Apple may launch iPad Air 3 this year after all

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iPad Air 2 Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPad Air 3 is still M.I.A.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The lack of an iPad Air 3 at last week’s Apple event was a surprise to some people, despite what we had heard along the way.

According to a new set of rumors, however, Apple hasn’t forgotten about its third-generation iPad Air for the 2015/2016 product cycle and will, in fact, be launching just such a device soon — either later this year or early next.

And if the M.I.A. tablet’s specs are anything like they’re rumored to be, it’ll be an upgrade worth waiting for!

In terms of specifications, the iPad Air 3 is said to be powered by an A9 or A9X processor, boast either 2GB or 4GB of RAM, and feature a 9.7-inch Retina display with 4K resolution, 401 ppi and a 4:3 aspect ratio. It would reportedly run iOS 9 (of course!), come in 16GB, 64GB or 128GB memory configurations, and sport an 8-megapixel iSight camera and 2.1-megapixel FaceTime camera.

As such, it would be similar to the iPad Pro, with the exception of the smaller screen size.

Additional rumors claim the iPad Air 3 will be thinner than the iPad Air 2, thanks to a smaller battery allowing it to shrink down to just 5mm thick (compared to the 6.1mm thickness of the iPad Air 2), as well as possibly including waterproofing or dust-resistant features.

There’s a bit of confusion as to when the iPad Air 3 will actually arrive, though. While most of us figured Apple was skipping out on a yearly update for the iPad Air to focus instead on the iPad Pro (which would make sense, since people tend to hold on to their iPads for longer before upgrading, anyway), some sources suggest the iPad Air 3 could be introduced as early as next month (almost certainly untrue) or else early in 2016.

Personally, I’ll wait until we have slightly more reputable sources before believing an iPad Air 3 is imminent. Right now it’s filed in the same M.I.A. category as the 4-inch iPhone 6c.

Were you disappointed by the lack of an iPad Air 3 at last week’s Apple keynote? Leave your comments below.

Via: Latinos Post

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