupertino’s midrange tablet remains the class of the field—so much so that we named it iPad of the Year in 2023—there’s no denying it’s long in the tooth.
But the neglect will surely come to an end this year, with major revisions expected for the majority of Apple’s “full-screen” iPad lineup. There will also be a minor design change coming to the Air—at least according to alleged leaked schematics obtained by 91mobiles.
While the new device retains the iPad line’s trademark slab-sided slate aesthetic, the camera bump has grown into a pill shape reminiscent of the iPhone X and XS. There’s still just a single wide camera (no ultra-wide—that’s still reserved for the iPad Pro), but the bump now houses the microphone as well.
The rest of the design appears to be identical to the outgoing model, meaning that you get the same three pogo pins at the bottom, the lozenge-like volume and power/Touch ID buttons on the side and top respectively and a side magnet for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
Unfortunately, the latter also means the selfie camera is still on the “wrong” short side, rather than being moved to the long side as is the case with the tenth-generation iPad. As such, the new Air still won’t be ideal for making video calls.
Bigger news is the addition of a new 12.9-inch option to supplement the existing 10.9-inch version, matching the iPad Pro. This mirrors the strategy Apple adopted on the iPhone line in 2022 with the larger-screened iPhone 14 Plus, a trend continued with last year’s iPhone 15 Plus. This will give users greater options, although the Pro model will continue to be differentiated with a 120Hz refresh rate, Face ID and a faster chip.
Speaking of a faster chip, the iPad Air is expected to graduate to the M2 chip, with the Pro almost certainly getting the latest M3 processor instead. We may also see a new mini LED display (perhaps reserved for the 12.9-inch model), now that the Pro is rumoured to be gaining OLED panels to match Samsung’s offerings.
