New iPad Air Rumored to Launch This Spring With A15 Chip, 5G, Center Stage Camera, and More

[The-Real-Deal82]

Well the whole point of the Pro model is that it has more powerful chips than the other ipad models. So faster chip, more RAM, faster USB C transfer speeds equals more performance when doing intense, number crunching tasks like video editing, compiling code etc. Thats what ‘Pro‘ would mean to me, the ability to do processes faster to make your job easier, and improve ones Productivity.

In the scenario that you have described, then there would be no room for a ’Pro’ model, maybe a more premium model though with better speakers, faster refresh rate, stainless steel frame etc.

Not sure I’d ever want a stainless steel framed iPad. I think it’s important with tablets to keep them light due to how they are often used. Apple should definitely keep that material for the Pro I think.

The company I work for bought a load of iPad Pro’s last year for senior management to make notes in meetings. That’s literally all they are used for and the purchasing department clearly don’t realise every iPad down to the iPad 9 allows for pencil support. They could have paid £319 rather than £749 . I would imagine there are consumers that buy these devices because they can afford the higher cost but never do anything other than basic tasks though. That is sort of like me with the Air 4, it’s far too over spec’d for what I use it for lol.

 

[EugW]

Not sure I’d ever want a stainless steel framed iPad. I think it’s important with tablets to keep them light due to how they are often used. Apple should definitely keep that material for the Pro I think.

The company I work for bought a load of iPad Pro’s last year for senior management to make notes in meetings. That’s literally all they are used for and the purchasing department clearly don’t realise every iPad down to the iPad 9 allows for pencil support. They could have paid £319 rather than £749 . I would imagine there are consumers that buy these devices because they can afford the higher cost but never do anything other than basic tasks though. That is sort of like me with the Air 4, it’s far too over spec’d for what I use it for lol.

The fact that my Pencil isn’t attached to my iPad Pro 10.5” and isn’t automatically charged really annoys me.

 

[rui no onna]

Not sure I’d ever want a stainless steel framed iPad. I think it’s important with tablets to keep them light due to how they are often used. Apple should definitely keep that material for the Pro I think.

Agree. Weight is very important when using in tablet mode.

That is sort of like me with the Air 4, it’s far too over spec’d for what I use it for lol.

If it was possible for custom/build to order iPads, I'd want the following.

• 10.9-11" LCD
• Apple A15
• 8-16GB RAM
• 1TB storage
• TouchID+FaceID
• same camera setup as mini 6
• stereo speakers are acceptable
• Price: $1200 or less

Basically the mid-range model with memory and storage upgrades. Thing is going by Air 4 pricing, just the memory and storage upgrades alone would cost an extra $750-850 bringing the Air 4 price to $1349-1449. That's on par with iPad Pro 11 pricing.

The relatively small $200 difference between Pro 11 and Air 4 really does provide quite a number of upgrades. Price difference is reduced to $150 at same 256GB storage capacity.

• M1 vs A14 (significant improvement in multi-core and graphics performance)
• 8GB vs 4GB RAM
• 128GB vs 64GB storage
• 120Hz ProMotion vs 60Hz
• 600 vs 500 nits
• quad vs stereo speakers
• better cameras+LiDAR

There's also FaceID vs TouchID but that point, I consider personal preference instead of being an objective improvement. The 0.1" display size difference is negligible.

 

[Spock]

Discontinue the iPad Air all together, direct Air users to the Pro or the mini.

 

[Tagbert]

Discontinue the iPad Air all together, direct Air users to the Pro or the mini.

And leave an $800 gap in the product line?

Why would you want to get rid of the Air? It is the cheapest full size iPad after the base iPad. Sure many of it’s specs are close the iPad Pro but it doesn’t have some of the Pro features Like better screen, more ram, faster processor, faster gpu, faster usb-c, and more storage. Those thing are not worth paying for for most users so they gravitate to the Air. Those who value the extra horsepower, chose a Pro.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Agree. Weight is very important when using in tablet mode.




If it was possible for custom/build to order iPads, I'd want the following.

