Apple could finally launch new iPads in May, with OLED panels and a brand new iPad Air model.
Apple tipster and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said its sources with insider knowledge of Apple’s plans mention that “early May” is planned as the launch window for the next generation of iPads.
The new iPads were previously thought to arrive in March or April, but Gurman reported that complications with manufacturing OLED displays and getting the software ready for the new tablets led to shipping delays.
As previously rumored, Apple is once again expected to launch new iPad Pro models with OLED displays, while the so-called iPad Air 6 will get a refresh and a new 12.9-inch model that will offer a new version. iPadOS experience on a big screen without having to spend a lot of money on the expensive 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
More power, sleeker accessories
Gurman said the iPad Pros will be codenamed J717, J718, J720 and J721 and will use the Apple M3 chip, as seen in the latest MacBook Air 13-inch.
These next-generation iPad Pros are also expected to feature a redesigned Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. But what form exactly these adjustments will take was not mentioned in Gurman’s latest report. You could assume new keyboard mechanisms and more flexibility in keyboard positioning, and probably better sensitivity and precision with the Apple Pen.
The iPad Air upgrades will likely be more on the chip side, possibly for an M3, which would be a notable upgrade over the M1 chip that the current iPad Air has. But an iPad Air with a larger screen could be a way to give iPads a try; As smartphones get bigger and foldable phones come to the fore, there likely won’t be a need for 10.9-inch tablets, but a tablet with a nearly 13-inch screen could be a lot more appealing.
If Apple does indeed launch new iPads in May, it would be just a stone’s throw away from WWDC 2024, which takes place on June 10 this year.
