iPad Do you think we will see an iPad Air type refresh this year?

[tx2005]

I know it's all rumors and speculation, but I'm curious if anybody thinks we will see an iPad Air refresh this year. I'm looking to replace my aging iPad Air 2.

I know it's likely we will see an iPad Pro refresh sometime in the first half of the year, but what I use my iPad for (consumption mostly...some gaming..I'd like Apple Pencil and the Apple Keyboard support), I think an iPad Air might be a better choice vs the iPad Pro (not sure I want to go with the budget iPad). With that said, I don't particularly like to buy Apple products a while after release since you don't really see much of a price drop until a Apple puts out some sort of replacement/refreshed device.

So I guess I'm curious if people think we will see another iPad Air type release in March or September of this year.

 

[*~Kim~*]

Can’t see it myself. The Air 3 only came out in March, and the Pro will be out in Spring if it follows the usual timescales. An update to the 10.5” might be seen by Apple to possibly eat into the sales of the new 11”.

 

[joeblow7777]

I doubt that there will be a new Air or Mini in 2020. Those lines got significant and long awaited updates in 2019. I doubt they will get another so soon.

 

[OneMike]

Ok by this year you meant next year. I think we will see an update.

I see the cheapest iPad starting as it is at the A10. I see the air going A13, Pro A13X.

 

[ericwn]

I always thought the current Air is more of an attempt to get the old parts out of the warehouse rather than a fully thought-out successor to the flagship devices the first two Airs were back then. I don’t expect an update next year but I’m just guessing.

 

[Seanm87]

Spec bump to a13 if there is one. nothing more.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

Maybe a tad more RAM, larger SSD, processor bump?

Unlikely but that's all they have really, otherwise you're looking at a Pro

 

[EugW]

There will very likely be no upgrade to the Air line in 2020.

The iPad Air 3 already has 3 GB. No need to upgrade it to 4 GB RAM just yet for this class of product.
Storage tiers make sense for 2020 as well, for a non-Pro product.
No need for processor bump. A12 is already plenty fast, and the iPhones won't get A14 until September.

Similarly, I don't expect the A10 iPad 7th generation to be updated in 2020 either.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I know it's all rumors and speculation, but I'm curious if anybody thinks we will see an iPad Air refresh this year. I'm looking to replace my aging iPad Air 2.

I know it's likely we will see an iPad Pro refresh sometime in the first half of the year, but what I use my iPad for (consumption mostly...some gaming..I'd like Apple Pencil and the Apple Keyboard support), I think an iPad Air might be a better choice vs the iPad Pro (not sure I want to go with the budget iPad). With that said, I don't particularly like to buy Apple products a while after release since you don't really see much of a price drop until a Apple puts out some sort of replacement/refreshed device.

So I guess I'm curious if people think we will see another iPad Air type release in March or September of this year.

It probably won't be released today or in the next four days, so...

 

[joeblow7777]

Ok by this year you meant next year. I think we will see an update.

I see the cheapest iPad starting as it is at the A10. I see the air going A13, Pro A13X.

Another reason why I don't think the Air will get a 2020 update is because they don't want it to be that close to the Pros. If the latest Pro gets an A13X and a new Air has an A13, I guarantee you that most average consumer will see them as effectively the same and wonder why they would need to pay hundreds more for the Pro. I also think this is why the 7th gen iPad stuck with an A10 processor. There needs to at least be the appearance of a notable performance gap between each class of device, so I don't see any incentive for Apple to bump up the Air's specs so soon, not when an A12 an 3 GB of RAM will still perform really well in most use cases for probably a few more years at least.

 

[Donar]

They could go with Mini LED Display, A14X, triple camera, quad speakers and 6GB RAM for the iPad Pro. That would leave a place in the lineup for iPad Air 4 with „normal“ Display, FaceID, all Screen Design, A13, single camera, wide stereo speakers and 4GB of RAM. The 10.2 iPad has 3 GB RAM, so having 4GB in the mid tier Air somehow makes sense for me.

 

[Aydy]

Another reason why I don't think the Air will get a 2020 update is because they don't want it to be that close to the Pros. If the latest Pro gets an A13X and a new Air has an A13, I guarantee you that most average consumer will see them as effectively the same and wonder why they would need to pay hundreds more for the Pro. I also think this is why the 7th gen iPad stuck with an A10 processor. There needs to at least be the appearance of a notable performance gap between each class of device, so I don't see any incentive for Apple to bump up the Air's specs so soon, not when an A12 an 3 GB of RAM will still perform really well in most use cases for probably a few more years at least.

I agree. Tactical planning around the upcoming pro should see the pro claiming exclusivity of the A13/x chip for a limited but significant period. I predict the iPad Pro will be the only iPad released in 2020 sporting a A13 processor. Other releases/refreshes will most likely feature older processors

 

[Falhófnir]

I agree. Tactical planning around the upcoming pro should see the pro claiming exclusivity of the A13/x chip for a limited but significant period. I predict the iPad Pro will be the only iPad released in 2020 sporting a A13 processor. Other releases/refreshes will most likely feature older processors

I wonder if we will get an iPad '8', the entry level seems be a model they do something with every year, and the A10 is quite long in the tooth. Bumping to the A12 late in the year before the Air and mini get a further update in spring 2021 would mean only a small period of parity (they don't seem to want to use the A11 in other products, I believe it's a more expensive chip than the A12 with the lower volume/ economy of scale).

 

[Seanm87]

Another reason why I don't think the Air will get a 2020 update is because they don't want it to be that close to the Pros. If the latest Pro gets an A13X and a new Air has an A13, I guarantee you that most average consumer will see them as effectively the same and wonder why they would need to pay hundreds more for the Pro. I also think this is why the 7th gen iPad stuck with an A10 processor. There needs to at least be the appearance of a notable performance gap between each class of device, so I don't see any incentive for Apple to bump up the Air's specs so soon, not when an A12 an 3 GB of RAM will still perform really well in most use cases for probably a few more years at least.

But the air 3 has an a12 and the iPad Pro has an a12x?

 

[Saskat]

Will there be an iPad Air 4 at all? And if there is, will it keep the same design?

iPad Pro 10.5 is discontinued and speculation has it that Air 3 was an one off product to use up the spare parts. Therefore it is possible Apple intends for all future Pro and Air models to take the slim bezel design like the current 11.

I am hoping Apple will keep the Air line in the original design and let the Pros be special.

 

[joeblow7777]

But the air 3 has an a12 and the iPad Pro has an a12x?

Right, but the Pros are due for an update. They’re winding down to the end of their lives and that’s just another sign of it.

 

[reallynotnick]

There's a world where the iPad Pro gets updated to an A14X before the iPhone gets the A14. Then the Air could get updated to an A13 (if the A13 is going in the cheap iPhone it seems reasonable) and then later the regular iPad gets the A12. And then you can have Pro 6GB, Air 4GB and Regular 3GB for RAM. Not saying it will happen, just that it seems pretty reasonable though I wouldn't expect the regular iPad upgrade until late 2020.

 

[EugW]

There's a world where the iPad Pro gets updated to an A14X before the iPhone gets the A14. Then the Air could get updated to an A13 (if the A13 is going in the cheap iPhone it seems reasonable) and then later the regular iPad gets the A12. And then you can have Pro 6GB, Air 4GB and Regular 3GB for RAM. Not saying it will happen, just that it seems pretty reasonable though I wouldn't expect the regular iPad upgrade until late 2020.

It'd be nice to get a mid-2020 A14X iPad Pro release with 5G cellular, but perhaps we are engaging in wishful thinking.