• 10.9-11" LCD
• Apple A15
• 8-16GB RAM
• 1TB storage
• TouchID+FaceID
• same camera setup as mini 6
• stereo speakers are acceptable
• Price: $1200 or less

Basically the mid-range model with memory and storage upgrades. Thing is going by Air 4 pricing, just the memory and storage upgrades alone would cost an extra $750-850 bringing the Air 4 price to $1349-1449. That's on par with iPad Pro 11 pricing.

The relatively small $200 difference between Pro 11 and Air 4 really does provide quite a number of upgrades. Price difference is reduced to $150 at same 256GB storage capacity.

• M1 vs A14 (significant improvement in multi-core and graphics performance)
• 8GB vs 4GB RAM
• 128GB vs 64GB storage
• 120Hz ProMotion vs 60Hz
• 600 vs 500 nits
• quad vs stereo speakers
• better cameras+LiDAR

There's also FaceID vs TouchID but that point, I consider personal preference instead of being an objective improvement. The 0.1" display size difference is negligible.

£200 might seem cheap but when someone has already stretched £200 from the entry level iPad, it’s not just a small amount. To be honest, if someone needs all those extra features then they’ll be going for the Pro anyway. The extra RAM, promotion and all the other bits on the list are irrelevant to my usage and the Air sits nicely at a price point that I’m happy to just about pay. I’d never pay £749 for a tablet because it’s not going to improve my YouTube or safari usage a great deal. Those in the market for a Pro will justify it.

Discontinue the iPad Air all together, direct Air users to the Pro or the mini.

Huh? So a tablet that is too small or one that is more expensive? Not the greatest idea I have ever heard to be honest. If the Air disappeared then the entry level £319 is the likely option for many. Less money for Apple then.

 

[Spock]

And leave an $800 gap in the product line?

Why would you want to get rid of the Air? It is the cheapest full size iPad after the base iPad. Sure many of it’s specs are close the iPad Pro but it doesn’t have some of the Pro features Like better screen, more ram, faster processor, faster gpu, faster usb-c, and more storage. Those thing are not worth paying for for most users so they gravitate to the Air. Those who value the extra horsepower, chose a Pro.

An $800 gap? the Air is $599 and the 11" iPad Pro is $799. For $200 more you get a better camera system, more storage, USB-C, faster processor, slightly larger screen, ProMotion and FaceID.

 

[Teledatageek]

An $800 gap? the Air is $599 and the 11" iPad Pro is $799. For $200 more you get a better camera system, more storage, USB-C, faster processor, slightly larger screen, ProMotion and FaceID.

Air has USB C, just not Thunderbolt.

 

[Tagbert]

An $800 gap? the Air is $599 and the 11" iPad Pro is $799. For $200 more you get a better camera system, more storage, USB-C, faster processor, slightly larger screen, ProMotion and FaceID.

I meant between the bottom end iPad and the iPad Pro. I guess I was thinking of the 12.9". Anyway the point is that there needs to be a product between the $300 iPad and the Pros. Just dropping the Air would leave most people unable to get what they need.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Darn, I literally just bought a iPad Air 4. Supposed to be delivered this Friday. I always buy stuff too late. Anyways, hope they don't jack up the price. I feel like an extra $100 for Center stage and 5G isn't worth it. Just my opinion.

 

[davehb]

Huh, I'd been torn if I'd upgrade my iPad Air 3 to a 5, or wait for a 6. It's going pretty slow these days, probably because it's only a 64GB and I edit raw photos in it, lol. Had been hoping that this would be the model which would get an M1 chip or similar, it's a much-less interesting prospect if that'll be kept back till the iPad Air 6 though...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

An $800 gap? the Air is $599 and the 11" iPad Pro is $799. For $200 more you get a better camera system, more storage, USB-C, faster processor, slightly larger screen, ProMotion and FaceID.

By that logic why do Apple offer an iPhone 13 when the 13 Pro is just £200 more? The reason being people are on different budgets or preferences to how much they want to spend. That $599 or £540 might be the maximum a consumer wants to spend and it bridges the gap between the entry level iPad and the Pro.

