In late June, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his accurate notes, spoke about Apple’s plans to change the format of future generations of iPad tablets. In particular, in the second half of 2020, he expects the release of the iPad Air 2020, the supply of components for which will begin in the third quarter, according to DigiTimes. Moreover, the cost of this model may be below the $499 asked for the current generation of iPad Air, since Apple is going to follow the new strategy laid down by the iPhone SE 2020, which confirms the latest report from Taiwanese suppliers.
And this despite the fact that the gadget will receive noticeable improvements, including a new chipset (presumably A13 Bionic) and an increased diagonal of the display to 10.8″. Also, according to the latest rumors, the iPad Air 2020 may become the first Apple tablet (not the Pro-series) to switch to the USB-C port instead of the obsolete Lightning.
Apple plans to launch a 10.8″ iPad this year and an 8.5″ iPad Mini in 2021
Earlier, the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (Ming-Chi Kuo) has published a new forecast for Apple plans to release new models of the iPad tablet line. According to the informant, Apple plans to release a new 10.8-inch iPad in the second half of 2020, and next year (in the first half of 2021) an 8.5-inch iPad will go on sale.
Ming-Chi Kuo did not specify whether the 10.8-inch iPad model will be the new version of the existing 10.2-inch iPad or 10.5-inch iPad Air, but he said earlier that the 8.5-inch model will replace the iPad mini. Apple last updated the iPad mini in March 2019, adding the Apple A12 Bionic SoC, an updated front camera, and support for the Apple Pencil stylus. The same analyst added that Apple will include a 20-watt power supply in the box of both new iPads.
Here is a reminder of the specification of the iPad Air 10.5″/iPad mini 7.9″ (2019).
Apple iPad Air 10.5-inch (2019) / Apple iPad Mini (2019) specifications
- iPad Air – 10.5-inch (2224 x 1668 pixels) Retina display with P3 Color Gamut, 500 nits brightness, 264 PPI
- iPad Mini – 7.9-inch (2048 x 1536 pixels) Retina display with P3 Color Gamut, 500 nits brightness, 326 PPI
- Octa-Core A12 Bionic 7nm chip with 64-bit architecture and M12 motion co-processor
- 64GB/256GB variants
- iOS 12
- 8MP camera with f/2.4 aperture, 5P lens, Hybrid IR filter
- 7MP front-facing FaceTime HD camera with f/2.2 aperture, Retina Flash
- Dual microphones for calls, Stereo speakers
- 4G LTE (optional), Wi‑Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0
- Touch ID
- iPad Air- Dimensions: 250.6x 174.1x 6.1mm; Weight: 456g (WiFi) / 464g (4G)
- iPad Mini – Dimensions: 203.2x 134.8x 6.1mm; Weight: 300.5g (WiFi) / 308.2g (4G)
- 30.2-watt-hour (iPad Air) / 19.1-watt-hour (iPad Mini) rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. With Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
