Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman says Apple will likely launch new iPad Air, iPad Pro, and MacBook Air models, “around the end of March.” Bloomberg’s comments came in Sunday’s Power On newsletter, where he told readers that the production of new iPad Pro models and a new 13-inch MacBook Air were well underway.
Back in December, I reported that Apple had pretty extensive plans for March: There will be several new iPads, alongside the next batch of Macs with M3 chips. More specifically, you should expect the biggest revamp ever for the iPad Pro, a refreshed iPad Air, a larger iPad Air, and 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs with M3 processors.
iPad Air
The iPad Air has not been updated since March 2022, when it received a then-new M1 chip, 5G cellular connectivity (on select models), a USB-C port, a 12-megapixel front camera, and new color options.
In addition to the usual 10.9-inch iPad Air, many expect to see a new 12.9-inch model debut next year during the first half of the year. Rumored features for the upcoming iPad Air models include an M2 chip for faster performance, a redesigned rear camera bump, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Bluetooth 5.3. No major external design changes are expected.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the 12.9-inch iPad Air will sport an LCD screen that will not use the mini-LED technology of Apple’s current iPad Pro models but will use the same oxide backplane. This will offer better display performance than the current 10.9-inch iPad Air which uses an a-Si backplane.
iPad Pro
The 2024 iPad Pro models will feature 11-inch and 13-inch OLED displays, making them the first iPad models to use OLED display panels. Apple currently uses OLED displays on its iPhone and Apple Watch. However, it has resisted using OLED panels for its iPads, due to the screens being more expensive.
OLED displays boast deeper blacks and more vivid colors than LED or mini-LED displays. OLED displays will be limited to iPad Pro models, while the iPad Air will continue to use standard displays.
Due to the switch to OLED, the next iPad Pro models are expected to be more expensive.
Gurman says the high-end version of the iPad Pro will be powered by the M3 chip that Apple debuted earlier this year. The chip is fabricated using TSMCs 3-nanometer technology and will bring substantial graphic improvements over the M2 that currently powers the iPad Pro.
Appl released the current M2-powered iPad Pro models in October 2022.
MacBook Air
Gurman expects the current 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air to be updated simultaneously this March. The key new feature for the laptops will be Apple’s latest M3 chip.
The M3 chip in the next MacBook Air models will provide hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading for improved graphics rendering in games, including more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows.
Apple is already using the M3 chip in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac, which were updated last year.
While it is expected that we will not see any major design changes for the MacBook Air this year, the laptop will likely gain support for Wi-Fi 6E like other Macs.
Apple last updated the 13-inch MacBook Air in July 2022, while the 15-inch MacBook Air was released in June 2023.
