iPad Air 3 Release Date, Specs News: Early 2016 Launch Most Likely
Apple has been busy turning out new products for its iPhone and Apple Watch lines this past year. It also put so much effort in its bigger-sized tablet, the iPad Pro, that some reports are saying that because the company needed to focus its resources on their new enterprise-oriented product, it has forgotten about its original tablet line, the iPad.
According to a report in MacWorld UK, Apple usually launches a new iPad every October, like when it unveiled the iPad Air 2 in October 2014. October 2015 has passed and no announcement has been made. The iPad Pro, however, was unveiled during the September 9 event together with the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6S Plus.
The report also cited a rumor that the update on the iPad will most likely happen in 2016 and unlike the iPad Pro, will probably be done without much fanfare as the rest of the company's flagships.
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In terms of the iPad Air 3's design, the report noted that Apple may simply tweak the design a bit and not opt for a major re-design. While it is possible to make the iPad Air 3 thinner than the iPad Air 2, it may not be necessary as this may cause issues with the device's flex and durability. Color options will likely remain the same – silver, space grey and gold.
The iPad Air 3's rumored specs include an upgraded processor. Since iPhones already sport an A9 processor, it is very possible that the Air 3 will sport the same processor, if not better, like an A9X. One area that the report says the iPad Air 3 will likely improve on is power efficiency and therefore battery life. With the development of iOS 9 which took the first step in this direction, the iPad Air 3's processor should follow suit.
The iPad Air 3's screen, on the other hand, may get an upgrade to one that has almost the same resolution as the iPhone 6S Plus. Power usage, however, may be an issue if this is the case, according to the report.
In terms of its cameras, the iPad Air 3 may carry the same camera specs as the iPad Air 2, with new features such as panoramas, burst mode, slow motion capture, timer mode and time laps. Its rear iSight camera will retain the 8 megapixel count, while the front FaceTime HD camera will remain at 1.2 megapixels.
