Apple hasn’t updated any of its iPad lineup for some time now with the last being theM2 iPad ProandiPad 10from last last year. That means that we’re overdue refreshes for some of the best tablets around, and a new report claims to have new information on a couple of them.
Specifically, it’s theiPad mini 7, iPad Air 6, M3 iPad Pro, and an 11th-gen iPad that is getting all of the attention and there’s news of a mystery new iPad that we haven’t heard of yet. And it could change Apple’s lineup in a whole new way.
Update all the tablets and add a new one for good measure
Starting with the stuff that we’d been expecting, a9to5Macreport citing unnamed sources claims that Apple will introduce a new iPad mini 7 “soon,” although it is up in the air as to what that actually means. We’d previously been told not to expect it to arrive in 2023, with early 2024 seeming like the most likely release window.
As for what the new iPad mini 7 will have, we’re expecting much the same as the outgoing iPad mini 6 but with the addition of a new chip to replace the current A15 Bionic offering. What that will be, we don’t yet know, but Apple will have the A17 Pro (unlikely) and A16 Bionic to choose from. Or it could go M-series instead.
An update to the entry-level iPad is currently in development, we’re told, with the codename J126b being used internally. A minor spec update is expected here, including an upgrade from the older A14 Bionic of the current model.
Next up, things start to get interesting with the iPad Air. TheiPad Air 5is set to be replaced by the new iPad Air 6, but 9to5Mac says that there are currently multiple models in testing. “9to5Mac’s sources have told us that the company has been experimenting with two new versions of the iPad Air,” the report explains. “Codenamed J507 and J508 (also for Wi-Fi and cellular versions), iPad Air 6 is likely to replace iPad Air 5 with a new chip.” The report goes on to suggest that Apple has also been working on two more models that have the identifiers J537 and J538 and “are based on the iPad Air.” With that in mind, it’s possible the iPad Air could ship in two different display sizes or, at least, an additional configuration. What that will ultimately look like, we’ll have to wait and see.
Finally, we have the iPad Pro which is set to get an M3 upgrade and a new OLED display. None of that is expected to happen until 2024 however, with 9to5Mac saying that the new tablets “are identified as J717 and J718 for the 11-inch models and J720 and J721 for the larger-sized models.”
The report also backs up previous claims that a new Magic Keyboard is on the way, but again there is little information on timing. The only thing we do seem to know is that they will runiPadOS 17.
