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iPad Air Could Finally Be Redesigned Next Year

AusMness said:
Nah, we need something between the extreme screamer Pro and junk base model
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That’s the Air. Which makes no sense naming wise since the pro is thinnest and the base and air share design, but that’s the device you’re looking for.
 
If we got an iPad Air as thin as an iPhone Air, instant buy. As much as I hated iPadOS 26 design, it really made the iPad so much more usable.
 
jhearty99 said:
Need ProMotion on the Air
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This is literally the only spec that is missing from the iPad Air, everything else is fine. At increased price of £750, Apple has no further excuse to omit it on the M5 version. Its high time Apple and they know it.
 
steve62388 said:
I have been purchasing Pros for years, iPhone, iPad and Macbook. With my next round of upgrades I'm moving down in the range. I was thinking about it before but the price increases have got out of hand, and it has also made me push back upgrades two to three years. I love OLED and don't want to lost that.

My next phone will be a base or even an 'e'. I don't care much about the notch, I was never blown away by the Dynamic Island, it never really lived up to it's potential because developers didn't really fully embrace it (it reminds me of the Touch Bar in this regard).

I consume a lot of media on my iPad, so (hopefully) with the iPad Air getting an OLED display I'll move down from the Pro.

I have a MacBook M2 Pro, when the non-Pro can about double the performance I'll consider upgrading around then. That will probably be around the M7 or M8.
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Totally get where you are coming from. I personally find the Air to be more than enough for an iPad. It’s a consumption device for me, so I only use it for comfort. The only thing I keep as pro is the Mac.
 
The air name literally makes no sense. It's not a thin iPad and it's not a light iPad so why does it have the air in the name? The iPhone Air and the MacBook Air I understand.
 
It’s likely to feature the iPad Pro chassis. I doubt it’ll include LiDAR but hopefully it’ll have Face ID and work with the iPad Pro magic keyboard.

It’s strange that the current iPad Air is thicker than the iPad Pro.
 
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Icaras said:
People easily forget what a tremendous value the iPad Air running an M-Series chip is, that is $450 less than the iPad Pro. In this economy, the iPad Air ain't going anywhere.
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It's the worst value iPad in the entire lineup.

Starting at $749 you get an iPad...

Thicker than the iPad Pro (even though it's called the Air).
An M4 chip instead of an M5.
An LCD display instead of AMOLED
60 hz refresh rate instead of 120.
600 max nits of brightness instead of 1,600.
Touch ID instead of Face ID
No LIDAR detector
No nano texture option.


Just buy an A16 for $449 if you don't want the pro features. The Air is literally a waste of money and space in its present form. For $300 more than the A16 version you get ---- An M4 chip. Big whoop.
 
Redesign = making it slightly thinner and maybe changing the camera shape/size.

Who still buys an iPad in 2026? Seems like a dead product line. Just get a Mac or iPhone, unless you need the pen.
 
bunce66 said:
Redesign = making it slightly thinner and maybe changing the camera shape/size.

Who still buys an iPad in 2026? Seems like a dead product line. Just get a Mac or iPhone, unless you need the pen.
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iPhone + iPad tandem use will always be superior to just using a singular device. Especially when it comes to battery life, and charge cycles. The tablet has a place of its own that neither iPhone nor Mac (even with touch screens) can occupy.

I use the iPad Mini because no matter how much money you pay for your Pro Max its still going to be a less than 7 inch screen, the reading and media experience is not the same 8 inch and up. So I use iPhone just for calls and staying connected and the Mini for everything else. The mini is very portable and makes for a good iPhone companion and is finally getting OLED and waterproofing. Which means they're pushing for more even more portability.

iPhone and Mac has their place but in no way is it going to compare to or replace the experience of using iPad. Like for example, an easy one is if I wanted a gaming and high 3d media oriented tablet, no way you can convince me an iPhone or Mac would be the best experience.
 
