Apple prepares 12.9-inch iPad Air for early 2024 launch

AppleInsider

Apple's 2024 updates to its iPad lineup will include a new model of iPad Air, claims a prominent Apple analyst, with a new 12.9-inch variant supposedly on the way.

iPad Air 5

Apple is widely rumored to be bringing out new iPad models sometime in 2024, with most of the attention being on the iPad mini and iPad Pro. In a report by TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, it seems that the often overlooked iPad Air could get another option.

In Sunday's Medium post, Kuo writes that two iPad Air models are scheduled for mass production in the first quarter of 2024. The 10.9-inch model will be joined by a 12.9-inch version, which won't have the mini-LED tech of its iPad Pro counterpart, but will still get some benefits from using the same-spec Oxide backplane.

This is not the first time a larger iPad Air has been proposed in rumors. In October, a report made the same size claim.

Kuo also offers that there will be two OLED iPad Pro models replacing the mini-LED versions in late Q1 or Q2 of 2024. The models will include new form factor designs, an M3 processor, and the OLED panel will adopt a Tandem design with LTPO backplanes.

Mass production of the OLED versions will be delayed to Q1 or Q2 versus early Q1 in planning, which is apparently down to OLED panel issues.

Kuo warns that, if the price of the new 10.9-inch iPad Air is unchanged, and if the 12.9-inch iPad Air is "definitely more expensive," Apple could increase the price of the OLED iPad Pro models to "maintain the price gap" between the ranges.

On the "more affordable models," Kuo believes mass production of a new iPad mini is delayed into the second half of 2024, versus a previous prediction of Q1. The 11th-gen iPad will also be mass produced in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, Kuo thinks the ninth-gen iPad's production will "go to end-of-life" before the end of 2024.

Read on AppleInsider

tht

Yup. Looks like iPad Pro OLED models will move up by $200. 

$600 iPA10.9 LCD
$800 iPA12.9 LCD
$1000 iPP11 OLED
$1200 iPP12.9 OLED

I do think the iPP models have go up in size, and change aspect ratio to differentiate even further, and more obviously. Say 5:4 aspect ratio at 11.5” and 14”.

discountopinion

So Apple would use screen quality and potentially SoC version as the differentiators between Pro and Air?

Hmm does not seem like a very smart move to do an unforced error of cannibalising their Pro line. Do they really have that much competitive pressure? 

Maybe if they drop the small Pro iPad, make the current 12.9 the smaller Pro and launch a larger iPad Pro with an effective screen size of 16 inches to match the MacBook Pro. Go titanium for the body to reduce weight plus OLED screen and M3 and M3 Pro for the largest iPad. Make the largest IPad Pro a stealth hybrid machine positioning.

blastdoor

Excellent! That’s what I want to replace my A10X based 12.9 inch iPad Pro. 

tht

discountopinion said:

So Apple would use screen quality and potentially SoC version as the differentiators between Pro and Air?

Hmm does not seem like a very smart move to do an unforced error of cannibalising their Pro line. Do they really have that much competitive pressure? 

Maybe if they drop the small Pro iPad, make the current 12.9 the smaller Pro and launch a larger iPad Pro with an effective screen size of 16 inches to match the MacBook Pro. Go titanium for the body to reduce weight plus OLED screen and M3 and M3 Pro for the largest iPad. Make the largest IPad Pro a stealth hybrid machine positioning.

Apple uses screen quality and SoC versions to differentiate between Pro and Air all the time. Is it really a question?

I think the largest problem with the iPad lineup is that iPadOS doesn't have enough functionality to drive sales of more expensive iPads. They are trying, finally putting LP and FCP on iPadOS, but they still have to go yet further. Xcode.app and Terminal.app have to come to iPadOS, including user loading of CLI tools and libraries. Then, support for VMs. They have to go all the way, especially with VisionOS being so close to iPadOS.

Once the prices get to the $1300, $1600, $2000+ range, you really need to let users compute as freely as they can. Definitely think they need to have larger iPP displays to further differentiate from iPA10.9 and iPP12.9 models. 

$600 iPA10.9 LCD M2 8GB RAM
$800 iPA12.9 LCD M2 8GB
$1000 iPP11 OLED M3 8GB
$1500 iPP14 OLED M3 8GB?

kestral

Upping the hardware specs of an iPad will not deliver the biggest bang.

If they really want to make an impact they need to upgrade the iOS and make it a capable OS like macOS.

Otherwise the iPad is just an overgrown iPhone.

Kierkegaarden

tht said:

discountopinion said:

So Apple would use screen quality and potentially SoC version as the differentiators between Pro and Air?

Hmm does not seem like a very smart move to do an unforced error of cannibalising their Pro line. Do they really have that much competitive pressure? 

Maybe if they drop the small Pro iPad, make the current 12.9 the smaller Pro and launch a larger iPad Pro with an effective screen size of 16 inches to match the MacBook Pro. Go titanium for the body to reduce weight plus OLED screen and M3 and M3 Pro for the largest iPad. Make the largest IPad Pro a stealth hybrid machine positioning.

Apple uses screen quality and SoC versions to differentiate between Pro and Air all the time. Is it really a question?

I think the largest problem with the iPad lineup is that iPadOS doesn't have enough functionality to drive sales of more expensive iPads. They are trying, finally putting LP and FCP on iPadOS, but they still have to go yet further. Xcode.app and Terminal.app have to come to iPadOS, including user loading of CLI tools and libraries. Then, support for VMs. They have to go all the way, especially with VisionOS being so close to iPadOS.

