The next iPad Air comes out of the rumor mill in two variants – one is larger, and one has a newer chip

The rumor mill grinds hard and fabricates two new iPad Air models – 9to5Mac has obtained information from its sources that say Apple may have “more ambitious plans for its mid-range tablet”.

The undisclosed source(s) claim that the Cupertino giant has been “experimenting with two new versions of the iPad Air”. The code names attached to these unconfirmed tablets are J507 and J508, plus J537 and J538 (each pair represents the same device, but with different connectivity options – one stands for Wi-Fi only, while the other signals a cellular option, too). All of them are reportedly “based on the iPad Air”.

The J507 and J508 are well-known to those of you who obsess about all things Apple. Back in June, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentioned those code titles in his regular newsletter. While details are unavailable at this point, J507 and J508 should be nothing more than the successor of the iPad Air 5 – namely, the iPad Air 6, packing a new chip and replacing the M1 in the 2022 version of Apple’s midrange slab.

The J537 and J538 devices are far more mysterious – one of the hypotheses is that this is going to be a larger tablet (currently, the iPad Air 5 comes at 10.9 inches). The other variant, 9to5Mac speculates, is that Apple could present a more expensive variant with higher-level specifications. Every single thing said to this moment should be taken with a grain of salt, so don’t be daydreaming just yet – Apple’s plans may change suddenly.

Currently, the only iPad that has more than one version is the iPad Pro, as it comes in 11 and 12.9 inches, so there are two models for each version. Maybe Apple’s Air line is to change all of that.