Ming-Chi Kuo was back a few days ago, calling for a new “iPad” in the second half of 2020. This report came courtesy of MacRumors. The problem is, we really don’t know which one model he’s talking about yet.
Category Archives: iPad Air
A New Leaker Says Apple’s New Magic Keyboard Will Move Beyond the iPad Pro
WWDC is closing in and the rumors are flowing. A fresh one from a newer leaker with an impressive track record says the Magic Keyboard may be going semi-pro in the near future.
The New iPad Air May Have USB-C and a New Look
It also looks like I may be 4 for 4!
Just yesterday I was feeling pretty good because I got a third 2020 prediction right. The first was full trackpad support for iPadOS. The second was a new Apple keyboard accessory with a built-in trackpad. Lucky number three was the AirPods Studio arriving at or right around WWDC. Now it looks like we have number four.
The New iPad Air Concept Making the Rounds Certainly Grabs the Eye
Photo Source: svetapple.sk
So I don’t usually pay attention to concept renderings and videos. They often don’t have enough basis in reality to interest me and often end up being just wishful thinking. Maybe I’m cynical, but they often seem like a waste of time. However, the new iPad Air rendering I got a look at over the weekend felt different and got my attention because of it.
The 2020 iPad Air Rumors Are All Over the Place, But Still Look Good
When I saw rumors of an iPad Air with Mini-LED after we got the news that the iPad Pro with the same screen tech had slid into 2021, I was very skeptical. It made absolutely no sense to me that Apple would release a new technology like this on what is ultimately a mid-tier device. However, it looks like they were just behind the curve, as the China Times reported yesterday that Mini-LED has been scratched from the coming Air, as well.
The New iPad Air: Stuck in the Middle with You
I spent most of yesterday taking the new iPad Mini for a spin and watching my daughter have a blast with it. Now it’s time to focus on the new iPad Air. Where the Mini felt almost foreign because I haven’t used one for so long, the new Air still feels quite familiar. Even though I didn’t hang onto it, I tried the 10.5″ iPad Pro when it was released in 2017. I really liked it, but the 12.9″ still won out, in the end.
The iPad Lineup Makes Sense Again!
Ever since the first iPad Pro was released, Apple’s tablet lineup have been kind of a jumbled up mess. You had models that were too close together in price and specs, like the iPad Air 2 and original iPad Pro. You had the iPad Air 2 on closeout while Apple was selling the new 9.7″ iPad Pro. The two tablets looked exactly the same and were only separated by Pencil support and a few other specs.
What’s Old is New Again: Apple Announces New iPad Air
There are few surprises in the tech world today, but we got a small one today. Apple’s online store went down in the early AM, and low and behold, we have new iPads ahead of Apple’s event one week from today! Apple threw us another change-up by going back to the name it seemingly left behind a few years ago, releasing a new iPad Air.
The iPad as a Laptop Replacement- Part One
This is certainly ground that has been covered in MANY articles, both before and after the release of the new 10.5” and 12.9” iPad Pros, and for plenty of reason. Apple’s marketing has placed the iPad Pro squarely in the conversation as a primary computing device, and encouraged this kind of examination. However, because the conversations tend to center around those of us in the Apple blogosphere and the tech community at large think, they usually focus on the iPad as a laptop replacement for US as “power users,” rather than more typical users.
The iPad Air is Dead. Long Live the iPad.
Well, my prediction early last month that the iPad Air line would be retired was half right. The name is now gone, but I thought at the time that Apple would shift to an all Pro iPad lineup this Spring. However, thanks in part to the comments of several users of non-Pro iPads, I came to see how short-sighted that opinion was, and how many potential users it would leave behind.
Thankfully, Apple is a lot smarter than I am. As such, a lower-cost tablet still endures, just with a different name and a little different shape. However, this wasn’t all that went down yesterday. Apple made a few interesting, if low key moves, and changing up the Air 2 was just one of them. Here are a few of the highlights and interesting details from yesterday’s news.
What I’m Looking Forward To In The iPad Air 2
I’ve got a 64GB LTE iPad Air 2 on the way to me this Thursday or Friday, according to my Apple Order Status page. I still don’t know for sure if the iPad Air 2 will have 2GB of RAM, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go through with the upgrade anyway. After re-reviewing all of the spec sheets and early look articles from people at Apple’s event, there are a couple of things I’m really curious about:
- Does the thinness really matter? I’m quite happy with the profile of the iPad Air as-is, but Apple has this strange obsession with making everything as thin as possible. I’d like to see if the 18% thinner body actually makes a difference for one-handed usage, as I doubt it will affect two-handed usage much. It’s also curious that this new Air 2 is about 7–8% lighter than the previous Air, but Apple didn’t feel like that was worth pointing out.