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We know Air 3 wont be as Robust as Pro, but will it have better features?

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Phonzoxd

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May 28, 2013
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For example....

We don't expect it to have 4GB ram, not 4 speakers, screen that doesnt support the new pen, and maybe not even an A9X (A9?).

But will it have some features that are on iphone 6S that are not on the Pro?

Such as 3D touch, and the new 7000 aluminum casing?

After all it is being released at earliest Spring 2016.
 
I honestly think we will see Apple Pencil support in the iPad Air before we see 3D Touch
 
The iPad's usually get the gimmicky features that the iPhone's get. I wouldn't be surprised if it had the 3D Touch. If it didn't, then maybe it would see pencil support. But I don't anticipate anything innovative for the air 3 that we haven't seen before.
 
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Phonzoxd said:
For example....

We don't expect it to have 4GB ram, not 4 speakers, screen that doesnt support the new pen, and maybe not even an A9X (A9?).

But will it have some features that are on iphone 6S that are not on the Pro?

Such as 3D touch, and the new 7000 aluminum casing?

After all it is being released at earliest Spring 2016.
Click to expand...
I disagree, I think it will have the A9X. They wouldn't go from a tri-core chip to a dual-core chip, it wouldn't make sense. I can, however, see them adding a Rose Gold color option and increasing the base storage to 32GB.
 
jpgr15 said:
I hope this off year isn't a new trend of keeping Air hardware a year behind in an effort to bolster iPad pro sales. The iPad Air and pro should both be flagships with flagship hardware.

Just like the 6S and 6S+. The spec differences here are just silly. Apple shouldn't be pressuring me to buy the pro simply for the latest hardware. I don't need that large of a screen.
Click to expand...

I agree. Id rather the Air 3 be a tangible upgrade over what I have now. The Air 2 had a few things I liked but overall wasnt enough for me to part with my Air. The vibrating drove me nuts too on the demo Air 2 I tried.

The Pro is just too big for me...and kind of expensive, IMO.
 
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I don't know. Similar extrapolations were made when the Mini 1 was released with internals a generation behind the iPad Air. However, with the Mini 2; Apple chose to go for parity with the iPad Air 2. So, I won't write off the Airs and Minis off too quickly.
 
Here are the Rumored specs for iPad Air 3 as of October 2015
  • Display: So the rumor is the iPad Air 3 will bring "4K" display with the screen resolution of 2,334 x 3,112 @ 401 PPI up from the current 1,536 x 2,048 @ 264 PPI. However, Here's another possibility. It could also match the iPad Pro's resolution of 2732 x 2048 @ 352 PPI.

  • Chip: A9 or A9X chipset. Most possibly A9X since A9 won't be better than the current A8X that's in the iPad Air 2. So, more than likely we'll get the A9X chip which is in the iPad Pro but slightly lower clocked.

  • RAM: I Think Apple will stick to 2GB RAM for the Air iPads for a while.

  • Camera: So the iPad Air 2 basically got the camera of iPhone 5s. So It's possible that the iPad Air 3 will get the camera of the iPhone 6. 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2.1-megapixel front camera. This new camera will bring Focus Pixels technology, Auto image stabilization (but no Optical image stabilization), an improved ƒ/2.2 aperture, 1080p video at 60fps and Slo-mo video at 240fps etc. Or maybe Apple will keep them unchanged but I doubt it since they'll be updating the iPad Air 3 after two whole years.

So based on these evidence we can say. Apple will definitely bring 3D Touch to next year's iPads.

  • Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil: Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil is a definite possibility. I don't see why Apple would restrict Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil to only a very niche market of the iPad Pro when they can sell more accessories with the more popular iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini even.

  • Waterproof: Apple unofficially made iPhone 6s and 6s Plus water resistance. So, a water resistant iPad Air 3 is a definite possibility.

  • Other: iPad Air 3 could see further battery size reduction to make room for the 3D Touch hardware. And also will include faster 2nd gen Touch ID that's currently in the iPhone 6s.
 
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mdridwan47 said:
Here are the Rumored specs for iPad Air 3 as of October 2015
  • Display: So the rumor is the iPad Air 3 will bring "4K" display with the screen resolution of 2,334 x 3,112 @ 401 PPI up from the current 1,536 x 2,048 @ 264 PPI. However, Here's another possibility. It could also match the iPad Pro's resolution of 2732 x 2048 @ 352 PPI.