Once the prices get to the $1300, $1600, $2000+ range, you really need to let users compute as freely as they can. Definitely think they need to have larger iPP displays to further differentiate from iPA10.9 and iPP12.9 models. 

$600 iPA10.9 LCD M2 8GB RAM
$800 iPA12.9 LCD M2 8GB
$1000 iPP11 OLED M3 8GB
$1500 iPP14 OLED M3 8GB?

Different screen sizes between the Pro and non-Pro lines sounds logical.  Maybe the 11” gets bumped up to a 12”?  They could really go in a few different directions with simplifying and reinvigorating the lineup — 2024 could be the year that this happens.

AniMill

…I do think the iPP models have go up in size, and change aspect ratio to differentiate even further, and more obviously. Say 5:4 aspect ratio at 11.5” and 14”.

I’m not a fan of the current 12.9” aspect ratio. I much prefer the 11” layout. I’d love to see that ratio as a 13”.

Calvinator

kestral said:

Upping the hardware specs of an iPad will not deliver the biggest bang.

If they really want to make an impact they need to upgrade the iOS and make it a capable OS like macOS.

Otherwise the iPad is just an overgrown iPhone.

If you want something about the size of an iPad but with macOS, have you considered a MacBook Air?

entropys

I love my current model IPP 11 for its portability. I take it to meetings instead of a notebook and laptop combo.

What I have discovered with stage manager though is it quickly runs out of space on the screen and the windows are too small.  Also, even with stage manager it is sometimes hard to have the apps I need available. 

So I am thinking of getting a larger screen next year for home use as a laptop replacement, and an OLED screen might be tempting, but I suspect it would be stupidly expensive, well past the point if you are spending that kind of cash on a bigger, heavier screen you should just get an MBA/MBP.
 I am not sure I can settle for an IPA 12.9.
my daughter has the M1 IPA for uni, and it is pretty much the same as my IPP, just my screen looks better when placed side by side and the pro motion advantage becomes obvious for various things such as scrolling.  

As well as the screen, I reckon some hardware features to differentiate the IPP might be good too, like MagSafe and maybe an SD card slot. HDMI would be good for presentations, so you don’t need a dongle. 

tht

AniMill said:

…I do think the iPP models have go up in size, and change aspect ratio to differentiate even further, and more obviously. Say 5:4 aspect ratio at 11.5” and 14”.

I’m not a fan of the current 12.9” aspect ratio. I much prefer the 11” layout. I’d love to see that ratio as a 13”.

Once you get somewhere above 11 to 12 inches, the aspect ratio has to get more square in order to use it in portrait and landscape. I really hope Apple continues to do this, as well as making sure everything can be done with touch. 

If you go wider like with the iPad 11” models, you basically are committed to using the device in landscape. Might work as a foldable, but as a slate form factor somewhere around 13 to 15”, it becomes desktop/laptop bound and you don’t gain much vertical screen space. 

I hope it is more square. Like 11:8.5 or 5:4. 

charlesn

kestral said:

Upping the hardware specs of an iPad will not deliver the biggest bang.

If they really want to make an impact they need to upgrade the iOS and make it a capable OS like macOS.

Otherwise the iPad is just an overgrown iPhone.

I can understand the move to OLED screens for the Pro models as a hardware improvement that makes sense. But otherwise, I agree. The iPad is massively overpowered as it is, so an M3 makes little sense except for marketing purposes, and meanwhile the iPadOS is still handling that most basic of computing functions, multitasking, as a kludge. 

"The iPad is just an overgrown iPhone" was exactly what the iPad's original critics claimed in predicting it would fail in the marketplace. Ummm, yeah, not so much. It went on to become one of the most successful computing platforms ever introduced and Apple still has little competition in the premium tablet space. 

nubus

iPad was unique. Now it is splintered into 4 product lines, 3 sizes, cellular/wifi variants, and several generations available, Fact is that iPad doesn't sell. Clearly MacBook Air 15 couldn't stop the Mac from dropping more than 30% in sales. No reason why iPad Air Max™ will do better. This is the Performa-era of iPad.

A CEO once complained about what happens when a sales department runs the company: 

 "They made obscene profits for several years. And their products became mediocre.... They behaved like a monopoly, and it came back to bite them, which always happens.” 

The company was Apple and it still is. History repeating.

entropys

Sales department can be as bad as the HR/Corporate area for destroying the purpose of the company.

charlesn

nubus said:

Fact is that iPad doesn't sell. 

Says the person without a single fact to back up that nonsense. Here's a simple fact for you: Apple doesn't continue to make things that don't sell because, as a for-profit public company, making things that don't sell is a really bad, unprofitable strategy... to say nothing of expanding and diversifying a product line that supposedly "doesn't sell."  

Also: no one operating in factual reality thought the MBA 15" would be the panacea for the complex issues affecting overall Mac sales. The MBA 15" was driven by one thought and it ain't rocket science: "Hey, the most popular selling laptop size is 15". Let's make an MBA in that size." Remember: it was the success of Android in phablet sized smartphone sales that convinced Apple to offer a larger-sized iPhone. 

The facts are that the PC sales in general have been slumping for quite a while, but Apple--at least up until this most recent quarter--had weathered the slump better than any other PC company. A combination of sales driven by WFH during Covid and the introduction of Apple silicon served to really boost Mac sales, so Y2Y comp sales numbers are now looking pretty ugly. In addition, even base M-machines are now more powerful than most people need. This is going to lengthen the upgrade cycle as it will take longer for people to feel that their computers are too slow. Even the review of the new M3 iMac here on AI suggests that owners of the M1--which is now 31 months old--will probably want to wait for another generation or two of M-chip advancement before considering an upgrade.