The iPad Air looks dazzling in this new design mockup. If the real version of the next Air resembles this at all, it'll prove to be a strong competitor in the tablet market, even against Apple's own iPad Pro.
The renders you can see on this page come from Svetapple (via Notebookcheck). While the iPad Air can get overlooked due to its cheaper and more premium siblings, these designs show how Apple can make this mid-range tablet stand out.
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Svetapple's design does a few things to make sure this iPad Air takes after the best parts of the iPad Pro while still looking different. That includes the bezels, which are thin like Apple's top-end tablet but are white rather than silver. There's been a size increase from 10.5 inches to 11 inches, matching the size of the smaller iPad Pro model.
Since the standard iPad saw a jump in size last year from 9.7 inches to 10.2 inches, this bump would help cement the iPad Air's position as a higher-specced product, and make it worth the price that Svetapple suggests: 599 euros ($647 or £530 converted).
Other components remain the same or similar to the existing iPad Air. The design uses an LCD display in order to keep the theoretical cost down, but now offers compatibility with the Apple Pencil 2 complete with wireless magnetic charging. The back camera setup remains a single sensor, but now gains an LED flash.
The processor within this design is an A12X, accompanied by 4GB RAM. That's the setup used by the 2018 and 2019 iPad Pro models (the 2020 version uses an A12Z), which should provide plenty of computing might for everyday users.
Some parts of this concept are unlikely to make it to the next iPad Air, but aren't completely unfounded. We have heard rumors for some time that Apple is trying to bring Touch ID back as an under-display scanner, including in the next iPad Air. If Apple could add this technology onto any part of the iPad range, it would strengthen its lead in the sector significantly.
One thing we're not certain about is Svetapple's inclusion of a USB-C port on this concept. There is precedent for this — the iPad Pro has used a USB-C connection since 2018. However Apple has yet to implement this on any of its other tablets. While it would be excellent to have the new iPad Air charge and transfer data using the same connector as basically every other device, there's still a decent chance Apple will stick with its proprietary Lightning connector.
As for when we'll see the real iPad Air 2020, we're not sure. We're apparently due for upgraded versions of the standard iPad and iPad Mini by the end of the year and the start of 2021 respectively, but there's no news yet on when a new iPad Air will emerge.
