With the current iPad Pro being lighter and thinner, what do you think the future of iPad Air will be like? I mean, even the name itself is no longer fitting. What can Apple really do to keep Air appealing, apart from its lower price? I could think of adding an OLED screen with ProMotion to it, but what else could they do without sabotaging iPad Pro?
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iPad Air iPad Air future?
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I actually think if Apple goes to OLED this year the iPad Pro’s will get thicker cause they’ll get an M5 and probably a vapor chamber. If so then I could see the current Pro chassis’ tricking down to the Air and there you go, the thinnest Air ever.
I don’t think iPad Air will get refreshed this year, so no OLED for it yet. iPad Pro could be refreshed as soon as this October, so we will see what happens to it then. Any Air improvements will still remain a mystery, however.
I don’t see the point of the Air
Might as well just have the base iPad and the Pro
Might as well just have the base iPad and the Pro
I don’t see the point of the base model. Keep the air and the pro.
Apple toys aren't cheap. People will pay up for the air as the low priced option. With the education discount they both drop in price. Everyone can get it price reduction. They didn’t even ask for proof when I bought my newest iPad.
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The mid-tier price point, the current Air starts at $599, the Pro - at $999. So it is a $400 difference, which is not negligible for many people. In comparison, the price difference between iPhone Air and Pro Max is $200.
I just went through this decision making process. I went with the 11" iPad Air to replace my 1st gen 11" iPad Pro. I never really used the Pro to it's full potential so that is why I went with the Air.
I could not see going with the standard 11" iPad since it really isn't a performance boost with the A16 chip over the 1st Gen 11" Pro with the A12X chip. Plus neither supports Apple Intelligence.
I decided to save the money with the iPad Air since I won't use all of the features on the iPad Pro. I decided to stick with the 11" as that suits my needs best.
This is one of the reasons I went with the Air instead of the Pro. The other being my use case and not needing all of the Pro's features.
I could not see going with the standard 11" iPad since it really isn't a performance boost with the A16 chip over the 1st Gen 11" Pro with the A12X chip. Plus neither supports Apple Intelligence.
I decided to save the money with the iPad Air since I won't use all of the features on the iPad Pro. I decided to stick with the 11" as that suits my needs best.
This is one of the reasons I went with the Air instead of the Pro. The other being my use case and not needing all of the Pro's features.
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And most people don’t need a pro. If Apple put promotion lcd screens in the iPad Air then it would make it even harder to justify the pro model.
I have an m1 iPad Air and I have had it for 3 years now and it has been the best tablet I’ve ever owned. It has its limitations but for how I use a tablet the air is perfectly suited.
I still like the lcd screens over Oled, even mini led would be preferred but again a nice quality 90hz lcd screen with pro motion would be good enough. M4 on an air would be pretty amazing to me.
I also have an M1 Air, which is perfectly fine for everything I do, but with the new Pro being thinner and lighter now, Apple will also need to change the chassis, IMO, to still make sense of the Air name. According to the latest leaks, the new Pro won’t have any design changes, just more RAM and an M5. Apparently no front-facing double-cameras either.
So what will Apple do with their Air line in the spring 2026 then? A better screen would be good and a lighter body would be great too. I would really like of they could use the same strategy as with iPhone Air this year - same great screens as iPhone Pro in a much slimmer and lighter chassis.
I think so, too. The iPad Airs needs to be made „airy“ again.
For me, the Mini also belongs to the Air family. Just the 9" version. But they won't drop the iconic name 'mini'.
But I have no idea how they could achieve that.
For me, the Mini also belongs to the Air family. Just the 9" version. But they won't drop the iconic name 'mini'.
But I have no idea how they could achieve that.
When the watch industry was competing to produce the thinnest watch in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it did the following.
Watches are like iPads. They have a case and a circuit board with the axles for the moving parts. So they drilled the axle bearings into the case and left out the circuit board. That way, they could get below 1 mm. This principle lives on in Swatch watches in a simple (because inexpensive) form.
At the same time, cars also moved away from frames to self-supporting bodies.
So the iPad Air's case could also serves as the battery case. And the electronic components are mounted directly.
Ifixit will love this.
Watches are like iPads. They have a case and a circuit board with the axles for the moving parts. So they drilled the axle bearings into the case and left out the circuit board. That way, they could get below 1 mm. This principle lives on in Swatch watches in a simple (because inexpensive) form.
At the same time, cars also moved away from frames to self-supporting bodies.
So the iPad Air's case could also serves as the battery case. And the electronic components are mounted directly.
Ifixit will love this.