Apple has had a load of products in the laptop and tablet segment. While the former is less complicated to understand and each MacBook has had a differentiated experience, the iPad lineup from Apple hasn’t been the same as most of the higher-end iPads offer a similar experience to the mid-end ones. There’s also an overload of iPad products in the segment. As a result, Apple is now planning to simplify the iPad lineup. Here’s how it will do that.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, in his new PowerOn newsletter, says that Apple will be bringing the same clarity to its iPad lineup as it has with the MacBooks. To begin with, the company wants to reduce the confusion between the iPad Pro and the Air. The Pro is set to receive major changes over the previous model, including an OLED screen, updated design, M3 chip and revamped Magic Keyboard attachment. It is being done so that the iPad Pro better resembles the idea of a Pro iPad and distinguishes it better from the iPad Air.
He says that the iPad Air will come in 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch configurations, while the Pro will be 11 and 13 inches. He compares this to the situation of MacBooks, where the Pro comes in 14-inch and 16-inch models, while the Air is offered in 13-inch and 15-inch versions.
While the iPad Air would be a less powerful iPad than the Pro, it would top the iPad 10th Generation. It will come in two screen sizes and an M2 processor, making it superior to the 10th-generation model. According to Gurman, both iPad Air and Pro are coming in March next year. “When the 11th generation iPad is released, Apple will also phase out the ninth generation model, which still has a home button and big bezels. The iPad mini will also get a refresh later with a faster processor”, he said. Gurman didn’t reveal the launch timeline for the refreshed baseline iPad and iPad mini.
Once the 11th Gen iPad is released, Apple will discontinue the 9th Gen iPad, further simplifying the iPad lineup and helping it phase out older Apple Pencils. Next, Apple also won’t be upgrading the Magic Keyboard accessory for the iPad Air, while the Pro gets the top-notch keyboard, making it another reason for people to consider the Pro.
Coming to MacBook Air, Apple is also planning to refresh these around March. The new models — codenamed J613 and J615 — will have the new M3 processor, while the rest of the specs will remain similar to older M2 models.