If the rumors are to be believed, the new iPad Air could be Apple's next iPad, probably in 2020, after the iPad Pro 2020 earlier in the year, and perhaps before a new iPad Mini towards the end of the year or early 2021. The iPad Air is Apple's second-highest-end tablet, above the iPad Mini (2019) and entry-level iPad ranges, but it doesn't include all the features and specifications of the top-of-the-line iPad Pro range. The series' entry was the iPad Air 3 in 2019, so this new tablet would be the iPad Air 4, even if it's not called that. Leaks have started coming in for the new iPad Air 4, which you'll find below, but there aren't enough yet to get a clear idea of what Apple's next tablet will offer. As such, we've also created a list of features we'd like to see on the slate, based on what the iPad Air 3 looks like, the highlights of other Apple tablets, and what the competitors are trading. in the tablet market. Read on for everything we know about the iPad Air 4 and what we want to see in the new tablet.
Come to the point
- What is it? Apple's next mid-range tablet
- When did it come out? Maybe towards the end of 2020
- How much will it cost? Maybe around € 499 / € 479 / AU € 779
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iPad Air 2019 (Image credit: Apple)
Date and price of the new iPad Air 4
Although we've heard leaks on the iPad Air 4, we haven't heard anything about a release date or price, so we'll have to dig into the hot speculation. Apple doesn't generally rely on annual release models for its tablets, unlike its phones, so the iPad Air 3's March 18, 2019 release date didn't repeat itself a year later. . Instead, we expect to see the new iPad Air sometime before the end of 2020, though it may still land later. In terms of price, Apple doesn't always change the cost of its tablets for new iterations, and often lowers older models to set them apart. The iPad Air 3 launched for $499 / £479 / AU$779, so it's likely the next-gen version will cost that too, though the price may go up slightly if there are enough upgrades.
New leaks and new iPad Air 4
![iPad Air 2019]()
iPad Air 2019 (Image credit: Future) We heard a big leak that gave us some key details about the new iPad Air - it details two big changes the tablet may take from its predecessor. For one, the 2020 iPad Air could have USB-C connectivity, rather than a light port, while the other detail mentioned is an 11-inch size, compared to the 3-inch iPad Air 10.5. These changes would make the new iPad Air 4 resembles the 2020 iPad Pro compared to previous models. This could help further differentiate it from the base range of iPads, but may make it too similar to the Pro range. Another minor leak suggested that the iPad Air would get an in-display fingerprint scanner, a technology Apple hasn't embraced despite of most high-end Android phones that use it. We're not entirely convinced that Apple would add this technology to an iPad Air before an iPad Pro.
New iPad Air 4: what we want to see
This is what we want to see changed, or new, in the iPad Air 4.
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Apple Pencil 2 (Image credit: Future)
1. Apple Pencil 2 connectivity
The iPad Air 3 only worked with the original Apple Pencil, which certainly had its drawbacks (it was really painful to charge, for example). Recent iPad Pro models use the second-generation Apple Pencil, which solves all the original problems and more. So we'd like to see the new iPad Air work with the Apple Pencil 2, instead of the original. If Apple wants its new iPad Air to function as an "iPad Pro Lite" rather than a larger version of the basic iPad, that would be the kind of change it needs to make.
![iPad Air 2019]()
iPad Air 2019 (Image credit: future)
Another indicator of the iPad Air's budget DNA is its use of Touch ID, with a physical button and a large bezel to house it - the entry-level iPad uses this design, while recent 'iPad Pro models use Face ID and it has much thinner lenses. Whether or not Apple wants the iPad Air to look more like the Pro units, it should stop using this archaic design for its mid-range tablets and leave such a build for entry-level tablets or iPad Minis. Instead, we'd like to see Apple roll out Face ID on iPad Air units or, as one leak says, an in-display fingerprint scanner, so the bezel can be reduced considerably.
![iPad Air 2019]()
iPad Air 2019 (Image credit: future)
3. A newer chipset
Something is likely to happen but we'd certainly like to see it anyway, these are the new iPad Air models using a newer chipset, perhaps the A13 Bionic that we've seen in the iPhone 11 lineup. This would give them great processing power, but it probably wouldn't increase the cost too much (since Apple wouldn't need to develop a new chipset). However, the 2020 iPad Pro units only use a variant of the iPhone XS A12 Bionic chipset, so if the iPad Air 4 were to use the A13, it would probably be more powerful than the Pro units, so it's only not guaranteed that Apple give the iPad Air so much of a boost. At the very least, we'd like it to have the same chipset as the 2020 iPad Pro.
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iPad 10.2 with Lightning port (Image credit: future)
4. One USB-C port
The new 2020 iPad Air is rumored to have a USB-C port, rather than the Lightning port that Apple devices tend to use, and it's a change we'd really like to see. USB-C ports allow for faster charging as well as faster data transfer, making it much more useful for both productivity and general use than Lightning. The 2020 IPad Pro units have USB-C, so there's certainly precedent for Apple using this technology, and indeed there have been rumors for a few years that iPhones will start using it too, although that didn't happen. actually not produced so far.
![iPad Air 2019]()
iPad Air 2019 (Image credit: future)
5. The same (relatively) low price
We call the iPad Air range "mid-range", but in the grand scheme of Apple's tablet range, it's much closer to the entry-level iPad and iPad Minis than the pricey iPad Pro models. We'd like it to stay the same for the iPad Air 4. Many leaks (and our requests) give the impression that the iPad Air 4 will look a lot more like an iPad Pro than previous devices in the range, but that doesn't mean you should. cost as much as one. Keeping the price low would get more people to buy the tablets, and might even convince some to switch to the higher-end iPad Pro range the next time they need a tablet.