Now the excitement of the iPhone 15 launch is over, it's time to think bigger – and by bigger we mean iPads. Following on from the rumours we reported a few days ago about the next iPad mini, a new report says that Apple is working on multiple models of its larger iPads too: the iPad Air and the iPad Pro.
Speaking to 9to5Mac, industry insiders say that Apple has "multiple new iPads on track for the coming months, including iPad mini 7 and two new iPad Air models". That tracks: the current iPad Air was released in March 2022, so a spring 2024 update fits well with Apple's typical release schedule. We'd previously heard from multiple sources that the new Air would launch this month, October 2023, but that doesn't appear to be the case any more – assuming the rumours were correct in the first place.
So what iPads are Apple cooking?
What iPads can we expect in 2024?
We've heard multiple rumours about the next iPad mini already: in late 2022 the well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that it was due in late 2023 or early 2024. The latter seems more likely now, and 9to5Mac's sources agree – although they don't know the exact release date.
It's expected to look much like the current generation and get a faster chip; the current model has the A15 Bionic previously seen in the iPhone 13.
The Airs are more interesting, I think. Apple is apparently working on two new versions that are direct replacements for the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the current iPad Air, but there are apparently two more Airs in development too. What do we know about them? Absolutely nothing. But it's possible that Apple is either considering making a larger Air, which I'd buy in a heartbeat, or perhaps a higher-spec tier. I think that's less likely as Apple already has a higher tier: the iPad Pro.
Speaking of which, Apple's got a new version of that in development too. The next iPad Pro will run the M3 chip. And another key iPad hardware reportedly in development is a new Magic Keyboard, which apparently looks more like a MacBook than the current generation does.
All of these iPads are reportedly designed to run iPadOS 17, which means they're likely to be released before next summer: that's when Apple holds its WWDC developers' conference and reveals the developer versions of the next iPadOS and iOS.
