If you were disappointed to see Apple go against tradition in 2023 to not release a single new iPad all year long, your disappointment may have only gotten more bitter this time last week. In line with a number of recent rumors, the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled some upgraded hardware on March 4, but alas, that didn't include anything to please the company's portability-focused fans.
Of course, not everyone was surprised by this MacBook Air announcement followed by complete silence on the iPad release front. In fact, that's precisely what Mark Gurman predicted would happen, and Bloomberg's top Apple-minded prophet is sticking to his previous forecast calling for a shower of new iPads in the near future.
The exact launch date remains up in the air
As Gurman's super-well-connected inside sources are still uncertain about precisely when all those next-gen iPad Pros and iPad Airs will see daylight, we're afraid we can't tell you to save any specific date just yet. That might suggest this product launch event remains rather distant, except... we're not actually expecting an event per se to take place anytime soon.
Instead, Apple is likely to casually drop this highly anticipated announcement on its newsroom website, and that could happen with no advance notice and absolutely no fanfare. You probably don't have to keep an eye on that portal day in and day out just yet, mind you, as the current expectation is for said announcement to go down "around the end of March or in April."
Knowing the world's largest tablet vendor, a commercial release should quickly follow, although given the key OLED display upgrade tipped for the next iPad Pro generation, a slightly bigger delay than usual is also possible. Global demand could prove especially challenging to deal with as well, at least if those wild pricing rumors from a while back turn out to be as bogus as they always sounded.
What will be very interesting to see is whether Apple plans to unveil its 2024 iPad Pros and iPad Airs in one or two separate batches. Our guess is the latter, but of course, we can't be certain of, well, anything until it's actually confirmed by the company itself or guaranteed by multiple sources as credible as Gurman.
What else do we know about these products?
While the aforementioned OLED screen technology introduction is by far the most exciting rumored detail about the 2024 iPad Pro edition, the 2024 iPad Air generation is likely to make headlines with an all-new display size.
The single-size 2022 iPad Air (pictured here) is expected to get two 2024 sequels.
That's right, Apple is widely expected to roll out both a revamped 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a larger-than-ever 12.9-inch iPad Air this spring, which sounds a little odd and potentially very confusing. Alongside these giants, the iPad Pro (2024) should come in an 11-inch size as well, while the iPad Air (2024) could also be released in a 10.9-inch variant for buyers on tighter budgets.
As you can imagine, we don't have a very full picture on the possible differences between these four similar-sounding tablets, although we're pretty sure the two iPad Airs will be powered by an Apple M2 processor while the two new iPad Pros will go to the next level with state-of-the-art M3 performance.
Certain cosmetic distinctions could also be in the cards, with the iPad Air line likely to retain Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology, for instance, while iPad Pros have firmly moved to a more modern Face ID authentication stage.
Together with these exciting tablets, Apple will probably unveil new Pencil and Magic Keyboard accessories, as well as a major iPadOS software update of some sort, which yet again makes us wonder why is the company not holding a traditional (and glamorous) event for all this stuff.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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