Apple Allegedly Working on Two New iPad Air Models

[jezbd1997]

The other thing about the paradox, is that when you have so many options available, a consumer ends up being less satisfied with the product they chose because they doubt they made the correct choice. This can lower consumer satisfaction and make them less loyal to you over the long-term.

This is absolutely right.
When I read your comment the first thing I thought of was my 2nd ever MacBook (and first MacBook Pro) an early 2011 MBP, and really the only choices most people had to decide was 13 inch or 15 inch for dedicated gpu. I never thought again about if I made the right choice because not too much difference between those 2.

Jumping up to 2013-15 there was already a fragmented lineup, the airs were popular because of price point but not many new features, only pros had retina displays and then new 12 inch MacBook which was in a weird spot.

Don't even get me started on the lineups today..

 

[GuruZac]

Apple's product range gets more confused.

Steve Jobs definitely had the product range idea right: Keep it simple, don't have excess number of product variations.

Yeah it’s gotten out of control, and further decisions like completely redesigning the iPad 10th gen but keeping Apple Pencil Gen 1…like who makes these type decisions and why? Too many model types across all product lineups. May also be contributing to the increased number of software bugs year to year.

 

[GuruZac]

The problem with the current Air is that there's not much Air about it. Traditionally, an Air (whether an Macbook or iPad) is supposed to be thinner and lighter then the rest of the range. If that comes at the cost of CPU power, ram, camera, then so be it.

I'm hoping Apple would take the Air back to being an Air. It should be thinner and appreciably lighter then the Pro and standard iPad. Right now its way to similar to a Pro in terms of size/weight

How that would translate to two models, I have no idea, maybe they are just referring to a 64GB and 256GB version. But hopefully Apple would realize that its not really an Air as it stands

Yeah the Air is just a stripped out 11” iPad Pro. Worse display, no ProMotion, less powerful CPU/GPU, worse speakers, no FaceID, etc, yet it’s still within $100-$200. It’s a product that doesn’t make sense in my opinion.

 

[Scarboose]

Yeah the Air is just a stripped out 11” iPad Pro. Worse display, no ProMotion, less powerful CPU/GPU, worse speakers, no FaceID, etc, yet it’s still within $100-$200. It’s a product that doesn’t make sense in my opinion.

You’re completely right! However, imagine they make a 12.9” version of the iPad Air and it costs $799. $300 less because mini LED is an extra $100.

To me, this is a great value! I think this iPad would sell really well. Consumers would then be looking at the $799 price point the most deciding what’s important to them: screen size or pro features.

 

[Capeto]

Hasn’t the iPad Mini almost always had feature parity with the iPad Air, rather than the “regular” iPad? Hopefully this means the Mini will get an M-series processor

 

[boak]

My bet is on A17 Pro starting at $599 and M2 starting at $699. iPad Pro 11-in. moving to mini-LED with a $100 price increase to $899.

 

[nininiiiick]

And there it is.

So, there might be a new iPad Air, but there also might not be a new iPad Air.

Got it. 👍

Schrodinger's iPad

 

[Oestreich Dieter]

I would have bought an iPad Air if it's base storage was 128GB

 

[Oestreich Dieter]

Almost no one is asking for iPad Air with M2 and better cameras. What most of us wants are:

• 128GB base storage
• Landscape front camera
• OLED
• Longer battery life

lack of 128gb base storage is why I havent bought one.

 

[boak]

128 GB will not happen for quite some time still. 64 GB is sufficient for many with cloud storage and only use the iPad for streaming. Skipping 128 GB is a pricing strategy for upselling.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Apple's product range gets more confused.

Steve Jobs definitely had the product range idea right: Keep it simple, don't have excess number of product variations.

C'mon, it's so simple. There's the iPad Mini, the iPad Super Mini, the iPad Air, the iPad More Air, The iPad Pro, the iPad Super Pro, and the iPad Pro Even More Pro. It's just as simple as the M1, M1 Extreme, M1 Pro, M1 Premium, M1 SuperFast. How can you not tell them all apart?!

/S

 

[Populus]

Wonder if the iPad mini becomes the 8.3” air.

2 pro sizes, 2 air sizes.

This would be a good idea, although I would increase the smaller size up to 9”, the 8.3” is a bit too small for me. Maybe that’s why I have an 11” iPad Pro.

 

[MrGimper]

Yeah the Air is just a stripped out 11” iPad Pro. Worse display, no ProMotion, less powerful CPU/GPU, worse speakers, no FaceID, etc, yet it’s still within $100-$200. It’s a product that doesn’t make sense in my opinion.

It’s hard to recommend an air over a refurbished/second hand older Pro 11.

 

[boak]

It’s hard to recommend an air over a refurbished/second hand older Pro 11.

Yup, unless you're in a country with no refurbished store.

The vast majority of users don't need the latest M chip. Previous gen Pro offers ProMotion and quad speakers, which I believe are the biggest selling points for those users that mainly use the iPad for streaming and taking notes.

 

[n-evo]

iPad Air Pro

 

[MrGimper]

Yup, unless you're in a country with no refurbished store.

The vast majority of users don't need the latest M chip. Previous gen Pro offers ProMotion and quad speakers, which I believe are the biggest selling points for those users that mainly use the iPad for streaming and taking notes.

Yep, the 2 reasons I bought a Pro, in addition to Mini-LED as I got 12.9 M1

 

[nutmac]

128 GB will not happen for quite some time still. 64 GB is sufficient for many with cloud storage and only use the iPad for streaming. Skipping 128 GB is a pricing strategy for upselling.

The problem is, it's either 64GB or pay $150 more for 256GB.

Making the matter more complicated is iPad Pro starting with 128GB for $50 more than iPad Air with 256GB.

