New Apple iPad models seem destined for a September release

It looks like some more Apple iPad tablets are on the way. Earlier this month, MySmartPrice spotted five new iPad models that received Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) certification. Now, it appears that two more models have been added. The seven model numbers receiving certification include A2068, A2198, A2230, A2197, A2228, A2200 and A2232. All of these units will run iPadOS 13 according to the documentation, which hints at a release this fall.

You might recall that back in January, EEC certifications of model numbers A2123, A2124, A2153, A2154, A2133, and A2152 were discovered. These turned out to be different variants of the third-generation Apple iPad Air (2019) and the fifth-generation Apple iPad mini (2019). The two tablets were launched less than two months after the date on the certificates. Using the same time frame with the latest certifications takes us to early and mid-September, around the time that Apple normally introduces the latest iPhone models.

With production for the new tablets rumored to begin this month, there is speculation that the new slates will replace the 9.7-inch iPad that was released in March of 2018. We could see the screen size hiked to 10.2-inches on the upcoming model with a reduction in the size of the side bezels. Apple has much more at stake with its tablets now that it has developed a separate operating system for the iPad, named iPadOS. And the company also sees an opportunity here. While the global tablet market has been in decline, two new iPad Pro models released in 2018 and the new iPads released this year helped the company grow iPad revenue by 22% during its fiscal second quarter. That was the product's highest growth rate in six years as Apple sold $4.87 billion worth of tablets during the three month period. Apple will report its fiscal third-quarter numbers after the market closes on July 30th.

It doesn't appear that Apple is ready yet to endow its cheaper tablets with the some of the same features found on the latest iPad Pro models. In order words, the new entry-level iPad will probably not feature the TrueDepth Camera or Face ID and might still support only the first generation Apple Pencil. There are two reasons to come to these conclusions; one, Apple wants to differentiate its premium tablet line, and two, it kept Touch ID on the two tablets it released earlier this year. Interestingly, Apple equipped the iPad (2018) with 2016's A10 Fusion chipset even though it could have used the A11 Bionic instead. If this continues with the upcoming model, the new iPad could be powered by the latter chip instead of the A12 Bionic SoC employed on the 2018 iPhones. As a comparison, the iPad Pro units that Apple launched last November feature the A12X Bionic chipset.

Earlier this month, an analyst by the name of Jeff Lin, who monitors the supply chain for IHSMarkit, said that Apple is working on a foldable 5G iPad for 2020. That dovetails with a timeline created late last year by an Asian securities firm known as CGS-CIMB. That timeline has Apple delivering a foldable device late in the second half of 2020. That Apple is working on a foldable isn't exactly a secret. After all, the company has applied for and received a number of patents related to such a product. The only question is whether the brass in Cupertino has taken a harder look at producing a foldable tablet in light of the issues that forced Samsung to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold by roughly five months.