Apple’s iPad Air 2020 might not come out this year, with the fourth-generation Air actually coming in early 2021 according to prominent leaker Komiya.
The leaker tweeted that the next iPad Air will come out in March of next year. That might be disappointing to some people wanting a new mid-range Apple tablet now, but the iPad Air is expected to come with a suite of upgrades that should make the wait worth it.
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Most notably, the new iPad Air will ditch the rather archaic design of the current model, which effectively got its aesthetic from the original iPad Pro. Instead, the next iPad Air will adopt the design of the current iPad Pro 2020, with slim bezels and a design that’s pretty much all screen with no home button.
iPad Air(gen4)-iPad Pro design -Face ID-11”-USB-C-4 Speakers -Liquid Retina-Single Camera (Ultra Wide?)-A14X-128,256,512GB?-$649~August 11, 2020
Komiya said the new iPad Air will also make use of Apple’s A14 chip, the same system-on-a-chip the iPhone 12 is expected to have; the leaker did suggest it could have an upgraded A14X chip but then corrected themselves. It will also have a quad-speaker design like the iPad Pro as well as a USB-C port and an 11-inch Liquid Retina Display.
It's predicted to come with either 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage space, though Komiya isn’t completely sure about that. Support for the Magic Keyboard and the latest Apple Pencil is also expected.
Unlike the iPad Pro with its dual rear-camera array and LiDAR sensor, the next iPad Air will simply have a single rear camera. That should keep the price of the iPad Air down, with the tablet predicted to cost around $649.
In short, the iPad Air is shaping up to be a pretty solid upgrade over the current tablet. But Komiya’s prediction of an early 2021 release is an interesting one as Apple leaker Jon Prosser has claimed a new iPad will be announced in September alongside the Apple Watch 6 through a press release.
New, adjusted Apple dates!Apple Watch & iPad- Via press release- Week 37 w/c Sep 7iPhone 12 event- Week 42 w/c Oct 12iPhone 12 devices - Preorders week 42 w/c Oct 12- Shipping week 43 w/c Oct 19iPhone 12 Pro devices- Preorder and shipping in Nov (no exact date yet)August 12, 2020
However, Prosser doesn’t state whether this will be the iPad mini 6, the new iPad Air, or an upgraded iPad Pro. So Komiya’s prediction could still be on the money. We’ll just have to wait and see what Apple pulls out of the bag in September.
