Time barely seems to stand still in the world of Apple. At a time when we are excitedly testing the features of the new iPhones, iPads and other products launched this fall, we are already learning of rumors of new products arriving early in 2016. Could the iPad Air 3 be one of them?
The convincing case for an early 2016 arrival
It seems a no-brainer that Apple will launch the iPad Air 3 at some point within the next year. Its predecessor’s 9.7-inch display size has been the most standard and popular in an iPad since the product line’s introduction in 2010, while the iPad Air 2 has not been given a follow-up since October 2014.
It’s also very probable that Apple only opted to forgo such a follow-up this fall in order to free up more time and resources for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The company naturally would have wanted the larger’s slate reveal and launch to turn out as hitch-free as possible; an iPad Air 3 in tow also could have confused customers, especially if its specs were close to those of its bigger brother.
Therefore, it seems credible that, as has been suggested, the iPad Air 3 could now be scheduled for launch in March, when Apple is better-positioned to give it the attention and promotion it deserves. Indeed, in the same report that 9to5Mac gave the first reliable indications of when the iPad Pro would be revealed, it claimed that, according to “trusted sources”, the iPad Air 3 was “in the works”, but would not get its release until 2016.
So, what will the iPad Air 3 actually be like?
Much like Apple handed out yet another diet plan to make this year’s iPad Mini 4 the thinnest iPad Mini yet, we can expect the iPad Air 3 to follow suit for its own product line. However, the device should still get an array of appreciable technical enhancements to make it an indisputably “proper” update.
International Business Times has put forward a number of sensible suggestions for the slate’s tech specs, including a Rose Gold color option, 7000 series aluminum body and 4K screen resolution of 2334 x 3112. In this sense, we should expect it to take on many of the key advancements in the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
More peculiarly, however, the same outlet adds that the iPad Air 3 should come with the same A9X processor and 4GB of RAM present in the iPad Pro. We’re tempted to think that Apple might actually choose the A9 processor and 2GB of RAM to help preserve a clear distinction between the iPad Air and iPad Pro lines. Still, in either case, the iPad Air 3 definitely seems like a tablet to watch out for.