A new rumor suggests that Apple will move the camera on the next-generation iPad Air to the horizontal center, the same as it did with the 2022 iPad.
The new iPad Air 6 could be designed for landscape-mode FaceTime calls
On Friday, known leaker Instant Digital took to Weibo to claim that the new iPad Air 6 would not only ship in two sizes, a 10.9-inch model and the rumored 12.9-inch model, but the camera would be moved to the horizontal center.
Image Credit: Instant Digital on Weibo
While possible, this presents an engineering challenge, namely dealing with the magnetic attachment for Apple Pencil.
Moving the camera to the horizontal center would allow for FaceTime and other video calls while in landscape mode. It would likely be branded as a "Landscape Ultra Wide camera" and retain the Center Stage support the iPad Air 5 has.
In January, renders showing what the 12.9-inch iPad Air could look like surfaced, with the supposed CAD drawings proposing it may not have many design changes, aside from physical size and a new camera bump.
Another rumor has previously suggested that there could be up to four iPad Air models on the way. However, the source for that report hedges by saying that some may only exist for testing purposes.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple would release two iPad Air models in the first quarter of 2024. The refreshed models will not feature the mini-LED tech of its iPad Pro counterpart, but will still get some benefits from using the same-spec Oxide backplane.