Ever since TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said last year that Apple would be adding a second 12.9-inch iPad Air (2024) tablet to the traditional 10.9-inch variant, other analysts and leakers have jumped on the bandwagon calling for Apple to release two iPad Air (2024) tablets this year. According to Wccftech, that list doesn’t include leaker ShrimpApplePro who says that Apple will release just one iPad Air tablet with a 10.9-inch LCD screen.
ShrimpApplePro does align himself with some other rumors related to the iPad Air (2024) such as the move to a landscape-oriented front-facing camera giving the device a laptop-like feel when taking selfies. Not to disparage ShrimpApplePro, but what passes for evidence at this stage points to the addition of a larger-screened iPad Air this year. First of all, Ming-Chi Kuo has an outstanding track record when it comes to Apple hardware, and in January, we showed you leaked schematics that were said to be of the 12.9-inch iPad Air model.
The new iPad Air is supposed to have the same 12.9-inch screen size as this iPad Pro model from 2022
Look, it makes sense for Apple to create a 12.9-inch iPad Air so that those who want/need a larger-sized tablet but can’t afford the top-of-the-line iPad Pro can stay within the Apple ecosystem. Considering that the iPad Pro will probably be equipped with pricey OLED panels this year for the first time, now is the perfect moment for Apple to offer the iPad Air with 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch LCD panels.
While we did see that an Asian website says that the new tablets will be released on March 26th, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that we should expect the iPad Pro (2024) series and the iPad Air (2024) line to be launched in late April.
The tablet market has been in the doldrums ever since the pandemic ended. Fiscal fourth quarter iPad revenue declined 10.2% year-over-year. For all of fiscal 2023, iPad sales dropped 3.4% to $28.30 billion. Keep in mind that for the first time since the iPad was first introduced in 2010, Apple did not introduce one new tablet during calendar 2023. It will be interesting to see whether Apple’s decision to take the year off from unveiling new tablets lights a fire under iPad buyers.
