iPad Air with 12.9-inch display may not look a lot different than the outgoing model.
Alleged CAD renders of the iPad Air 12.9-inch variant have come out, revealing what it will look like. Here’s what you need to know.
Last year, Ming-Chi Kuo hinted that there would be an iPad Air model with a bigger 12.9-inch screen launching in 2024. This model might be released alongside the updated 10.9-inch version. Now, 91Mobiles has shared purported CAD renders of the iPad Air 12.9-inch variant, revealing what it will look like.
The new iPad looks similar to the current model, but it’s bigger. It might have the same button placements, with the Touch ID sensor at the top of the iPad. However, the camera module has been redesigned slightly, with a border around the lens—something reminiscent of the recent iPhone models.
This comes after Apple chose not to update any iPad models last year—be it the iPad Air, iPad Pro, or the iPad mini lineup. According to multiple analysts, including Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company is expected to revamp its entire lineup this year.
It remains to be seen when Apple decides to bring the revamped iPad Air model with the Apple M2 chip. Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned last year that the same could go into mass production in Q1 2024, so a launch may not be as far off as you might have thought. These new models could be powered by the Apple M2 chipset, representing a generational jump from the Apple M1 that currently powers the outgoing 10.9-inch model.
He further reported that this 12.9-inch iPad model would not feature the rumored mini LED display technology like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro; instead, it will be equipped with an LCD display. However, it would still look better than the 10.9-inch model as it would use an Oxide backplate (also used in iPad Pro 12.9-inch), and not an a-Si backplate.
