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Air 3 this year?

Bluesky2011 said:
I'm going to get the latest Air this year even if it's Air 2 or 3. Dont wanna wait anymore ,my ipad 3 is really slow now
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I'm going to say..that's a good buying attitude. It's great with 2gb ram...
I was like that too...wondering if I should buy it on july...when i know there was going to be an iPad event..but neh..i needed to have one..because i gave my old iPad to someone else.
 
tombiscuit said:
An Air 3 is very likely around October. It'll be pushed out as a minor update, without a launch event.

Only two hardware upgrades are really feasible at this stage without Apple impinging on other products:

* A9 chip, to replace the A8. NOT the A9X as in the iPad Pro; in other words, slightly faster but not meaning much to most people
* The mysterious second-gen TouchID sensor, as found in the iPhone 6S
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If they're going to introduce the iPad Air 3 with these two hardware, why can't they mention it with the iPad Mini 4 too?
It just takes like 10 seconds like what the iPad Mini 4 got.

"The iPad Air 3 is going to get updated too! It's going to have the A9 chip and an upgraded Touch ID." *continues with keynote*
 
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EldonChew said:
If they're going to introduce the iPad Air 3 with these two hardware, why can't they mention it with the iPad Mini 4 too?
It just takes like 10 seconds like what the iPad Mini 4 got.

"The iPad Air 3 is going to get updated too! It's going to have the A9 chip and an upgraded Touch ID." *continues with keynote*
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Because the Air is a better seller than the mini. So to launch it on the same day as the pro would take away from it. A month later launch would still give the pro a spotlight for a while.
 
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JerTheGeek said:
Because the Air is a better seller than the mini. So to launch it on the same day as the pro would take away from it. A month later launch would still give the pro a spotlight for a while.
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Then why didn't they wait until the a month later to announce both the new iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 3 like they always have?
 
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EldonChew said:
Then why didn't they wait until the a month later to announce both the new iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 3 like they always have?
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Because the mini 4 isn't as big of a seller. No risk of taking sales away from iPad Pro as it is 2 separate markets really. So no risk releasing it same time as Pro.
 
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EldonChew said:
If they're going to introduce the iPad Air 3 with these two hardware, why can't they mention it with the iPad Mini 4 too?
It just takes like 10 seconds like what the iPad Mini 4 got.

"The iPad Air 3 is going to get updated too! It's going to have the A9 chip and an upgraded Touch ID." *continues with keynote*
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I know, right? I think the keynote was the only thing they will provide this year.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Because the Air is a better seller than the mini. So to launch it on the same day as the pro would take away from it. A month later launch would still give the pro a spotlight for a while.
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That wouldn't make sense. They are going to bring air 3 on October just to hinder iPad pro's sales? That doesn't sound right.
 
pat500000 said:
That wouldn't make sense. They are going to bring air 3 on October just to hinder iPad pro's sales? That doesn't sound right.
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Just speculation. Earlier I said probably a 20 to 80 odds of it coming out. If it does come out that is my reasoning; but still it likely will not.
 
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My speculation is, that the Pro will replace the Air and there will not be an Air 3. Hoping for a price drop of the Air 2, when the Pro is released. They might even cancel it like the Mini 3 and only sell the Air 1, that would be bad. :(
 
Might be more than enough for me too, but the available colors don't match with my golden iPhone. :rolleyes:

I am hoping for a new 12" MacBook with at least just one more USB-Port. I don't need three mobile devices.
 
Erdbeertorte said:
My speculation is, that the Pro will replace the Air and there will not be an Air 3. Hoping for a price drop of the Air 2, when the Pro is released. They might even cancel it like the Mini 3 and only sell the Air 1, that would be bad. :(
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What are you talking about? There's no way in hell they're going to go back to the Air 1 only, which won't run Split View, which is the signature iOS 9 feature for the iPad.
 
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newellj said:
What are you talking about? There's no way in hell they're going to go back to the Air 1 only, which won't run Split View, which is the signature iOS 9 feature for the iPad.
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Well the Mini 3 is no longer sold new.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Well the Mini 3 is no longer sold new.
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Yeah, but the Mini 3 frankly should never have been introduced. Think back to last year: it was panned as the upgrade without an upgrade, and with a big price increase to boot. :( Discontinuing the Mini 3 is actually a sign that maybe someone's thinking rationally at Apple. ;)
 
Erdbeertorte said:
My speculation is, that the Pro will replace the Air and there will not be an Air 3. Hoping for a price drop of the Air 2, when the Pro is released. They might even cancel it like the Mini 3 and only sell the Air 1, that would be bad. :(
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I don't think they'll discontinue the 9.7 inch iPad. They would first have to lower the price of the Pro to like $599 (which definitely isn't happening) in order for it to even come close to replacing the 9.7 inch. The Air 2 is still the best option for most iPad users IMO; it'd be silly to force users to go for an iPad that is either too big and unnecessary for their uses, or too small and close in size to their iPhone.
 
