Apple’s assemblers have ramped up production of the company’s all-new iPad Air and iPad Pro models and a launch is planned for early May, Bloomberg News reports citing “people with knowledge of the matter.”
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The release will center on revamped versions of the iPad Pro and iPad Air, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. As Bloomberg News has previously reported, the Pro models will get crisper new OLED displays — short for organic light-emitting diode — while the iPad Air will get a 12.9-inch screen option for the first time.
The move marks an end to the longest stretch without new models in the history of the iPad, which was first introduced by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2010. It’s been about 18 months since the last updates — a drought that’s contributed to already-sluggish demand for tablets. Apple is betting that the new models, with faster chips and revamped accessories, can help spur a renaissance for the category.
The iPad Pro models — codenamed J717, J718, J720 and J721 — will run the new M3 chip and work with redesigned versions of the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. The update represents the first overhaul to that lineup since 2018.
The iPad Air, meanwhile, was last updated in 2022 with the M1 chip. It will get a new processor, and the 12.9-screen size means consumers can get a large iPad for less money than the more upscale Pro.
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MacDailyNews Take: Depending on Apple’s pricing, of course, the 12.9-inch iPad Air could be a hot-seller!
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Without major changes to iPad OS a new Pro is a non-starter. I just sold my 12.9″ M1. I’ll hold onto my 2020 11″ as a nice content-consumption device, but after 4 years of trying it doesn’t do anything better than either my iPhone or MacBook Pro (besides creating the illusion that it holds more promise, but never actually delivers).
Would love to have an iPad Mini with more memory and better camera