  • Chip: A9 or A9X chipset. Most possibly A9X since A9 won't be better than the current A8X that's in the iPad Air 2. So, more than likely we'll get the A9X chip which is in the iPad Pro but slightly lower clocked.

  • RAM: I Think Apple will stick to 2GB RAM for the Air iPads for a while.

  • Camera: So the iPad Air 2 basically got the camera of iPhone 5s. So It's possible that the iPad Air 3 will get the camera of the iPhone 6. 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2.1-megapixel front camera. This new camera will bring Focus Pixels technology, Auto image stabilization (but no Optical image stabilization), an improved ƒ/2.2 aperture, 1080p video at 60fps and Slo-mo video at 240fps etc. Or maybe Apple will keep them unchanged but I doubt it since they'll be updating the iPad Air 3 after two whole years.

So based on these evidence we can say. Apple will definitely bring 3D Touch to next year's iPads.

  • Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil: Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil is a definite possibility. I don't see why Apple would restrict Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil to only a very niche market of the iPad Pro when they can sell more accessories with the more popular iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini even.

  • Waterproof: Apple unofficially made iPhone 6s and 6s Plus water resistance. So, a water resistant iPad Air 3 is a definite possibility.

  • Other: iPad Air 3 could see further battery size reduction to make room for the 3D Touch hardware. And also will include faster 2nd gen Touch ID that's currently in the iPhone 6s.
Click to expand...

Would be so weird to make the Air 3 with a better resolution than the Pro.

Also I forgot about gen 2 touch ID.
 
I really wish my iPad Air 2 had Touch ID 2. My 6s is so incredibly fast when Unlocking, I feel like the iPad takes forever. First world problem - I'm aware.
 
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mdridwan47 said:
Here are the Rumored specs for iPad Air 3 as of October 2015
  • Display: So the rumor is the iPad Air 3 will bring "4K" display with the screen resolution of 2,334 x 3,112 @ 401 PPI up from the current 1,536 x 2,048 @ 264 PPI. However, Here's another possibility. It could also match the iPad Pro's resolution of 2732 x 2048 @ 352 PPI.

  • Chip: A9 or A9X chipset. Most possibly A9X since A9 won't be better than the current A8X that's in the iPad Air 2. So, more than likely we'll get the A9X chip which is in the iPad Pro but slightly lower clocked.

  • RAM: I Think Apple will stick to 2GB RAM for the Air iPads for a while.

  • Camera: So the iPad Air 2 basically got the camera of iPhone 5s. So It's possible that the iPad Air 3 will get the camera of the iPhone 6. 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2.1-megapixel front camera. This new camera will bring Focus Pixels technology, Auto image stabilization (but no Optical image stabilization), an improved ƒ/2.2 aperture, 1080p video at 60fps and Slo-mo video at 240fps etc. Or maybe Apple will keep them unchanged but I doubt it since they'll be updating the iPad Air 3 after two whole years.

So based on these evidence we can say. Apple will definitely bring 3D Touch to next year's iPads.

  • Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil: Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil is a definite possibility. I don't see why Apple would restrict Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil to only a very niche market of the iPad Pro when they can sell more accessories with the more popular iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini even.

  • Waterproof: Apple unofficially made iPhone 6s and 6s Plus water resistance. So, a water resistant iPad Air 3 is a definite possibility.

  • Other: iPad Air 3 could see further battery size reduction to make room for the 3D Touch hardware. And also will include faster 2nd gen Touch ID that's currently in the iPhone 6s.
Click to expand...

Nice list and write up. Those are all cool things. Not sure how much benefit extra resolution would be on the standard sized iPad though. IMO the retina screen is already quite excellent. It's only a ten inch screen. I'd prefer they use those resources for other things. Like stereo speakers or other nice to haves. The chip and ram are probably dead on. Going to be interesting..... I'm waiting this all out for now. I just don't think the Pro is right for me so the Air 3 could be my next tablet. They have to tidy up a few things though.
 
Phonzoxd said:
For example....

