I'm not expecting the next Air to have Touch ID under the display. That sounds like it would be incredibly expensive for a 10"+ display. I also don't think we'll get one anytime soon.
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All iPads 2020 iPad Air 4 Prediction
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The recognition area isn't expected to span the entire 11-inch display of the Air. We've seen $169 Xiaomi phones launched in mid-2019 with in-display fingerprint. And the new iPad Air isn't coming until 2021.
I thought the current rumour was for second half of 2020 for 10.8 ipad Air? Ipad mini 6 in 2021.
iPad Air (4th gen) will have an 11-inch mini-LED display is expected in 2021.
iPad (2020) is the annually updated $329 product with a 10.8-inch display.
The 10.8 will be the iPad 8 probably with an A12 processor. The Air will be 11 inches with A13 or A14 processor. The new pros will get the A14x. I’m guessing the 10.8, 11 air And 11 pro will have the same case dimensions.
Just curious. I know that rumors of mini-LED points to 2021, but what rumors say the iPad Air will have mini-LED? I thought that that screen tech was only going to be reserved for the iPad Pro?
OK well I'm confused then as most sources I was reading started to suggest the rumoured 10.8"/11" Air 4 would be released this year. @L0vetodream, China Times, ****** Ritchie mentioned it in a vid. People are calling it ipad Air 2020 on Twitter and on blogs. The Air 4 is due it's update right?
The 11-inch iPad Air and 10.8" iPad 2020 are different products. @L0vetodream specifically says so. The $329 iPad gets refreshed every year like clockwork so people put a year behind it.
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If the iPad Air gets mini-LED, that would be really compelling, even with under-the-screen Touch ID.
That said, I still want 5G and Face ID, the latter just because tapping on the space bar will bring you right in.
It's looking like it's gonna be a good year for iPads. Now, it's just a matter of when. My Apple Wallet is ready.
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The other factor is USB-C. If the iPad Air 4 still has Lightning, then I will definitely get the iPad Pro for USB-C. If they are both USB-C, then again, that iPad Air 4 will be very compelling.
The SoC speed isn't a primary concern for me.
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Thanks for that. I was looking forward to the Air this year but that sounds like worthy tech to wait for. As for the new 8.5/9” “mini”, I wonder if that is actually a smaller iPad Air size that we’ll also be getting...
I realise people have been mixing up the naming and why @L0vetodream wanted to set the record straight. But while the rumours of the ipad, ipad air and mini have started to circulate, the release date and specs keep merging/swapping. So as people stopped talking about ipad and started to focus on ipad Air 4 I've been reading tech blogs like it was due this year. The problem with rumours I guess. So it would be OK to pickup a Apple refurbished Air 3 now?
It will be odd if Apple releases the “budget“ iPad 2020 this year with a A12 SoC/10.8” screen this year without also updating the new Air at the same time, as this will effectively make the current Air 3 almost irrelevant (unless one wants the laminated P3 colour screen/touch tone).
I've not seen a credible source provide a specific date for the iPad Air 4 launch. As far as I know, @L0vetodream was the first in the world to publicly announce the Air 4 is being planned and that it would be 11" with in-display fingerprint and mini-LED. Kuo was the first to say 10.8" as the display size for the low-cost iPad. With the recent Kuo rumor about mini-LED being pushed to Q1'21, logically the Air 4 should be delayed to 2021. I think we are 6-9 months away from a new iPad Air and iPad Pro.
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Apple can pull the price lever on the iPad Air so it sits at $449. They can also increase base storage to 128GB.
The $329 iPad has a 1.2MP front camera and 32GB base storage. For consumers who need an iPad for work, the Air is still much better.
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Makes total sense, considering they are rumoured to use iPad Pro 11 body for it.
This is when it all gets tricky. Why would Apple bring any new tech (mini-LED & in-display fingerprint) to their mid-range iPad Air first? It would make more sense to just base Air 4 on iPad Pro 11”, perhaps without the LIDAR, 4 speakers and perhaps a bit less RAM. Basically, slightly trimmed down current iPad Pro 11”, running on A13, for example. At the same time they can bring in fresh iPad Pro, running on A14 and using micro-LED. For the timing - since Apple usually refresh iPad lines in March & October, they could probably pull it all by October 2020 (at least refreshing Airs & Pros), else we may need to wait until March 2021.
The current rumors suggest the next iPad Pro will come 1H'21. Indeed, the iPad Air will not launch before the iPad Pro. The mini-LED rumor suggests both iPad Air and Pro will get the same display technology, but camera and biometrics will distinguish the two. Perhaps the difference may also include 5G vs. 4G.
Have Apple ever majorly refreshed iPad Air and Pro at the same time frame (both in October or March)? If the current rumours are right, then there will be no new iPad Airs or Pros until March 2021?
The current iPad Air feels like a one time marketing hack - it's the 10.5" iPad Pro with bits removed and processor updated. Perhaps Apple wants to launch the next Air alongside the Pro.
Agreed and I think that they might pull the same hack again with Air 4, just this time round it will be based on iPad Pro 11”. The question is just when.
Yeah, good point. As for the iPad Air 4: what about the RAM? That’s always a point of contention, is it not? I’ll be upgrading soon and am always wondering about the RAM in these devices.
I am 95% sure the iPad 4 would have 4 GB RAM. It seems these days Apple likes to have twice as much RAM in the Pro models as in the entry level models, whereas the mid-end models are in between, so within the year:As for the iPad Air 4: what about the RAM? That’s always a point of contention, is it not? I’ll be upgrading soon and am always wondering about the RAM in these devices.
3 GB: iPad A12
4 GB: iPad Air A14
6 GB: iPad Pro A14X
And in a couple of years:
4 GB: iPad
6 GB: iPad Air
8 GB: iPad Pro
Something doesn't quite add up.
I can't imagine a new Air with Pro form factor will be coming any time soon. From rumours/speculation the Air 4 will effectively be a 2018 Pro (minus ProMotion and with less speakers and one or two other bits missing perhaps). If they released this now it would severely reduce their 11" Pro sales - they will want to update the Pro first. Also not likely they'd put a newer chip in the Air than the Pro either.
My guess is that the Pro will be updated in spring 2021: more RAM, A14X, mini-LED. Then the Air will follow later in 2021. Though this could leave the Pro being thinner and lighter than the Air, which would be weird...
I can't imagine a new Air with Pro form factor will be coming any time soon. From rumours/speculation the Air 4 will effectively be a 2018 Pro (minus ProMotion and with less speakers and one or two other bits missing perhaps). If they released this now it would severely reduce their 11" Pro sales - they will want to update the Pro first. Also not likely they'd put a newer chip in the Air than the Pro either.
My guess is that the Pro will be updated in spring 2021: more RAM, A14X, mini-LED. Then the Air will follow later in 2021. Though this could leave the Pro being thinner and lighter than the Air, which would be weird...
For me, it’s possible that the iPad Air will be updated before the iPad Pro. The iMac will have a redesign before the iMac Pro. Also, the MacBook Air with the new Magic Keyboard was updated before the MacBook Pro.
I don’t think that selling more the iPad Air than the iPad Pro for some months is a problem for Apple
Agreed, they may release iPad Pro 11”-based Air 4 in October and then do a big micro-LED, etc. update for iPad Pros in March 2021. Well, this is what I would like them to do anyway. ?