Every iPad line is expected to receive an update this year, starting with the arrival of OLED-based Pros and a bigger Air as early as next month.
The current iPad lineup is a cluttered and confusing mess. There are two sizes of iPad Pro, a single iPad Air, two generations of the regular iPad and the iPad Mini that’s still alive and kicking. It’s hit or miss with which Apple Pencil works with which iPad, and only one iPad has the camera on the side for landscape FaceTime calls.
The iPad has always occupied the middle ground between the iPhone and the MacBook, and now it has company in this in-between zone with the arrival of the Vision Pro. The Vision Pro is far too expensive right now to cannibalize iPad sales, but as its price comes down in the years to come, it will compete with the iPad for our third-screen needs and dollars.
Apple needs to do something with the iPad to keep consumers interested in its device that’s neither iPhone nor MacBook. We should get an answer soon to which direction Apple is taking its tablets. New iPad models are expected as early as March, according to reports. And these updates are long overdue. The company didn’t release any iPads last year, making it the first calendar year without a new iPad since Apple’s tablet was first released in 2010. Here’s what the rumored updates will look like for each iPad line.
OLED coming to iPad Pro
The updated iPad Pros will come in 11- and 13-inch sizes, with the latter being slightly larger than the current big Pro at 12.9 inches. The new Pros are also expected to upgrade from Apple’s M2 chip of the current models to the M3 chip. Other rumored changes include USB-C and MagSafe wireless charging along with an updated Magic Keyboard with an aluminum cover and larger trackpad.
iPad Air expanding to 12.9 inches
The new iPad Airs are not expected to move to mini-LED or OLED displays and will keep their LED-based liquid retina panels. The rear camera, according to 9to5Mac, is expected to be housed in a new camera bump that includes a flash, a feature not offered on the current Air. The new models are also expected to work with the current Magic Keyboard and not the keyboard update that will be exclusive to the new Pro models.
Processor bumps for iPad and iPad Mini
And by the end of the year, perhaps we will finally see the long-rumored foldable iPad.