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JerTheGeek said:
I don't think they'll discontinue the 9.7 inch iPad. They would first have to lower the price of the Pro to like $599 (which definitely isn't happening) in order for it to even come close to replacing the 9.7 inch. The Air 2 is still the best option for most iPad users IMO; it'd be silly to force users to go for an iPad that is either too big and unnecessary for their uses, or too small and close in size to their iPhone.
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Agreed, I don't see Apple discontinuing the 9.7" iPad.
 
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ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed, I don't see Apple discontinuing the 9.7" iPad.
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Hopefully not. The Pro and Mini are not really options for me.

I will choose between the iPad Air and the 12" MacBook. But I don't need any of them now, perhaps in two months. So I can wait if there will be newer versions announced in October and then decide what to buy.

Most likely it will be the iPad Air 2 (or maybe 3) in November, if no miracle happens and a new MacBook with cellular support appears. ;)

Tethering the iPhone is no option, because I can get very much more or even unlimited high speed volume with a data only SIM card cheaper than the the few GB that has the card in my iPhone. Perhaps if there will be very small USB-C devices for SIM cards, I might think about the MacBook again.
 
If A9 stays dual core, biggest argument for no more new iPad this year would be that the marketing dept will have a tough time if the engineers drop a dual core in there on the heels of a tri core A8X. A9X is biggest selling point for pro despite the other gimicks apple would like people to believe. "Lesser" iPads likely wont get it this soon.

speculation should be what chip?
 
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No way they are going to announce a new iPad air 3 in October right before the release of their brand new iPad Pro in November...... That would cut into the iPad Pro pre-order sales for sure.
 
I found a few websites claiming some crazy Air 3 rumors, like it's still coming out next month, but this website http://en.yibada.com/articles/62799/20150912/ipad-air-3-release-date-still-coming-next-month.htm
And this one made me laugh...
http://www.latinopost.com/articles/...ed-next-month-specs-features-price-rumors.htm
The funniest part is when the second site said: "The gadget is also said to have a 7-inch screen and 3GBof RAM, with waterproofing and dustproofing features to go with it. It is also said to be only 5mm."
Ha ha ha where do these websites come up with this stuff? lol
No real point to this post, nor do I take any stock in the websites, just thought I'd share.


Kal
 
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fob said:
If A9 stays dual core, biggest argument for no more new iPad this year would be that the marketing dept will have a tough time if the engineers drop a dual core in there on the heels of a tri core A8X. A9X is biggest selling point for pro despite the other gimicks apple would like people to believe. "Lesser" iPads likely wont get it this soon.

speculation should be what chip?
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If the iPad Air 3 is to be a reality this year it has to have minor upgrades that can literally be slipped in place with relatively minor engineering challenges. Apple marketing then has to try and sell the upgrade as significant but also minor -- something only they can do.

  1. A better CPU (A9) = easy. Not sure if the A8 and A9 pinout is the same but if Apple controls everything it shouldn't be that difficult to sort out. Note: Not the A9X, which is a whole different beast and is the iPad Pro exclusive.
  2. 3GB or RAM = nope, that would require a significantly updated mainboard and perhaps the same kind of new memory controller found in the iPad Pro. 2GB is easily enough for the Air. Remember that iOS is designed to run on devices with 1GB.
  3. 2nd gen touch ID = easy.
  4. 3D Touch = nope, would require complete reengineering of the device. Apple's too busy doing other things.
  5. Maybe some kind of boosted Wi-Fi or Bluetooth? Easy. I'm not sure what's new in these areas, though.

One thing to note here is that Apple might still be dithering on this decision, waiting to see what demand is like for the iPad Pro and also to see what manufacturing challenges arise from its production. If it turns out there's capacity for an updated Air, they might go ahead and do it. (I should add that some of these questions might already be answered by now but they weren't answered sufficiently for the launch event this week.)

We know from stories in the Isaac book that Apple can turn on a pinhead when it comes to manufacturing. Literally overnight they can switch materials and technologies.

Whatever the case, you'd be the world's biggest idiot if you bought an Air right now. Don't order until 1st Nov, at the earliest. You'll be getting a great tablet no matter what, but you might be getting a slightly faster tablet if the Air 3 does indeed come to fruition.
 
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