“Ever since rumors began to spread that Apple was planning a big product launch event in March, it seemed likely that an updated 9.7-inch iPad would be one of the new products being announced,” Adam Levine-Weinberg writes for The Motley Fool. “In the past couple of weeks, more details have emerged about Apple’s plans. It does appear that a new 9.7-inch iPad — presumably called the iPad Air 3 — will be unveiled next month. This event could catalyze a rapid return to sales growth for the iPad product line.”
“The new iPad is likely to bring Apple’s 9.7-inch tablet up to the standard the iPad Pro set last fall. In addition to the usual hardware updates like a faster processor, this could potentially entail making keyboard and stylus accessories compatible with the iPad Air 3,” Levine-Weinberg writes. “The iPad Air 3 is arguably the most important piece of Apple’s spring product launch plans. Getting iPad sales growing again would have a meaningful impact on Apple’s overall revenue growth.”
“There is a decent chance that the iPad Air 3 will catalyze a significant iPad replacement cycle,” Levine-Weinberg writes. “The first four iPad generations together continue to represent 40% of all iPad usage, implying a user base of up to 100 million people. Most of these devices are three to five years old, making them ripe for replacement, assuming that the iPad will follow a laptop-like replacement cycle.”
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MacDailyNews Take: We’re ready for new iPad Air units (if they have enough RAM). Are you?