We don't expect it to have 4GB ram, not 4 speakers, screen that doesnt support the new pen, and maybe not even an A9X (A9?).

But will it have some features that are on iphone 6S that are not on the Pro?

Such as 3D touch, and the new 7000 aluminum casing?

After all it is being released at earliest Spring 2016.
Click to expand...
How's your iPad air 2?
 
mdridwan47 said:
Here are the Rumored specs for iPad Air 3 as of October 2015
  • Display: So the rumor is the iPad Air 3 will bring "4K" display with the screen resolution of 2,334 x 3,112 @ 401 PPI up from the current 1,536 x 2,048 @ 264 PPI. However, Here's another possibility. It could also match the iPad Pro's resolution of 2732 x 2048 @ 352 PPI.
Click to expand...
The iPad Pro has a PPI of 264. Same as all iPad Air's.
 
Phonzoxd said:
For example....

We don't expect it to have 4GB ram, not 4 speakers, screen that doesnt support the new pen, and maybe not even an A9X (A9?).

But will it have some features that are on iphone 6S that are not on the Pro?

Such as 3D touch, and the new 7000 aluminum casing?

After all it is being released at earliest Spring 2016.
Click to expand...


it will be at least 1 year till we see the Air 3....everything is possible but it wont have more features than the Pro....it wouldnt make sense...
 
mdridwan47 said:
Here are the Rumored specs for iPad Air 3 as of October 2015...
Click to expand...

Really nice summary. I think I agree with all of it.

An A9X clocked lower than the one in the iPad Pro would make a lot of sense, firstly to differentiate the performance vs the iPad Pro (although I agree with others that screen size alone should be all the differentiation that's needed), but also because, if the iPhone 6 vs 6s is anything to go by, adding 3D Touch will add weight and Apple would probably want to offset that by reducing battery size as much as possible while maintaining the Air 2 battery life. Down-clocking the A9X would make a valuable contribution to reducing power consumption.

I'm so blown away by the 2nd gen TouchID in my iPhone 6s that I'll be buying an Air 3 for that feature alone but even more weight reduction would be another big plus for me. OK, the Air/Air-2 aren't exactly heavy but the way I hold my iPad puts all the force onto only three joints in my fingers and hand and after a few hours it does get painful so every 10 grams shaved off the weight is worthwhile in my opinion.
 
pat500000 said:
How's your iPad air 2?
Click to expand...
Don't have an Air 2. Got a mini 3.

Will wait for Air 3.

Stuff I want are...
The new aluminum
2nd gen touch ID
A9X (can be downclocked)
3D touch.

Would hope for 3GB ram, but I dont expect it.
 
Phonzoxd said:
For example....

We don't expect it to have 4GB ram, not 4 speakers, screen that doesnt support the new pen, and maybe not even an A9X (A9?).

But will it have some features that are on iphone 6S that are not on the Pro?

Such as 3D touch, and the new 7000 aluminum casing?

After all it is being released at earliest Spring 2016.
Click to expand...

How do these relate to "robust?"
 
There is no way the iPad Air 3 will have 4k. Apple wouldn't be that far ahead of the times and the standard for things around that size is about 1440p.

They will also not upgrade the RAM, I can't believe some people think they will. We know very well that Apple is incredibly stingy with RAM. Yes, iOS is good at memory management to a certain degree, but how long did they stay at 1GB when others were at 3 and 4? Expect a RAM upgrade in 2-4 more years.

I doubt it will get Pencil support. I would LOVE that, but it would require a resolution bump and I also don't think they'd want to compete with the Pro. No upgrade to the Pro CPU either.

I don't really see there ever being parity between the Air and Pro. There is parity between Mini and Air because the main differentiator that people want is screen size. That is not necessarily the case with the Pro. People want a bigger screen for the Pro, but also the hardware features that make it pro such as double the RAM, better CPU, more speakers, etc. People getting the Pro generally aren't doing it because they want a bigger screen size, whereas people buying a Mini are doing it generally because they want a smaller screen size.
 
Einstein said that nature invented time so that everything wouldn't happen all at once. I think Apple has put the pencil in the iPad Pro to try it out first, to learn how to manufacture it, to see the reaction of the public. Eventually the iPad Air 3 will get the pencil.
 
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