On the iPhone front, Apple increased the base storage from 64GB to 128GB 2 years ago, with iPhone 13. It's about time Apple does the same with iPad Air. I mean, Apple Watch Series 9 has 64GB for crying out loud.

 

[klasma]

Yeah the Air is just a stripped out 11” iPad Pro. Worse display, no ProMotion, less powerful CPU/GPU, worse speakers, no FaceID, etc, yet it’s still within $100-$200. It’s a product that doesn’t make sense in my opinion.

Worse display only marginally, other than ProMotion. Peak brightness is a bit less, there’s the 0.1” difference in size, and no Pencil hover support.

But yeah, it only makes sense if you’re fine with 64 GB and/or strapped for money, or if you really care about case color or a small camera bump (or prefer Touch ID, which some people do).

 

[boak]

The problem is, it's either 64GB or pay $150 more for 256GB.

Making the matter more complicated is iPad Pro starting with 128GB for $50 more than iPad Air with 256GB.

On the iPhone front, Apple increased the base storage from 64GB to 128GB 2 years ago, with iPhone 13. It's about time Apple does the same with iPad Air. I mean, Apple Watch Series 9 has 64GB for crying out loud.

It is a deliberate pricing strategy and is not going away anytime soon. There's only a chance of a 128 Air when The 11-in. Pro gets mini-LED and moves up by $100.

 

[GuruZac]

Worse display only marginally, other than ProMotion. Peak brightness is a bit less, there’s the 0.1” difference in size, and no Pencil hover support.

But yeah, it only makes sense if you’re fine with 64 GB and/or strapped for money, or if you really care about case color or a small camera bump (or prefer Touch ID, which some people do).

I think I’d see the Air as more compelling if Apple offered 128GB as that is the size most would choose, but because they effectively force you to go 256GB, they’ve priced it to push you in to a base 11” iPad Pro, which makes much more sense to spend $50 more and get a lot of additional features.

 

[klasma]

Hasn’t the iPad Mini almost always had feature parity with the iPad Air, rather than the “regular” iPad? Hopefully this means the Mini will get an M-series processor

Currently the differences, besides the SoC, are that the mini has no Smart Connector and the Air has no Quad-LED True Tone flash.

However, the smaller display of the mini also requires less GPU power, and to reach the same nominal battery life as the Air, would likely have to have lower peak power usage. Not sure how the M1 would affect that. They probably don’t want to make a dedicated variant for the mini.

 

[Ken91]

Apple is working on two new versions of the iPad Air 6, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The site claims that Apple has four separate models in the works (two each in cellular and Wi-Fi), though it is not clear what the differentiating factor would be if there are indeed two separate iPad Air models coming.

Apple makes two versions of the iPad Pro because it comes in two sizes, and 9to5Mac speculates that Apple could release a larger version of the iPad Air to go along with the current 10.9-inch version, or debut "a more expensive model with better specs."

Given that the iPad lineup already features two sizes of the iPad Pro, a low-cost iPad, and the iPad mini, a larger or higher-end iPad Air may not make a lot of sense. 9to5Mac warns that Apple's plans could change and that a second iPad Air model might not appear.

Prior rumors have suggested that Apple is working on a seventh-generation iPad mini and an 11th-generation low-cost iPad, with neither tablet expected to feature major changes. 9to5Mac says that its sources believe the iPad mini 7 is coming "soon," but the report also says that all of the new iPads are on track to be announced "between now and WWDC 2024 in June," which is a wide window.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in September that Apple is not likely to introduce new iPads in 2023, and that iPad mini and iPad Air models will instead come in 2024. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said in September that Apple is working on a new iPad Air and that it could be "coming soonish," so it continues to be unclear if we'll see an iPad of some kind before the end of the year.

Apple has not refreshed the iPad Air since March of 2022, so it has been over a year since the last update. The current model includes the M1 chip, and Apple could wait for the debut of the M3 chip for an update, so iPad Air launch timing could be tied to M3 launch timing.

As for the iPad mini, it has not been refreshed since September 2021, though it is not a tablet that Apple updates regularly.

Article Link: Apple Allegedly Working on Two New iPad Air Models

if they go ahead with us, it will further confuse an already deeply confused and confusing product line, which makes trying to buy one an absolute nightmare. This is what it should be: Large iPad, normal iPad, and iPad mini. That's it. No pro or 'air' differentiation. All with the same suite of colours and cases.

 

[nutmac]

It is a deliberate pricing strategy and is not going away anytime soon. There's only a chance of a 128 Air when The 11-in. Pro gets mini-LED and moves up by $100.

iPad Air a curious device.

If iPad will be used primarily for consumption (no need for Apple Pencil, Stage Manager, and/or external display), you might as well save $150 and get 10th generation iPad.

If you want iPad to be more productive, you probably also want more than 64GB, at which point you might as well spend a bit more for 11-inch iPad Pro.

So for the next iPad Air to be more compelling, it needs to eat iPad Pro for lunch -- M2 is all but assured, but 128GB base storage is also a must.

As then for the iPad Pro, I am betting it will be updated in 2024 with M3, OLED or micro-LED, and Mac-style MagSafe charging, which should be enough to differentiate against iPad Air.

 

[boak]

If iPad will be used primarily for consumption (no need for Apple Pencil, Stage Manager, and/or external display), you might as well save $150 and get 10th generation iPad.

If you want iPad to be more productive, you probably also want more than 64GB, at which point you might as well spend a bit more for 11-inch iPad Pro.

iPad Air 64 GB has a place in the lineup. I barely store anything locally on my iPad because I only take notes and stream media on it.

The iPad Air 256 GB, on the other hand, is a decoy.