More Apple iPads with USB C could be on the way
Read in other languages:
Since the end of 2018, Apple has already been offering a tablet, the iPad Pro, with a USB C connection. Now additional models are rumored to receive the universal port – but not before next spring.
As MacRumors reports in reference to the Chinese site MyDrivers, Apple is said to introduce a revised iPad Air 4 including Apple's A14 chip and USB-C instead of the well-known Lightning port in March 2021. This would bring the iPad Air significantly closer to the iPad Pro.
The back of the tablet supposedly will include also be a Smart Connector, which would allow the connection to external keyboards – such as a new Magic Keyboard. According to the report, the iPad Air 4 will be available in configurations with 128, 256, and 512 GB.
iPad Air 4: Thinner bezels like the iPad Pro
Furthermore, the new iPad Air will have an 11-inch Liquid Retina display. This could be the model already mentioned by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He said the exact display diagonal is said to be 10.8 inches.
No matter how large the display is going to be, it should – just like the iPad Pro – have significantly thinner bezels. This allows a larger display with the same case dimensions. Such an iPad Air could bridge the gap between the low-cost iPad and the iPad Pro.
According to the report, Apple wants you to pay quite a bit more for these features and the more elegant design. While the prices of the current iPad Air 3 in the USA start at 499 US dollars, the new iPad Air 4 will supposedly cost 649 US dollars.
Additionally, the report mentions another update of the iPad Pro that could be released in September or October. But there are no further details. Such a fast update of the high-end iPad would be surprising since Apple only updated the tablet last spring.
However, a look at the delivery times of the iPad Pro might indicate that such an early update could really be released. For example, Apple's site currently states delivery for an 11-inch iPad Pro with Wi-Fi and 128 GB on September 22nd at the earliest.
The picture at the top of this article shows the iPad Pro 12.9.
