Malcolm Owen
The iPad lineup is anticipated to get a number of significant changes in 2024, a newsletter believes, including a big-screen iPad Air, faster standard and iPad mini models, and a Pro line revamp.
Apple's iPad family didn't get a single update in 2023, with the last major change happening in October 2022. While 2023 is a bust for the tablet collection, Apple is seemingly planning quite a lot for the range in 2024.
Outlining the changes in his "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman writes that major changes are due for the range. The list is headed up by the iPad Pro getting a revamp, though with no mention of what that entails.
There have been rumors that OLED display production for the iPad Pro will start in February, which could lead to a release later in the year.
Gurman goes on to add that the iPad Air will have the "option of a larger screen." Rumors about the model claim the screen could be 12.9 inches in size, matching the larger iPad Pro.
The iPad mini and entry-level iPad will apparently be updated with "faster chips," he writes. This does seem likely, as a spec bump update would be the minimum change Apple would make to a major product like the iPad range, and with over a year since the last one, it looks very plausible.
Gurman's Sunday musings are somewhat reminiscent of the pronouncement he made on December 6. At that time, he discussed the 12.9-inch iPad Air rumor, along with iPad Pro with OLED, as well as a new Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
14 Comments
How are there big changes when Gurman has no idea? 'A revamp, but no mention of what that entails'. Typical Gurman response.
They can do whatever hardware changes they want, it still runs iPadOS and baby iPad apps, so the base model and the iPad Pro both do the exact same thing, with similar performance. Neither can take full advantage of the SoC. The only real revamp was in 2018. Since then, each new iPad has been exactly like the previous one. So they are going to waste M3 chips in an iPad when they should be using them in the rest of the Mac lineup. Same reviews each year, great hardware, but limited by the OS.
Apple needs to scrap iPadOS and just put macOS on the iPad since the hardware is now the same.
My iPads are the large Pro and the Mini. Both are excellent.