Fundamentally, there isn’t much you can do with the design of a flat slab of glass, is there? It’s going to look more or less the same.

It’s all about specs vs price, and the Air has become hard to justify on that measure. It doesn’t have the specs of the Pro, nor the value of the standard iPad.
 
Just get rid of the iPad Air. Its selling point was thinness and iPad Pro is thinner. And the baseline iPads are enough for all casuals. And the iPad mini covers the gaps. Genuinely no point to the iPad Air in 2026.
 
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Saturn1217 said:
I know I’m going to get hate for this but I wish they would put SOME kind of button on the front. It doesn’t have to be Touch ID.

The iPad was a really excellent accessibility device. We still use an old iPad Pro 2017 as my daughter’s AAC device.

But dropping the home button makes it so difficult to use (for me, the able bodied tech savvy adult and my disabled kid). I am constantly accidentally locking it when I just want to get out of an app. The swipe up gesture is not intuitive on a device that size. I also use an iPhone and an iPad mini 7 on a daily basis and have no issues using either of them but on the larger iPads (and because I am constantly switching in and out of guided access) it causes me all kinds of issues. A flat button on the bezel that Apple could brand the iPad version of an “action button” that could be given the old home button functionality just for those who need it would be a huge help.
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Yes, it’s not physical, but Have you tried adding the virtual home button?

This shows you how to add it. The only difference in these old instructions is accessibility is now located not within general but in the main settings menu
osxdaily.com

How to Enable a Virtual Home Button on iPhone or iPad with AssistiveTouch - OS X Daily

Do you miss having a Home button on the iPhone X? Maybe your Home button isn’t working as expected, or is broken on an iPhone or iPad? Or maybe you’d just find it easier to tap on the screen to mimic a Home button press rather than using the hardware button? You can enable a ... Read More
osxdaily.com osxdaily.com

Updated instructions from Apple here
 
milkrocket said:
Abandon it and simplify product lines
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Apple's product names are a bit of a mess, I agree.

Partly, because of the legacy of Steve Jobs, where the 'Air' suffix has become iconic - i.e. 'MacBook Air'.

I would argue that the iPad line is one of the last confusing line-ups that Apple has, almost perfectly mirroring the 'Good, better, best' product approach that SJ pioneered.

I said least confusing, because where the mini fits in, is a puzzle.

Is it a 'good' regular iPad or a small 'better' air, or its own thing?

(The most confusing product line-up that Apple has is its most important one - the iPhone.

Try explaining to someone in less than 30 seconds, how the 17e and iPhone Air fit into the line up, when $200 more gets you either the far superior regular iPhone or the far superior iPhone Pro - or $100 more gets you the arguably worse regular 16).

Anyhow, the IPA is pretty much perfect - thinner is always good, so are smaller bezels.

But as ever with Apple, there's a concern that:

Thinness > great battery life.
 
drunkaviator said:
Unfortunately given the prices rices, this single stack OLED Air will end up being the cost of yesterday's iPad Pro, close to a £1000 in the UK. I doubt I'll ever buy another iPad again to be honest, weakest link in the apple lineup and the poorest value once you add the keyboard.
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I have never owned an iPad, because it's never quite been allowed (by Apple) to have its own unique identity.

It's always been essentially, a big iPhone with 'iOS+' running on it.

Whereas the iPhone and the Mac are 'must haves', the iPad (all models) has always been a 'nice to have'.

Maybe under JT, the iPad - and iPadOS - will finally turn it into the fully fledged modular computer that it deserves to be.
 
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bluecoast said:
Try explaining to someone in less than 30 seconds, how the 17e and iPhone Air fit into the line up, when $200 more gets you either the far superior regular iPhone or the far superior iPhone Pro - or $100 more gets you the arguably worse regular 16).
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Only need 10 secs.
17e - budget entry
17 - middle ground
Air - thinness and style
Pro - everything
 
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