Not everybody needs a faster processor, better camera system and FaceID on a tablet. The same goes for the Pro features on iPhones.

 

[DeepIn2U]

DeepIn2U, Apple have basically positioned the Ipad Air as their Premium mid range ‘mainstream’ offering in the iPad line up just like the Iphone 12/13, to fill that price gap between the iPad and Ipad Pro. I agree that it does not actually offer anything new as its based on the Pro design, but its price and spec perfectly fit that mid £500 price point to appeal to the masses, which is why they offer it in 5 colours unlike the other 2 models.

Apple don‘t release iPad sales figures, but i can imagine the base iPad sells the most, then closely followed by the Air with the Pro selling the least. Makes sense based on the prices, but the Air probably cannibalises some Pro sales. Ive seen it twice in the Apple store now, customer looking at the Air and Pro, sales assistant talking about the Pro’s advantages, with the customer more focussed on the Air’s better colours, the fact it looks identical to the Pro but £200 cheaper, so decided to get the Air.

For me personally i would love to get the M1 Ipad Pro, its the best tablet ever created, but i just cannot bring myself to spend £750 on a tablet, even though its probably worth the price, so have an Ipad Air 4 as its more than good enough for my uses.

I still think the base iPad is for the mass consumer market, then the Air so your insight is very accurate.

The M1 iPad sounds incredible but what real benefit in the current iPadOS does it have over say the A12Z from the 2019/2020 model iPad Pro?? Copying files speed advantages? If that's all then it's hard to justify when anyone wants to upgrade from a 2018 model.

 

[macsound1]

Some of it is also - believe it or not - style.
Some people don't want the particular colors or material offered, even if the manufacturer thinks one is deemed to be higher priced than others.

 

[DcGamer05]

FOMO took over returned the air and got the pro 11 from Walmart 749$ very happy the screen is much better and I don’t even mean the refresh rate I’m talking about the brightness and overall color accuracy. The air was great but I have a 13 pro and the respring on the air drove me nuts switching between apps. The pro just leaves everything in the memory. Air is still a great device but fomo took over. ?

 

[Teledatageek]

FOMO took over returned the air and got the pro 11 from Walmart 749$ very happy the screen is much better and I don’t even mean the refresh rate I’m talking about the brightness and overall color accuracy. The air was great but I have a 13 pro and the respring on the air drove me nuts switching between apps. The pro just leaves everything in the memory. Air is still a great device but fomo took over. ?

Interesting…. I have a MBP 14 and the primary reason for the air I have on order is for sidecar. It would drive me crazy if the displays were that different. Is that what you mean?

 

[DcGamer05]

The airs black levels drove me nuts compared to my 13 pro max. Still not as good as OLED but the pros panels is just more color accurate and better contrasts. I watch a lot of movies on my iPad and dark scenes always looked too washed out on the air for me. Was a great machine Im just spoiled and definitely notice a difference in black levels

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The most I do is watch some Netflix or YouTube videos on my Air 4, so the screen is absolutely spot on for that. I was never sensitive to screen quality and spent years reading on here how good OLED was on the iPhone X/XS/11 compared to my 8 Plus. I never really saw a great difference and then I owned my first OLED iPhone (iPhone 12) and was of the same opinion. Even now when I hold my work iPhone 11 next to my iPhone 12 I find the differences are minimal, for me anyway.

 

[nhk]

The most I do is watch some Netflix or YouTube videos on my Air 4, so the screen is absolutely spot on for that. I was never sensitive to screen quality and spent years reading on here how good OLED was on the iPhone X/XS/11 compared to my 8 Plus. I never really saw a great difference and then I owned my first OLED iPhone (iPhone 12) and was of the same opinion. Even now when I hold my work iPhone 11 next to my iPhone 12 I find the differences are minimal, for me anyway.

Totally agree. I have an LG OLED TV and when I compare that to my previous 2012 Samsung I can see the difference. But in my iPads and iPhones it less noticeable.